Chapter 34: Luo Huian’s Residence

Tong Chuxue had originally purchased only one acre of land, which was dry farmland. Naturally, the yield of dry fields could not compare to that of paddy fields.

"Mother, I’ve been thinking we should find some people to convert our land into a paddy field," Tong Chuxue suggested. They had money on hand now, so wages were not a concern.

"Paddy fields do yield more, but our land is quite far from the village stream. It will take a great deal of effort to convert it," Xu Jinnian worried.

"Mother, if we offer higher wages, we won't have to worry about finding help." Tong Chuxue was not concerned about this at all. As the saying goes, money makes the mare go; as long as they were generous with their pay, there would be no shortage of workers.

In truth, if buying servants hadn't been so conspicuous, she would have liked to simply purchase a few to tend the fields.

"This—" Xu Jinnian hesitated for a moment before agreeing. "We shall do as you say."

With the first harvest of rice approaching, if they were to hire help for the conversion, it was best to settle it within the next few days.

Tong Chuxue did not know many people in the village well, so after some consideration, she turned to the Luo family.

Old Madam Luo had three sons, all in their prime and hardworking. Upon hearing that Tong Chuxue was willing to pay thirty wen a day, they immediately thumped their chests, guaranteeing they would do the job well.

Additionally, Tong Chuxue bought some rice seeds from the Luo family. Farm families usually saved their seeds from the previous harvest; no matter how hungry they were, they would never touch their seed stock. Fortunately, as Tong Chuxue only had one acre, she did not need a large quantity.

Old Madam Luo’s eyes darted around as she said to Tong Chuxue, "Snow girl, I can see you’re a generous one. We won't cheat you. Why don't you wait until our seedlings are sprouted and just buy the ready-made ones? It would be much easier. Your family doesn't have a paddy field yet; by the time you buy the seeds and wait for them to sprout, everyone else's rice will already be planted."

Tong Chuxue knew perfectly well that Old Madam Luo was likely trying to pass off the inferior, poorly sprouted seedlings onto her.

"Grandma, my family doesn't have a paddy field, but we can sprout the seeds in dry land just the same. Since we only have one acre, it’s enough for my mother and me to eat," Tong Chuxue replied, then walked over to the bag of seeds piled in the corner of the Luo house.

Lin Chunyan, of the third branch of the family, happened to walk in at that moment. Seeing Tong Chuxue looking at the seeds, she smiled and said, "Snow girl, are you buying seeds? Let me find a cloth bag for you."

Old Madam Luo sat on her stool, glaring, but Lin Chunyan paid her no mind and proactively helped Tong Chuxue find a bag.

Once she had gathered enough, Tong Chuxue placed the copper coins on the table and smiled at Old Madam Luo. "Thank you, Grandma."

With that, she ignored the resentful gaze of the old woman and turned into the courtyard of the third branch.

As soon as she entered, she saw Luo Huiqing’s small eyes fixed steadily upon her. Finding it strange, she asked, "Qing girl, why are you staring at me?"

Luo Huiqing shook her head, looked away, wiped off a stool, and said to Tong Chuxue, "Sister, sit."

Tong Chuxue scanned the room but didn't see Luo Huifeng. "Where is your younger brother?"

"He's at the private school," Luo Huiqing replied.

"So soon?" Tong Chuxue mused. She felt as though she had only heard Luo Huian mention sending him to school a few days ago, yet here he was, already attending.

Tong Chuxue pulled the copy of the "Three Character Classic" she had bought earlier from her pocket, feeling a bit wistful. "I wanted to ask Xiao Feng something, but I didn't expect him to be away."

Over the past few days, she had discovered that the version of the "Three Character Classic" here was longer than the one she was familiar with. Some of the additional characters were beyond her knowledge, so she had hoped to ask him.

"Big Brother surely knows! I'll take you to him!" Luo Huiqing’s face lit up. She tugged Tong Chuxue along toward Luo Huian’s room.

Tong Chuxue had always known that Luo Huian was treated differently in the Luo household, but she hadn't realized to what extent. He had his own small room, barely twenty square meters—quite small even for a rural area where land was almost free.

The room was somewhat dim. As the sun was harsh outside, the bed was draped with a plain white cloth. Near the window stood a simple desk, surrounded by a few large chests, and a bed in the corner where Luo Huian rested.

Luo Huian was reading when they entered. Seeing them, he put down his book and smiled. "You're here."

Tong Chuxue felt a subtle impression that these words were meant specifically for her.

"Big Brother, Sister says there are things in the book she doesn't understand." The precocious Luo Huiqing pushed Tong Chuxue forward and vanished in the blink of an eye.

It wasn't the first time Tong Chuxue had been alone with Luo Huian, but for some reason, the atmosphere felt different this time.

She feigned composure, opened the book, and pointed to the beginning of a passage. "I don't recognize the characters after this."

Luo Huian nodded and moved a bamboo stool from the corner for her. "Sit."

Tong Chuxue sat down obediently. Luo Huian took the book, placed it gently on the desk, and began to explain the characters to her one by one.

Tong Chuxue did not have a photographic memory. After a quarter of an hour, realizing she couldn't retain everything, she made a small request: "Luo Huian, could you lend me some paper to take notes? Don't worry, I will return it to you." In this era, paper and ink were expensive, and borrowing required returning.

Luo Huian paused slightly, then said apologetically, "My apologies, I didn't consider that."

Tong Chuxue shook her head repeatedly. "No, no, it's just that my memory isn't very good."

"Your memory isn't good?" Luo Huian asked, looking at her quite seriously.

"Er... I meant that it's not easy for me to remember things once they're written down," Tong Chuxue clarified.

"No matter." Luo Huian pulled a few sheets from a stack of rice paper and placed them in front of her. "I will remember."

"Hmm?" Tong Chuxue looked up, puzzled. What did he mean by that?

"Here." Luo Huian picked out the smallest brush, dipped it in ink, and handed it to her.

Tong Chuxue took the brush and whispered, "Thank you."

Luo Huian pursed his lips and continued his explanation.

During her time in the apocalypse, Tong Chuxue had developed her own shorthand system to record information quickly. To an outsider, however, her notes looked like a chaotic mess. Luo Huian was visibly surprised when he first saw her taking notes.

"This is a system of symbols I invented for recording. It's fine, just keep speaking, and I'll keep writing," Tong Chuxue said, scratching her head in embarrassment.

Luo Huian took a moment to compose his expression before continuing the lesson.

There wasn't much left of the "Three Character Classic" to cover. After an hour, they had finished the entire text.

"If you wish to read more, I have other books here you may borrow," Luo Huian offered.

Tong Chuxue shook her head. "No need. I only learned the 'Three Character Classic' to help me recognize characters."