Chapter 67: Letter of Faith

  "This isn't urgent, while I'm still in good health, I think I'll plant those fields for another two years. Otherwise, if I suddenly stop farming, I really won't know what to do with myself. Should I follow your mother and raise silkworms?" Old Liu smiled, raising silkworms was women's work, he as a big man wouldn't do it.

  Afraid that Liu Yitiao would be unhappy in his heart, Old Liu continued to say: "However, you can rest assured that the second one is an official's fate. Those lands he doesn't need, and sooner or later they will all be passed on to you. At that time, you can do whatever you want with them, I and your mother won't interfere with you."

  "Dad," Liu Yitiao detected some dissatisfaction in Old Liu's words and felt very uncomfortable. What was there to say between father and son that couldn't be said directly? He explained to Old Liu, "I want to consolidate the family's land together, just so you can enjoy a few more years of peace and quiet, without having to work hard under the sun every day. It pains me as your son to see this."

  "I know Father is worried that I'm taking on such a big responsibility, with over 30 hectares of land and more than 100 tenant farmers. He's afraid something unexpected might happen and we won't be able to hold on, so he wants to leave me a way out. I understand this. So if Father really doesn't want to, I won't force him. Let's wait for a couple of years until the foundation of our Liu family is more stable, then it won't be too late."

  "Yi Tiao, you've grown up. There are some things I don't need to say, and you can understand them on your own. That's good, it makes me feel more at ease."

  "You're right, Father is worried that you suddenly have so many fields and tenants, and it's inevitable that there will be some mistakes in management. Those tenants are all of low social status, and few of them are as cultivated as Li Ge today. If they were to cause any trouble with you, the family wouldn't be able to help you..."

  "Besides, your thirty mu of land are all barren. Barren land is hard to cultivate, and without three to five years of rest, nothing good can be grown on it. Otherwise, the government would not have exempted you from paying taxes for a year. Take our family's existing fields as an example. When the village head allocated them to me back then, half of them were barren land. I worked hard to nurture them for ten whole years before they became the good fields they are today. The difficulty is self-evident. So, before your barren land is improved, I don't want to let go of the fields in my hands. You should know that although those fields are few, they are all good fields, and their annual yield won't be much less than your thirty mu of barren land."

  Lao Liu's words make sense, and under normal circumstances, what he said and did is not wrong at all. It's hard to cultivate barren land, and it's hard to open up barren land. In the past, when opening up barren land for cultivation, almost every first year would have no yield, and if one mu of land could produce a few dozen kilograms, that would be a blessing. It's normal for Lao Liu to have such concerns.

  But can the method of opening up wasteland and farming used by the ancients be applied today? The answer is obviously no.

  How can a comrade who was also an outstanding graduate of a well-known agricultural school in the country be stumped by a small piece of wasteland? With just his theoretical knowledge, he could have walked sideways on the field. Moreover, he had actually followed some peasant masters and animal husbandry masters for two years to practice. How can the combination of theory and practice be defeated by a small piece of wasteland?

  But these are Liu Yitiao's personal secrets, and it's not convenient to mention them to Lao Liu. Even if they were mentioned, Old Liu would definitely not believe them. Some things are more effective when the facts speak for themselves.

  Liu Yitiao said to Old Liu, "Don't worry, Father. I have a way to deal with those tenant farmers. As for opening up new land, you can also rest assured that I won't disappoint you. These things are hard to explain in words, but by the time of this year's autumn harvest, you'll be able to see the results for yourself. If at that time you still insist on not combining our lands, then I won't say anything more."

  "Alright! Father will agree to this, if after the autumn harvest, your thirty mu of wasteland can produce three times more than my one hundred and twenty mu of good land, then father will exchange this good land for the wasteland and let you manage it!" Liu Lao Shi gave such a guarantee.

  Liu Yitiao smiled, and the highest yield of Old Liu's 120 mu of good land was less than 7,000 catties. Even if it were calculated as 7,000 catties, three times that would be only 21,000 catties.

  Twenty-one thousand catties, haha, Old Liu's land is now definitely changed hands.

  "Oh, right," Old Liu suddenly remembered something and hastily pulled out a bamboo tube from his bosom and handed it to Liu Yi, saying: "This is the letter that was sent by Zhang's family in Xiao Xin Zhuang this afternoon. It says inside there is an answer written by Chu Chu for you. Take a look quickly, is it the solution to the riddle you mentioned?"

  "Oh?" Has there been a response so soon? Liu Yitiao took over the bamboo tube, and in his mind, he recalled the scene two days ago when Zhang Chuchu looked up at him with questions. A little girl who loves arithmetic, rarely seen.

  Open the bamboo cover, inside there is a rolled up paper, spread it out with a flourish, only to see four elegant cursive characters written on the paper: Wind and Moon are boundless.

  She actually guessed it.

  Liu Yitiao rolled up the paper again, put it in the bamboo tube and stored it properly. He raised his head and said to Old Liu: "Father, let's prepare some gifts this afternoon and go to Xiaoxin Village again."

  "Going to Xiao Xin Zhuang?" Old Liu happily said: "Isn't it that Chu Chu young lady has agreed?!"

  What a wonderful thing! Liu Lao Shi saw Liu Yi Tiao nodding, and almost jumped up from his chair. He quickly walked to the door and loudly shouted towards the kitchen: "Old lady! Add two more dishes for lunch, I want to drink a few cups with my sons! Haha..."

  "What's going on? You're so happy!" Mrs. Liu carried two plates out of the kitchen and asked as she saw Liu Lao Shi grinning from ear to ear.

  Old Liu replied, "This afternoon I and my son are going to propose a marriage, this time it's almost certain. Hehe, we'll soon have a grandson to hold, don't you think we should celebrate?"

  "Really?" Mrs. Liu put the plate on the table and asked Liu Yitiao, "Is it that girl from the Zhang family? Hmm, that girl is good, looks pretty, knows etiquette, can give birth to children. If we marry her back home, she will definitely be a good daughter-in-law."

  "Girl, don't listen to your father's nonsense. Whether this thing can be done or not is still uncertain and we won't know until we get to the Zhang's house in the afternoon. Your father is being too impatient." Liu Yitiao couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, these two old folks were thinking about their daughter-in-law so much that they were almost going crazy.

  "What's still uncertain," Old Willow said somewhat displeased, "If the young lady is willing to send over the answer, isn't that already agreeing? Otherwise, she could have just kept the answer hidden, why bother sending someone to deliver it to you?"

  Lao Liu finally said something clear. Madame Liu looked at him with approval and said to Liu Yi, "Yi, your father is right. The girl has chosen you. Hehe...you all wait here, I'll go cook a couple more dishes. This kind of happy occasion really calls for a few cups."