Carrying a Hoe to Cultivate

In the following days, Xia Yi went to the farmland with Gu Wen Zhu every day. Xia Yi, staying on the side of the field, would learn the techniques from Gu Wen Zhu whenever he was farming. He would chase after Gu Wen Zhu to see how he sowed the seeds, and how many seeds he had sowed. He also raised questions enthusiastically and analyzed the details with great attention. This greatly extended his knowledge about farming. It was a shame that he could not record it all in a booklet since he did not have paper and a pen. 

People might think he was extremely eager to learn. 

Nevertheless, in Gu Wen Zhu’s point of view, these few days felt unbearably long. Everytime he took his cow to the land to farm, he felt like he was walking towards a pot with hot oil, and he was about to jump in and be fried thoroughly. 

As the days went by, he had a feeling that Xia Yi was looking at him more and more glowingly. Gu Wen Zhu had been tripping himself several times as though there was a thorn on his side.   This ger was crossing the line. With the progression of time, only staring could no longer satisfy him, he wanted more.  

He would pretend to be observing him sowing and followed closely. If he himself was not agile enough, Xia Yi would have intentionally fallen and clung onto his back. 

The ger also tried to make conversations even when there was nothing to say. 

I never knew peanuts grow underground, I thought they grow on trees. You have sowed 6 seeds in this hole, but just now you sowed at least ten or twenty in that one, does this matter? 

As this ger was talking, he also used his sparkling eyes to look at him. He moved close to him on purpose, with his scent wafted into his nose. This ger was so desperate as if he wanted to tell the whole world where his heart lied. 

Gu Wen Zhu was annoyed. This ger was one to be feared of. He needed to spend some time correcting him implicitly. He himself had been keeping to the straight and narrow all his life with a decent reputation and had never been included in gossip with any girls or gers. From now on, he had to pay more attention; his reputation could not be destroyed by this particular ger. 

Gu Wen Zhu was highly alert while he was thinking.    He turned and looked at Xia Yi, who was beaming and patting the cow. The sunlight hit his face and his fair skin almost seemed transparent. A shallow dimple showed up on his cheek. 

Besides, everything happened too quickly, this wave of attack was too strong, not leaving him time to buffer and think things through.   

You have to give it some time to let us get along. 

Gu Wen Zhu continued his trail of thoughts. 

… 

Today, Xia Yi got up very early. Xia Yi was already sitting in front of the table waiting for breakfast when Gu Wen Zhu finished washing himself and went into the kitchen. 

After days of learning, Xia Yi thought that he had gotten hold of the basics of farming. He was ready to actually do it. Therefore, Gu Wen Zhu had had his land back a couple of days ago and personally picked the most fertile land for him to farm. 

Xia Yi speedily finished his breakfast and cheerily went for the cow and the hoe. Gu Wen Zhu raised his hand to stop him, then he took a hoe and went to Xia Yi’s land, spending only an hour to turn up the soil. 

Xia Yi: … 

“179, I discovered that we had wasted a few days on watching the cow farm.” 

“It’s not a waste, host. These are important theories and knowledge. From now on, you can use them to farm three acres of land, ten acres of land, even one hundred acres of land… ” 

“Alright, alright, don’t say no more.” Xia Yi decisively interrupted 179. 

Didn’t want to listen.

Xia Yi stood in the field, starting to bury the prepared potatoes. Next, he heedfully covered them with soil, as if those were baby children.  Afterwards, it was time to fertilize. The fertilizer was a mixture of water and the ashes of grass and wood. He watered the land ladle by ladle in order to distribute it evenly. 

And so he had been busy for the entire day. His meal was delivered to the land to him by Gu Wen Zhu. 

The sun was setting among the mountains. Viewing the 25 points of land farmed with potatoes, Xia Yi, carrying an empty bucket, had his heart filled with gratefulness, and let out a long breath. 

“179, if these 25 points lands of potatoes are harvested, is my first mission considered done? That cultivating and finding a master mission.” 

“Yes, host. That will be considered as complete. On top of the reward, you will have a starter pack.” 

“What’s in the starter pack?” 

“I don’t know.” It was that monotonous robot tone of 179 again. 

Xia Yi now knew, every time 179 sounded like that was a sign of things going not too pleasingly. 

Nevermind. If he could complete the mission, nothing else mattered. Xia Yi could only comfort himself this way. 

It was dusk and he still did not want to go home. He kept staring at the land, until Gu Wen Zhu, having cooked dinner, came and called him. 

Gu Wen Zhu did not simply shout his name from the main road like others did, instead, he detoured all the way through the twisted ridge and arrived at Xia Yi’s side. Then he made a couple of coughing sounds. When Xia Yi noticed his arrival and greeted him warmly, he looked the other way and said with a flat tone, “Dinner.” 

Then he left immediately without waiting for Xia Yi to reply. 

Xia Yi was tired on his way home, but his spirit was still high. Having finished dinner, Xia Yi volunteered keenly to wash the dishes, and went to have a bath, humming. 

“179, I want to check up on my potatoes.” Xia Yi rubbed his back with a towel. A whole day of tiredness seemed to have disappeared. 

System: “Host, you have just planted them two hours before.” 

“You’re right. I’m too anxious about this. It’s impossible for them to grow this fast. That was so stupid and ameteur.” Xia Yi laughed in a self-deprecating manner. He wringed out the towel and placed it on his head. He leaned into the barrel with two arms on the rim of the barrel, relaxed. 

“Let’s check them out tomorrow morning.” 

System: … 

At the time he began to come out of the bath, the moon had already been up at its top position. Xia Yi got up to get dressed, but, after a while of looking, found that he had not brought his upper underwear in. He looked outside, dang, it was still on the clothesline. 

Now what? Go fetch it. 

He put on his lower underwear, with his cloth shoes only loosely on, he pulled the door open and walked straight out half-naked. He used the towel to wipe off the water drops dripping from his hair along the way. 

It was mid-June, the night in the mountains was still chilly, the wind of the night brushed his upper body, wet with drops of water, with a breeze. Xia Yi quivered involuntarily. The ivory moonlight softly shined on his creamy body, his skin almost seemed to be glistening. 

“Clang!” It was the blatant sound of the washbowl hitting the ground. 

He only saw Gu Wen Zhu standing at the door of the main house, mouth opened, eyeing him with a deeply shaken expression as if he was struck by thunderbolts and the world had collapsed on him.

Xia Yi also froze at the spot, startled, his hand was still keeping his posture of rubbing his hair, and then his brain resumed functioning in an instant. 

“179, I forgot that this is a perverted world!” Xia Yi cried out in his mind. “Not only am I not covering up myself below the neck, I am also not covering my two points of mosaic!!! 179, this is just like when I was back at my home and a woman walked out to the corridor in the building half-naked. Holy cow. 179, I’m dead I’m dead I’m dead.” 

… 

A few seconds had passed, seemingly calm, Xia Yi walked to the clothesline, pulled the underwear down, and slowly put it on. He tied the strips on his waist, turned to face Gu Wen Zhu and nodded. Xia Yi then smiled a bit and went back to his room. 

In the morning of the second day, due to his concerns about his 25 points land of potatoes, Xia Yi had woken up early and already sat at the table to wait for breakfast. 

Severely distracted, Gu Wen Zhu made breakfast with a pair of dark circles around his eyes. The scoop had been dropped onto the floor; the water boiled dry. When he was fetching the bowls, he nearly broke the stack of bowls with a series of clinking sounds. 

“179, look at Zhu. If he came to the dorm of my previous school, could he survive three days?” 

Every summer, everyone was half-naked. 

“Bang!” A large bowl of noodles had been placed heavily in front of him. Since he ate a lot, Gu Wen Zhu would use the only large bowl in the house to serve him noodles. 

Without even sitting at the dining table, Gu Wen Zhu did not glance Xia Yi once as if he had never met him before. He took his bowl of noodles, walked straight to the yard, crouched under the big tree, and started to eat. 

In view of his condition, Xia Yi looked worried and thought a little. He carried his big bowl with both of his hands, unsteadily travelled to Gu Wen Zhu’s side and hunkered down. He looked around him, and used his foot to move a chair closer and placed the bowl on it. 

Too heavy. 

Gu Wen Zhu was eating the noodles with a stern face. Not saying one word, he slightly turned and faced sideways. 

Xia Yi moved a bit towards his side, dragging with him the chair in his front which he placed his noodles on. 

Gu Wen Zhu was monitoring with the side of his vision. Seeing Xia Yi moved, he began to leave the spot. 

Realizing Gu Wen Zhu was leaving, Xia Yi hurriedly shouted, “Zhu, I can explain.” 

He was afraid of Gu Wen Zhu going away upon hearing his words, just like the soap operas. However, Gu Wen Zhu unexpectedly halted his motion and stood there. Judging from his still stern expression, it seemed like he was giving Xia Yi this one and only chance to set things straight. 

Xia Yi considered for a second with the end of the chopsticks between his teeth. He then turned and looked at Gu Wen Zhu seriously, “Zhu, what if I told you at my home, the whole building, ah, no, the whole village of gers would run around the village half-naked. Would you believe me?” 

Gu Wen Zhu’s face seemed shocked, but then it became even gloomier than before. 

Sensing things becoming worse, Xia Yi said at once, “I’m telling you, the gers in our village don’t even care about all these. We’re all guys, showing nipples is nothing…” 

The blue veins were popping out on Gu Wen Zhu’s forehead. He closed his eyes, took two deep breaths, and, unable to put up anymore, said finally, “Shut up! Nonsense!” He turned and dashed towards the kitchen after saying so. He stopped halfway, only turning slightly and said in a low voice, “Xia Yi, I know what you are thinking, but you cannot do it this way. This only annoys me.” 

After that, he entered the house, not even glanced back once. 

Xia Yi, befuddled, crouched there not moving an inch. 

A while later, he asked sluggishly, “179, what did he mean by knowing what I’m thinking? What am I thinking?”

System: “Just leave him be. It’s ridiculous for him to assume what you’re thinking. I’d say, these men’s minds are the hardest to understand. They are different from us gers.”

Xia Yi spaced out for a while, then, cluelessly said, “I give up. I don’t get it.” Then he remembered something, “179, I feel like you sound awkward recently. I’m not sure how to put it. 179, have you been scanning those people washing clothes beside the stream?” 

System: “Well, duh. Why would I veg out to scan those bitches?”  

“Hiss…”