Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 144.1

Just as Song Sancheng had said, by three o’clock in the afternoon, all the peach trees were planted. Zhang Yanping watched from the bottom of the pond as the water pump was used to thoroughly water each tree one by one.

The others did not stay idle either.

They had been paid a full day’s wage, and although everyone worked hard, finishing work before sunset didn’t feel quite right.

So, they picked up their hoes again and dug two deep trenches along the mountain’s edge.

“Hey, Sancheng, aren’t you planning to plant some golden berries? Does this depth look good to you?” one of them asked.

Song Sancheng walked over to take a look. “Looks good to me! But I’m sorry for the trouble. The seedlings haven’t even arrived yet.”

To be honest, whether they could even buy them was another matter.

Everyone waved him off. “We’re getting paid 200 yuan a day; if we can’t handle this little work, wouldn’t that be embarrassing?”

“Exactly!”

“Are you planning to put up an iron fence or a trellis here? If it’s a trellis, we could chop some bamboo today as well,” someone suggested.

Song Sancheng quickly intervened, “We’ll use an iron fence, no need to cut bamboo, no rush. How about you all head over to my fields and help tidy them up a bit?”

“Let’s plant some seeds or transplant some seedlings if needed.”

In the rice fields, once the water reached the right level, they would have to block the pond’s outlet, and then Old Man Li would have to harness the plow to his old ox.

Only then did everyone realize, and they grouped together, carrying their hoes and shovels down the mountain, chatting as they went:

“Sancheng, you’ve invested a lot this year. You better not lose it all.”

Song Sancheng wore a worried expression and replied honestly, “That’s true, but since Tan Tan plans to make a good effort in the village, we old folks who can’t keep up with the times shouldn’t discourage her spirit. Later, when she has her own family to support, it will be harder to start anything.”

That made sense.

A nearby aunt, stepping into a field ditch, curiously asked, “Hey, Sancheng, didn’t you say earlier that Tan Tan was just taking a few months’ break at home? From what I hear now, it seems like she’s planning to stay here permanently!”

“Don’t be silly! What future is there for a young girl to stay in the village? Look at my hands—”

She extended her hands. “These hands belong to an old woman who’s done farm work all her life. Isn’t that suffering? The city has a lot of pressure, but at least you don’t have to do hard labor.”

Song Sancheng paused for a moment, then spoke softly, “Sister-in-law, it’s not that I want my daughter to stay here, but young people face too much pressure out there nowadays.”

“When Tan Tan came back, she had bandages on her head and no color in her face. When I went to pick her up, I didn’t notice at first because her hair covered a gauze pad on her forehead. Later, she told me she had bumped into something!”

“But that night, I saw a video on TikTok about a chain-reaction car accident on Ninghai Bridge in our city. The video showed a young man with a mask pulling her out of the car!”

“She was just a step away from the car exploding!”

At this point, Song Sancheng’s eyes turned red. “I used to tell her to be diligent at work, do more, avoid conflicts, and always put on a good show…”

“But no matter how well she performed, look at her now—coming back home and still managing to save a few thousand yuan.”

“We’ve been to Ning City; even a simple meal there costs dozens or hundreds. How did she manage to save that much money?”

If he hadn’t seen his daughter recover quickly, he would have taken her for a check-up to ensure there were no lingering effects.