Chapter 96

Chapter 96: Fei Fei Catches a Snake

Ding Xiang mused to herself that the main house, with its strong labor force and numerous boys, should have had an easier life. Yet, over the years, they had only saved four guan, hadn’t bought any extra land or added a single tile. The land and courtyard were still the same as those originally bought by Great-Grandma An.

Meanwhile, the third house, with only one sickly son, Ding Qin, was living increasingly prosperously.

This was not only because the head of the family, Ding Shan, was capable, but also because his wife, Xie Shi, was competent and sensible.

Ding Xiang wasn't interested in the division of the main house but was genuinely happy for Ding Sifu.

Ding Zhuang said, "I've delayed work for two days. Although tomorrow is Mid-Autumn Festival, I need to go back to work, but I'll be back for the reunion dinner. Zhaozi and Li Chun's mother, start preparing; the day after tomorrow, we’ll host a feast to thank those who helped find Likai. Li Chun's mother, find some of Likai's old clothes to alter for Sifu."

Ding Xiang brought three spools of cotton thread and taught Ding Sifu how to make cords. After teaching him three methods, she instructed him to practice at the iron shop. Once he mastered those, she would teach him other techniques. If he learned well and excelled, he could make silk threads and earn wages.

That night, Ding Sifu slept in the same room as Ding Li Ren. The room stayed lit late, one studying under the lamp and the other practicing diligently.

The next day, before Ding Xiang had even gotten up, Ding Sifu went to town with Ding Zhuang and Ding Li Ren.

Ding Sifu couldn’t do the heavy work at the iron shop, so he sat under the eaves practicing cord-making. He felt awkward eating and taking money without contributing and used the thread from his second grandpa's house. He eagerly volunteered for chores, cleaning, polishing tools, helping his second grandpa with water, making beds, washing dishes, and even insisted on wiping his feet after he washed them.

Next door, Mrs. He from the iron shop cooked meals, and Ding Sifu occasionally helped out at her place.

Over time, everyone at the shop grew fond of him.

Of course, that happened later.

The turmoil brought by Mrs. Hao gradually subsided in Bei Quan Village, and the villagers began to harvest their crops.

Ding Xiang's family had two acres of corn, one acre of sweet potatoes, and two acres of peanuts. During the harvest, Ding Zhao stayed home to help, along with two hired laborers and Yang Hu.

The sweet potatoes had already been harvested, and now it was time for the corn, with peanuts being the last.

The second house had a large courtyard, so there was no need to go to the drying grounds; they brought the crops directly home.

Ding Xiang loved fresh corn, especially pork rib and corn soup and tender corn cakes, which had become regular dishes at home since last month.

Of course, she also liked milk corn soup and golden corn dishes, which she planned to make later.

The peanuts were harvested on the 23rd of August.

Harvesting peanuts was a season children loved, with the scent of peanut paste in the air, and often one or two missed peanuts could be found on the ground.

The children picked them up and ate them with satisfaction.

Ding Xiang also loved this scent.

Insisting on visiting their own fields, Ding Zhao took her and Ding Likai there.

The wound on Ding Likai's head had scabbed over but was not fully healed.

Regarding Ding Likai’s education, Ding Zhuang and his son were not particularly insistent; the boy wasn't cut out for academics.

On the southern slopes of the village, there were several terraced fields, with Ding Xiang's family owning five acres at the very top.

Below their land, Ding Shan's family owned two acres, where Ding Shan, Zhao Shi, and a hired laborer were busy working.

Ding Xiang and Ding Likai sat under a tree by their own field, eating peanuts.

Yang Hu and the laborer dug up peanuts, while Ding Zhao collected them in baskets, bringing two full baskets home to dry in the courtyard before returning.

Ding Xiang also reminded her father, "Ask Aunt Yang to boil a pot of peanuts; Grandpa loves tender boiled peanuts."

Ding Zhao agreed with a smile.

The sky was vast and the sun shone brightly. The weather these days was even warmer than before, delighting the farmers.

The adults worked diligently in the fields while the children picked and ate peanuts by the field edges.

Ding Likai, noticing his sister's chubby little hands covered in mud, pouted and said, "Sister, you've got your hands dirty."

He stuffed a few peanuts into his mouth and took out a handkerchief to wipe the mud off Ding Xiang's hands.

"Peanuts are dirty; don't peel them, Sister. I’ll peel them for you."

"It's okay, we can just wash them when we get home."

"No, Sister, your soft white hands shouldn't get dirty; it doesn’t look nice."

The little boy had picked up some habits from Ding Li Chun and Ding Li Ren, liking to see his sister clean and delicate, absolutely refusing to let her get herself dirty.

He adamantly didn't allow Ding Xiang to peel peanuts, peeling one and putting it in her mouth first, then peeling another for himself.

Ding Zhen arrived with Ding Daniu.

Ding Zhen sat next to Ding Xiang, while Ding Daniu joined the other children picking peanuts on the paths between fields.

Suddenly, several large birds appeared in the sky, soaring high and low under the blue expanse.

Ding Xiang's heart leapt, and she stood up, shouting loudly, "Fei Fei, Fei Fei..."

Seeing this, Ding Likai also stood up and called out, but he didn’t dare to shout too loudly, so his voice was soft.

Then Ding Zhen and Ding Daniu joined in shouting, and the other children followed suit.

The large bird flew farther and farther away, disappearing into the distant sky.

Ding Xiang was extremely disappointed.

But soon, they returned and continued to soar above.

The children started jumping and shouting again.

"Fei Fei, Fei Fei..."

Ding Xiang didn’t dare to stand up and shout again; having been too excited before, and after jumping so high, she was already sweating lightly, emitting a faint fragrance.

She quickly crushed a medicinal pill, using its scent to mask her own.

Suddenly, an eagle swooped down fiercely, heading straight for Ding Xiang.

Everyone screamed in fright, fearing the hungry eagle would snatch a child into the sky.

Ding Zhao, Yang Hu, and Ding Shan, among other men, rushed towards them.

The eagle swooped past Ding Xiang and then flew back into the sky, a large snake in its beak.

The snake was more than half a zhang (about 1.8 meters) long and as thick as a small bowl.

The crowd's screams intensified.

"Good heavens, that snake was so bold, daring to come down the mountain with so many people around."

"Such a big snake could have strangled a child to death; it was the eagle that saved them."

More precisely, it saved Ding Xiang, as the snake had been right behind her.

"That girl has a strong fate. First, Mrs. Hao failed to prick her with a needle, and now she’s escaped being bitten by a large snake..."

Ding Xiang realized that it must have been her scent that attracted the snake. She also noticed a red cord tied to the leg of the eagle.

Ding Zhao hurried over and scooped up Ding Xiang, saying gruffly, "We're going home. You're not allowed to come here again; it's too dangerous."

Someone else exclaimed, "Look at that eagle, it's landed, right in our village!"

Clinging to Ding Zhao's neck, Ding Xiang said, "Dad, that eagle is Fei Fei, it must have landed at our house."

Ding Likai, holding on to Ding Zhao's clothes, hurried home with the three of them.

Before they even entered their house, they heard shouts of alarm from Mrs. Zhang and Yang Hu's family.

"Such a huge snake, it's terrifying."

Ding Zhao pushed open the courtyard gate and saw a leopard eagle standing on a large snake, pecking at its flesh, with the snake's body still writhing.

Mrs. Zhang and Aunt Yang stood at a distance, too afraid to approach.

Mrs. Zhang, who grew up in the mountains, wasn't usually afraid of snakes. But such a large snake was rare and still frightened her.

Ding Zhao recognized the leopard eagle as Fei Fei. He put Ding Xiang down, went to the kitchen, fetched an axe, and chopped the snake in half.

He said with a smile, "It's alright now, you don't have to be afraid."