It's really hard to just farm peacefully.

Chapter 290

In the evening of the second day, Jiang Ying was the first to run back to the village in anger.

Jiang Wang seemed to have anticipated the outcome. Seeing Jiang Ying and Jiang Yan lagging behind, he didn't ask any questions and directly said, "You two take Jiang An and patrol every three days."

The patrol won't start until two days later, so there's no need to rush now. Jiang Ying lay on the wooden table, her hands stretched out, rhythmically beating the surface like drums.

"Why? The shopkeeper even smiled and praised us two for being literate and smart in front of Uncle Fu, saying that the pharmacy was looking for workers to do simple tasks and we would definitely be able to do it.

As soon as Uncle Fu left, he ordered us to move all those heavy herbs to the yard one by one to dry them in the sun, but after we finished the work, he turned his back on us."

Jiang Yan brought two bowls of warm salt water from the kitchen, handed one bowl to Jiang Ying, and gulped down the remaining bowl.

When the dryness in his throat eased, Jiang Yan was about to respond to Jiang Ying's indignation when he saw her slam the table and stand up from her chair.

"I understand. It must be because Uncle Fu rejected Jiang Yuan's marriage proposal to the shopkeeper's daughter, so he deliberately made trouble for us to vent his anger."

Jiang Yan didn't remember this happening. "No way, they're just like most shops. They don't plan to hire women to work."

In the dimly lit house, Jiang Ying's expression was serious. She held Jiang Yan's arm and said in a low voice:

"I originally found it strange. The shopkeeper was quite friendly when he first saw us, but after chatting with Uncle Fu in a corner for a few minutes and then coming out, his attitude towards us became fake, and after Uncle Fu left, he even showed repulsion.

Later, when I went to the warehouse to carry medicinal herbs, I vaguely heard the shopkeeper and others say that they wanted to change the marriage candidate.

With all this going on, who else could be the candidate for marriage besides Jiang Yuan?!

That apprentice who was carrying the medicine bags with us, he didn’t know as many words as I did, and he was only slightly stronger than the two of us, yet he was still recruited to work…”

Although Jiang Yan still felt that historical gender discrimination was more likely, Jiang Ying's analysis sounded very reasonable.

The hidden disappointment in her heart quietly dissipated, and Jiang Yan raised her voice slightly, "That's perfect, Uncle Jiang Fu doesn't have to owe me a favor for this."

Realizing it wasn't her fault, Jiang Ying's frustration and anger vanished. She straightened her jacket, which had opened slightly due to her large movements, and strode out.

"Yanyan, I'm going home to have dinner. After we finish the work in the fields tomorrow, we'll think of other ways."

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The water in the wheat fields has been irrigated long ago, and the plan of the Dongshan villagers today is to suppress the wheat seedlings, that is, to compact the soil around the roots of the wheat seedlings with their feet.

More than two years ago, Jiang Yan went to the fields for the first time and saw this operation and was shocked.

In her previous understanding, wheat seedlings or other crops would easily die or grow poorly if stepped on. How come it suddenly became a good way to enhance the cold resistance of wheat seedlings?

Jiang Xing couldn't explain it, but this was the experience passed down from ancestors, and several prefectures and counties did the same.

Although it was Jiang Yan's second time to transplant seedlings, her body had not fully recovered from the previous time, so she was only assigned to a small piece of land. She had no experience to speak of after just working on it and taking a break.

But now, she couldn't control the strength of her feet. She was afraid that if she stepped too hard, the wheat seedlings would die, and she would be uneasy. She was also worried that if she stepped too lightly, it would not be effective. Therefore, she walked very cautiously.

Li Hao and Jiang Ying had already walked back and forth. When they caught up with Jiang Yan again, he hesitated for a while but couldn't help but say:

"Jiang Yan, you were so good at stepping on this when you were a kid. Why are you still so timid now that you've grown up?"

Jiang Yan wanted to cry but had no tears: "Grandma, I'm already a grown-up, what if I step on the wheat seedlings and destroy them? What if the mud is too dense and the wheat seedlings can't get through it?"

Li Hao: "...At this point, it's just like grass. You can step on it without hesitation. It won't kill you. If the mud is too solid, use a hoe to loosen it up a bit and then step on it again."