HUS Chapter 47: An Indescribable Stirring
HUS Chapter 47: An Indescribable Stirring
Dec 21, 2025
As Second Brother Cheng raised his head, sweat seeped into his eyes, stinging them so he squinted.
"Elder Brother!"
"Uncle!"
Second Sister-in-law Cheng and her eldest son released the plow and also happily came forward to greet him.
"Shh~" Leopard Head raised his finger in a silencing gesture.
This entire stretch of land had been reclaimed by the Cheng family and had no other villagers working on it but Leopard Head still vigilantly scanned the surroundings.
His gaze fell on an old man holding a plow in the distant field, pausing slightly.
That was his father.
Leopard Head withdrew his gaze and jutted his chin toward the grove outside the field ridge, "Second Brother, come with me."
He walked two steps, then turned back to give another instruction.
"Second Sister-in-law, you and Dazhuang act like you never saw me. Don't tell anyone!"
"Yes, yes!" Second Sister-in-law Cheng and her son repeatedly agreed.
Watching his father follow Uncle into the woods, Cheng Zhuang asked in confusion, "Mother, since Uncle came down the mountain, why doesn't he go see Grandpa and my aunt? Why did he come looking for Father? Why is he being so sneaky?"
"You half-grown kid don't understand anything. Whatever your uncle does, he surely has his reasons. Just listen to what you're told."
The Cheng family's backbone now was Leopard Head.
Without Leopard Head, the Cheng family couldn't possibly have acquired so much land in just over twenty years.
Without Leopard Head, even if they worked tirelessly to reclaim large tracts of wasteland, Master Zhang would have already seized it through trickery and extortion, leaving them with the same fate as Zhen Laoshi.
In the Cheng family's hearts, Leopard Head's prestige as eldest brother had long far exceeded their very fertile father's.
...
In matters of love, Qingmei had originally been like blank rice paper never touched by ink, yet she had repeatedly listened through the window to the sounds from Yang Can's room.
Those shameful sounds had penetrated the window paper night after night, secretly blooming a trace of rouge color at the tip of her heart.
These repeated eavesdropping sessions and imaginings had actually become her most secret initiation lessons.
Now that Yang Can deliberately teased her, that fragile layer of window paper naturally broke with one poke.
Yang Can's double-entendre jokes made Xiao Qingmei extremely shy.
Even their exchanged glances were like butterflies fluttering across the lake of her heart.
For Yang Can, teasing such a young girl whose feelings were first awakening had a unique charm and for Xiao Qingmei, that feeling was even sweeter than freshly blooming jasmine.
The little girl was beginning to fall inch by inch.
Under the tree, Estate Head Lai Gulu and Field Supervisor Peng stood shoulder to shoulder.
Like in winter, they habitually tucked their hands in their sleeves, stretching their necks slightly forward.
From a distance, they looked like two hanged ghosts dangling under the large tree.
They didn't understand this kind of romantic interest between men and women, though they'd both had more than one woman.
Watching Steward Yang and Steward Qingmei chatting happily on the field ridge, Peng Jin couldn't help but ask, "Old Lai, should we go listen?"
Lai Gulu dismissed the idea, "Whatever they like to chat about, let them. As long as we watch wherever he goes, we won't have any problems!"
Gradually, they both discerned something—those two... were flirting?
Peng Jin's suspicions vanished. He laughed with a "pfft."
"Old Lai, in my view, our estate master is just imagining ghosts from suspicion. Look at Steward Yang, where's any intention of inspecting our Feng'an Estate? He's clearly found an excuse to bring his lover down the mountain for a tryst."
Lai Gulu laughed, "Isn't that perfect? As long as he doesn't make trouble for us, then everyone's happy. Serve this master well, send him packing quickly, and all will be well."
Yang Can's methods, used on modern young girls, would be less effective than using his good looks to seduce them but in this era, dealing with someone like Qingmei who was a blank slate emotionally, she had no defenses at all.
With Yang Can's silver tongue, Xiao Qingmei was soon blushing in defeat.
Forget being willful, now she didn't even dare respond to Yang Can's words.
Listening made her ears hot and heart pound. Who could stand this?
Yang Can also knew when to stop. Today he'd already opened her heart. Tomorrow, wouldn't he be able to open even more?
Yang Can said, "Come, let's go look over there."
Yang Can called over Lai Gulu and Peng Jin, walking toward a farming household ahead that was plowing.
They were tenant farmers of Feng'an Estate, using one of Zhang Yunyi's plow oxen.
Of course, the ox wasn't lent for free. At harvest time, the cost would be calculated into the rent.
Yang Can was just wandering around, deliberately lulling Zhang Yunyi into complacency but as he approached, seeing the plow pulled by the old ox, Yang Can suddenly felt it seemed somewhat different from the plow in his memory.
Yang Can observed carefully for a long time, then suddenly reacted.
So the plow shaft was straight, no wonder it always seemed somewhat clumsy. Even the ox pulled it with difficulty.
Peng Jin asked with a smile, "Steward Yang, are you interested in farming?"
Yang Can frowned slightly, "Supervisor Peng, you don't know. I've studied quite miscellaneously and have dabbled somewhat in the hundred crafts and mechanical arts. This is indeed my first time watching plowing, but in my observation, the plowshare the ox pulls in the fields is too crude and cumbersome. Deep plowing is especially difficult."
After hearing this, Peng Jin felt somewhat disdainful inside. You, a scholar who doesn't work with your hands or distinguish the five grains, understand farming? What are you pretending?
But he still smiled politely, "Steward Yang is right. Farmers tilling the soil, scraping food from the earth, truly not easy."
Lai Gulu said proudly, "But though this plow is cumbersome, it's already the best farming implement available. Those households without even a plowshare simply can't till such large fields. Our Feng'an Estate has plowshares and oxen. The tenant farmers suffer much less."
As they arrived, some weather-beaten, dark-skinned tenant farmers had already gathered over.
These common people didn't dare get too close. They just bent at the waist, standing to the side with forced smiles.
Both the estate head and field supervisor had come, and they were so respectful to this young gentleman. This young gentleman must be an even greater personage. How dare they not show respect?
Hearing Peng Jin's words now, several farmers quickly smiled and agreed, constantly nodding and bowing.
Yang Can pondered, "All people in the world depend on food for survival. And the source of food lies first in agriculture. 'A craftsman who wishes to do good work must first sharpen his tools'—Supervisor Peng, you should understand this principle. Since this plow is clumsy, has no one thought to improve upon the agricultural implements our ancestors invented?"
Lai Gulu couldn't help but laugh with a "pfft."
Realizing his breach of etiquette but not knowing how to recover, Lai Gulu's old face flushed red.
Yang Can didn't mind, but turned with great interest to an old craftsman nearby and asked, "What does Master Iron think?"
"Iron Elder" was a relatively polite and refined form of address for blacksmiths.
This old craftsman was called Li Yue. Most of the estate's farm tools were made by him.
The plow currently in the field was one he'd just finished making and delivered.
Li Yue shook his head, "Reporting to the great master, this small one's craft was passed down from ancestors. This small one dares not be careless in work, but only strives to make tools sturdy and durable. As for improving agricultural implements... this small one has no such ability."
Yang Can smiled, "Just now watching these farmers plow, I suddenly had some insights. I'd like to improve this plowshare."
Everyone looked completely astonished. With Yang Can's scholarly, refined temperament, they really couldn't connect him with agricultural implements.
Xiao Qingmei stared with her large bright eyes, looking at Yang Can worriedly.
You just don't want to be sunburned on the field ridge, but don't make up such excuses!
If you can't produce anything later, won't you be secretly laughed at?
Yang Can said, "However, though I have ideas in mind, I'd need to rely on Master Iron to actually make it. If we can truly forge an agricultural implement that benefits the people, you and I could leave our names in history."
This iron-working old craftsman, when in his life had he ever had such grand aspirations?
Yang Can's enormously large pie knocked him dizzy, leaving him speechless for a moment.
Hearing this, Lai Gulu was secretly delighted.
He didn't believe this Steward Yang who'd never touched mud could improve any agricultural implements. However, if Yang Can truly became obsessed with this matter, wouldn't he have no time to make trouble for Feng'an Estate?
Lai Gulu quickly flattered enthusiastically, "Steward Yang, if you can truly improve the plow, that would be tremendous merit! Old Li, what are you standing there dazed for? With such a heaven-sent opportunity, won't you wholeheartedly cooperate with our Steward Yang!"
Lai Gulu gave Peng Jin a look. Peng Jin understood and immediately stepped forward to sing praises as well.
Yang Can was young after all. With Lai Gulu and Peng Jin's flattery, he seemed somewhat carried away.
He pulled Li Yue along and said excitedly, "Come, let's go back now. I'll explain my ideas, and please trouble Master Iron to help examine them."
Yang Can stopped wandering around, pulling Blacksmith Li back to the village and heading straight to Li's smithy.
As soon as Yang Can arrived at the smithy, he pulled Li Yue to squat under the big jujube tree in the courtyard, using a branch to sketch in the sandy soil.
Yang Can didn't study agricultural implements, so naturally he couldn't immediately draw an accurate curved-shaft plow. However, just knowing this name, he could roughly understand its difference from the straight-shaft plow.
Moreover, Yang Can had seen pictures of curved-shaft plows online.
Drawing something "more or less right" was still achievable.
Blacksmith Li had practical experience, while Yang Can could draw something "more or less right."
This way, how to combine and match the various components, how to assemble and construct them—Blacksmith Li could quickly identify problems and think of solutions.
Discovering he was truly useful, Blacksmith Li's confidence also surged.
For a time, Steward Yang and Blacksmith Li, speaking back and forth, threw themselves completely into designing improved agricultural implements, utterly absorbed.
Lai Gulu and Peng Jin had successfully bamboozled Yang Can but the two of them became very bored as a result.
The smithy's tea was poor, brewed with jujube tree leaves, coarse tea that numbed the tongue but they couldn't leave either. Who knew if this Yang Can was playing the fool to catch the wise?
What if they just left and Yang Can went around inquiring about things?
If Yang Can discovered Feng'an Estate's hidden fields and hidden households, that would be trouble.
Qingmei similarly had nothing to do, but she didn't feel bored, because Yang Can was here.
Blacksmith Li's wife brought Qingmei a winnowing basket of dried jujubes.
Qingmei sat under the jujube tree, picking the plumpest-looking dates. While eating, she watched Yang Can and Blacksmith Li discuss matters intently.
Earlier, Yang Can's teasing had made her heart flutter, filled with shy joy, both fearing Yang Can would speak and wanting to hear him speak.
Now, having quieted down, she sat alone to the side, just quietly watching that handsome, focused man.
In Qingmei's heart, an indescribable feeling slowly welled up.
It was an indescribable stirring that made her both flustered and full of anticipation.
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