Tian Sangsang paid no attention to the various stares around her; all her focus was on the little boy in her arms. Tilting her head, she looked at his tiny, palm-sized face and asked, "Yanyan, are you full from breakfast?"
The mother and son had only shared some watery porridge in the morning—so thin it was almost like plain water, without even a single bite of pickled side dish to go with it. Thinking about this made Sangsang's heart ache. Look at her son. Previously, when he was being raised by his great-grandmother, it couldn't be said he ate extravagantly, but at least he was never hungry. His little face used to look like a steamed bun, soft, white, and tender, showing his baby fat. But now that he was with her, he had noticeably slimmed down. Thankfully, he had not yet reached the point of being gaunt and sickly.
"Very full!" Meng Shuyan nodded vigorously, though in truth, he wasn't that full. Perhaps worried that she might catch on, he added with conviction, "Not even a little bit hungry! But… Mommy, you didn't eat enough…"
"Mommy's not hungry either." Sangsang smiled faintly, her eyes misting over, bittersweet emotions welling up inside her.
She swore to herself that one day, someday, when she became capable, she would fatten her son up into a proper little dumpling.
Completely clueless about the "dumpling plan" awaiting him, Meng Shuyan obediently nestled into Sangsang's embrace.
Tian Sangsang's father used to have his own plot of land. However, after her father's passing and given her mother's overly soft nature, the land was taken away, and she had no choice but to endure it in silence.
So now, the land they tilled belonged to her maternal grandmother's family. Her grandfather had passed away early, leaving her grandmother to live alone. Her grandmother didn't have many children—just Sangsang's mother. The family wasn't abundant in relatives; misfortune had struck during a famine long ago, and many perished from hunger. Back then, after the family divided their assets, Tian Sangsang's father's house ended up close to her grandmother's, with their fields not far apart either.
Looking at the vast, lush fields stretching before her, Tian Sangsang felt a surge of happiness. She placed her son down and patted his head. "Yanyan, you sit here and watch. Next up, just watch Mommy do her magic~"
The fields before them were indeed lush. The sweet potato vines were verdant and full of vitality, which meant she could pick some to stir-fry for lunch. At least there'd be vegetables to eat by noon. But… there was no rice! Last time, there had still been some flour left. Flour dumplings—good for one meal, tiresome for two. But there was no other choice; they'd just have to make do.
Once Sangsang decided on something, she wasted no time. Rolling up her pants, she exposed her dark, dirt-covered calves. There was no helping it… her legs were unsightly now. Fortunately, at least she didn't have long leg hair.
She picked up her hoe and began carefully digging for peanuts. Very cautiously, she loosened the soil around a peanut plant, and only when she spotted the white peanuts dusted with soil did she slowly lift them out of the ground.
In the past, people in her village harvested peanuts as a team, splitting the workload. One person would use a hoe to loosen the soil for an entire row of peanut plants; the other would come behind to pick up the peanuts, shake off the dirt, and place them in a wooden basket. Then they'd bring the baskets home to their courtyard to further clean and process the peanuts.
Every few minutes, Sangsang would pause her work to check on her son nearby, worried about him wandering off or getting lost. Turning back to her work, she surveyed the acre upon acre of land stretching before her. Around her were more fields nestled amidst green mountains and flowing water. Some farmers were already hard at work in their fields. Times weren't what they used to be. Nowadays, families only needed to hand in public grain provisions twice a year. Everything else they harvested was their own. This gave farmers plenty of motivation to work hard.
The sun gradually climbed higher. After finishing one row of peanuts, Sangsang was ravenous, her stomach growling incessantly. She wiped the sweat off her brow and gave her waist a couple of thumps to ease the ache. Her portly figure wasn't built for physical labor—just a bit of work left her winded and exhausted. Especially without any food to replenish her energy, her layers of fat were nothing but deadweight.
Sangsang decided to collect the peanuts she'd already dug up before continuing. Turning around, she spotted a tiny figure nearby, busy picking up peanuts. He was so short that the basket he worked to fill practically towered over him. Standing under the sunlight, his small figure cast an even smaller shadow. He picked up each peanut, calmly shook it clean, and then raised his little hands high to place it in the basket.
"Yanyan, what are you doing?" Sangsang put down her hoe and walked over to him, squatting down and looking him squarely in the eyes. "Put that down. You don't need to do this. Go sit down."
"Mommy, look, I did all of this. Isn't it okay?" The little one blinked his big eyes, gesturing at the peanuts gathered in the basket.
The peanuts were neatly placed, but Sangsang only gave them a brief glance before pulling a long face. "You're so small. What if you injured yourself doing this?" Her soft, tender child—she wanted nothing more than to pamper and spoil him. How could she let him work in the fields?
Hoping for some praise, Meng Shuyan found none. He lowered his voice and said, "I know how to do it. I've helped Great-Grandma before. Mommy, I really can do this."
"I know you can…" Sangsang's eyes grew hot with unshed tears. "But you don't need to do these kinds of things."
"I just want to help..." Meng Shuyan dropped his head, his eyes losing their sparkle. "Mommy, just let me help. Sitting around is really boring."
Sangsang ruffled his hair, her voice adopting a coaxing tone. "How about this—why don't you go play with the dog at Grandma Zhong's house? Don't you always love playing with him? That way, you won't be bored."
Shuyan abruptly lifted his little head and shook it twice. "I don't want to play. I want to stay with Mommy."
Sangsang knew her son's earnest desire to help, and though it tugged her heart, it also made her want to scold him. A kid being too sensible for his own good wasn't so great either.
But when her gaze fell on his teary peach-blossom eyes, his little pouty mouth, and his pitiful puppy-like expression… well, selling cuteness was hardly fair play. Her heart softened.
"Give Mommy a kiss." Sangsang pointed at her cheek.
The little guy leaned in, giving her cheek a loud smack, his tiny face reddening slightly.
"Fine, you win!" Sangsang squeezed his chubby cheeks, instructing him in a half-joking tone, "But you have to treat labor as play. Take it slow, no need to rush! We don't care about the quantity, just the quality. Mommy doesn't mind if you do a little or a lot, okay… preferably a little~~~"
"But I want both quality and quantity," Meng Shuyan mused seriously, nodding as he answered.
"Good boy! You've got ambition." That kind of goal-driven attitude, balancing quality and quantity, was something Sangsang deeply appreciated. She felt a surge of pride. Her son had potential!
Sangsang squatted down to harvest peanuts alongside Meng Shuyan. After collecting nearly everything except for four or five plants, she picked up her hoe to continue digging. Meanwhile, Shuyan had turned this into a playful competition with her. However, given his tiny hands, legs, and overall smaller size, he couldn't possibly keep up with Sangsang.
Watching the last few peanut plants still left on the ground, Meng Shuyan felt like crying. He genuinely wanted to help but longed to grow up faster!
"Ah, well, who do we have here? Tian Sangsang, is that you? The one who can't even be bothered to fart if prodded? And now, you're actually out in the fields working? Am I seeing this right? Did the sun rise from the west today? Nope, doesn't seem like it."
Sangsang looked over and saw a pale young man standing by the edge of the field. His neatly-combed hair and glasses made him look deceitfully refined.
This guy was none other than Zhou Zheng.
A flame of anger burned in Sangsang's chest. This was the man who had thrown a rock at her head. She stared him down, taking in his appearance and burning it into her memory. She had no intention of acknowledging him. There's a saying: "Reckon with you after the harvest." After all, no one would believe her now anyway.