The Farm Life Of a "Fool"

Chapter 46

When Xu Ran returned from the town, he noticed that the people in the village were staring at him in a strange way. He had returned from the village's entrance. After seeing this scene, he decided that in the future, he should take the road from the village's back.

He hadn't expected so many people to gather in front of his house, and they were all there to watch the show.

Xu Ran waited outside the crowd for a long time but was not able to squeeze in. Just then someone shouted, "Xu Ran is back."

Everyone's attention turned to him, and Xu Ran at last was able to walk to his yard under everyone's gaze.

In the courtyard, Liu Tong, Mr. Hu and the two children were present. Xu Ran pouted his lips at the crowd outside and asked Liu Tong, "Tongtong, what's happening there?"

Liu Tong grinned helplessly, "I'm not sure who spread the word that our family has invited a senior man who knows how to grow strawberries to live with us. As a result, they came to see him outside the house as well as to the fields to see the freshly planted strawberry seedlings. I can't chase them away because they didn't say anything and just looked at me."

Xu Ran took a brief glance outside and discovered that the crowd was devoid of malice. They just kept looking at Mr. Hu, who didn't seem to mind being mistaken for a monkey. He was currently sitting in the chair, closing his eyes and enjoying himself. (monkey; as in someone who grabs the attention of the crowd, if you've seen a monkey performs on streets it kinda illustrates like that but not exactly.)

Suddenly, a voice came from the crowd, "Xu Ran, I heard that the ten mu of land you just bought was all used to plant strawberries, right?"

Xu Ran nodded, "Yes, it's indeed for strawberry planting. May I ask what it is about?"

Seeing that Xu Ran had answered him, the man asked again, "Then did you invite this old man back to help you plant strawberries?"

Xu Ran nodded, "Yes."

"Then how much do you pay him a month?"

Xu Ran rolled his eyes and said to himself, 'What does it have to do with you how much money I give him?'

After a pause, Xu Ran replied, "Well, this is my family affair. I am sorry I can't say anything more. If you have nothing to do here, please go back first! We'll still have something to do."

The words "family affair" effectively stopped that individual from asking any more questions, and it was not good for him to do so. After all, they had nothing to do with any of it.

People who were just having a good time began to scatter when they heard this. However, some of those who refused to give up returned after the crowd had withdrawn. They went on to ask Xu Ran more pertinent questions. All of this left Xu Ran speechless. He attempted to send them all away with unannounced responses. He really didn't want to pay attention to these people. They were too boring. And at the moment, it was a busy farming time.

After all the people outside left at last, Xu Ran apologized to Mr. Hu. The old man, however, did not mind it, "But Xu Ran, they just came to watch the fun and they didn't disturb me. Don't take it to heart."

Xu Ran nodded to show that he understood it.

Now that Liu Tong was preoccupied with matters at home, Xu Ran needed to focus on reviewing the books and preparing for the imperial examination. He intended to complete the exam in one sitting. After all, no one enjoyed taking the exam several times. It was a long and exhausting process.

All of the strawberry planting work on the ten mu of land was finally completed on February 14th. The strawberry plants from Mr. Hu's place were obviously insufficient. Fortunately, Xu Ran had obtained many strawberry seedlings from various locations, and they all proved to be extremely useful. Besides, Qin Shuwu had also helped to get some seedlings from other places, too.