Convincing the Parents

Chen Mo and his father were walking when Chen Mo realized the path seemed wrong; this wasn't the way to their family's fields.

"Dad, this isn't the path to our family's fields, is it?" Chen Mo asked, a little surprised.

"Mm," Father Chen Jianguo replied, his voice a bit low.

"Dad...?" Chen Mo called out.

"We'll talk when we get to the field," Father Chen Jianguo said.

Hearing his father speak like that, Chen Mo could only refrain from asking further questions for the time being. He knew his father's personality; he was a kind but somewhat stubborn farmer, and at home, his father had the final say in everything. So, Chen Mo could only keep quiet.

After walking a short distance along the foot of the mountain and crossing a small stream, they arrived at the northwest corner of the village's hillside land. This was considered the innermost part of the village, about several hundred meters from the village road. Turning along a cliff and following the mountain road for a few kilometers would lead to Qinggang Village.

"We're here!" his father said.

Chen Mo looked around and found that this was the land closest to the foot of the mountain in the village. Compared to the land by the main road before, the transportation was a bit inconvenient, but fortunately, the land was basically the same. However, because it was the area closest to the mountain base and the innermost part of the village, and then continuing along the dirt road for a stretch, it was all wasteland and mountainous terrain.

"Dad, this is..." Chen Mo pointed to the field and asked.

"Mm, last year, due to the village planning a batch of residential land, they took 50 meters from all the fields south of the road. Our family's fields were also within the scope of requisition. After the exchange and adjustment, all 10 mu of land here were allocated to our family. You weren't back last year, so I didn't tell you," Father Chen Jianguo explained.

Chen Mo looked at the surrounding environment and couldn't say much. After all, compared to the previous fields, there wasn't a significant difference. The only issue might be the transportation. Other than that, it was actually closer to home. Moreover, at the foot of the mountain, the slopes were covered with the village's forest land, and a stream wound its way through, appearing and disappearing.

"This is good too, it's closer to home," Chen Mo replied with a smile and didn't say anything else. He picked up his hoe and started working.

"But, Dad, the land here must have been undeveloped before, right?" Chen Mo asked.

"Yes, that's why we got an extra four mu," his father replied.

"Then, beyond this, is all that land still undeveloped or something?" Chen Mo asked.

Father Chen Jianguo saw that Chen Mo was very curious about the family's land and found it a bit strange. He had never been this curious before.

His father pointed to their land and said, "Our land is the outermost one, so beyond our land is wasteland, abandoned for many years." He pointed to the west side of the field and said, "This side is 200 mu of wasteland that the village previously contracted to others. They only farmed it for a few years before it was abandoned. No one has contracted it since, and it's been left like this!"

"Why are you asking all this?" Father Chen Jianguo asked.

"Oh! Just curious and wanted to ask!" Chen Mo smiled and replied.

Chen Mo knew that his parents and two brothers used to have a total of 6 mu of land. There were originally two mu for his sister, but after she got married, the village took them back, leaving only 6 mu. Although they now had 10 mu through the exchange, it was definitely not as good as the previous 6 mu of cultivated land. However, it had been a year since the allocation, so there was no point in dwelling on it anymore.

The father and son didn't say much more. They tidied up the field and weeded. After working until noon, they were basically done. They were planting spring wheat, which was sown in spring and harvested in summer, followed by corn. They used crop rotation to alleviate the pressure on the land. The spring wheat would be ready for harvest around late August or early September.

Father Chen Jianguo was a man of few words, not talking much and just focusing on his work. As a result, the two of them worked very quickly.

In fact, if it were in the past, farming ten mu of land would have been exhausting. Ten mu was already the limit of a farmer's labor, possibly requiring the help of livestock. However, rural areas had improved significantly more than ten years ago. For both spring planting and autumn harvest, there were people who operated agricultural machinery to take on the work. For a fee, the land could be plowed and sown. The remaining tasks were easier ones like watering, fertilizing, and weeding. During harvest, agricultural machinery would come again for unified harvesting and packaging. The farmers' job was to drive a walking tractor and haul the packaged grain from the fields home to dry and store, or to sell it directly to buyers.

After finishing their work, the two returned home, one after the other. They had worked in the fields in the morning, and in the afternoon, they basically didn't need to go to the fields.

After lunch, Chen Mo told his parents he was going out for a walk. He mainly wanted to check out the wasteland near the mountains and places like Gourd Valley, where he used to play as a child. He spent the entire afternoon wandering around and took many photos with his phone.

Chen Mo's old family home was located here. Several neighboring houses were also old brick houses, very dilapidated and uninhabited, giving a desolate impression.

To the west of the old house were 200 mu of farmland, but it had been idle for a long time and was overgrown with grass. About a hundred meters north of the old house was a hillside covered with bushes and sparse trees. When he was home before, the hillside was contracted for fruit tree cultivation, but for some reason, perhaps due to losses, the fruit trees were all cut down after a few years, which was a great pity.

To the east of the old house, and in front of the main gate, was a rural dirt road, about 6 to 7 meters wide. Beyond that were tens of mu of wasteland and gently rolling hills. This dirt road used to be the main road in the village. One end connected to the newly built provincial highway less than a kilometer away, and the other end led to the foot of the mountain, where it became a small mountain path directly entering the mouth of Gourd Valley.

The entrance to Gourd Valley was not far from the northeast corner of the old house. Inside was a relatively large valley, but its shape resembled a gourd, so the locals called it Gourd Mouth. Chen Mo had played here a lot as a child.

The valley inside Gourd Mouth was all wilderness. A small stream flowed through the middle of the valley, exiting the valley mouth and heading southeast. It meandered along the mountain hollow, eventually running parallel to the provincial highway, turning around a large mountain hollow, and heading towards another village at a three-way intersection called Li Ying Village. One road from the mountain fork led to the town, connecting to the main route to the county and the urban area. Another road passed through Chen Family Village and led to Qinggang Village.

After entering through Gourd Mouth, the terrain became less expansive within a few kilometers, directly turning into undulating mountains of various sizes. Further in, one would enter the Qinling Mountains, but the mountain paths were treacherous, and no one lived there.

People used to live inside Gourd Valley, but they were all relocated more than ten years ago to the planned residential area in front of Chen Mo's old house. No one lived there now. The entire Gourd Valley, including the slopes on both sides and the valley floor, covered about ten thousand mu. However, it was difficult to develop, and there were no particularly good scenic spots, so no one had contracted it for development yet.

Chen Mo walked around the old house and Gourd Valley. To return home and contract land, one naturally needed to be prepared and conduct practical investigations before making any rash decisions.

By the time he returned home, it was time for dinner. His parents didn't ask anything, and the family of three sat around the dinner table.

After dinner, Chen Mo pulled his father and mother into the main hall of the house, wanting to discuss his plans with them.

"You're saying you don't want to work in the city anymore?" Father Chen Jianguo lit a cigarette. Hearing his son's intention to return to the village to farm, he fell silent for a moment.

"Dad, the job market for university graduates is very competitive now. My major is Biology, so it's not easy to find a matching job. That's why I want to return to the village to farm," Chen Mo said.

"Absolutely not! Your father and I sent you to school so you could leave the land and live a comfortable life in the city, not so you could go to university and then return to be a farmer with your hands in the dirt!" Father Chen Jianguo said angrily.

"Dad! Listen to me first." Chen Mo gathered his thoughts and continued, "My major is Biology, so I researched a high-tech farming technique at school and want to try it out at home."

"High-tech farming? I've been farming my whole life, and this is the first time I've heard of high-tech farming," Father Chen Jianguo said.

"Dad, don't look down on high-tech farming. Didn't the village introduce economic crops a few years ago for side businesses? Didn't the technicians from the agricultural technology station provide technical support?" Chen Mo said.

"Nonsense! The introduced peach trees were all cut down by the village and burned for firewood. What a load of crap, high-tech," Father Chen Jianguo said dismissively.

"Dad, won't you just let me try? What if it works?" Chen Mo looked his father in the eyes and said firmly.

His father didn't speak, just kept smoking.

"Her husband, what do you think about this...? Maybe we should let the child try!" Chen Mo's mother, Fu Huili, seeing her son give her a look, couldn't help but chime in.

"What about your studies?" Father Chen Jianguo was worried about Er Wa's studies. He had finally gotten into university, and now he wanted to come back to farm, which made him feel heartbroken.

"My studies are complete. In a few more months, after submitting my thesis, I can apply for my graduation certificate!" Chen Mo said truthfully.

His father nodded but said nothing. He just took out a cigarette, lit it, and smoked it in silence.

"Her husband, say something!" Mother Fu Huili waited for a while, getting anxious, and urged him.

"If you want to come back and farm, and do experiments, that's fine with me! But you know the family's situation, so don't expect us to pay for it!" Father Chen Jianguo said.

Chen Mo said with a smile to his mother, "Mom, thank you. If you hadn't interjected, Dad definitely wouldn't have agreed."

"Coming back to farm is the path you've chosen, don't regret it." Mother Fu Huili wasn't entirely sure if her child could stick with it, so she could only say this.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely surprise you." Chen Mo said.

"Sigh! How much money do you have? If it's not enough, the family still has some!" Father Chen Jianguo had just been talking about the family not having money, but seeing his child had made up his mind to come home and farm, he had nothing more to say. He could only support him. After all, he was his own child; if he didn't care, who would?