Loquat

News of Zhao Danshi and Li Ping filming videos spread through the whole village once again. It wasn't a holiday, and there was nothing much new going on in the village. Quite a few people came over to Zhao Danshi's house after getting off work in the fields, specifically to ask about it and join in the fun.

The video had already been filmed, and Zhao Danshi was not the type to hide things. If people wanted to see it, he generously showed it to them, asking where it might be inappropriate so he could improve it.

Seeing how open he was, the villagers said fewer sour things, replacing them with wave after wave of praise.

Men and women, young and old, everyone in the village liked coming over when they had free time to join the fun, watch Zhao Danshi's edited videos, and offer their critiques.

That afternoon, just after lunch, several more people came in together with grins on their faces to watch the video.

After they finished, Auntie Niu Hua could not stop sighing to the old man. "Your Danshi is far too handsome. I think he looks just like your wife did when she was young."

Despite working in the fields for so long, Zhao Danshi had not tanned at all. Once he changed clothes, he was every inch the graceful young gentleman again. Filming videos made him look like he was shooting an idol drama.

He had read a great deal and carried an air of refinement that the villagers lacked. The moment he stood among a crowd, he stood out like a crane among chickens.

The old man nodded proudly. "Of course. Yun Yun is the best-looking in our family."

A younger auntie asked Zhao Danshi enviously, "Danshi, were you born unable to tan, or did you put on some kind of sunscreen?"

"I was born unable to tan," Zhao Danshi said with a smile. "If I get too much sun, my face peels. Then the new skin grows back just as white."

"Oh, I was going to ask whether you had some secret recipe for being so fair. I wanted to use it on my daughter too."

The auntie who had come with her chimed in, "Your daughter just gets too much sun. Keep her covered up more, and she'll turn fair."

"This video really is interesting." Auntie Niu Hua smacked her lips and considered it carefully. "From the video, our village actually looks quite beautiful."

Zhao Danshi smiled.

Auntie Niu Hua stood hunched over at the back as she watched. "But looking like this, will anyone believe you're a farmer? Look at those people on television. Every single one is fair and tender, with such delicate skin. You can tell at a glance they don't do physical labor. It's fake as can be."

The old man nodded in agreement. "That's what I said too, but the two of them said it didn't matter."

Li Ping smiled. "Grandpa, what does it matter whether Danshi is tan or not? People aren't really watching to see him become a farmer. They watch because he looks good, because it's fun, because what he makes is pleasing to the eye, and because they get to see the countryside."

The old man shook his head. "What's fun about farming?"

"Farming itself isn't fun. What people want to see is pastoral life. What they pursue is that kind of atmosphere."

The old man fell silent. City people really were strange. Scraping out a living from the dirt was somehow pastoral life?

Zhao Danshi used his old Weibo account to post the video. He had run it for years, but it had barely any real followers; most were zombie accounts.

Their video was not long, just over six minutes. Its style was fresh, and it made their rural scenery look beautiful.

After carefully checking the video several times, Zhao Danshi asked Li Ping, "Senior Brother, there aren't any problems now, right? Can we put it online?"

Li Ping looked over and nodded decisively. "We can."

Zhao Danshi uploaded the video.

Afterward, he felt uneasy and could not stop refreshing the page to see whether there were any new comments or likes.

The old man held Dou Dou and came over to watch. Dou Dou stared wide-eyed at Zhao Danshi on the small screen, his eyes seemingly full of curiosity.

"Can this really help us sell vegetables?"

"Of course." Li Ping was certain. "When the time comes, not only vegetables—anything will be easier to sell."

The old man was half-convinced.

After two days, Zhao Danshi had only received two comments. One said, "Your hometown is so beautiful," while the other said, "You've started making self-media content?"

Zhao Danshi replied to both.

Li Ping glanced over and said, "Building up fame takes time."

Zhao Danshi knew he could not rush it either. "For now, this will do."

The work in the fields was not too busy. Every day, the two of them weeded, fertilized, and watered, their days leisurely yet fulfilling.

Zhao Danshi and Li Ping made arrangements and specifically set aside two days to drive Dou Dou to the city to see a doctor.

Dou Dou was about ready to start taking oral polio sugar pills, and it was also about time for him to receive the DTP vaccine, hepatitis B vaccine, Japanese encephalitis vaccine, and other shots. Ran Yuanyao had specifically reminded them.

As two first-time fathers, Zhao Danshi and Li Ping trusted large hospitals more and did not feel at ease going to the hospital in their county town.

Two days was enough time for them to make the round trip by car, with plenty of time to spare.

After taking Dou Dou to the hospital they had originally booked for his oral polio sugar pill, Zhao Danshi and Li Ping also brought little Dou Dou to an infant swimming center to play.

The infant swimming center used individual pools, though the shop had several of them. Four babies were already swimming.

Dou Dou was curious about everything. As Zhao Danshi and Li Ping held him and gently poured water over him in order under the instructor's guidance, he was not afraid at all. Instead, he gave delighted little laughs, his strong arms and legs constantly kicking and waving.

Seeing this, the instructor smiled. "Looks like our little one really likes swimming."

Once Zhao Danshi saw that Dou Dou had adapted somewhat, he supported his bottom and asked the instructor, "Do I just lower him in like this?"

The instructor nodded. "Yes. Lower him slowly. We'll watch his expression together, and if he doesn't adapt well, we'll take him out again."

Zhao Danshi rolled up his sleeves and slowly lowered Dou Dou into the water. The pool was kept at a constant thirty-eight degrees Celsius. Wearing a swim ring, Dou Dou soaked in the water, slapped at the surface with his little arms, and burst into another fit of laughter.

Zhao Danshi glanced at Li Ping and smiled. "Well, this little guy really does like water."

Dou Dou's entire body was submerged, with only his head above the surface. His strong little legs kicked beneath the water while his hands waved about, like a fallen leaf spinning in the current.

Zhao Danshi could not help laughing. He took out his phone and recorded Dou Dou's appearance.

Li Ping took out his phone too, but he was not filming. Instead, he immediately went online and ordered a two-meter-diameter inflatable pool for little Dou Dou. Their courtyard had room for it.

Babies could only swim for fifteen minutes at most. Once they took Dou Dou out, dried him off, and dressed him, he still seemed reluctant to leave, his eyes fixed on the swimming pool.

Li Ping tapped his little nose. "Stop looking. Daddy bought you a swimming pool. When we get home, you can keep swimming."

Whether Dou Dou understood or not, he opened his toothless mouth again, his eyes curving as he smiled silently.

The instructor had been introducing the benefits of infant swimming the entire time, with the next step being to recommend a membership card. He had not expected Li Ping to say that. Wearing a helpless expression, he could only take them to pay.

Besides taking Dou Dou swimming, they also brought him to stroll through the park and ride a boat.

Dou Dou was captivated by all the new sights and remained excited the whole time. That night at the hotel, he unusually slept through the night without waking up in the middle of it to fuss.

Not long after they returned to the village, their pond application was approved. Since it was not the busy farming season, Zhao Danshi and Li Ping made inquiries and planned to hire an excavator operator to dig the pond.

There was an operator in their town whose family happened to run that sort of business. It cost eight hundred yuan per day, including both the man and the machine, with no additional charge.

Zhao Danshi agreed. The operator came to take a look and told Zhao Danshi that it could be dug out in around two days.

The pond mud behind their hill was relatively soft and had no large stones, so it would not be difficult to excavate.

It was the off-season, and business was slow. The excavator operator was happy to get this job and carefully dug a pond about one meter deep according to Zhao Danshi's requirements.

Zhao Danshi discussed it with Li Ping. "Senior Brother, how about planting some fruit trees by the pond?"

"Mm? What are you planning to plant?"

"How about loquats?" Zhao Danshi had thought it over. "Loquats need water and like fertilizer, so being near the pond will make irrigation convenient. The pond mud is fertile too. When we dredge it later, we can scoop up the mud and spread it beneath the loquat trees. Loquat trees have plenty of flowers, so we can keep a box of bees and harvest loquat honey then. When loquat flowers fall into the pond, the fish will have another source of food."

Li Ping smiled. "Since there are so many benefits, let's plant them. As for whether to keep bees, we'll have to discuss that separately. When Dou Dou gets older, he'll be running everywhere in a couple of years. If we keep bees, I'm afraid he might get stung."

"That works too. We'll cross bees off the list for now and plant the fruit trees first."

Once Zhao Danshi made up his mind, he and Li Ping mixed the mud excavated from the pond with plant ash and manure, piling it beside the pond.

The excavator operator worked for two and a half days in total. He collected two thousand yuan from Li Ping, and Zhao Danshi politely saw him off.

The pond dug by the excavator could not be used right away. Zhao Danshi and Li Ping still had to do some finishing work, leveling the bottom and reinforcing the banks.

It would be a waste not to film such good material. In between working, Li Ping specifically brought over the camera to film Zhao Danshi leveling the muddy pond and reinforcing its banks.

In just three or five days, the pond was completely finished. Zhao Danshi and Li Ping dug a small channel beside it and diverted running water from a nearby stream. Taking advantage of the opportunity, they planted a crop of deep-water lotus roots at the bottom of the pond. They could admire the leaves in spring, the flowers in summer, and harvest lotus roots in autumn, while also gaining more material for their videos.

The old man watched the two of them work. Once it was truly finished, he could not help clicking his tongue in amazement.

"You two really can endure hardship."

Zhao Danshi wiped away his stinking sweat and grinned brightly at the old man. "I already have Dou Dou, so of course I have to work harder."

Li Ping said mildly from beside him, "This much work hardly counts as hardship."

After washing his face and changing clothes, Zhao Danshi went to hold Dou Dou. He also asked the old man, "Grandpa, where should we buy fish fry? And what about loquat trees? I want to buy more than ten to plant by the pond, local loquats only."

The climate where they lived was rather cold, with temperatures falling below freezing for several days almost every winter. Ordinary loquat saplings might freeze to death if they were transported over.

"For fish fry, go ask Huayong. He knows a lot of people, so he should know. As for loquats, I know a few old fellows on the hills who sell them. I think Huazhi's mother's uncle grows quite a few loquats. I'll ask tomorrow."

Zhao Huayong did not disappoint. When Zhao Danshi went to ask him, he rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a business card. "The people from the hatchery already came once this year. You'll probably have to go buy them yourselves. This hatchery has good fish. It's been open for over ten years, and I've never heard anything bad about it. Call and ask whether they still have fish fry for sale."

"Okay, I'll call when I get home. Uncle, thank you."

"It's such a small matter. Why be polite?" Zhao Huayong smiled. "That pond you dug is really nice. It looks impressive. I heard you want to plant loquat trees beside it?"

"Yes, that's the plan. My grandpa just went to ask about saplings at Huazhi's mother's uncle's house this afternoon."

"They sell loquat saplings?"

"They do. Two-year saplings cost forty yuan, and three-year saplings cost sixty. I was just planning to have him deliver a few plants for me on the next market day."

"Oh, perfect. My family wants to plant some loquat trees too. Can you ask him to bring me two two-year saplings while he's at it?"