Pregnancy

The luggage his boss had sent arrived soon enough. It had everything, from pots, pans, and utensils to pillows, mats, and blankets.

Zhao Danshi made a special trip to town to get an internet line installed, along with WiFi. It cost eighty-eight yuan a month for 100M. He tested it specifically; the download speed was around 12M, more than enough for daily use.

Seeing him like this, the old man knew he was determined to stay and farm. He might have grumbled to himself, but he did not hesitate when it came to helping his grandson prepare the fields.

The other villagers had also heard that Zhao Danshi was coming back to farm. Many came to gawk at the novelty, but few thought well of it.

Since Zhao Danshi planned to live in the village, he gathered plenty of information about it.

Quite a few people had moved away from their village. Only 262 households still had their household registrations there.

Among those 262 households, some entire families had gone out to work. Some had left behind elderly people and children, while a very small number of young and middle-aged couples remained home to look after their children.

The people who remained in the village were hardworking. They raised cattle and pigs, chickens and ducks.

After asking around, Zhao Danshi learned that raising livestock in the village was not very profitable. They had no channels for selling their goods and mostly sold them piecemeal, so their income was average. On top of that, their small-scale operations could not reduce costs, leaving them with little profit.

For the time being, Zhao Danshi had no plans to take the livestock route. His routine now was to work outside every morning and afternoon, then stay home at noon and in the evenings to take on design jobs.

The weeds in the fields had mostly died off. It was time to plow and ridge the land.

Zhao Danshi did not know how to plow, so he specifically hired someone from town. It cost three hundred yuan a day, with the man bringing his own diesel and machinery. Zhao Danshi's two-plus mu of land were finished in most of a day. Following village custom, he bought meat and liquor and treated the man to a meal.

When the man who had plowed the field heard that Zhao Danshi intended to farm, he smoked after the meal and advised him, "You were doing well in the city. Why come back to farm? Don't just look at how vegetables sell for two or three yuan per jin. The poor-looking ones can't be sold, and after deducting the costs of pesticides, fertilizer, and so on, there's not much left in hand."

The old man chimed in from the side. "Exactly. There are already quite a few people in the village growing vegetables."

Zhao Danshi could not tell outsiders that he had the Watcher as a cheat, so he could only smile. "I want to give it a try."

The plowman had seen plenty in his time. He clicked his tongue. "A lot of people around here grow vegetables. The competition's fierce, vegetables are hard to sell, and many farmers end up letting their crops rot in the fields. If you really want to grow them, you'd better plan ahead."

Zhao Danshi thanked him for the reminder and quietly decided to grow a wider variety of vegetables in smaller quantities. If things truly did not work out, he would open a Taobao store.

After the land had been plowed, Zhao Danshi hired a neighbor from the village, Brother Spoon, to help him make the ridges.

Spoon was one of the few young men left in the village. It was already autumn, and the rice, peanuts, and other crops had long been harvested. There was not much work in the fields, so when Zhao Danshi offered to pay him, he came.

Zhao Danshi worked and chatted with him at the same time, sweat streaming down them beneath the sun.

Brother Spoon asked, "Danshi, what are you planning to plant in all those mu of land you've plowed?"

"Some leafy greens, radishes, and tomatoes. In a couple of days, I'll put up a greenhouse and see if I can make it in time to sell vegetables for the New Year."

Brother Spoon could not help shaking his head at that. He sincerely advised, "Quite a few old folks around here grow vegetables specifically to sell during the New Year. There are only so many people in town. You might not be able to sell much if you wait until then."

Zhao Danshi smiled. "I know. I'll take them to the county town to sell. They should move faster there."

"The city's so far away. The vegetables might not even bring in more than the travel costs. Can you make any money?"

"It's fine. I'll try it first. If it doesn't work, I'll think of some other business next year."

Brother Spoon was a full generation older than him, and his son was already in middle school. Hearing that, he found it hard to say more, though he was certain Zhao Danshi would lose money this year.

The other villagers thought the same. Quite a few worried for him, while others watched him working in the fields with the mindset of waiting for a joke.

After finally getting the land ready, Zhao Danshi sought out the Watcher before sowing. They had already discussed it, and only after Zhao Danshi haggled for a long time did the Watcher agree to provide fertilizer at twenty units of Bio-Energy per kilogram.

Over the past few days, Zhao Danshi had secretly bought the Watcher all kinds of miscellaneous fruits and vegetables. After working himself to the bone, he had only managed to save up enough for one kilogram of fertilizer. Looking at the fertilizer that had appeared out of thin air in his hand, he deeply suspected he had been scammed.

The Watcher vowed, "Don't worry. This fertilizer is extremely effective. No matter what you grow, you'll definitely get a good yield. If your vegetables can't be sold when the time comes, just give them to me. I'll pay you the corresponding points."

Zhao Danshi did not believe it. "What use are those points to me?"

"You can buy things with them. You'll understand once the Marketplace opens in the future." The Watcher had never encountered such a difficult host. It specifically reminded Zhao Danshi, "The fertilizer I give you is good, but don't neglect the effects of other fertilizers when planting. And pesticides and the like—use them when needed."

"Fine, I know." Zhao Danshi had specifically read some books before, and with his grandfather helping him, he knew everything he needed to know. "Other than providing fertilizer, what else can you do for me during cultivation?"

"I can check on the plants' growth progress?" the Watcher said. "I have a scanning function. If you notice something wrong with a plant, I can examine it for you, and then you can treat the problem accordingly."

"For free?"

The Watcher said weakly, "Scanning requires Bio-Energy. I won't charge you an extra service fee, but you at least need to keep Bio-Energy ready for me."

Zhao Danshi was somewhat disappointed. "All right, deal."

With matters settled, both sides breathed a sigh of relief. With the Watcher helping him, Zhao Danshi felt there should not be any major problems with his vegetable farming.

The Watcher also felt that Zhao Danshi needed its help, so there would be more and more transactions in the future, and it would receive more and more energy. Perhaps in the end, without needing to seek outside help, the energy Zhao Danshi gained through trading alone would be enough for it to repair its body.

News of Zhao Danshi returning to the countryside to farm spread. Many classmates and friends asked him about it on WeChat. Zhao Danshi replied to them one by one, while also asking them to help introduce more jobs to him.

Ever since college, he had used every possible channel to earn money. He had paid for all his tuition and living expenses by himself, and everyone who knew him knew how resilient he was. Not many believed that he would fail this time just because he had returned to the countryside to farm.

Many people kindly introduced work to him, including some jobs that were particularly difficult or paid especially poorly.

Zhao Danshi had little room to be picky now. As long as a job was not too outrageous, he generally accepted it. In the end, his monthly income could stay at around four to five thousand yuan.

He did not need to pay rent or transportation costs at home, so his savings grew at roughly the same rate as when he had lived in the city.

Looking at the bank notifications he received every month, Zhao Danshi planned to save for another two years and see whether he could build a small house in the countryside.

The family courtyard was too old. The living conditions really were worse than other people's. The rooms were dark, damp, and cramped, worse than any room Zhao Danshi had ever lived in before.

No one disliked a big house. He wanted to work hard so his grandfather could live in a spacious, bright home too.

He only had a little over one hundred thousand yuan in savings. Building a house in the countryside would not cost too much, but he still needed to prepare at least one or two hundred thousand yuan. Besides construction, there would also be basic renovations and furniture.

After more than a month in the countryside, the weather gradually turned colder.

Zhao Danshi had brought enough clothes, and farming provided plenty of physical labor, leaving him in even better health than before. This seasonal change, he unusually did not catch a cold.

Just as he was celebrating that fact, he ate the old man's steamed fish at lunch one day. The moment the fish entered his mouth, it tasted bitter and dry, without any of its usual freshness. He could not help covering his mouth and ran outside to vomit.

The old man hurried after him, patting his back as he asked anxiously, "What's wrong? Did something get stuck?"

Zhao Danshi had not realized there was a problem yet. "Grandpa, was today's fish not fresh? Why does it taste so fishy and dry?"

"No," the old man said, baffled. "How could it not be fresh? I bought a live fish and cleaned it only ten minutes before putting it in the pot."

"That's impossible. It tastes off to me." When Zhao Danshi returned inside and smelled the fishy odor, he frowned and suppressed the nausea in his chest. He wanted to vomit again.

Seeing how miserable he looked, the old man reached out to feel his forehead, concern showing in his eyes. "Did you catch a cold?"

"Could that be it?" Zhao Danshi was not sure himself. "I feel fine. Other than being a little nauseous, I don't feel unwell anywhere."

"You definitely caught a cold. I'll make you some ginger soup." The old man headed for the kitchen.

Zhao Danshi drank more than half a bowl of scalding ginger soup, and the plate of steamed fish was removed. Looking at the dishes on the table, he still had no appetite.

The old man had no choice but to go into the kitchen himself and cook him some porridge, then stir-fry a plate of sour and spicy pickled vegetables.

Zhao Danshi did not manage to eat until after two o'clock. With the plain porridge and small side dishes, the nausea finally faded. He ate three large bowls of porridge in one go, then rubbed his stomach and sighed contentedly.

The old man found some cold medicine in the room and gave it to him. "Take some cold medicine first. If you still feel bad later, we'll go to the clinic."

Without thinking much of it, Zhao Danshi took the cold medicine and casually tore open the foil packaging.

To his surprise, the Watcher's somewhat flat voice suddenly sounded in his mind. "Don't take cold medicine. You're pregnant, not sick."

"What?!" Zhao Danshi shouted in shock. He sprang from his chair, his face turning pale.

Seeing him like that, the old man hurriedly asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

The Watcher said with certainty once more, "You're pregnant. This is morning sickness."

Zhao Danshi ran toward his room as though his backside were on fire, shouting as he ran, "It's nothing! I just remembered there's a design a client asked me to make that I haven't submitted yet. I'm going to submit it first, Grandpa. Eat by yourself!"

The moment he returned to his room, Zhao Danshi slammed the door shut. "If I remember correctly, I'm male, right?!"

He was a grown man. Pregnant, my ass!