Ma Jing continued, "We were the ones who cleared the fields, Xiaohua, did you know that? Clearing fields is exhausting. We were worked till a layer of skin peeled off. Oh, have you ever cleared fields? Hmm, you're so young, so surely you haven't. You probably don't know how hard it is. The cold wind howled, snowflakes drifted, and our hands were frozen till they cracked. Look, my fingers still haven't healed. Whenever the wind blows or rain falls, my bones ache faintly from within."
Watching Ma Jing gesture wildly, Zhang Xiaohua both wished he could kick his mouth to pieces so he would hurry up and spill the rest, and feared Ma Jing would stick those fingers in front of his face for him to see. He did not dare approach, inwardly sneering, His hands cracked from frost, and even his bones were injured? Heaven knows what Ma Jing is made of.
Seeing that Ma Jing still meant to carry on, Zhang Xiaohua hurriedly said, "Brother Ma, I've done field-clearing work too. It really is exhausting. Um, you should keep talking about the medicinal fields."
"Ahem, oh, so you've cleared fields before. Then you must know the bitterness of it." Ma Jing smiled and continued, "After we cleared the fields, they chased us away and wouldn't let us get close. Hall Master Bai of the Medicine Hall and Elder He personally planted the medicinal herbs seeds. After they were planted, we thought they would hand the fields over to us to tend. You know, Zhang Xiaohua, these had to be rare treasures among medicinal herbs. If we tended them well, the supervisors would surely look upon us with favor and give us a raise. Once our monthly pay went up, life would improve, right? Then I'd surely earn lots