Juhua shared her thoughts with her parents and older brother, stressing, "My main concern is that you two will work yourselves to the bone. If we're as busy as this year from now on, you won't be able to take it. We'd be better off planting just one crop of rice, or only planting two or three mu of the late-season rice. We absolutely can't do what we did this year—planting two crops in all the fields."
Qingmu nodded. "We can't plant like this next year—even I'm feeling exhausted. Mom and Dad are getting older; I'm afraid they've just been forcing themselves to keep up, haven't they? Juhua is right. If we plant two or three mu of late-season rice, the summer harvest plus that will be more than enough grain for us. And even if we have extra, we shouldn't sell it. Storing some grain at home gives us more peace of mind."
He was still haunted by the times they didn't have enough to eat. Cornmeal was fine once in a while, but eating it for every meal was incredibly bland.
