Superpower Small Farmer

At the peak of Wang Xiaoqiang's excitement, suddenly the putt-putt sound of a tricycle could be heard coming from a distance and getting closer.

Turning around, he saw Huang Chunsheng from the village driving the family's motorized tricycle, with his wife Feng Yuexian seated beside him.

Huang Chunsheng and his brother, named Huang Qiusheng, were from a family not rich. Huang Chunsheng had dropped out of elementary school and, like Wang Xiaoqiang, had not gone out to work but had contracted fifty acres of farmland at home.

Huang Chunsheng's family's farm bordered that of Wang Xiaoqiang's.

Huang Chunsheng stopped the motorized tricycle at the edge of the field, and while he and his wife were unloading the water pump from the vehicle, he greeted Wang Xiaoqiang, "Little Qiang, the fields are so dry, they're almost on fire, why aren't you planning to water them?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaoqiang realized that the couple had come to irrigate the land.

In the sweltering heat, with no rain for half a month, the fields were indeed showing signs of drought. However, because of the abundant rain last time, the crops did not seem to be too water-deprived.

"What's the rush?" said Wang Xiaoqiang as he walked over to help unload the water pipe from the vehicle, "Maybe it'll rain in a couple of days!"

After Huang Chunsheng had unloaded the water pump and slapped the dust from his hands, he pulled out a pack of Red Flag Canal cigarettes that cost five yuan a pack, lit one, and while exhaling clouds of smoke, he condescendingly said to Wang Xiaoqiang, "Educated folk like you, always book smart but clueless about fieldwork. The corn seedlings right now are just like growing kids, they can't lack water for a moment, otherwise, they'll definitely not grow tall, and the yield will definitely be poor."

Having said this, Huang Chunsheng turned to his wife and smiled, appearing rather self-satisfied.

Wang Xiaoqiang responded disdainfully, "You make sense, but that seems a bit exaggerated..."

"Hey... how's my statement exaggerated?"

Huang Chunsheng thought he had made a very logical point and was showing off in front of his wife, but Wang Xiaoqiang was decidedly unimpressed, which embarrassed him and made him argue more intensely with Wang Xiaoqiang.

Speaking deliberately and slowly, Wang Xiaoqiang said, "You just compared the crops in the field to children growing bodies. Now let me compare the crop seedlings in the field to you and your brother Qiusheng. Chunsheng, you are the elder, three years older than your brother. From what I know, when you were kids, you always let Qiusheng have the better share of the food. So, it can be said that you definitely didn't eat as well as Qiusheng did when you were kids, yet you grew taller than him by half a head. Why is that?..."

Huang Chunsheng awkwardly smacked his lips, unable to reply.

Wang Xiaoqiang continued, "Although Qiusheng isn't as tall as you, he is stronger than you, similar to corn, where taller stalks don't necessarily mean bigger cobs!"

Indeed, as Wang Xiaoqiang said, the Huang family had always been not wealthy, especially when Chunsheng was young and lacked food and clothing. As the elder brother, he had to give way to his younger brother when eating. Yet, while his younger brother ate well, he did not grow as tall as Chunsheng who was taller but not as strong as his younger brother.

"Haha... makes sense!" Feng Yuexian, Chunsheng's wife, grinned, revealing two big buck teeth, her eyes gleaming as she looked at Wang Xiaoqiang, "It's different when you're educated, you know so much more!"

"Go on, stop laughing or I'll knock those big teeth out..." Overwhelmed by Wang Xiaoqiang's responses and seeing his wife siding with Wang Xiaoqiang with such admiration, Huang Chunsheng felt a rush of embarrassment and irritation, and sternly glared at his wife.

At her husband's stern look, Feng Yuexian immediately shut her mouth, although her big buck teeth still peeked out from her lips.

Huang Chunsheng, having intimidated his wife, thought he showed a manly demeanor as he exhaled a puff of smoke and said to Wang Xiaoqiang, "Little Qiang, go ahead and water. Your family doesn't have a water pump, and conveniently, you can use mine. In exchange, you help me water my crops, and I'll charge you less for using the pump. What do you think..."

Huang Chunsheng was a bona fide gambler. Whenever there was no urgent work in the fields, he was sure to be at the gambling table. His coaxing Wang Xiaoqiang to water the field was merely a ploy to get some help so he could finish up earlier and go gambling.

Unexpectedly, Wang Xiaoqiang shook his head and said, "I'd rather wait a bit!"

As he spoke, Wang Xiaoqiang walked toward his own fields.

"Hey... you..." After spending so much effort talking and seeing Wang Xiaoqiang's refusal, Huang Chunsheng felt a mix of depression and helplessness and muttered angrily, "Fine, let your crops die of thirst!"

Wang Xiaoqiang did not hear Huang Chunsheng's muttering. He went directly to his own field. Wang Xiaoqiang was also contracting over fifty acres of land, which were planted with autumn crops like corn, sesame, and soybeans.

Sesame and soybeans were drought-resistant, but corn was not. Under the scorching sun, the knee-high corn seedlings were curling their leaves, obviously suffering from drought.

Since he was contracting the land, his livelihood for the year depended entirely on these crops, and Huang Chunsheng's words weren't without reason. The current corn seedlings were most vulnerable to water shortage. However, he still wanted to wait. After all, contracting land was meant to make money, and watering wasn't cheap. If it rained within three days, he could save that expense.

Crouching at the edge of his own corn field, Wang Xiaoqiang gently stroked the slightly wilted and curling corn leaves, much like an old man affectionately stroking his grandson's head.

As his fingers glided over the smooth surface of the leaves, suddenly, that mysterious "object" inside him rushed again towards the palm of his right hand, releasing strands of cool air. This cool air emerged from his fingertips as five streams of black mist.

Although he had just experienced something similar, Wang Xiaoqiang still couldn't help feeling a mix of excitement and surprise. He stared wide-eyed, intently watching the five streams of black mist seeping from his fingertips into the leaves of the corn seedlings beneath them. Soon, the corn seedlings, which had been slightly curled due to the drought, stretched out as if they were luxuriating in a spring breeze and refreshing dew. They regained vitality and looked more lively than if they had been watered.

As the corn seedling under his hand revived, the five streams of black mist radiated outwards, centered on this corn seedling, striking the surrounding four corn seedlings, and from those, spreading further to another eight seedlings...continuing this way until all of Wang's corn seedlings, nurtured by the black mist, spread open their curled leaves, restored their vigor, and turned a fresh, lush green.

Wang Xiaoqiang looked up and saw that between the corn seedlings, all were connected by the black mist, forming a dense net of black lines, just like the fishing nets at home.

And the large net made of black mist only covered Wang's corn field, stopping precisely at the border with Huang's land. It conscientiously did not cross over, as if it understood the principle of "not letting the rich water flow into others' fields," just as one does not water a neighbor's field.

Seeing the corn seedlings irradiated with black mist, nourished by it, the corn seedlings unfolded their leaves, revived from their wilted state into robust vitality, looking verdant and vibrant.

Wang Xiaoqiang withdrew his hand, and the black mist connecting the corn seedlings instantly disappeared. In less than five minutes, the previously drought-stricken corn field had regained its vitality.

Watering the field like this? That was incredibly cool!

Delighted, Wang Xiaoqiang turned around, his gaze unintentionally falling on the young couple from the Huang Family busily working. The Huang's water pump was already running, and Huang Chunsheng and his wife, wearing rubber shoes, were laboring in the field under the harsh sun, visibly sweating profusely and evidently hard at work for more than two more hours under the sun.

Moreover, they had spent money and exerted effort, yet couldn't ensure that all the water in the pipe was watering their own field.

Seeing how hard the Huang couple was working, compared to himself, Wang Xiaoqiang laughed happily.