Chapter 9 — The Farming Diary of Thien Kim Trillion

Then my mother said: "You must be hungry after coming this far, wait a minute! Come in and make me something to eat!" Having finished speaking, she hurried back into the yard. There were only me and Tham Van Vu left, facing each other across a camping tent that had just been set up. I've given up.

“Tham Van Vu, what you do is meaningless.” I crossed my arms.

“I find it very meaningful.” He took out Evian mineral water and small packaged salads from the cooler.

“Nguyet Nguyet, have you eaten anything yet? I have spaghetti salad, I want—”

"I've eaten it! Grilled sticky rice cake with pig's feet! A hundred times more delicious than your grass and leaves!" I stomped my foot.

He paused for a moment, looked at the salad box in his hand, pouted, mumbled: "Ah, I ate grilled pork leg..." His face showed pain, he lowered his eyes, even wiped his eyes, looking extremely pitiful. Who wants to love you! Can I take you out to eat tomorrow? Rumors in the village spread as quickly as 5G waves. I just glanced over and saw Aunt Tu Hue walking over carrying a pot of hairy beans. His eyes were like headlights scanning from the luxury car to the tent.

"Hey, Nguyet Nguyet, who is that? Why are you camping in front of my house like that? Did you run away? You look so handsome."

Me: “……” Run away from her head! Before he could open his mouth, Tham Van Vu smiled politely: "Hello, I am Nguyet Nguyet's fiance, my name is Tham Van Vu. First time meeting, thank you for taking care of her." Becoming a fiance again?! Who agrees? Who! Aunt Tu Hue let out an "oh~~" sound, her eyes glanced back and forth between the two of us, her face filled with anticipation for drama.

"Are people from the city coming? Looking at it, you know it's not suitable for our countryside. What, Nguyet Nguyet is about to follow you back to the city to enjoy happiness? So who will inherit Uncle Bao Quoc's mulberry growing career?"

She deliberately hit the sore spot! I immediately objected: "Who told you to go back to the city! You grow strawberries here! If you don't grow them, you'll change your name!" Tham Van Vu looked at me, then looked at her: "I don't intend to take her away, I came to support. Growing strawberries is also a technique, very good." Aunt Tu Hue pouted: "Sounds good, how many people who have never touched spring water yet want to work as farmers? Just don't uproot the mulberry tree into a weed!"

“I…” I was about to argue but someone interrupted.

Tham Van Vu smiled: "How can anyone be born knowing anything? Like you, are you born knowing how to tease people? Or are you a natural farmer who knows how to hold a hoe when you fall to the ground?"

“B…b…what are you talking about!”

“I'm just telling the truth.” Tham Van Vu stood up, tall and imposing.

"Nguyet Nguyet wants to learn, I'll study with her. She doesn't know yet, I'll look up the documents. If you have experience, we'd like to learn. If you don't, please stay away, I'm researching the pH of the soil."

Aunt Tu Hue's face was as red as pig liver, she picked up the bean pot and turned away. I felt very happy, but on the outside I still snorted coldly.

"Why are you defending me? There is no relationship between us anymore. I still have to live in this village! Now that it's better, she hates me even more."

He still smiled gently: "I'm not defending you, I'm just researching the topic."

“The subject of his head!” I pointed out, "I studied finance! What's the point of growing strawberries!"

"I'm studying a double degree, majoring in agriculture, is that okay?" He blinked, "My father invested in a biotechnology company. Recently, he has been researching disease resistance genes in strawberries. I came to take samples. It's reasonable." but."

Me: “……” Okay, whatever you say is handsome!

12

So in "My journey as an independent woman with roots in the countryside"... appeared a reluctant stalker: her ex-boyfriend and current village friend - Tham Van Vu. He actually started living in a tent, but was also armed to the teeth. Laptops, portable soil testing equipment, even a mini weather station! Every morning at six o'clock, he knocks on my yard door on time: "Classmate Lam Tri Nguyet, let's go to the greenhouse." I opened the door with disheveled hair, my resentment heavier than a ghost.

“Tham Van Vu, the chickens in the village haven't woken up yet and you're already awake!”

“Birds get up early to eat worms, farmers get up early to pick berries.”

He gave me a thermos: "Hand-brewed coffee, helps stay awake." …There's also a bit of conscience. In the morning, I checked everything and everything was fine, but in the afternoon there was a problem. The seedlings suddenly withered and their leaves turned yellow. I was as angry as an ant in a hot pan: "Am I watering too much?" Or burning manure? Or sick?” Tham Van Vu squatted down, carefully picked up some soil, then looked at the back of the leaves: "Did I mix the organic fertilizer wrong?" Me: “…Probably not?”

“The instructions clearly state that each acre of field has a maximum of five kilograms, how much should I use?”

“…Eight kilograms?”

Tham Van Vu was speechless: "Do you grow strawberries or salt strawberries?" I'm about to cry: "What should I do now?"

“Change soil, dilute, increase ventilation.” He stood up, rolled up his sleeves, "What are you still doing there? Go get the shovel!”

The next three days, the two of us were like we were rescuing critically ill patients, taking care of each seedling one by one. I take care of digging and changing the soil, he takes care of preparing the nutrient solution. So tired that my back and shoulders hurt, my arms had blisters. Tham Van Vu is no better, his hair is as tangled as a crow's nest. I feel like his head is about to smoke. At night, I sat on the edge of the field munching on the baked potatoes my mother brought and gave one to him. He hesitated a bit then took it, imitated me peeling it, and took a bite.

“How does it taste?” I asked.

“…Very sweet.”

Suddenly I felt soft: "Hey, actually, you don't need to work so hard. Let's go back to the city, this place..."

“This place is very good.” He interrupted, looking at the distant village whose lights had turned on, "Sweet potatoes, the sky is full of stars, you..."

He stopped for a moment, "You looked so cute when you planted strawberries." My face was hot, I bowed my head and munched on the potatoes.