Digging small wells was useless, and digging deep wells was something the Wang family couldn’t afford, so they had to rely on the most primitive manual labor. In fact, there was another option: hiring people to carry water. In Bao’an Prefecture, a new profession had emerged—water carriers, who specialized in fetching water for others. At first, each load of water cost three copper coins, but now it had risen to twelve coins per load, and even then, they were hard to find.

Needless to say, this was an expense that The Bell Family was unwilling to pay.

The three of them worked until noon, all drenched in sweat. The Bell Family looked even older, Grace Bennett’s face grew paler, and her body seemed even more frail and small.

The three rested under the big locust tree at the edge of the field, eating some dry food and wheat cakes with cool water. Henry Carter said to Grace Bennett, “Grace, you don’t need to fetch water this afternoon. Stay here at the field’s edge and help mother harrow the land. I’ll take care of watering in the evening.”

Grace Bennett said, “Brother, you have to till the land during the day and fetch water at night. Isn’t that too much work?”

Henry Carter replied, “It’s fine. I’d just be idle at night anyway.”

Grace Bennett said, “Brother…”

Henry Carter frowned, “I told you not to fetch water, so don’t. Why so many words?”

Grace Bennett meekly agreed, but felt secretly happy inside.

The Bell Family, sitting nearby, said nothing, but felt comforted in her heart: “Not bad, this foolish boy is finally sensible, knows how to care for his own women.”

In the afternoon, the three continued working. Henry Carter drove the oxen to plow, while The Bell Family and Grace Bennett harrowed the land.

After leveling and preparing the soil, Grace Bennett went ahead to spread fertilizer, The Bell Family followed behind to sow seeds, and then they used the harrow to press the soil down. By the time the sun was setting in the west, Grace Bennett went home to make dinner, then hurried back with the meal, also bringing Henry Carter’s bow and spear. With bandits and marauders rampant these days, one couldn’t be too careful when alone in the wild!

The three of them still ate dinner at the edge of the field. After eating, The Bell Family and Grace Bennett went home, taking the oxen back to feed them, while Henry Carter stayed to continue fetching water. He made trip after trip, running back and forth, the moonlight spreading across the land, the empty fields faintly visible in all directions.

A wave of desolation welled up in his heart. Henry Carter stood there, lost in thought.

……

The next few days were spent continuing to plow, water, and sow seeds. It was several days of intense labor. People could keep working, but the oxen could not. Each ox could only plow two or three mu of land per day, and every three days needed a day of rest. Fortunately, the Wang family had rented two oxen from the village head Andrew Harris, so by rotating them, they managed to keep up the pace.

By the time all twenty-some mu of land were plowed, prepared, fertilized, and sown, it was already late August. But with all the fieldwork done, the whole family could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Farm work was exhausting, but it also built character. Henry Carter had become much darker, but his body was stronger and his gaze steadier. That saying was true: “When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it must first distress their mind, tire their muscles and bones, and starve their body!”

Henry Carter believed that the hard days would eventually pass.

……

On the twenty-fourth day of the eighth month in the seventh year of Chongzhen, Henry Carter returned to Jingbian Fort. The few people inside were the same as before, but now it was autumn planting season. Except for two women, everyone else was out seizing the farming season, only returning close to dusk.

When they saw Henry Carter, everyone’s gaze was strange. Thomas Bell snorted heavily, but he no longer dared to order Henry Carter around as before, only keeping a stern face and ignoring him, his narrow eyes occasionally flashing. David Miller’s health had improved a bit, but his front teeth were gone for good. When he saw Henry Carter, his gaze was inevitably resentful, but he only dared to mutter something under his breath, so quietly that even Henry Carter couldn’t make it out.

Brian Reed, Frank Howard, and several women in the fort all looked at Henry Carter with awe. When they greeted him, it was always “Buddy Carter,” sounding quite affectionate. John Grant was always circling around Henry Carter, like he had grown a tail behind him. Only Charles Grant still looked lazy as ever, but Henry Carter noticed that he would secretly observe him from time to time.

At dusk, everyone in the fort started fires to cook, and the smell of smoke filled the space within the walls. From what everyone ate, one could see their status in the fort.

The squad leader Thomas Bell and his wife ate white flour, while the rest of the garrison and their wives ate a small amount of sorghum and millet mixed with a large heap of wild vegetables. The Charles Grant brothers ate the same. The black bread Henry Carter ate had already drawn envious glances from several people. But in fact, Henry Carter was eating food brought from home; according to military rations, he should only be eating bran and wild greens by now.

Suddenly, there was a loud “clang”—it was John Grant who had thrown his bowl to the ground. He stood up and shouted, “Damn it, eating this garbage every day, how are we supposed to live? We haven’t gotten our rice rations in months—are they trying to starve us to death?”

He looked at Henry Carter: “Buddy Carter, why don’t we go demand our pay? Either way, it’s death—better to be executed than starve!”

His outburst startled everyone, and they all looked at him. Henry Carter sat still, but Charles Grant scolded him in a low voice, “Stop making trouble. Have you forgotten what happened at Zuntai? Do you want us brothers to be exiled again?”

His voice was very low, only Henry Carter, who was close by, could hear. Suddenly, Henry Carter remembered an event from history.