[CH.7] Farming and advancement to the next grade
"Good... here we go!"
With a satisfying thud, the hoe struck the ground, piercing the earth. I couldn't help but feel the unfairness of having to wield an adult-sized hoe with this small body. It seems like in this era, there aren't many fields where tools are made to accommodate children. Agriculture is probably the most prominent example of this.
It turns out that our school has become a model school for labor and production learning. As soon as we entered the second grade, we were all enthusiastically engaged in farming activities like this. I could search for information about labor and production learning on the internet, but unfortunately, such convenient tools have yet to be invented. Based on what was explained to us, it seems to be something like, "Let's learn various things by cultivating crops through farming." I'll leave the pros and cons of this approach aside, but personally, it just seems like a hassle.
Moreover, I don't remember hearing anything about our school being chosen as a model school for this kind of initiative in my previous life. I do remember us growing sweet potatoes and making roasted sweet potatoes to eat, but those kinds of activities are occasional and memorable. According to the explanation, it starts with potatoes and then includes various flowers and vegetables grown according to the season. If they go that far, it'll become nothing but hard labor.
If anything, I feel sorry for the teachers rather than the students. Even in the Heisei era, the harsh working conditions of educators were a cause for concern, but I wonder if teachers in the Showa era were in even tougher environments.
Leaving that aside, I wonder why our school became a model school. Did the members of the Board of Education perhaps draw lots to choose candidate schools? Well, now that it's been decided and we've already started the classes, complaining won't change anything.
I have experience from my previous life of growing sweet potatoes, so I can manage tasks like making furrows despite my weak physique. After this, we're supposed to place seed potatoes with added lime on top of the furrows and cover them with soil. I'm not sure why we add lime, as it wasn't explained, and I didn't have the opportunity to ask.
"Suu-girl, you're quite skilled, huh? Maybe you can come help out at my place sometime."
"Oh, Auntie... Wait, wasn't your place a rice farm?"
As I work silently, the auntie from the neighboring house, who is here as a volunteer, speaks up.
"I have a small vegetable garden in my yard. Sometimes, I share vegetables with your family."
"I see... Oh, is it the one near Tel's doghouse?"
"Yes, that's right. I grow only enough for our family and to share with the neighbors."
She said with a cheerful laugh. By the way, Tel is a mixed-breed dog that lives in the auntie's house. Originally a stray, it seems, but very intelligent, it boldly barks and shows vigilance to unknown people. However, it approaches and acts affectionate like a dog born to be a watchdog when people like us who it's familiar with come close.
Despite being a part-time farmer, the auntie is quite wealthy, perhaps because she owns a relatively large rice field and has established a route for selling her crops. Her family also participates in planting and harvesting, keeping labor costs down. Therefore, their home has a fairly large plot of land, and there's a spacious garden beside their mansion-like house. With a garden that size, they might be able to make six more of these household vegetable gardens.
"It would be nice if someone like Suu-girl could become our daughter-in-law, don't you think?"
Out of nowhere, the auntie murmured this, and I almost burst out laughing but managed to hold it in. What's she talking about?
"Someone like me as a daughter-in-law... Auntie, I think it would be better for Masataka to have a proper, decent woman."
The true meaning behind the word "proper" probably wouldn't be understood by the auntie, but as someone who still retains some sense of masculinity, marrying me would most likely be a punishment for Masataka. I feel a sense of gratitude and friendship towards him, so I genuinely hope he can have a happy marriage with a cute bride this time. The woman he married in my previous life was completely incompatible with being the eldest daughter-in-law of a farming family, not to mention she was a troublemaker who caused problems in all directions.
In response to my answer, the auntie inexplicably wore a troubled smile and patted my head. Auntie, if you do that with your gardening gloves on, the soil will stick to my hair...
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First graders are essentially in the "tutorial stage" of elementary school life. Even our field trips consisted of just going to a nearby nature park to play, and the school pool was so shallow that it could only be described as a place for water play.
However, things get serious starting from second grade, as the level of study increases. Multiplication tables become a hurdle in math, and in language arts, we start reading stories with more complexity and narrative depth. In the second grade, both the teacher and classmates remain the same, so the faces around us haven't changed. While it's unlikely that any child will stumble right from the start, there were quite a few classmates who, despite their sincere efforts, couldn't even score an average grade due to difficulties in building a strong academic foundation. I'll pay close attention to make sure that our close friends don't end up like that.
Last year, I was responsible for taking care of the flowers, but this year, I became a health committee member. It wasn't a voluntary choice; the class, including the teacher, decided on it unanimously, which left me bewildered. Apparently, they chose me because they noticed my budding maternal instincts, as I had been taking care of my classmates here and there. My main tasks involve attending occasional committee meetings and, as before, looking out for my classmates and offering support whenever necessary. So, it's not particularly burdensome.
Lately, we've been spending more time after school drawing pictures with Nao and Fumika, as Nao has started learning to draw. In my previous life, I had no talent for art whatsoever, but it seems that in this life, I've been given average artistic abilities. I can draw pictures appropriate for my age. I hope to continue practicing and, someday, be able to draw illustrations and such.
"Suu-chan, next time, will you accompany me while I practice the piano?"
As we were drawing side by side, Nao, with a slightly sulky expression, whispered this to me secretly. I nodded in response. I am interested in playing the piano, but my father strongly dislikes it. In my previous life, my sister had wanted to learn to play, but my father vehemently rejected the idea. He reasoned that "only a limited number of people can become pianists, even as adults," and he considered it a waste of time. However, I had heard the real reason from my mother in my previous life.
It turns out that when my father was a child, the girl next door played the piano incessantly throughout the day. Not only was it noisy, but the piano playing was also extremely poor. This forced exposure to terrible piano playing had nearly driven him to a nervous breakdown. That traumatic experience seemed to have scarred him for life, and he had been saying from the beginning of their marriage that children must never go near a piano. I can understand his feelings to some extent, but it's a bit of a selfish stance, in my opinion.
I, too, had traumatic experiences in my previous life in the school band, with a barrage of unpleasant incidents, but that doesn't mean I would obstruct my children from joining the band. If they wanted to, I would share my own experiences honestly and use them as one of the factors for their decision. I know firsthand how music can positively influence not only oneself but also one's surroundings. That understanding was one of the few takeaways from my previous life's band experience.
Whether it's art or music, as a hobby, it can enrich and add color to life, even if you don't become a professional who makes money from it. It allows you to connect with like-minded people and expand your social circle, and those connections can provide new and stimulating experiences, both good and bad.
In the end, my father in my previous life had no friends and no hobbies to speak of. After retiring, he would go to the pachinko parlor when he had money, and when his funds ran low, he would sit alone in his private room, staring blankly at the television. I won't call that a bad way to live, but it's definitely not a life I want for myself. While I was also a lonely individual in my previous life to the point where I couldn't criticize others, I strongly desire to lead a fulfilling life in this one.
To achieve that, I will challenge myself in various ways. I can't remember how many times I've been reborn, but I will reaffirm my determination and continue drawing in my sketchbook, letting the pencil run across the paper.
wow the father was the worse
ReplyDeletedang, everyone around him has issue. mother, father, sister, even his friends are full of issue. no wonder he grow twisted
ReplyDelete😅
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