Tonight will be my last night on the road. I will reach a farm at midday, and I will help with the work and sleep there. Then the next day, a couple more hours walking, and I reach Nanjing. Even though my feet are killing me from walking this far, I can’t help but be excited to see my family. The last time I saw them was five years ago! Anyway, I think I’m going to take a little rest and eat a snack. (dried peaches, again, it’s the only thing that keeps well that I can afford. We'll, come to think of it, I don’t afford it, I just take it from the orchard. At least they taste good.) I will reach the farm soon, and I can eat a better meal then, but I am just so down right famished right now, and I have to eat.

Wearily, I find a nice place to sit down and rest. Peering into my satchel, I notice I only have a few more dried peach strips left. I take two of the remaining five, and hungrily tear into them. I’ll be hungry, but this small meal will probably last me until I get to the farm (probably).

I am tempted to close my eyes and rest, but with the farm only an hour’s walk away, I decide to power through. I stiffly get up and start walking again.

An hour (and three more dried peaches) later, I have reached the farm. The family owns lots of land, and their farm is big. I run up to the small farm house where the family is waiting. A young boy steps forward.

“Welcome! You must be Zooka! We were expecting you!” Someone I expect to be the boy’s father starts to speak. “Now now, Dai, why don’t you go play with your siblings down by the river?” Five other children follow as Dai runs off. “Hello, Zooka. I am Gan. Welcome to our farm.”

“Oh thank you, I am so glad you have agreed to let me stay with you.”

“Oh of course!” I woman says, “It is no trouble! I am Hu. Why don’t we give you a tour?”

“Oh, I would like that very much. But if you don’t mind my asking, do you have something to eat? I am very hungry.”

“Of course! We just finished lunch ourselves, so you can just have some of the leftovers.” Hu answers.

“Thank you so much!”

We go inside the small farm house and I sit at a large table. Hu brings me a blue bowl with a generous helping of rice. I ravenously dig in.

“That right there is rice grown in our fields! I hope you enjoy it,” Gan says.

“Oh, it’s very good. Thank you.” I say as I eat up the last grain of rice.

“Would you like a tour of the grounds?” Hu asks.

“Yes! That would be super cool.”

We go outside and start walking down a worn muddy path that I assume leads to the rice fields. I was right! Soon, the grassy fields come in to view. We walk through a labyrinth of muddy paths through the bright green stalks of rice. After a while, the ground starts to firm up, and we emerge in a corn field.

“Wow! It’s so big! What other crops do you grow?” I exclaim.

“Rice, corn, carrots, and many other fruits. This place is very busy.” Gan answers. It’s true. There are many people working in the fields. They must be richer than I thought to be able to pay these people to work for them.

After a full tour of the grounds, it’s time for dinner. I am very tired, and after we eat, I retire to bed.