Farmhouse Pastoral Notes

Chapter 94 October, Late Rice

The sun rose normally, and the farmyard was bustling again.

"Girl Qiu'er, take those straw ropes with you"

"Grandma, take them all."

"Okay, Hua'er, go and see your father. When will this bullock cart be set up? It's almost noon..." Mrs. Yang and Li stood in the yard directing the family to work. Wiggling the somewhat messy straw rope in her hand, she even secretly glanced at the sun in the sky. She can't exaggerate, it's just seven o'clock in the morning.

"Boss, stop dawdling, and quickly grab the sickle." After Yang Li finished speaking, she saw Gu's eyes staring at Yang Weibo, who was not working, and immediately cursed angrily, "What are you staring at?" How about it? You are envious of your broken arm, do you need me to help you rest, huh? Quickly go to work for me."

Mrs. Gu shrank her neck from being scolded by Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Li, and then left with a few sickles between her tails.

Spring and Autumn who has witnessed everything: ...Grandma's daily routine, it's done!

"Old man, haven't you pulled anything down? Look at the hoe, whether it's missing or not." Yang Lishi just finished saying this, and then shouted at the old man Yang who was smoking a big cigarette at the other end.

"Hey, that's fine, you old woman, why worry?" Old man Yang was upset when he was interrupted to smoke.

"Why don't you worry, hurry up and take a look, you old bastard." Mrs. Yang Li directly turned back. Old man Yang looked at it, and finally got up, knocking the remaining half of the cigarette pouch against the wall on one side , and then put it on his waist, and walked towards the door.

Yang Weimin and Yang Weisong were loading things into the car, when Yang Weimin saw his father walking slowly with his hands behind his back, he quickly greeted, "Dad, why are you here too? We're all packed up."

"Well, your mother asked me to come over and have a look. Have you brought all the things?" Old man Yang was a little hunched, staring at the two brothers in front of him with narrowed eyes.

"It's all ready," Yang Weimin nodded.

"That's good, you guys drive there first, your mother and I will go there in a while." Old man Yang waved his hands at his two sons, and then walked back with his little hands behind his back.

Yuan Shi is packing the food for lunch today in the kitchen. Before, her daughter said that the white flour steamed buns were a bit dry. Yuan Shi thought about it. This time, she made steamed buns with bacon and cabbage. With the white water she brought over, she can have a full meal at noon. meal.

"Mother, is it over? Grandma is calling for someone in the yard." Chunqiu stood at the door of the kitchen and shouted anxiously towards the inside.

"Hey, I'll be here soon," Yuan Shi replied to the door while picking up the buns.

When Yuan went out with the basket, she saw Yang and Li talking to Yang Weibo. Because of his arm, Yang Weibo couldn't do the farm work, so Yang and Li naturally stayed at home to look after the house.

Brother Yang Chunjun and Yang Chunming didn't come back this time because their master didn't have a holiday, and he didn't come back because of the busy farming season. Of course, even if he came back, Mrs. Yang and Li would definitely not let her two precious grandsons go to work in the fields. After Mrs. Yang told Yang Weibo, He called Hu Zi and Xiao Shitou who were squatting aside to play, and counted the people around them. After finding that there was no shortage of one, the family went out.

Along the way, the members of the Yang family met many villagers carrying hoes or sickles in their hands. Mrs. Yang and Li greeted them with a smile, and by the way talked about the family's family's shortcoming. .

By the way, Brother Da Niu and Aunt Xiu’er, who were newly married yesterday, also went out to work with Aunt Da Niu. Aunt Da Niu’s house has a lot of land, and every year when the farming season is busy, they hire people to do it. They are busy with farming, so naturally they can't hire people now, so today they first came out to work on their own, and after everyone in the village finished their work, they hired them to help her family harvest rice.

When Yang Li and the others were walking towards the entrance of the village, they happened to pass by Auntie Da Niu's house. Chunqiu took a peek inside and found that her cousin Xiu'er was wearing navy blue clothes and combing her hair. Aunt Niu was tidying up the straw ropes. Da Niu and Er Niu on the side were pulling the ox cart. They were so busy that they couldn't notice Yang Li and the others passing by the door. Yang Li didn't say anything after seeing it, but He waved his hand behind him, signaling Chunqiu and the others who were following behind to hurry up.

The further you go, the narrower the road is, and the water in the rice fields on both sides of the road is almost dry. Chunqiu looked carefully. Although she had no experience in farming in her previous life, this did not prevent her from observing with her eyes. Bi, Late Rice is like raised by a stepmother, how should I put it?For example, if a fat person stands next to a thin person, the first impression is that the thin person does not eat well.

This is the problem of the rice in front of us. Although the rice is already mature, no matter whether you hold the rice seedlings or the ears of rice, it seems to be malnourished. Not only are the ears small and shriveled, but the color of the rice seedlings is also It's not golden, but a hint of green mixed with the earthy yellow, and many of them have been poured into the mud, Chunqiu frowned... This year's late rice harvest may not be as good as the previous breakfast.

Mrs. Yang and Li were at the front of the line, talking to the old lady in the village next to her. Chunqiu vaguely heard the two mention rice or something. Just as she was about to hear it clearly, she was overwhelmed by the noise of Huzi and Chunhua in front of her. After passing by, Chunqiu's thoughts and brains moved, and he directly squeezed past the person in front of him, then looked down at Yang Lishi's shriveled hand, and stretched out his hand to grab it.

Mrs. Yang Li was talking at the side, her cold hand was held, and she didn't care to start a conversation, so she hurriedly looked back, only to see her good granddaughter looking at her with her round smiling face, Yang Li smiled and patted Chunqiu's head with the other hand, then continued to talk to the aunt beside him.

"Sister Hu, to tell you the truth, my second son went to Qingshan County to buy goods before. I heard that the harvest there may not be able to harvest. There is too much rain this year, and the rice in the rice fields has been flooded. Hey, when it was raining here before, even though the fields were punctured, it didn't have much effect, today's harvest, our old Yang's family can collect [-]% of the harvest, it's an eye-opener for God."

Mrs. Yang and Li looked sad at the end of her speech. After she finished speaking, she looked up at the surrounding rice fields and sighed with distress. The farmers just pointed to the fields to pay, and the harvest is not good now. Well, how do you live the rest of the day.

Aunt Hu nodded in agreement after listening to Mrs. Yang and Li's words, "It's not just [-]% of the income, but [-]% of the income in my family's land. Sister Li, what you said is good, not only in Qingshan County, but also in Qingshan County. For example, in Yushan Town next door, the harvest is also not good. My son who came back from a part-time job in Yushan Town said that the price of rice noodle shops in that town has increased.”

"Really? The price increase is also normal, but this year's late rice harvest is not good. I don't plan to sell the remaining grain after paying the official tax. There are still several months before the early rice harvest. I sold it, and I’m afraid it’s not easy to buy it at that time.” Mrs. Yang and Li thought a lot. Isn’t the price increase of rice noodles just because there is not enough food to eat?Yang Li's family has a large population, and there are a few children who can eat in spring and autumn. Originally, Yang Li planned to sell some of the leftover grain from early rice. Now, seeing the situation, Yang Li would rather let those grains go moldy in the warehouse I won't sell it any more. If the rice noodles are moldy, I can still wash and eat two mouthfuls. If I sell them all and end up with nothing left, my life will be gone!When wars caused famine, Yang and Li saw many people who died of starvation.

"Sister Li, you're right. My family doesn't plan to sell it. Otherwise, what will I eat when winter passes?" Aunt Hu also agreed with Mrs. Yang and Li. Although she is stupid, her son is not stupid, and her daughter-in-law is even more Those who are traitors can't be raped anymore. Although the two of them were attracted to the price of grain, they also saw more things behind the price of grain. Her son said it when he came back. It is said that the big family in Yushan Town is busy collecting grain. Well, something big must be happening.

"But when it comes to food, Sister Li, do you know the old Zhang's next door to you?" Aunt Hu took Yang Li's arm, raised her head and glanced carefully, then leaned down next to Yang Li's ear and whispered, "That old Zhang's My mother-in-law, I heard that the price of the rice noodle shop in Heishan Town has increased, so I sold all the grain that his family produced earlier. What a prodigal, there is no grain left. Tell me, this year’s harvest , Winter can survive, but what about next spring? That old guy doesn’t have such calculations, he’s really a shallow-sighted old thing.” Aunt Hu’s tone was somewhat disdainful, obviously looking down on Zhang Lee.Of course, the two families still have grievances. Do you remember what Chunqiu said before?The old Wang's family that lost the firewood is Aunt Hu's current husband's family. It would be strange if Aunt Hu could talk nicely to Mrs. Zhang and Li.

Mrs. Yang Li listened to Aunt Hu's words with her head down, but she didn't open her mouth. Mrs. Yang Li also understood in her heart that she knew all these trivial matters. He and Mrs. Zhang were at odds with each other. Shi's heart is also happy.

"Sister Hu, you, just watch carefully, she will understand in the next spring." After Mrs. Yang and Li finished speaking, Mrs. Hu also arrived at her own land, and the two talked nicely. Shi then took Chunqiu to his own field.

Aunt Hu’s land is not far from Chunqiu’s, and there are two families in between. When Chunqiu and the others arrive, Yang Weimin and Yang Weisong have already cut down a piece of land. Yang Li first let go of Chunqiu’s hand, and then reached out. Greeting Mrs. Gu and Mrs. Yuan to work in the fields, Chunqiu and the others stayed on the bank to sort out the rice on the side.

The rice seedlings are easy to bundle, just like the wheat stalks of the later generations. In Chunqiu, the rice that has been cut and placed on the shore is first stacked into a pile, and then tied with straw ropes.

After tying them, they piled them aside and waited for her uncle to load them into the car later.

Because the ears of rice are not yet dry, and the rice seedlings can be used in many ways after drying. They can be used to make mattresses and fertilizers. Future generations can extract the cellulose inside to make artificial cotton.

The adults are cutting rice in the rice field, and the children are tying the rice on the bank beside them. After tying bundle after bundle in spring and autumn, there are already many beads of sweat on their heads, and the beads of sweat are getting bigger and bigger, and then they say Roll down the sides of the cheeks.Some even rolled into the eyes.

The sweat was a bit salty, so it was uncomfortable if it got into the eyes. Chunqiu was busy tying rice with both hands, so he could only blink to relieve it, but the more he blinked, the more uncomfortable it became, and finally he couldn't open it.

"Second Sister, come here for a while" Chunqiu closed her eyes and shouted to Chunhua who was closest to her.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Chunhua had just finished tying a bundle of rice when she heard a voice behind her, and she didn't care about tidying up the freshly bundled rice, so she turned her head and said back.

"I can't keep my eyes open, Second Sister, come and help me out," Chunqiu said.

"Okay, wait a minute" after Chunhua finished speaking, Chunqiu heard the sound of footsteps coming from far and near, and felt that the sunlight in front of him was covered, so Chunqiu raised his head and asked, "Second sister, is that you?" ?”

"Yeah, what should I do?" Chunhua squatted down and looked at it curiously.

"I have a handkerchief in my arms, Second Sister can just wipe my eyes for me." After Chunqiu finished speaking, Chunhua took out the handkerchief in his arms.

Chunhua directly pastes the handkerchief on Chunqiu's face, making the tip of Chunqiu's nose sore from the paste.

"Second sister, move to the right... Hey, hey, left, right, that's right, this is it, second sister, try harder..." The next step is Chunqiu's process of directing Chunhua with her eyes closed. Others don't know the hardships and hardships involved. Yes, anyway, after Chunhua left, the handkerchief in Chunqiu's arms could no longer be used.

The morning passed quickly, Yang Weimin and Yang Weisong first packed a cart full of bundled rice and transported it home, Chunqiu and the others also had lunch with the steamed buns that Yuan had just made today.

Although the steamed stuffed buns are cold, they are delicious when they are not warm, but the stuffed steamed stuffed buns are better than steamed buns when they are cold, right? Because Chunqiu consumes a lot of energy in the morning, even if Yuan’s steamed stuffed buns are cold, they are still delicious in Chunqiu’s mouth. Delicious food, Chunqiu ate two big meat buns and drank half a pot of white water before he was full.

They rested on the edge of the ground for half an hour, and after Yang Weimin's brothers came back, old man Yang and the others went down to the ground again, while Yang Weimin and Yang Weisong stayed on the bank to eat Yuan's and the others' leftover steamed stuffed buns.

Working at sunrise and resting at sunset, this has been the law of work and rest for thousands of years.

When the sun went down, the Yang family stopped working. Instead, they put away their sickles and baskets, and went home to prepare dinner.

Dinner was normal. After eating, Chunqiu and Huzi were carried back to the house by Yuan Shi early. They will continue to work tomorrow. Yuan Shi looked at her daughter and son, afraid that the two of them would be too tired from playing. Not coming.

Early the next morning, it was the same configuration as yesterday. Yang Weibo stayed to watch the house, and everyone else went to harvest rice. Chunqiu went to bed early yesterday, and the exhaustion all over his body had long since disappeared. Waiting for Mrs. Yang and Li to finish speaking, Chunqiu followed her grandma and went out again.

For three consecutive days, their family got up early every day to harvest rice, ate food brought from home at the edge of the field at noon, continued to work in the afternoon, and went home for dinner before the sun went down at night.

After the rice is harvested, it is husked. The ears of rice two days ago have been thrown into the yard to dry, but today the newly harvested ones are not yet dry. Mrs. Yang Li stands in the yard and directs the men at home to turn over the rice. Sui, she is now waiting for two days to go to the stone mortar at the east end of the village to shell out the shells and store them in the warehouse.

　Thank you Da Yang for your reward, I just saw it, hehehe~
　　Thank you for your recommendation and support~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)