Spring scenery in the fields

Chapter 240 Harvesting Rice

In the morning, the sun just rose from the east, and the golden rice ears in the fields drooped their heads heavily.

Under the azure blue sky, the villagers bent over, harvesting rice ears with sickles, their faces filled with irrepressible joy.

All the villagers who worked in the town came back, including the two sons of the village head.

Today Shen Yuanshan went out to sell goods, and the other two were cutting rice in the fields. There were no extra sickles at home, otherwise she could have gone to help.

Holding a pottery jar and carrying a basket, he walked on the ridge of the field: "Brother Shen, Wenshan, come over and eat first."

Looking at the pile of rice, he asked, "Brother Shen, how many kilograms of rice can we harvest from this piece of land?"

Shen Rongshan put down the sickle in his hand, turned around and walked towards her: "More than a hundred pounds, the land near the foot of the mountain doesn't yield much."

He pointed to the field on the left and said, "I heard from the village head that in a good year, his field only yielded more than 260 kilograms."

"Aunt Lan's and Aunt Wang's harvests were over 400 kilograms in previous years, and even in a bumper year they didn't even get 600 kilograms."

"The best plots of land in the village head's home yielded nearly 700 kilograms of harvest in a bumper year, so the harvest was higher in a bumper year."

Ji Wenhe handed the chopsticks to the two of them: "We live in the mountains, and the soil is not very good. What about outside the village? How many kilograms can you get at most?"

Shen Rongshan took a sip of brown rice porridge and said, "I heard that the highest yield is more than 800 kilograms. We are not as good as the plains. There, one mu of land can yield more than 900 kilograms, and the best ones can yield more than 1,000 kilograms."

She replied, "I think it has something to do with the fertilizer. Once the wheat is planted, the fertilizer from the chicken coop will be applied to the land. I don't believe that I can't make good use of this land."

Shen Wenshan took over the conversation: "We have to wait for the wheat to grow for a while before we can plant chicken manure in the fields, otherwise the wheat seeds will be burned to death. We also have to wait until it rains."

She turned her head and looked at the foot of the mountain: "Is it related to the trees? The vegetables near the trees are growing poorly because the sunlight is blocked by the trees. Can we cut down the trees next to them?"

Their piece of land is relatively good, as it is not completely blocked by the shade of the trees. However, the land at the edge is completely blocked from the sunlight.

"It's okay if we don't cut it down. In the future, we won't buy the land on the edge, but the two adjacent plots."

Shen Rongshan nodded and put the bowl of rice in the basket. "Wen He, go home later. Hang up the cloth you made. We can harvest the rice in the afternoon and go back to thresh it."

"Okay." Ji Wenhe looked at the remaining half bowl of braised pork with beans, "Wenshan, pour the rice in and mix it. Don't be in a hurry, eat slowly."

She stood up and walked to the rice, took a sickle, cut a few rice plants, and slowly found the feeling.

Shen Wenshan's mouth was full, and he turned around and looked: "Sister-in-law, leave it there, I'll cut it later."

"You eat first, and I'll give it to you after you finish eating."

Harvesting rice is not an easy job. Just like transplanting rice seedlings, you have to bend over all the time, one person moving backward while the other moves forward.

After he finished his meal, he would go back with his empty bowl and soak the dried winter melon in water.

After tying the cloth bag to the pillar, Ji Wenhe put on his straw hat and went to the fields to bring back the rice.

The villagers were busy with the work, with the whole family joining in.

The rice was piled up next to the shed. She took a look at it and separated the rice into two sides, leaving enough space in the middle for one person to enter and exit, with a cloth bag hung in front.

In this way, when it falls, the rice will be blocked and will not fly too far.

When the villagers were tired, they would rest in the shade and drink some water.

Shen Rongshan was squatting by the stream washing his face. When he looked up, he saw Zhu Danian walking towards him from the village entrance, carrying a pheasant and a rabbit in his hands.

"Rongshan, your rice is harvested really fast. I went to the mountain to catch a pheasant and a rabbit, and I thought I'd come over to help you."

"Master, you don't need to help. Wenshan and I can do it. We can finish the harvest in the afternoon."

He is over 50 years old. Cutting rice is so tiring. What if he gets seriously exhausted?

Ji Wenhe carried a load of rice back and walked eastward. He saw Zhu Danian standing by the river: "Uncle Danian."

Zhu Danian turned around and said, "Take it home and cook it at noon. The work is too tiring, so we need to eat something oily."

Then he looked at Shen Rongshan: "You skin the rabbit."

The pheasant needs to be scalded in boiling water before it can be plucked.

"Uncle Da Nian, have lunch at my house."

"No, I wanted to deliver something and help your family, but in the end you didn't need me."

Without a sickle, all the rice in the field was carried away.

"By the way, do you have a bucket-smashing family?"

Ji Wenhe shook his head: "No, I plan to use the buckets at home. They have some for themselves and can't lend them to us."

Zhu Danian responded and looked at the fields: "Your family has little land, so the harvest will be quick."

"Yes, it will be done in half a day, Uncle Da Nian, and you can have lunch at my house."

He thought for a moment and replied, "Okay, go back and cook."

"Okay, I'll come over when the meal is ready and call you home for dinner." Ji Wenhe carried the pheasant on the ground and the skinned rabbit home.

Shen Rongshan washed his hands and said, "Master, please go sit at the foot of the mountain."

Zhu Danian waved his hand and said, "You go harvest the rice, and I'll carry it back."

"Master, I don't need your help."

"You should go quickly. I can't help you with harvesting rice, but I can still do this easy job."

Seeing that there was no way to persuade him, I just let him go.

Ji Wenhe went home and boiled a pot of hot water. When the water boiled, he put the chicken in the hot water and prepared the rabbit's internal organs.

Stir-fried pheasant with green beans and rabbit meat with dried winter melon. There was only one bowl of green beans and pork left from the morning stir-fry, so I didn’t cook the meat.

I took out the small clay pot and finished this pot of pickles, and there was still one pot left.

It's not like green beans, which can be pickled and eaten all winter.

The brown rice is cooked and the vegetables are almost done.

Ji Wenhe closed the kitchen door and went to the fields to call them back for dinner.

When we got to the foot of the mountain, we saw Zhu Danian threshing rice: "Uncle Danian, stop working and go home to eat. I'll go to the east to call Brother Shen and the others back. You go first."

"Got it. Go ahead." He replied without stopping the work in his hands.

It was noon and the sun was high above our heads.

The clothes on the backs of the two men were soaked with sweat, and beads of sweat flowed from their foreheads down their cheeks, to their chins, and dripped onto the ground.

"Brother Shen, Wenshan, go home for dinner."

Ji Wenhe picked up a pile of rice and looked back as he walked forward. They also picked up a pile.

"Wen He, you're going home for dinner so soon."

"Auntie Huang, it's already noon. Go home and have a meal and rest. Why don't you go home for dinner?"

Huang Guihua pulled down her straw hat and said, "My Fengyao has gone home to cook. She will bring it to us later so we don't have to run back."

She said with a smile: "That's fine, Aunt Huang, we're going back."

"Okay." He nodded and continued to bend down to cut rice. They had three acres of land and were very busy.

Going from north to south, next to it is the one-acre land of Shen Zhong's family, followed by Zheng Liutao's family, Shen Ping, Miao Zhaodi, Wang Erfeng, Lan Qiuhua, Zhang Qiu'e, Li Chunhong, Shen Zhong, He Yuxiang, Qian Hongjuan, Shen Zhong, and Shen Dadong.

Shen Dadong's family's land has been sold to Shen Zhong and now belongs to them.

Going south are Wu Caifeng, Niu Guilan, and Shen Zhong.