Early in the morning, all the adults and children in the village, who could move, set off early. The adults reaped the wheat while the students who were on vacation picked up the wheat. The old men and women could not run anymore, so they sat at the entrance of the wheat field and watched the field. They did not allow any people or livestock to enter the field to ensure the safety of the wheat in the field. The village was unusually quiet. At this moment, the dining hall in the temple was already bustling with activity. A pot of steamed buns had been served. They were white and fat, steaming hot, soft and empty like a sponge. It was really tempting. Second sister-in-law said,"On National Day, this year's bun is still steamed by four sides. When you give out the bread tickets to the club members, you should know in your heart.”
"Yes! Second Sister-in-law, a bun ticket is equivalent to four taels of dry noodles. I've already printed it on the bun ticket and will distribute it to everyone today. Members can receive the buns with the ticket. You have to take good care of the retrieved bun ticket. After that, we have to reconcile the issued bun ticket with the white flour that was sent out of the warehouse. Jianjian and his father didn't give out bread tickets. They could eat as much as they wanted, but they had to remember the number.”
Second sister-in-law nodded.
Speaking of 'building', he had to explain a few more words. Jianjian's surname was Wang. He was a young man who came from Henan to work as a part-time worker before harvesting wheat. He looked like he was in his twenties. He was more than 1.8 meters tall, had a tanned face, and was covered in lumps. He said that his family had suffered a famine and had no food to eat, so he came out to work as a part-time worker. The man in his forties who followed him was his father. The two of them looked very similar. The father and son were single. Captain Chen Baoxing took pity on them and found a cave in the courtyard for them to stay in. He also said to them, During the few days when they were harvesting wheat in the team, they worked for the team. They didn't have to pay for food, but each person was given a subsidy of 50 cents a day. They also agreed with Baoxing that after harvesting the wheat, they would dig caves or make adobe for others.
In the middle of the morning, Guo Qing turned to look at the sun and called out,""Second Sister-in-law, I think it's time to deliver the food, right?”As he spoke, he brought over a brand new tin bucket and a bramble basket with a white sheet.
Second sister-in-law looked at the things he had prepared and said,"I also need to take a bun bag and put seven buns in it for Jianjian and his son.”
"Seven buns? Can they eat that?”
"I can eat them. I've already taken seven of them with me when I started working this morning.”
"Four meals a day, and that's 28 buns?”Guo Qing was a little surprised.
"That's right. His father has three for each meal and four for each meal.”
"Aiya, this father and son really can eat. They have to eat 1.5 kilograms and 1.5 taels of bread in a day.”
"If he can eat, then he can do. If you don't believe me, go to the fields and take a look.”The chefs who were cutting vegetables on the table and busy beside the pot said one after another.
While they were talking, Second Sister-in-law and a chef who called her Little Mother had already placed a pot of fried bamboo shoots into the middle of a pile of white steamed buns in the bramble basket. Second Sister-in-law told Guoqing,"There are a total of 50 steamed buns in the basket. There's only one pot of vegetables for everyone to eat.”Then, he covered it with a sheet and put in a handful of tender green garlic sprouts. He rinsed the tin bucket with boiling water again and scooped a bucket full of rice soup.
National Day covered the bucket with a piece of white cloth that he had prepared beforehand. He picked up the load, one basket and one iron bucket, and walked away unsteadily. He could not be too fast or too slow. If he was not careful, the rice soup in the iron bucket would spill out.
In the morning, when they left for work, Baoxing said to Guoqing,"This morning, the members are harvesting wheat in Dongpo area.”Dongpo was a large area of terraced fields and slopes on the east side of Green Pine Ridge Village. Dongpo was more than two miles away from the village. These two miles of land were either uphill or downhill. It was very inconvenient to come and go, but most of the wheat fields in the team were concentrated in that area.
Outside the village was a large slope that was half a mile long. When Guo Qing carried the food and walked to the top of the slope, he was already panting heavily and sweating profusely. He found a flat ground under a persimmon tree, put down the burden, and took a breather. He wiped his sweat as he looked around. Everywhere he looked, there were golden waves of wheat. The gentle south wind blew, and his face was burning. A breeze blew across the wheat field, and the tightly packed ears of wheat rustled against each other. The wheat stalks and leaves on the road were swept up by the breeze and danced in the wind. The fragrance of the new wheat drilled into people's nostrils.
The people on the eastern slope were busy. The terraced fields on the highest level were covered with wheat that had been cut and dried yesterday. A group of men and women wearing straw hats and clothes of various colors were sweating profusely. They were constantly sending handfuls of wheat to a man with a hemp rope on his shoulder. The man used the hemp rope to tie the scattered wheat into neat bundles. A cart with rubber wheels was following behind them, loading the bundles of wheat onto the cart. The coachman was like a general, standing majestically in the carriage, loading and tying up the bundles of wheat that were handed to the carriage. Below the cart, a strong man was holding a steel fork. He picked up a wheat bundle and handed it to the cart.
In previous years, when loading the truck, the young man holding the steel fork always shouted loudly, complaining that the wheat bundle was too big. The people tying the wheat could hear it from afar."Those who bind the wheat, make it smaller. You want to kill us! Why don't you guys come over and load the car!"
However, this year, the one who was carrying the steel fork was Wang Jianjian, a young man from Henan Province. He was holding a bundle of wheat on the steel fork in his hand. It looked like a toy, and he was handing it to the car one bundle at a time. He was so busy that he shouted,"Slow down, build it, and hand it over after I'm done!”
In the past, a big cart was followed by a tall and sturdy young man with a steel fork on his shoulder. This year, three big carts were running back and forth. Only one person was building the cart. The construction seemed very easy. He had never heard him complain that the wheat bundle was too big.
Guo Qing stood on the edge of the ground with a load on his shoulder. He only continued walking forward when he saw that the building was filled with a cart full of microphones. He was simply stunned. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that construction had such great power.
In a large depression, dozens of men and women were bending over the wheat ridges with their heads lowered. They could not hear anyone talking, only the sound of sickles cutting the wheat stalks.
National Day placed the burden under a persimmon tree with a large shade and was about to wipe his sweat to catch his breath. At this time, he found a whetstone on the ground, and a sickle was placed beside the whetstone. He was going to take advantage of the time when everyone had not eaten to sharpen the sickle, but the blade was very sharp. He simply picked up the sickle and ran to the depression where everyone was busy.
It was unknown whether it was because the sickle was sharpened or because he had great strength today, but when the wheat straws in the thick wheat ridges were in Guo Qing's hands, they were not difficult to cut. The sickle was raised and the wheat was cut down. In a short while, a large piece of wheat lay behind him. He cut the wheat face to face with those people. He didn't move forward, but cut the wheat as soon as he grabbed it. This time, he didn't cut 3 rows, but 12 or 24 rows. A large piece of wheat was cut at the same time, even though no one was competing with him. But he was still cutting fast, fast, and hard, and he was getting closer and closer to the group.
The mature wheat field was like a sea with golden waves rolling on it. The lane arched by the wheat reaper was like a speedboat gliding across the water, causing two beautiful waves on both sides. On National Day, he had already seen the young daughter-in-law who was the fastest to cut her hair. She was standing upright at the front and wiping her sweat. She was wearing a bright red shirt and a new snow-white straw hat. Oh! She was Wu Yongsheng's daughter-in-law who had just married last year. Last year, she was the one who led the way. No one in the team could beat her. The young people behind her were envious and jealous, but they could not surpass her. It could be seen that the Eternal Wife really cared about the superiority of cutting in front of everyone and was trying her best to protect her crown as the hero of the wheat harvest. She always prepared two sickles when she went to the field and sharpened them quickly the night before. She was always the first person to arrive at the field.
At this moment, she also saw National Day, who was cutting wheat with a sickle opposite her. She turned her face and exclaimed loudly,"Everyone, work harder. The national child has already sent the food over. Look, he's picking us up opposite!”
Cheers immediately came from the other side, and someone deliberately complained,"Guo Wa, why are you so late? You've made our stomachs flat with hunger!”
The arrival of the National Day encouraged everyone, and their hands danced even more happily. In an instant, the National Day had joined forces with everyone. A large piece of golden wheat wave seemed to have suddenly evaporated from the earth by the fiery sun, turning into a pile of wheat shops lying on the ground.
At this moment, Bao Xing shouted at the people who were tying wheat in the terraced fields on the slope,"Everyone, take a break. It's time to eat!”
"Oh. I heard it!" Someone from above responded, and everyone immediately filed over.
Although there were many people eating, everyone was very orderly. They naturally formed into seven or eight circles. Each circle had seven or eight people. Each circle elected one person to hold a bowl and put it in front of the National Day dish. After preparing the dishes for National Day, he took out a bunch of garlic sprouts and handed them over. The diluted rice soup was scooped up by an individual, while some of the steamed buns were brought with them, and some were collected from the National Day with a bun ticket. Guoqing gave Jianjian's father a bun bag. The old man smiled and took it. He nodded and turned around to eat with Jianjian.
Just like that, the members cut, tied, and pulled the wheat. They worked for five or six days before they finally took all the wheat back to the wheat field. He didn't even have time to catch his breath before he threw himself back into the intense grinding. Grinding was slightly easier than harvesting, and it was not as tense as the harvesting stage. If the ripe wheat was not harvested in time, if there was a strong wind, a rainstorm, or a hail, the ripe wheat in the entire wheat field would be destroyed, and there would be no harvest. That was the sweat of the members for a year. Otherwise, how could it be called " snatching food from the dragon's mouth "?
There were not many people needed to grind the wheat. Only some young people or strong laborers were enough. The others did what they were supposed to do. Some went to hoe the autumn seedlings, some went to pluck cotton, or spray pesticide, and some went out to continue their side businesses. Apparently, it was the most boisterous and busiest season in this small mountain village these days. As long as you walked in the lane or passed by the wheat field, you would hear the sound of the heavy stone wheels pressing on the wheat straws, the booming sound of the tractor engine, or the monotonous music of the electric motor fanning the wheat with the windmill. There were also the excited yells of young men and women and the sound of shovels scraping the ground when picking up wheat grains. These wonderful sounds formed a moving symphony, which made those members who were sweating profusely feel so comfortable.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。