Chapter Seventy-Nine: Rations

After observing the vegetarian buns and vegetarian porridge cakes sold in the shop for some time, the swine fever crisis at Old Wang's house finally subsided.

Xiong Zixiang also heard the news from the county government. After a thorough investigation, it was confirmed that only Old Wang's pigsty was infected, while other areas were unaffected.

Although Old Wang suffered heavy losses, he received praise from the county magistrate and help from his neighbors, and he is slowly recovering.

Zhang noticed that their little shop was finally filled with the aroma of braised food again. Regular customers came back as soon as they smelled it, and business returned to its former prosperity.

But just as things were going smoothly for a few days, fate turned against them again.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner. In previous years, at this time, the sky was high and the clouds were light, and the autumn breeze was refreshing, making it a perfect time for the autumn harvest.

Last Mid-Autumn Festival, after finishing the autumn harvest with her father, she enjoyed the last moments of living with her father before her marriage.

But this year is completely different.

The clouds in the sky grew thicker day by day, pressing heavily over the entire Zhuohe Village.

The rain started three days ago, sometimes heavy, sometimes light, drizzling and never stopping, just refusing to clear up.

The rainwater flowing down the eaves resembled beads from a broken string, forming a series of water curtains.

The yard had long been filled with puddles, and the murky water flowed gurgling down the ditches along the base of the wall.

This rain is making people anxious.

The few acres of corn planted by the Zhang and Xiong families were at their best, with plump ears that bent the stalks under their weight.

However, the continuous heavy rains washed away and soaked the soil, making it loose. In addition, the corn stalks were already tall, and the roots could not support the soil, so they fell down one by one.

The sight of the bright yellow corn cobs soaking in the muddy water was heartbreaking.

This is the family's staple food for the whole winter. If it continues to soak like this, the corn will definitely mold and rot!

"No! We have to go and harvest the crops now, otherwise the grain will be wasted if we wait for the rain to stop!" Zhang Dahe made this decision immediately.

All the able-bodied members of the family were mobilized.

Aunt Wang, whose legs were not very nimble, stayed at home to look after Xiao Bao. The others, including Xiao Nan'er, followed along, all wearing straw hats and raincoats, and trudged into the muddy cornfield.

Zhang Liuji also rushed back from outside and joined the harvesting team.

The field was a mess, with fallen corn stalks lying haphazardly in the muddy water, their leaves drooping wetly.

The rain was still falling, and large raindrops pattered against the straw hats and raincoats.

The muddy water was up to my ankles, making every step difficult.

Zhang Yili and Xiong Zixiang were in the same field, both wearing heavy raincoats, which made it difficult for them to move around.

Zhang Liuyi bent over and deftly broke off the ears of corn from the fallen corn stalks.

Rainwater streamed down the edge of her straw hat, wetting her cheeks and neck, and the hem of her raincoat was covered in mud.

She didn't bother wiping them, her hands moving quickly as she peeled off the outermost wet leaves from the corn cobs she had broken off, and then used the peeled leaves to tie several cobs together.

Her movements were swift, and the stray hairs on her forehead clung damply to her face.

Xiong Zixiang was responsible for carrying the bundled corn cobs to the edge of the field, where Dazhuang's cart was parked.

He was strong and could carry two large bundles at a time. Rainwater streamed down his resolute face, and his raincoat was already soaked through, clinging heavily to his body.

He carried the corn, trudging through the muddy ground, nearly slipping several times.

After Zhang Liuyi finished picking a stalk of corn, he straightened up to catch his breath and wiped the rain off his face. Just then, he saw Xiong Zixiang carrying two large bundles of heavy corn towards the edge of the field.

Rain lashed his face, but he was only focused on the path beneath his feet.

Zhang Liuyi felt sorry for the corn she saw, so she quickly put down the bundles of corn she had just picked and hurried over.

"Brother Zixiang!" she called out, her voice muffled by the sound of the rain.

Hearing the sound, Xiong Zixiang stopped and turned around. Rain dripped down his thick, dark eyebrows. "What's wrong? Are you hurt anywhere?"

He quickly put down the corn and walked over.

Zhang Liuyi quickly walked up to him, raised his sleeve, and used the still relatively dry lining cuff to roughly wipe his face, removing the cold rainwater.

"Walk slowly, watch your step, don't fall."

Xiong Zixiang was relieved to see that everything was alright: "It's okay! I can carry it!"

He weighed the corn on his shoulder: "Hurry up and pick it, so we can get back quickly. Don't catch a cold."

Zhang Liuyi then pulled out a bamboo water bottle from his pocket and handed it to him, saying, "Okay, have a sip of something hot before you go, warm yourself up."

Xiong Zixiang took the kettle, unscrewed the lid, and tilted his head back to take a big gulp.

The pot contained leftover noodle soup from when I left home this morning; it was quite warm and helped dispel some of the chill.

He let out a comfortable sigh and handed the water bottle back to Zhang Yiwu: "Have some too!"

Zhang Liuyi took the water bottle, took a small sip, put the bottle away, and pushed Xiong Zixiang: "Go on! Dazhuang is waiting!"

Watching Xiong Zixiang carry the corn and continue trudging towards the edge of the field, a bittersweet feeling welled up in her heart again.

Last Mid-Autumn Festival, she was still worrying about marrying Xiong Zixiang; it was a sweet trouble.

But this Mid-Autumn Festival, he was working tirelessly in the cold mud to feed his family.

These days are truly inexplicable.

On the ridge of the field, Dazhuang pulled a cart, and Xiaonan drove it to transport corn home time and time again.

Wang Tiezhu was also carrying corn. He wasn't very tall, but he was incredibly strong. He could carry two bundles of corn and walk very fast, making it seem easier for him than for Zhang Liuji to carry just one bundle.

The rain pelted him, but he didn't even care about his raincoat, focusing only on his work.

Everyone else in the field was doing the same thing—breaking corn, bundling it, carrying it—everyone was soaked to the bone, but no one stopped.

Food is our lifeline; we must salvage as much as we can.

As darkness fell, the rain showed no sign of stopping.

The fields were pitch black, but the harvest in Zhuohe Village continued. Some villagers brought out lanterns from their homes and hung them on tree branches along the field ridges, or simply tied them to carrying poles, using the dim, swaying light to continue groping in the mud to harvest their crops.

The figures swayed in the rain and in the dim light.

Zhang Yili and Xiong Zixiang worked until midnight.

The rain was icy cold, and my fingers were so numb and stiff that I slowed down my corn-picking.

It wasn't until late at night that all the corn cobs in the field were finally harvested.

After the last truckload of corn was driven away, the family dragged their exhausted bodies and trudged home.

The rain was still falling, but the tension in everyone's hearts finally eased a little; at least the grain had been salvaged!

However, when they got home, the corn cobs they had salvaged were still wet and piled up in the yard.

They must be dealt with immediately, otherwise they will still mold and spoil if left to rot in the pile!

Every usable space in the house was requisitioned. Straw mats were laid out in the main room and piled with corn. Corn cobs were also piled up on the floor and on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the side rooms, wherever possible.

Even the cowshed and woodshed were crammed full.

Looking at the mountain of corn, Zhang Liuyi thought of his own food preparation room.

She quickly ran to the yard, moved all the spice racks from the preparation room to the cowshed where it could at least provide some shelter from the rain.

The shelves were arranged in layers, and each one was covered with ears of corn.

Later, they didn't even have enough shelves, so they brought out long benches that they didn't use often, placed them on the stones, and covered them with corn cobs.

The wooden planks were slightly deformed by the weight of the corn, unable to bear the weight any longer.

Xiao Bao and Xiao Nan were already exhausted, but Aunt Wang coaxed them to squeeze onto the only kang (heated brick bed) that was big enough for two people to sleep on, and they slept soundly.

Aunt Wang was alone at home, looking at the piles of wet corn and listening to the pattering rain outside. She felt uneasy and restless.

She sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), watching over her sleeping child, unconsciously rubbing the hem of her clothes with her hands, her brows furrowed.

God, this is just cruel!

Everyone worked until dawn, finally managing to peel off the husks from most of the corn cobs, and spread out as many as possible to dry.

When everyone could no longer hold on, they didn't care whose house they were in, they just found a place to lie down and fell asleep.

Zhang Liuyi cleared out a small space on the earthen bed in the east wing and almost instantly fell asleep.

She didn't sleep well.

In her hazy state, she heard Aunt Wang's suppressed sobs and her intermittent mutterings.

"This is damn thunder and lightning... When has it ever rained this hard in the Mid-Autumn Festival of previous years... This is... this is going to kill us farmers... How are we going to live like this..."

Despite her exhaustion, she quietly got up and went to the next room.

Zhang Liuyi walked over, sat down next to her, and gently put his arm around her shoulder.

"Auntie, don't cry, didn't we get them all back? The whole house is piled high with them!"

"Even though it got rained on, we've peeled all the husks and spread them out. When the weather clears up, we'll move them outside to dry. We'll make sure they're dry enough... Then we can grind them into cornmeal, steam cornbread, and make flatbread. They'll still be sweet... We won't go hungry, okay?"