In fact, the guillotine is faster, but the stubble produced by the guillotine is uneven, and some are even split, which reduces the quality of the wheat straw.

Cutting with scissors is very labor-intensive.

Captain Wu somehow managed to get a pair of large, custom-made shears; they worked very well and were even faster…

After the production team harvests the wheat, they first dry it in the sun, and then use livestock to thresh it.

The Qingshan brigade first sorted through the wheat stalks, cutting off the good and long ones, drying them, and then storing them in the brigade's warehouse...

When the wheat in the fields was all harvested, Song Yan received a call from Director Liu, who wanted to buy a large quantity of fans. It was his superior supply and marketing cooperative that wanted them, but Director Liu didn't really know where they would be sold. He guessed that departments like overseas Chinese stores would want such handicrafts.

Other brigades were gathering all their strength to thresh and dry their wheat, and they were already due to hand over their grain quotas. Qingshan Brigade had only threshed half of their wheat. And that wasn't all; he organized strong laborers to make adobe bricks. He also organized a group of people to go into the mountains to cut down trees.

The commune leaders paid close attention to the wheat harvest in each brigade, and they naturally noticed the problems in the Qingshan brigade. They even specially arranged for commune cadres to supervise the work.

The cadre sent down by the commune turned out to be Lu Xingtian.

It didn't matter who the commune sent; Captain Wu had his own plans and wasn't going to listen to anyone else.

Fortunately, Lu Xingtian was very sensible and didn't interfere.

The weather was kind to us; it didn't rain. The wheat harvest in Qingshan Brigade was a bit slow, but at least all the wheat was harvested. The wheat harvest can be considered a successful conclusion.

The first three brigades to finish the wheat harvest receive a reward. Qingshan Brigade usually gets one of those spots every year. This year, however, they fell behind, while the other brigades are smug.

The members of the Qingshan Brigade are getting a little anxious. Will they be able to be recognized as an advanced brigade this year?

Captain Wu, however, didn't care at all.

…

As the autumn harvest began this year, several nearby production brigades, like the Qingshan brigade, organized people to cut cattails and collect corn husks…

When the brigade leaders met, some of them boasted that the cattails in their brigade grew well and that there were many of them.

Captain Wu remained calm and composed, showing no sign of anxiety.

Others wondered, wasn't he afraid someone would try to take it from him?

Autumn brought a bountiful harvest, and everyone was beaming with joy.

This year, the brigade sent people to cut cattails. Those harvesting corn were responsible for collecting the corn husks. Li Yuanzhao suggested that the brigade members collect the corn husks intact, dry them, and bundle them neatly before the brigade accepts them.

Other brigades would pick the corn husks and deliver them to their respective brigades immediately. Within a few days, news came from several brigades that the corn husks they received had not been dried in time and had become soggy.

Song Yan shook his head. Li Yuanzhao not only had management skills, but also last year's experience. How could anyone else compare?

As in previous years, everyone has begun the autumn storage season.

The mountains are rich in produce, and other people only have time to rush to the mountains when it's rainy and they can't work.

Song Yan carried basket after basket of produce home almost every day. There was plenty of food on the mountain, so no one noticed if he harvested a lot. After picking mushrooms, monkey head mushrooms, and wood ear fungus, Aunt Wei dried them at home.

Sometimes, Song Yan would also bring back pine cones, which contained pine nuts. Hazelnuts were also included.

These are all good things.

The purchasing station buys monkey head mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, and pine nuts. Song Yan also wanted to give these things away as gifts.

The bright red chilies in the garden were quite eye-catching. Song Yan had made a lot of chili sauce.

Song Yan would often bring back a rabbit on the way. In the autumn, everyone was exhausted, and if they had any leftover food, they would trade it with Song Yan for a rabbit to improve their meals.

Song Yan's rabbits are in high demand.

When Cheng Yousuo was patrolling with his gun, he said that Song Yan went out this year and didn't participate in the shooting competition of each brigade. Otherwise, their Qingshan Brigade would have won first place.

To make up for this shortcoming, Song Yan would collect mountain produce every morning, and in the afternoon, he would have the militia find him and patrol for half a day. As a result, Song Yan earned five extra work points every day.

Song Yan felt that Cheng Yousuo hoped to encounter a wild boar so that she could shoot it.

After all, wild boars come down from the mountains every year to wreak havoc on the crops.

Sure enough, Song Yan actually ran into two adult wild boars.

The first shot hit the wild boar directly in the head. The second one, startled, turned and ran away. It took Song Yan three shots to bring it down.

Two adult wild boars, weighing several hundred pounds each!

The whole brigade was overjoyed; they would get to eat meat.

The captain was very pleased and said, "Give Song Yan ten work points for participating in the patrol!"

The other brigades were quite envious.

Before the autumn harvest was even finished, Captain Wu had already set aside people to build houses.

The area next to Song Yan's house is a low-lying area, and the land there is quite large but has been vacant for a long time.

Captain Wu organized people to fill in the gaps, and then built two more houses there.

Making adobe bricks and cutting down trees were all for the purpose of building houses.

Nobody knew what the house was used for.

The other brigade leaders have also finished their autumn harvest and have time to pay attention to the Qingshan Brigade.

It was only then that they learned that the Qingshan Brigade had left behind a lot of wheat straw.

The weaving team started working almost immediately after the autumn harvest. When Song Yan took out the fan samples, the women were astonished.

Is this beautiful thing made of wheat straw?

The weaving group is recruiting women again, and of course, the primary criterion for recruitment is still character. Candidates will be selected based on everyone's evaluation; those with poor morals will not be accepted.

Wu Meili is now a wife and mother, and in order to make a living, she also joined the knitting group.

Then everyone found out that the newly built houses were for the organization team. With so many people, they needed a place to stay.

However, one large room was left empty.

Li Yuanzhao set aside some of the work of making the tassels for a few of the older girls in the literacy class. They studied in the morning and did handicrafts in the afternoon or at home. They could earn four to eight cents a day.

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