After the peanuts were cooked, she took a sieve and put them into two bags, one for Xia Ning and the other for Grandma Jiang.

She peeled open a peanut, tasted it, and found it very flavorful. Each peanut was plump. She and her grandfather picked out the empty shells and threw them away.

There were also the candied dates she made yesterday, which she kept in the refrigerator. When Xia Ning came over, she took them out and put them in a small dish. That's when the pretty tableware she brought back from City B came in handy.

Xia Ning picked up a jujube with a fork and asked, "Where did this jujube come from?"

Xu Lai pointed to the bag of dates, "It's made with those dates. Try it and see if it's good."

Xia Ning tried one and said, "It's not bad. It's not particularly sweet, but it's very soft and a little sticky. It's icy cold and tastes good."

She ate several more and asked, "Are there any more? Are there any more?"

Xu Lai opened the refrigerator and looked inside, saying, "There's only a little bit left. Why don't you take it back for Grandma Xia to eat?"

Xia Ning smiled and said, "I've been waiting for you to say that. Tell me how to do it. If my grandma likes it, I'll make more for her."

Xu Lai nodded: "Okay, I'll send it to you later. I also followed an online tutorial to do it."

Xia Ning hopped on her electric scooter, Xu Lai handed her some peanuts, she waved, and rode off.

Xu Lai glanced at the time; it was only a little past nine. Grandma had said yesterday that she was going to cut sesame seeds, and now was the perfect time to go.

She took a sickle and went with her grandmother to the sesame field. The sesame plants still had many leaves growing on them, so they had to pick off the larger leaves first before harvesting them.

The sesame seeds planted this year are white, while those planted last year were black. Xu Lai wanted to use some as a garnish when she was cooking, but when she saw that they were black, she gave up on the idea.

She and her grandmother worked quickly and efficiently, and soon all the leaves were picked. She then used a knife to cut down the sesame plants one by one and piled them together. Some of the sesame seeds had already dried out, and sesame seeds would fall off when touched.

Around ten o'clock, they finished harvesting all the sesame seeds in the sesame field, then carried them home and tied them into bundles.

Grandma found some dried rice straw from last year, soaked it in water to make it softer and easier to tie.

Xu Lai picked off the tiny leaves from the sesame seeds, piled them up in heaps, and tied them up with straw when there was a certain amount.

Place the bundled sesame seeds on a plastic film, with the sesame seeds facing down and the stems facing up. Once the sesame seeds are dried, make a slit in the film, and you can then knock the sesame seeds out.

When it was lunchtime, she pulled out a bag of dried fish. It was from last year's Lunar New Year when the family dried up the fishpond, which contained many small fish. Her grandmother thought it would be a waste to throw them away, so she dried them all.

She took out a handful of pickled cowpeas from the sauerkraut jar, rinsed them briefly with water, diced them, and stir-fried them with dried anchovies. It would definitely be a great dish to eat with rice.

I also bought some pork belly yesterday and stir-fried it with the Emei beans I grew at home.

Cut the pork belly into slices, render the fat, move it to one side, add the broad beans, stir-fry until cooked, add salt, chicken bouillon, and light soy sauce for seasoning, stir-fry until evenly mixed, and it's ready to serve.

Grandpa came back from outside, put down his hoe, smelled the delicious aroma from the kitchen, and said, "It smells so good! What are you making?"

Xu Lai served the dishes and brought them to the main room, saying, "Stir-fried pork with Emei beans, and stir-fried dried small fish with pickled cowpeas."

After washing his hands, Grandpa grabbed a disposable cup and said, "There's good food for lunch today, I want to have a drink."

Grandma glared at him: "Just scoop half a cup, don't scoop more."

Grandpa chuckled and said, "I know."

Saying it was half a cup, Grandpa still scooped out two-thirds of it. Grandma laughed and patted Grandpa's shoulder, "You old man, all you know is to drink too much. Drink less."

Xu Laisheng finished his meal and said, "Grandpa said 'one cup,' that's just a measure word. How much you want to drink depends on your mood."

They were eating when news came from the village: "There are combine harvesters in the next village harvesting rice. They are expected to arrive in our village tomorrow. If anyone needs a combine harvester, they can come to the village committee."

Grandpa thought for a moment and said, "We definitely need a harvester for that big field at home."

Grandma nodded: "Yes, it takes several days to harvest by hand."

Grandpa pondered for a moment: "It seems we'll have to start harvesting the rice this afternoon."

Xu Lai was bewildered. "Wait a minute, what are you two old folks talking about? I don't understand."

Grandma pointed in one direction: "Our family has two small fields that the harvester can't get into, so we have to harvest them by hand. Your grandpa is planning to start this afternoon."

Xu Lai was almost dizzy; how come she didn't know her family farmed so many fields?

She went upstairs to rest and prepare for the afternoon harvest. She also sent a message to Xia Ning, inviting her to come over in the afternoon and telling her that there was something good to do.

After waking up around 4 a.m., she changed into clothes she no longer wore, applied sunscreen to areas exposed to the sun, put on arm sleeves and a sun-protective mask, and then went downstairs.

Xia Ning arrived just then. Not knowing the situation, she asked Xu Lai curiously when she saw her attire, "Where are you going? You're all covered up."

Xu Lai chuckled: "Go down to the fields and harvest the rice."

Xia Ning's smile froze upon hearing this, and she wanted to turn around and leave: "Well, I haven't changed my clothes yet. I'll go home and change before I come back."

Xu Lai grabbed her arm and said, "It's okay, I have plenty here, you can wear whichever one you like."

Xia Ning finally changed her clothes. She said resentfully, "I really thought something good was going to happen. I never expected this, Xu Lai. I'll never trust you again."

Xu Lai laughed and bent over, "If I told you directly, you probably wouldn't have come. I'll just have to trick you into coming first, please help me out."

Xia Ning slapped her hand away: "Why don't you just say it? Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

While saying this, Xia Ning thought to herself that if Xu Lai told her to go harvest the rice, she would definitely pretend to be stupid and act as if she hadn't seen the message. It seems that Xu Lai knows her too well.

Grandpa and Grandma had already gone to the fields, but Xu Lai went a little earlier than them. She took a few bottles of water, gave them to Grandpa and Grandma, and then picked up a sickle to start cutting rice.

Xia Ning had never done this before, so she only cut one bunch at a time. Xu Lai was almost amused by what she saw. She instructed her, "After you cut one bunch, hold it tightly in your hand, and then go cut the second bunch, the third bunch, and that's it."

Xia Ning said with a pained expression, "I'm afraid I'll cut my hand."

Xu Lai was both amused and exasperated: "Then take your time. I'll go back and get you a pair of gloves later."

She was very fast, and in no time, the small section in front was empty, while Xia Ning was still slowly cutting at the back.

There's still some water in the field. It rained a while ago, and the water didn't drain out. It's been accumulating in the field, and every step you take, your pants get splashed with mud.

Xu Lai's trouser legs were soaked through and felt heavy, making it difficult for her to walk.

But she wouldn't change into shorts to come over; the sun in the fields is the most scorching, and you could easily get sunburned if you're not careful.