Chapter 23 Autumn Harvest (Reverse V) Crop Harvest and Cavalry Development...

The participation of people from several counties in road construction was arranged according to their proximity to the road section and their residence, and the same was true for harvesting crops.

Upon receiving the goddess's notification, the administrative office immediately made arrangements. The heads of each construction site handed over their responsibilities to the newly appointed agricultural officials and began working with the local people.

The red and green peppers were picked and put into bamboo baskets.

The bamboo basket was filled with green edamame, soybeans, and mung beans.

Purple eggplants, some long and some round.

The green bitter melon and cucumber, one with an uneven surface, the other smooth and silky.

The green water spinach was piled up into small mountains.

...

"Is this the kind of corn we eat?" An elderly woman broke off an ear of corn from the stalk, peeled off the outer husk, and revealed the yellow kernels inside.

The old woman touched it and said, "This corn is different from the one we eat; it's a bit old."

The young woman next to her deftly snapped off one corn cob and tossed it into the basket. "Of course they're different. We eat tender corn, this is mature corn."

The old woman picked one out, chewed it, and said with disdain, "It's not as good as tender corn."

The young man cutting corn stalks behind him said, "It's okay, we can grind the old corn into flour and make pancakes."

The young woman thought to herself: "It can also be fed to chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, cows, and sheep."

A young woman squatted in the field, looking at a pile of long, thin beans on her left and then at a pile of short, flat beans on her right, and asked the older woman next to her in a daze, "Sister-in-law Luo, what are these two kinds of beans?"

Sister-in-law Luo smiled and said, "The long ones are giant beans, and the short ones are string beans."

The young woman thought for a moment, "Why are they called 'jar beans' and 'string beans'? Does 'string beans' mean they can be grown and eaten all year round?"

Her friend, carrying a basket of tomatoes, walked past her from behind and nudged her with her foot. "Instead of wasting time thinking about all this nonsense, why don't you hurry up and move the beans to the roadside?"

"Ugh, I was just curious." The young woman pouted, got up, picked up a load of green beans, and walked to the roadside.

The little boy sitting on the oxcart swayed his body and happily recited, "Spring rain awakens the earth, clear and bright; summer is full, the awns are in full bloom, and the heat is continuous...[1]"

The young man driving the car listened to his nephew reciting the four lines of poetry over and over again, and his lips twitched. "You only know these few lines, haven't you learned anything else?"

The little boy felt provoked and snapped, "Of course I learned something else!"

He swayed his head and recited, “The bright moon startles the magpies on the branches, the gentle breeze awakens the cicadas in the middle of the night. The fragrance of rice blossoms speaks of a bountiful year, and we hear a chorus of frogs. …[2]”

A bullock cart loaded with crops met an oncoming empty cart. The little boy greeted the little girl sitting on the opposite cart, "Hello, Huang, have you finished your homework?"

Upon hearing this, the little girl proudly raised her chin and said, "I've finished writing."

The little boy's mouth dropped open. "Wow, you're so fast!"

The little girl chuckled, "You haven't finished writing yet? The teacher said we've had paper recently, and anyone who hasn't finished will have to copy it ten times as punishment."

The young man was nodding to the man driving the car opposite when he heard this, and immediately turned to glare at his nephew, "You haven't even finished your homework yet and you're already..."

The two cars passed each other and went in opposite directions.

Behind me came the melodious singing of a little girl: "Our ideals are on the fields of hope / The seedlings sprout in the sweat of the farmers / The cattle and sheep grow to the sound of the shepherd's flute..." [3]

Her father asked in surprise, "Who taught you this?"

There are also songs about farmers working.

The little girl blinked. "It was taught by the goddess. She said she wanted to hold a harvest festival, and that our academy should form a choir to sing this song." She said modestly, "I sing it the best, so the teacher appointed me as the choir leader!"

Her father was bewildered. "Harvest Festival?"

Lunchtime.

The working people wiped the sweat from their faces and brushed the dirt off their bodies. They squatted or stood and wolfed down the fragrant food.

Celery stir-fried with beef, stir-fried lotus root slices, minced meat and eggplant, winter melon and corn soup.

It was so delicious it made my tongue fall off.

No matter how many times I eat it, it always moves me deeply!

Several young men slurped down their soup and let out a happy sigh.

"Tender corn is so delicious!"

"The vegetables bestowed by the goddess are all delicious. Can we grow such good vegetables too?"

"Don't set your expectations too high."

"I still prefer meat, all kinds of meat."

"The flesh given by the goddess is better than ours..."

The young man who had been speaking suddenly stopped talking, causing his companions to turn their heads. They saw him staring blankly in one direction, then slowly opening his mouth wide, revealing a shocked expression.

The group: "?" What's going on?

They followed the young man's gaze and froze.

On the path at the foot of the hill, across half a hillside, dozens of young men rode past on horseback.

They sat steadily on their horses, holding the reins, their hooves kicking up dust as they galloped majestically toward the county town.

After a long pause, someone finally spoke up, "Are they from the army or the city guard?"

"That's not important, what's important is that they look so impressive!"

"I'm so envious."

"Yes, that's so enviable! I want to join the army too!"

"But don't you think their horsemanship seems to have improved compared to before?"

"Oh, really?"

The crowd craned their necks, watching as dozens of horses galloped away, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake.

The horsemanship skills of the soldiers have indeed improved overall.

Because they received saddles, stirrups, and horseshoes.

Hu Dazhu and Ning Huai'an initially selected men who could ride horses to form a cavalry. When the fully equipped horses were brought to them, the two looked at each other and saw the excitement and ambition in each other's eyes.

Hu Dazhu strode forward, pulled over a horse, grabbed the reins, stepped into the stirrups, and mounted the horse. He squeezed the horse's belly with his legs, and the horse carried him away.

Hu Dazhu rode his horse around the training ground. During the ride, he stood up on the stirrups and made a feint of drawing a bow and shooting an arrow.

The soldiers watching couldn't help but cheer.

They finally realized the benefits of the new equipment!

"He can actually stand up on horseback!"

"How did you do that?"

"The brothers in the iron workshop say that thing is called a double stirrup!"

"Both sides, stirrups?"

According to the goddess, these double stirrups can help those who cannot ride a horse learn to ride faster, and also allow riders to stand up on horseback.

"Goddess...you're really amazing, you have all sorts of good things."

"Look!"

Not far away, Hu Dazhu rode back on his horse, tightened the reins, and stopped in front of Ning Huai'an.

Ning Huai'an snorted, casually pulled on the reins of a horse, and mounted it.

Immediately someone brought over a long spear.

Hu Dazhu and Ning Huai'an each held a handle, and the two stood facing each other.

"Wow, are the two generals going to have a fight?" The soldiers were even more excited.

Two horses carrying people charged at each other, their spears clashing with a crisp sound.

Hu Dazhu and Ning Huai'an each used their strengths, chopping, stabbing, lying down, standing up, and sitting, trying their best to demonstrate the advantages of the double stirrups and saddle to the soldiers.

As one soldier watched, he couldn't help but mimic the action, saying, "Look, he can stand up on horseback; he's clearly a head taller."

"That saddle is designed to make sitting more comfortable."

"Great, it looks much more convenient now."

"I don't think guns and swords can necessarily demonstrate that duality..."

"Stirrups".

"Well, it might not be able to demonstrate the function of those double stirrups."

Hu Dazhu and Ning Huai'an fought for dozens of rounds before stopping, dismounting, and calling over several cavalrymen, instructing them to bring bows and arrows.

Xiang Yuesheng had arranged for a row of archery targets to be prepared well in advance.

The purpose was essentially to demonstrate the function of double stirrups.

The cavalrymen, mounted on their horses, drew their bows and nocked arrows, which shot out and pierced straight into the targets.

Someone stood up on the stirrups and aimed at the target with an imposing air.

The soldiers watching cheered and applauded.

"So handsome!"

"You're already quite tall when you're riding a horse, but you're even taller when you stand up."

"It looks really impressive."

After this batch of cavalrymen had finished their demonstration, Fang Qin called out ten soldiers who could not ride horses to step forward.

He said, “You guys try it out. We have saddles and horseshoes. See if it can help you learn to ride a horse faster.”

The soldiers replied in unison, "Yes, sir!"

Administrative Office.

Mo Jingchun looked at Cheng Hui in horror, "Old Cheng, do you mean you're leaving this harvest festival to me?"

She tried to find a hint of joking on the other person's face, "Are you serious? I, I've never done this before, I don't know how."

Cheng Hui smiled kindly, "You've never done it before, and neither have we old folks."

Mo Jingchun: "Then you..."

Cheng Hui stroked his beard. "You're young, you have a strong learning ability and plenty of energy. Find a few more young people to help you."

Mo Jingchun: "..."

Cheng Hui's meaning was clear: he wanted Mo Jingchun to find a few young people to work together and explore how to organize the event.

From now on, we can entrust any future events to these people.

Mo Jingchun hesitated slightly, "But..."

Cheng Hui thought for a moment, "Go to the library and look through the books; you might find some related to the event."

Sitting opposite her, Gu Lanying smiled and said, "We can also ask everyone what kind of activities they want to organize."

Mo Jingchun nodded thoughtfully.

She thought for a moment, "Aunt Ying, could you lend me someone?"

Cheng Hui said, "Don't worry, we'll tell everyone that you can allocate the personnel. However, Zhu Youchuan's side is an exception; they've been so busy with regulations and systems lately that they can't spare any people."

Mo Jingchun made a gesture of understanding.

After Mo Jingchun left, Gu Lanying suddenly smiled, "Why did you suddenly entrust this matter to Mo girl?"

Cheng Hui said, "I'm getting old, and I don't know how many more years I can serve by the goddess's side. Before I die, I must teach a few useful disciples."

He recalled something he had read in a book and added, "Practice makes perfect."

Gu Lanying smiled gently.

-----------------------

Author's note: 1. [1] Solar Terms Song

[2] "West River Moon - Traveling at Night on the Yellow Sand Road", by Xin Qiji

[3] On the Fields of Hope

2. I didn't pass the provincial civil service exam, but I did learn a few things from the interview. So in this chapter, I'll have Xiao Mo organize a harvest festival to showcase the results of my ten-day interview preparation course (proudly puffing out my chest).