Chapter 5: Don't Eat If You Can't Bear the Hardship

Lin Xiangnan carried his luggage and sat on the back of the bicycle, feeling the breeze blowing in his face and humming a song in a good mood.

Hu Meili was pedaling her bike in front, not saying a word. She was too lazy to pay attention to her silly child. Having never been to the countryside to farm, she really thought going to the countryside was a good thing.

The roads in the city were relatively flat, but the road conditions in the countryside were very average, bumping from time to time. Later on, Lin Xiangnan couldn't laugh anymore because her butt was numb from the bumping.

It is the busy farming season now. Everyone in the team is working in the fields. At my second uncle's house, only my second grandmother is busy making lunch.

"Meili is here. I'm going to the field to call your second father."

"No need." Hu Meili pulled him to the kitchen and started whispering, occasionally pointing at Lin Xiangnan while talking.

You don't need to guess, she must be saying bad things about me. Lin Xiangnan didn't care, put down the things in his hand, and looked around.

There are three brothers in the Hu family. Hu Meili's father is the eldest brother. He was lucky. After liberation, he found a job in a pharmaceutical factory in the city and became a city dweller. The second and third brothers did not have such an opportunity, so they stayed in their hometown to farm.

Although Boss Hu moved to the city, he would return to his hometown every year to worship his ancestors. He would also help his two brothers in the countryside when they had problems, so the relationship between the three families was pretty good.

Hu Meili left Lin Xiangnan here with peace of mind, and left on her bike without even having lunch.

As soon as she left, the second grandmother enthusiastically arranged: "Xiaonan, go pack your luggage first, I will ask your uncle to arrange a job for you in the afternoon."

Although the rooms in the countryside were bigger and brighter than those in the city, Lin Xiangnan still had to sleep with his two cousins ​​at night. There were many children in the family, so it was impossible to give each of them a single room.

But my second uncle's family is not that big, because his family has been separated for a long time, and they live with their eldest son. My eldest cousin is the accountant in the village, and their family is also one of the best in the team.

Lin Xiangnan only brought two sets of clothes. There was nothing much to pack, so she put her things in her room and went to the kitchen to find her second grandmother to find out what was going on.

"Are there any educated youth in our Shengli Brigade?"

Second grandmother shook her head. "Let alone Shengli Brigade, there are no educated youth in the entire commune. Our commune is not a resettlement site for educated youth. But don't worry, the rules in our countryside are similar. Just follow the team leader's instructions and work hard."

"Can I take a leave?" Lin Xiangnan asked.

Second Grandma smiled kindly, "You can invite them during normal times, but forget about it during the busy farming season. The team leader won't approve it. If you insist on inviting them, you will be deducted points and criticized in the notice. Even the laziest guy in our team wouldn't dare to do that."

Lin Xiangnan didn't mind that after working for a year, he still owed the team work points.

She was worried that if she slacked off too much, she would be reported to the police by the brigade cadres, be returned, and then be reassigned to a remote place by the Youth League Office.

Even worse, when there is a big conference, they use her as an example and drag her onto the stage to criticize her. Most people cannot stand this.

Everything is ready to go to the countryside, and Lin Xiangnan is mentally prepared for the work. The only thing is not to let down at the critical moment, and she is sure she can do it.

She has to have a work attitude, but it’s not her fault if she doesn’t do a good job.

As she was planning in her mind, her second grandmother screamed, threw away the vegetables she had picked and ran out.

"The pig has fallen over. Xiaonan, you run fast. Please help me chase it back."

"Ah?" Lin Xiangnan didn't understand, but still followed the command and ran out to chase the pig.

Thanks to the body-strengthening pills, Lin Xiangnan ran very fast and soon ran ahead of the pig. But when she saw the pig rushing towards her, she didn't dare to stop it...

Watching the pig being released, the second grandmother slapped her thigh with regret and said, "You stay at home and take care of the other pig. I'll go out and get help."

The current policy for raising pigs in the countryside is "buy one and keep one", and each household can raise two pigs, one to sell to the state and one to keep for themselves. Despite this rule, not many families in the team raise pigs, and piglets cost money, and if they encounter swine fever, they can easily lose all their money.

Second grandma went out to find someone to chase the pig, leaving Lin Xiangnan and the pig at home looking at each other in bewilderment.

The remaining pig was also not obedient. It put its two front hooves on the pigsty, eager to try.

Hearing that pigs would bite people, Lin Xiangnan didn't dare to get close, so she took a bamboo pole and when she saw the pig trying to jump out, she used the pole to interfere.

She waited at home for half an hour before her second grandmother drove the other pig back and locked it in the pigsty.

The second grandmother wiped the sweat off her head and explained to the confused Lin Xiangnan: "The pigs at home are not full, so they always want to turn over the circle and run outside."

"Aren't the brothers and sisters at home going to collect grass for the pigs?"

"That little bit of grass is not enough to eat."

The children's task was also arduous. They had to collect pig grass every day. The fields and hillsides were all plucked bare, so it was not easy to find some pig grass. In addition, the team was harvesting wheat, so they all went to pick wheat ears, so there was even less pig grass to collect. The pigs at home were very hungry, so they wanted to go out to find food.

In the morning, Lin Xiangnan helped feed the pigs at home. In the afternoon, he went to the fields with his second uncle.

Lin Xiangnan stood on the ridge of the field holding a sickle, looking at the harvest scene with wheat waves blowing in the wind, and cheering himself up in his heart.

"My task this afternoon is to work on this piece of land. With your help, I should be able to finish work early today." The second grandfather asked with a smile: "Do you know how to harvest wheat? Do you want me to teach you?"

"I will." Lin Xiangnan nodded confidently.

High schools nowadays are not exam-oriented. Students learn agriculture, industry, and military training, and they also plant crops in schools. Lin Xiangnan followed his memory, adjusted his position for cutting wheat, and began to bend over to work.

Ten minutes later, Lin Xiangnan scratched his neck and felt that his neck and face were itchy and painful from the wheat awns.

Half an hour later, her waist couldn't bear it anymore and felt so sore that she quickly stood up and stretched to relax.

She didn't notice it while she was working, but when she looked up, she found that her second uncle's speed was simply overwhelming her. He was already cutting the third row of wheat, while she hadn't even finished the first row.

Seeing that she was lazy, the second grandfather took the time to urge her: "You better hurry up, you can't go this fast."

Lin Xiangnan gritted his teeth and continued to bend down to cut the wheat.

After persisting for another half an hour, Lin Xiangnan discovered that two blisters had formed on his palms.

Her hand holding the sickle was shaking slightly.

Damn it, it seems like she is really a lazy and ignorant person.

Originally, she wanted to just follow the big team and do nothing, but who knew that when it came to work, the captain would actually assign tasks to each team, and then the team leader would assign the tasks to each individual. If she didn't finish her share of the work, she couldn't think of leaving work.

People in this brigade can always find their families to help them if they can't finish the work themselves. But if she went to another brigade to be an educated youth, the consequences could be imagined.

Before today, she seemed to have overestimated herself. She was really not cut out for farm work and she couldn't bear the hardship.

If she can't bear the hardship, she won't eat it. Lin Xiangnan straightened his back calmly, "Second Uncle, you go ahead and do your work. I'll go back and have a drink of water before coming back."