Chapter 101 Autumn Harvest
The Zhang family was assigned to the cornfield to pick corn. After distributing the tools, Xia Wanyang quickly ran to the field to get a pair of work gloves for everyone. She also thoughtfully gave her second sister-in-law Yuan Hong and mother-in-law Aunt Qiao a gauze scarf to cover their faces to prevent them from being scratched by corn leaves.
Breaking corn is not an easy job. After a day's work, the arms are so sore that one can't even lift them up, and the hands are shaking like sieves. Xia Wanyang also wanted to help, but when she looked at her little arms, she gave up. Otherwise, not only would Zhang Shiye have to work all day, but he would also have to take care of her when he went home at night.
He Hua and Su Man chose not to work in the fields at the beginning, and did not want work points. However, they could not make the matter of selling snacks on the black market public. Individual economy was not allowed in that era. Although the black market existed, if they were reported, they would be punished if not killed.
After a long time, they were afraid of being suspected, so Zhang Heping took the initiative and asked the two of them to help look after the children in the team, as long as they didn't bump into anything. Of course, these children could hardly walk. For example, a half-grown child like Xiaoyue had to go to the fields to collect grass for pigs or pick up fallen food.
Su Man and He Hua helped to look after the child, and everyone automatically gave them some work points. Almost all the villagers agreed. After all, if they wanted to take care of the child themselves, they would have to give up a laborer. During the autumn harvest month, only a few work points were needed to get someone to help look after the child. Everyone would still do the math.
After returning from the field, Xia Wanyang took out a large piece of pork from the space, weighing about five pounds.
Xia Wanyang glanced at the water tank, thought about it and decided to add some stream water into it. Whether it was for washing or drinking, it would help relieve fatigue.
Finally, she went to the garden, picked a lot of tomatoes and cucumbers, put them into the space and soaked them in the stream. This way, when everyone came back at noon, they could eat them as fruit, which was cool and thirst-quenching.
Xia Wanyang wanted to cook so that her second sister-in-law Yuan Hong could have an easier time, but she didn't know how to use the earthen stove and could only stand by and worry.
It was at this time that Xia Wanyang felt that she was useless. She couldn't do her farm work well and even cooking was difficult for her. While she was thinking about this, Yuan Hong came back.
"Yangyang, what are you thinking about? What's wrong? Are you unhappy? Do you want to call your fourth brother back?"
Listening to Yuan Hong's caring words, Xia Wanyang felt warm in her heart, shook her head and said, "I'm fine, I just wanted to do more to help everyone, but I found that I can't do anything."
Yuan Hong smiled knowingly, "Yangyang, everyone has their own position. You were born in the city, so it's normal that you can't do rural work. Fourth brother dotes on you and doesn't want you to learn those things, so why do you make it difficult for yourself and insist on doing something you are not good at?
You have a quick mind and have come up with a good idea for our family and your two friends. In the past two months, not only have my eldest brother and third brother made a lot of money for the family, but they have also brought my third brother and He Hua closer. That day, I heard mother and third brother discussing that they wanted to propose to He Hua after the autumn harvest. You have helped mother solve a big problem!
And my eldest brother, I see he is smiling every day, and I feel like life has a purpose, so whether he can cook or not is not important at all, I was born here when I was young, and I am used to doing these things, you don’t have to feel embarrassed, marrying a virtuous wife does not mean she must be good at everything to be virtuous, but keeping the family harmonious and caring about every family member in your heart is another kind of virtue!"
It was the first time that Xia Wanyang heard her second sister-in-law Yuan Hong say so many words at once. She had to say that these words touched her heart. Unlike Zhang Shiye's overbearing consolation, she didn't feel anything after hearing it. With these words from her second sister-in-law, she would never be pretentious again and would just contribute more to the family in the future.
The two sisters-in-law started cooking after they finished talking. Yuan Hong looked at the large pot of pork and twitched her lips. "Sister-in-law, where did you get such a large piece of meat? Even if you bought it, there is a purchase limit, right?"
Xia Wanyang blinked her eyes. She was only thinking about giving everyone more oily food so that they would have more strength, and she didn't think about the source at all. But who was Xia Wanyang? She immediately thought of an excuse.
"This is what Zhang Shiye asked his friend to save for me at the black market two days ago. It was for the autumn harvest to improve the family's food. I rode my bike to get it back from the field. When Zhang Shiye comes back, just put it in a basket and hang it in the well. This way, it won't go bad."
Yuan Hong said "oh" and Xia Wanyang breathed a sigh of relief. The second sister-in-law was really easy to fool. The two decided to make braised pork for everyone at noon and two cold dishes. The weather was hot and they were afraid that people would not have an appetite if they made anything else.
The staple food was steamed buns. Yuan Hong kneaded the dough, and Xia Wanyang ran back home to bring back a bag of potatoes, twenty eggs, and a pound of sugar. Potatoes were put into the braised pork. If it was stewed well, it would be fragrant and soft, and it would go best with rice.
They thought it was almost time for everyone to finish work, so the steamed buns were out of the pot and the braised pork was cooked. The two of them made a big pot of it, and when they opened the lid of the pot, the smell was so delicious that it could overwhelm you.
While Yuan Hong was not paying attention, Xia Wanyang took out the soaked tomatoes and cucumbers from the space. The tomatoes that had been soaked for the whole morning were really big and red.
Yuan Hong looked at the things in the basin in confusion, "Are all the vegetables in our garden growing so well?"
Xia Wanyang lied without thinking, and lied without thinking, "Yes, yes, these are freshly picked, and I picked all the good ones. Wash them, cut them up, and mix them with sugar. You can make smashed cucumbers. Mom likes garlic, so put more garlic in it."
Yuan Hong's eyes twitched again. Her brother and sister-in-law were really rich. Sugar was such a rare thing. Who would mix tomatoes with it? It was a big deal to prepare some sugar soup to entertain guests.
After cutting the tomatoes, Xia Wanyang sprinkled a handful of sugar on them. When she wanted to sprinkle a second handful, Yuan Hong quickly stopped her, "Haha, sister-in-law, I'll do it. Go get some water for parents and their brothers to wash their faces. We have ten minutes left before we have to get off work!"
Xia Wanyang happily agreed. After she left, Yuan Hong took back the unmelted sugar with a distressed look on her face. After she was done, she smiled and shook her head.
"Mom and Dad, you're back. Go wash your face. You've worked hard today. My sister-in-law and I made something delicious~"
Zhang Heping and Qiao Shuyun had four sons but no daughter. Among the daughters-in-law, Liu Fang only cared about her parents' home, Li Ling was cunning, and Yuan Hong was a quiet and talkative person. Suddenly hearing the soft and tender voice, all the fatigue in his body disappeared. Zhang Heping smacked his lips. No wonder the fourth son seemed like a different person. The fourth daughter-in-law's appearance coupled with such a delicate voice was unbearable for any man!
Zhang Shiye looked at Xia Wanyang aggrievedly from behind. He hadn't seen her for the whole morning and he missed her so much. But this heartless girl came back and only saw his parents, who didn't even glance at him.
After helping her parents wash their faces, Xia Wanyang remembered Zhang Shiye. She approached him like a lackey and whispered, "Hubby, are you tired? After dinner, go home and rest and I'll give you a massage, okay?"
Zhang Shiye snorted, "You remembered me?"
Xia Wanyang stuck out her tongue and shook his arm with a smile, "What do you mean by remembering it? I'm just worried that my parents are too tired at their age. Okay, hurry up and wash up and eat. After dinner, you have two hours to rest. I'll give you a massage!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
