Chapter 133 The Exhausting Autumn Harvest
The sun is very strong.
The strong sunlight shone directly down, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down from his forehead and dripped into the rice field.
It was the second day of the autumn harvest, and Cheng Wanwan was so exhausted that her whole body felt like it was about to fall apart.
Their family has a total of five mu of paddy fields and four main laborers. She and Zhao Dashan are in one group, while Zhao Ergou and Zhao Sanniu are in another. The two groups take turns harvesting. The other group is responsible for tying the harvested rice with straw ropes and carrying it home to pile in the yard. There will be some rice left over during the harvest, and some rice ears will fall to the ground. Zhao Sidan is responsible for picking up these fallen rice ears and taking them back.
The people who stayed at home were Wu Huiniang and Cheng Zhao. Wu Huiniang sat beside the rice and threshed it, which meant she picked up handfuls of rice and smashed them against the edge of a wooden basin. Some grains would fall into the basin, but because the rice still contained moisture, some grains would not fall no matter what. So she threw these rice ears on the ground in the yard to dry for half a day.
Next came Cheng Zhao's job. He threshed the rice with a flail, over and over again, until all the grains fell off.
Wu Huiniang was pregnant, and Cheng Zhao was a scholar. The two of them were extremely slow at working. It took them most of the day to produce a basin of threshed rice. The rice grains were left at the door to dry in the sun until they were completely dry before the hulling process could begin.
Cheng Wanwan had been harvesting rice for most of the day, and three blisters had formed on her palms. They hurt terribly when touched, so she quickly switched shifts with Zhao Sanniu.
She gathered the harvested rice together, tied it with straw rope, and then carried it home on a shoulder pole.
The rice paddies weren't far from home, but under the blazing sun, carrying such heavy loads all the way back left me breathless and exhausted.
When she arrived at the gate of the courtyard and put down the rice, Cheng Wanwan felt that blisters had formed on her shoulders.
She went into the inner room, pulled open her collar, and her left shoulder was bright red, while the skin on her right shoulder was broken, making her wince in pain.
She quickly bought some ointment from the mall and applied it on her shoulders, a little on each shoulder and some on the palms of her hands. The cool feeling finally made her feel a lot more comfortable.
She sat on a chair to rest and couldn't help sighing that no matter what era, farmers are always the hardest-working and most tired people, and farmers are also the poorest. Farmers are always at the bottom of society.
"Zhao'er, come here."
Cheng Wanwan waved.
Cheng Zhao, who was threshing rice in the yard, went inside and took a sip of water.
Cheng Wanwan took his hand. The child's palm was also broken. Compared with harvesting rice, threshing rice is not as tiring. It is actually a physical job. If Cheng Zhao returns to the Cheng family, he will definitely not need to do this kind of work.
"If you get tired, sit down and rest for a while. You can take your time with the threshing."
Cheng Zhao shook his head: "I think it's quite interesting."
Cheng Wanwan chuckled as she applied the ointment to him. The ointment had a very simple and unassuming packaging, and there was nothing unusual about it.
She went into the kitchen, took out a few bowls, poured the heatstroke prevention medicine she bought from the mall into the bowls, and then handed them to Cheng Zhao and Wu Huiniang.
"This is a decoction of herbs I picked to prevent heatstroke. Drink it all."
Neither Cheng Zhao nor Wu Huiniang had any doubts.
After all, she can find herbs to kill locusts, so it is normal for her to know herbs to prevent heatstroke.
Cheng Wanwan put on her straw hat, picked up her carrying pole, and went back to the field to call the boys back for some heatstroke medicine. If they fainted from the heat in the field, it would be a big problem.
The whole village was busy, whether old or young, everyone was doing what they could. The rice had to be harvested as soon as possible, threshed as soon as possible, and then the skin had to be removed... This series of things took them all until August.
Before reaching the fields, Cheng Wanwan saw a carriage parked at the entrance of Dahe Village.
She recognized the carriage; it was the personal vehicle of Magistrate Shen.
When a horse-drawn carriage arrives in the village, the villagers will definitely flock around to watch.
But now, the villagers were so busy that they could only see the rice. When they stood up and looked up, they felt dizzy and did not notice the approaching carriage at all.
The carriage continued forward and stopped in front of Cheng Wanwan's house.
She didn't bother to look for the children in the fields and turned back to walk towards the door of her home.
The carriage stopped, and Magistrate Shen stepped out, followed by Shen Zheng.
He spotted the people threshing rice in the yard at a glance and was immediately stunned: "Cheng Zhao, what are you doing here?"
Cheng Zhao put down his flail, and Wu Huiniang hurried over. They both knelt and bowed, "Your humble servant greets the County Magistrate."
Magistrate Shen waved his hand: "There's no need for such a grand ceremony in the future. I've come today to deliver a guarantee to you."
He took a piece of paper out of his sleeve and handed it over.
Generally speaking, guarantee documents are not available until next year, but Magistrate Shen has prepared one in advance. Next year, all that is needed is to find someone to sign it.
Cheng Zhao accepted it with both hands: "I will forever remember the magistrate's kindness..."
“This is what you deserve.” Magistrate Shen patted him on the shoulder. “Whether our Ping’an Town can produce a scholar in next year’s provincial examination depends entirely on you.”
An average county town can produce about seven or eight scholars every year, but Ping'an Town is too poor. The number of students enrolled each year is less than 100. Only a few scholars are produced every few years, and there has never been a juren. On the other hand, Hekou Town, because of the Nanfu Academy, can produce 20 to 30 scholars every year, and a juren is produced from time to time. This is something he can't envy.
I just hope Cheng Zhao can take the first place and suppress the arrogance of Hekou Town.
Shen Zheng was somewhat unconvinced: "Father, where do you put me by saying that? My studies are not bad either, and I may not be unable to pass the imperial examination."
Magistrate Shen sneered, too lazy to say anything more.
As the county magistrate's only biological son, he is naturally praised by the people around him. After being praised for so long, this kid doesn't even know his own worth.
Cheng Zhao is a man who is not afraid of power and is very learned. Letting my son learn from Cheng Zhao might just lead the boy onto the right path.
Furthermore, his son lost his mother at a young age and was pampered by his elderly mother. He has always been spoiled and has never experienced hardship. He doesn't know the suffering of the world, nor does he know how luxurious it is to study. Letting this boy stay in Dahe Village for a while will only benefit him and not harm his future life.
Magistrate Shen asked, "Where is Er Gou's mother, Zhao Chengshi?"
Shen Zheng asked in surprise, "Er Gou, is this Er Gou's house?"
The last time he dug the canal, he spent a few days with Ergou. They were the same age, and he liked Ergou very much. He really wanted Ergou to be his playmate, but when his father brought up this matter last time, Ergou's mother did not agree.
As they were talking, Cheng Wanwan walked into the courtyard. She was about to bow when Magistrate Shen stopped her.
“Zhao Chengshi, I’ve come today to ask you for a favor.” Magistrate Shen didn’t put on airs as an official and lowered his posture as he said, “A third of Huzhou’s territory has suffered a complete crop failure. We may face a situation where refugees roam freely and bandits are rampant. I’m afraid I’ll be busy for a while.”
Cheng Wanwan raised her eyebrows slightly.
Refugees were running rampant, bandits were rampant, and as a woman, she had no ability to solve these problems. The county magistrate was crazy, actually asking a peasant woman like her about such political matters. How could she know what to do...
"I want my son to live in Dahe Village for a while."
"What?"
Cheng Wanwan widened her eyes.
She said why would the county magistrate ask her about government affairs... No, why would the county magistrate's son live in Dahe Village? He could just live there, so why did he come all the way to tell her?
"Father, what did you say?"
Shen Zheng was also shocked.
“You have no right to speak here.” Magistrate Shen bowed to Cheng Wanwan. “Mrs. Zhao Cheng is admirable in raising her son, but my son is utterly unruly and not even as good as a finger of Er Gou…”
Shen Zheng was not convinced: "Dad, I'm much better than that Zhao Ergou, I..."
"Shut up!" Magistrate Shen glared at her coldly and continued to speak to Cheng Wanwan, "I know this request is too abrupt, but I really have no other choice. My son is unruly. Zhao Chengshi, just discipline him without worrying about his status as the son of a magistrate. Scold him if he needs to, and beat him if he needs to. If he dares to resist, Zhao Chengshi, just come to me."
Cheng Wanwan: "..."
She had never given birth to a child and didn't know how to educate one. How did the county magistrate know that she was a good parent?
The county magistrate's son looked like he deserved a beating. He was the kind of rebellious and trouble-making teenager. She really didn't want to leave any trouble at home.
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