Chapter 3 Work
Xie Yun grabbed a handful of wheat from her space to feed her six chickens, and also fed the pigs and rabbits. She had mountains of food and various agricultural products in her space, but it was hard to get them out.
None of the livestock or poultry were fat, and the pigs were so skinny that their ribs were almost visible. The chickens only laid an egg every other day.
The Liushutun Brigade where the Xie family lived did not have any clear restrictions on members raising livestock and poultry, but everyone consciously did not raise more. One reason was that there was no surplus food at home and they could not afford to raise more, and the other was that they were afraid of the current situation.
So it was agreed that every family would raise one or two pigs, two chickens per person, and they could also raise rabbits.
The Xie family raises one pig, six chickens, and three rabbits. They were all caught in the spring. The rabbits can be sold after the autumn harvest, but the pigs have to wait until the end of the year. The chickens can wait a little longer, as their primary function is to lay eggs. They can only be sold next year, after all, when new laying hens are raised.
Xie Shen is usually responsible for collecting grass for the pigs, catching insects for the chickens, and feeding the rabbits.
Xie Yun had just arrived and was trying hard to fit in. She took a quick look around the house, finished some odd jobs, then picked up her shoulder pole, hooked it to her bucket, and went to the well to fetch water. This was something the original owner often did.
According to the memories she received, Zhang Ruifeng and Xie Shen were both good people, and there were no conflicts among the family of three. The original owner loved her mother and brother very much, and they loved her too. Everyone worked hard hoping to live a good life.
Xie Yun didn't know why he came here, but since he was already here, he might as well do this for now.
The key is that she feels that she can never go back.
Xie Yun carried the bucket out of the door, turned around, closed the door, and walked towards the well.
There is a sweet water well not far from Xie's house.
Xie Yun was glad that he inherited the original owner's skills, so washing clothes, doing housework, and fetching water were no problem for him.
It is the end of August and the weather is still very hot. The autumn harvest has just begun and it is a busy time. Except for the real children and the elderly, everyone else has gone to the fields.
Xie Yun came to the well, turned the windlass to draw water from the well, and then easily carried two buckets of water back. It was effortless, and he didn't spill the water or shake it around and hit his legs.
She is so amazing!
Xie Yun was very happy. She carried water and walked back with a smile on her face.
A grandmother sewing shoe soles at the door saw her from a distance and asked, "Binbin, why didn't you go to work today? What good news is going on? You look so happy!"
The character "Yun" in Xie Yun's name is considered an uncommon character, and many people don't know how to pronounce it, so the original owner had a nickname called Binbin, which was taken from part of her name. In this respect, she is the same as her.
"Grandma, I got caught in the rain last night and had a fever in the middle of the night. I asked for leave and didn't go to work. I thought it would last two days, but it was gone in less than half a day. I'm so happy! I can go back to work this afternoon."
Xie Yun spoke excitedly, and his words were full of his yearning for labor.
"Kid, there are many people who find ways to be lazy, but you are just like your mother, thinking about working all day long. Just take a day off and go back tomorrow."
"Don't worry, my mother and brother are still working in the fields. How can I just sit there and relax? Besides, my family still owes the brigade money. I have to work harder to make up for the overspending."
Xie Yun spoke without pausing, and by the time he had finished speaking, he was already far away. The old woman smiled and shook her head, muttering to herself, "There are several families who owe overdue loans, and they are not in a hurry to pay them back. The brigade is not pressing them, so maybe they won't have to pay them back in the future."
She spoke quietly, but Xie Yun still heard it. It was impossible for him not to pay it back. The brigade didn't ask for repayment, because it was useless. But the brigade had plenty of ways to get members to pay back, and in the end, no one could deny the debt.
She'd read a lot of historical materials before her time travel, so she was quite familiar with this. Villagers often needed letters of introduction, stamps, and approval from the brigade to get things done, whether it was getting married or getting a birth permit. These were the times when the brigade would get in the way. If you wanted the brigade's cooperation, you had to pay your debts first.
Some have dragged on for ten, twenty years or even longer, but eventually they all have to be repaid.
Xie Yun returned home, poured the water into the water tank, and then went out to fetch two more buckets. It was hot now, so water was being used sparingly.
If she doesn't choose, her mother will.
Comrade Zhang Ruifeng's health isn't very good, but she has to work hard. She has no choice but to persevere. So, she should do more.
After fetching water, Xie Yun began to prepare lunch.
She walked to Zhang Ruifeng's room and saw that the ground flour had been used up. She had no choice but to open the clay jar containing the grain, use a ladle to scoop out some wheat, some corn, and some dried sweet potatoes and put them in a winnowing basket, and then grabbed two handfuls of wheat from the space and mixed them in.
Now there is no electric grinder or mill in the brigade, and people grind flour on the millstone. The Xie family grinds enough flour for two days at a time.
The high-quality land in Liushutun is used to grow one season of winter wheat and one season of corn. These lands are surrounded by well-maintained canals, which can be used for irrigation during droughts. The village has already moved away from relying on the weather for its livelihood.
On the hillsides, on less irrigated, less-fertile land, we planted sweet potatoes, peanuts, sesame seeds, millet, and sorghum. We planted the seeds, weeded them regularly, and sometimes fertilized them, leaving the rest to fate. Sweet potatoes usually yielded a good harvest, but the others were harder to predict.
The wheat harvest had long since passed, and the wheat had been distributed to every household. This was this year's new wheat, while the corn and dried sweet potatoes were still last year's stock. These items were periodically placed in the scorching sun to prevent them from infesting insects, moisture, and mold.
Xie Yun held the winnowing basket between his arm and waist, and put a broom, a sieve and a basket bed in it, then walked towards the millstone.
At this time, people had not yet finished their work and there was no one at the millstone. Xie Yun could calmly sweep the millstone clean with a broom, then beat it with the broom, pour the grain he brought onto the millstone in a circle, insert a wooden stick into the stone mill, and start grinding.
While pushing, you also need to use a broom to sweep the grain to the middle.
After a while, when the powder is almost ground, put it into the sieve and sieve it on the sieve bed. The fine part will fall into the dustpan, and the coarse part will be poured back to the millstone to continue grinding. Repeat this process several times until it is almost ground.
The finer the flour is ground, the tastier the resulting dry food will be.
By the time Xie Yun finished, people started coming to the millstone one after another.
"Binbin, go grind the flour. Your mom said you have a fever. Are you better now?"
"The fever just broke."
"You are really hardworking. After the fever subsided, instead of resting at home, you came out to work."
"If I don't do it, my mother will. She has been busy in the fields for a long time."
"Look, when will my daughter be as diligent as you?"
"Sister Erni is even more diligent than me, so just be content."
Xie Yun received the original owner's memories and had impressions of these people in the village.
The middle-aged woman who had spoken to her laughed heartily. She was just joking. Her daughter was just as capable as the Xie family's daughter. Moreover, her daughter had been working as a laborer since she was 14, while Binbin started at 16.
Xie Yun packed up his things, said goodbye to everyone, and went home carrying the winnowing basket.
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