After tireless efforts before and after the Lunar New Year, the five acres of land have now been harvested.
The potatoes filled more than a dozen sacks and were thrown directly into the warehouse.
The corn was all turned into corn kernels, and some was even ground into corn flour.
Just thinking about the sweet cornbread made Jiayin's mouth water.
But that won't do. This cornmeal is prepared for all the mouths in the courtyard; there's no share for her!
The four piglets weren't fed properly on a regular basis; most of the time they were just given a few cabbages to eat.
Therefore, they don't grow very fast.
Half a year has passed, and he only weighs 80 or 90 pounds, which is quite pitiful.
With cornmeal available, I might be able to gain some weight.
However, I can no longer eat meat.
Four piglets; when buying them, I specifically chose two males and two females.
The pigs sold at the rural market in my hometown are all local pigs raised by villagers from the surrounding area.
They don't grow as fast as specially bred fattening pigs, but their meat is more flavorful.
Even the boars were never castrated, thus maintaining their fertility.
Jiayin hopes to recover well for another two years.
These two pairs of young piglets will fall in love and then have offspring.
If her children have more children, she'll have an endless supply of pork.
Just thinking about it makes me excited!
The four piglets were unaware that their reproductive ability had saved them from an imminent slaughter...
Those ducks and geese were also quite good.
I wander around every day, looking for some snacks and a few leafy greens, and that's enough for me.
One egg a day, occasionally one every two days.
A group of model workers have already filled two of the Li family's salted egg jars.
The chicks, on the other hand, were the happiest.
Two roosters, each with a harem of seven or eight hens, often sneak off to the back field to steal corn, relying on their wings to half-fly. They eat until the corn is clean and shiny.
It's only the beginning of spring, and some hens have already laid down more than twenty eggs.
In a month or so, there will be dozens of fluffy little chicks in the yard.
This is also why Jiayin, despite his saliva, never considered killing the chicken except to nourish his mother during their escape from famine.
Long-term planning and sustainable development are the unchanging principles of the courtyard.
Now we're just waiting for the family to start farming, planting three mu of sorghum, one mu of potatoes, and one mu of corn.
Sorghum supplements the family's crop yield, while potatoes and corn are used to feed the chickens and pigs.
Corn stalks and corn kernels can both be used as fuel.
It will come in handy when we cook food for the pigs.
In addition to these, Jiayin added a big task for himself: to find stones around the five acres of land, and even moved all the stones used to build the back wall.
She cleaned the stones and placed them in the middle of the yard—the most conspicuous and easily accessible spot.
This is a self-defense measure she prepared for herself, but unfortunately, she hasn't had the chance to practice it yet.
Otherwise, she wanted to try to move the stones out.
Ideally, land at a height of ten meters or so and aim for the target.
Let alone a person, it could kill a cow instantly.
It has to be said that Wu Ergou's secret carrying her to the casino had left her with a psychological scar.
She didn't want to experience that feeling of helplessness a second time...
Seasons are a magical thing. Before the New Year, the wind was still biting cold, and you couldn't even hold your hands in your hands because of the cold.
But once the Lunar New Year was over, in just over a month, the weather changed drastically.
The cold wind has softened, and the sun is brighter and warmer.
On the hillside and in the earth, the snow melted rapidly, restoring the original colors of heaven and earth and faintly bringing life.
The boys were forbidden from going to the river, and occasionally some would disobey, resulting in their mother grabbing their ears and beating them until they howled in pain.
The Li family doesn't need to do that, because the lessons learned from Jiaxi and Jia'an are too profound, and they have learned their lesson.
The ten acres of land that the Li family bought had been abandoned for two years and overgrown with weeds.
The Li brothers went to the fields early in the morning with their tools to cut grass and burn stubble.
Jiaren has already started school, bringing with him the food his family prepared for him, as well as tuition fees for the three months of spring semester and some spare change.
Jiayi was taken away by Liu Biaotou before the first month of the lunar calendar was even over.
I heard that this trip won't be far; it will only take a month to make a round trip.
Jia Huan went out to cook twice more, accompanied by her mother Zhao Yuru and aunt Tao Hongying.
He's a qualified kitchen helper now, a master at chopping and preparing vegetables.
After discussing it with Zhao Yuru, Tao Hongying often let Jia Huan help with cooking at home.
Whether it tastes good or not, we're all family, so no one will complain.
After calculating all that, there weren't many people left who could work in the fields. Only Li Lao Er, Lao San, and Lao Si were left, along with their two sons, Jia Xi and Jia An.
Fortunately, the Li family only bought ten acres of land.
With Li Laosi's superhuman strength, he could do the work of three people and manage to keep things going.
The villagers weren't in a hurry at first, but seeing that the Li family had started, they all got busy too.
Jiayin was so bored that she rolled around on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the room.
She wants to go out!
But the weather outside was still too cold for a little baby like her.
Grandma Li was extremely vigilant, absolutely not allowing her granddaughter to leave her sight for even a moment, not even Tao Hongying.
Even breastfeeding had to be done indoors, and Tao Hongying was happy with that.
It has to be said that the whole family was traumatized by the loss of their child.
Helpless, Jiayin could only try her best to crawl.
But who can tell her why she has to jump like a frog, kicking her legs hard to get up and fly further?
This pose is so awkward, it doesn't suit a beautiful girl like her!
Jiaxi and Jia'an ran in from outside and saw that their younger sister's face was flushed from exhaustion, so they couldn't help but go up and tease her.
"Haha, my little sister looks like a big toad."
"Give it your all, little sister! Yes, kick your legs, kick your legs!"
When Grandma Li saw that her granddaughter had rolled over and was not moving, she guessed that she was angry, so she quickly called out to her grandsons.
"Did you all go down to the fields? Look at you, you're all filthy like mud monkeys! Go wash up!"
Jiaxi and Jia'an quickly ran out, playing and frolicking as they went, being incredibly naughty.
Grandma Li held her granddaughter and coaxed her.
"Don't be angry, Fu Niu'er. Grandma will take you outside to get some sunshine."
Jiayin was immediately overjoyed and danced with delight.
She's been cooped up in the house for a month now, and she's so bored!
Just as Old Lady Li had wrapped Jiayin up like a cotton ball, Li Lao Er, who had gone to the city, returned.
He drove the village chief's donkey cart, laughing and speaking loudly.
"Mom, I bought sorghum seeds and millet. There are many more people in the city than before, and everyone is busy planting crops."
Grandma Li stepped forward to take a look and smiled as well.
"People who are living their lives properly are all getting busy. Whether this year will be good or not depends on spring, so no one dares to slack off."
Jiayin stared intently at the bags of grain seeds on the donkey cart, her eyes shining.
There aren't any sorghum seeds yet in the fields of her small courtyard.
I might have to become a thief again.
Li Lao Er carried the seeds into the warehouse and was about to return the donkey cart.
Old Mrs. Li rummaged through her family's stock and kept it.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Jiayin reached out her little hand and put the bag of good seeds into her space.
As soon as Grandma Li turned around, she was startled by the empty ground.
Where are the grain bags?
She searched everywhere, but couldn't find it.
Looking at his smiling granddaughter, what else could he not understand?
She lowered her voice and whispered to her granddaughter, "Fu Niu'er, do you think the seeds will be useful?"
"Ah," Jiayin responded.
"Is this enough? Should I ask your second uncle to go buy some more?"
"Ah, ah."
"What about millet and vegetable seeds? Do you need those too?"
The grandfather and grandson were having a lively question-and-answer session when Li Lao Er suddenly returned.
He called out from the yard, "Mom, the village chief and some uncles are here."
Grandma Li quickly carried Jiayin outside, and sure enough, the village chief and several old men from next door were in the yard.
This person clearly has something to say!
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