Chapter 141 Harvest and Mountain Goods: Harvesting potatoes, finding mountain goods, delivering food...
After returning to the village, he first took Lamb home before Ray drove home.
As soon as they approached the gate, they saw the candlelight in the living room. A moment later, Neil ran out and eagerly unlocked the door for Ray.
"Why didn't you sleep at Guge's house?"
"You said you'd be back today, so I wanted to wait at home. Tata, Blackie, and the Red Wild Bird are all fed. Brother, come in quickly."
Neil opened the gate to let the mule cart in. Ray steered the cart back into the yard.
Have you had dinner?
"I ate at Grandpa Guge's house. Today, some fruit buyers came over, so Grandpa Guge sold all the melons in his field. He also asked the fruit-buying melon farmers to pull up the melon vines. Grandpa Guge gave him a lot of copper coins, and he happily cleaned up all the melon vines."
"There must be quite a few melons."
"Yes, the truck is already full and it's still not all loaded. We'll come back tomorrow."
Neil followed behind Rye, telling him about all the things that had happened in the two days he was away.
Has anyone been to our house?
"No."
Neil shook his head, which reassured Ray a lot.
"good."
The egg we found is still in the wooden box; it absolutely must not be discovered.
After spending a little time tidying up the mule cart, Ray quickly washed himself with the hot water Neil had boiled.
I came back after being away for two days, and I was covered in dust.
After tidying up, Lai went back to her room to sleep, and Neil extinguished the candle and went back to his room to sleep as well. It was another peaceful night.
As autumn arrives, the grains in the fields ripen.
This year's rainfall was less than in previous years, but the occasional heavy rains coincided with the period when crops needed rain the most, so this year's harvest was still very bountiful.
In just over twenty days, the harvest will begin, which is the day the villagers have been looking forward to the most.
The vegetables grown in each garden will only get older and older, and some families have already started drying various kinds of vegetables.
The longer it goes on, the less valuable vegetables will become.
We have a large vegetable garden at home with plenty of vegetables to eat, so we don't have the spare money to buy them elsewhere.
Cabbage, potatoes, and green beans have become common foods on the tables of every household.
The Lai family was no exception; they ate green beans and eggplants until they looked completely pale.
The sunflowers in the field drooped their heads, no longer displaying their proud posture when facing the sun; they were hunched over, like old men weathered by time.
It's time to collect.
While at home, Lei cut down all the sunflowers in the garden with a sickle, leaving only the mature flower heads to dry in the sun and remove moisture.
The potato and sweet potato vines begin to turn yellow and wither, and even if they are left, they will no longer provide nutrients to the tubers buried in the ground.
When Ray dealt with the sunflowers, he simply used a sickle to clear them away, leaving only bare soil and short stubble of potato vines on the ground.
The vines that were harvested were too old to be eaten by the livestock, and they would rot and stink if left on the ground, so they were all thrown into the compost pit.
No need to worry, nature will degrade them on its own, and by next spring they will have turned into nutrient-rich organic fertilizer.
Without mechanical tools, digging potatoes and sweet potatoes is hard work; you can only carefully dig them out with a five-pronged fork, especially since Lai planted a lot this year.
Without further ado, Lai went to the warehouse, found a pitchfork lying on the roof frame, put on a straw hat for sun protection, and started digging sweet potatoes.
There are actually two reasons for planting so many potatoes and sweet potatoes.
One purpose is to store it for our own consumption in winter, and the other is to make the extra into vermicelli, which can be stored for a longer time.
With each fork of his spear, he could pry out several sweet potatoes. After digging only half a row, Lamb strolled over.
He went to the warehouse, found a pitchfork, and started digging with Ray.
For a time, the furrows were all pink.
"Brother, you've really planted a lot of sweet potatoes this year. Are you going to sell them?"
"We're not selling them, we're keeping them all. Have you started digging sweet potatoes at home yet?"
"Not yet, probably in the next few days. If it drags on any longer, we'll have to go to the fields to harvest the grain."
The sweet potatoes on several rows were dried in just over an hour, but the ones lying on the ground hadn't been picked up yet.
The sweet potatoes were just thrown around in the damp soil that had been turned over, and the two of them sat under the shady eaves and ate a watermelon.
"Brother, let's dig up the potatoes while we're at it, then we can rest and pick them up in the afternoon."
Aren't you tired?
"Aren't you tired, brother? Are you tired?"
"It's alright, not tiring. It's good that we finished it all in one go."
Ray originally planned to finish the work by himself over two days, but Lamb's arrival greatly improved efficiency.
"After we finish the chores at home, we'll go to the nearby mountains to find some chestnuts and pine nuts. I'll process them and we can sell them in town for a good amount of money. I'll share half with you."
“Brother, you don’t need to share with me. I’m fine following you around every day. You’ve broadened my horizons a lot. I’m eating and drinking for free every day. If you give me money again, how am I supposed to explain it to my family?”
Lei smiled without saying a word.
He had already made his plans. Lamb had done a lot of work for him, and he had volunteered to do all the heavy physical labor. It was impossible for him not to show any appreciation.
"Brother, say something! I'm telling the truth, I really am!"
"Okay, I got it. Throw the watermelon rinds to the mule after you finish eating them; they're good for quenching thirst."
"Okay, sure."
Lai and Lamb ate about half a watermelon, then got up to continue cutting potatoes.
Potatoes are planted more often than sweet potatoes. Although sweet potatoes have a higher yield, they all grow to varying sizes. Sometimes a single forkful yields only small potatoes the size of bird eggs, while other times it yields two or three large potatoes.
Each fork is like opening a blind box.
Ray and Lamb were working hard in the field.
Noon arrived quickly, the sun was high in the sky, and the temperature rose sharply.
After a while, Lai called Lamb to go back to his room to rest.
The sun was too strong; sweat streamed down my forehead, some even getting into my eyes. If I kept going, I'd definitely get heatstroke; I'd better go inside and avoid the sun.
The remaining potatoes that haven't been dug up can be dealt with in half an hour this afternoon.
"It's getting hotter every day."
Lamb complained.
Lai washed a handkerchief with cool water and handed it to him, then took one for himself to wipe the sweat off his body.
"It's so hot that people can't even eat."
Lamb continued to complain.
Ray felt the same way.
It's so hot, and there's no air conditioning or fan, it's really hard to bear. Sometimes I don't even want to move.
"How about we make some cold noodles when we get hungry later?"
"good!"
Lamb agreed wholeheartedly, which made Ray suspect that Lamb was waiting for him there.
All the windows and doors on the first floor were open, and occasionally a few gusts of wind would come in, dispelling the heat from our bodies.
It's hot everywhere, and nowhere is comfortable to stay.
Tata spread herself out like a pancake on the wooden floor on the second floor, which was cooler than the first floor.
Little Black was also so hot that it stuck out its tongue.
Looking at the listless little black dog, Lei got up, fetched some cool water, and fed it to the family's livestock.
With such hot weather, it's very important to replenish fluids and electrolytes promptly.
When I returned to the house, Lamb was already asleep in the recliner by the fireplace, looking very comfortable.
Lai washed the handkerchief again in cool water, dried herself off briefly, and went to find a place to sleep.
Neil returned home in the afternoon, and the three of them ate cold noodles. The temperature had dropped a bit, so they went back to the field to dig potatoes.
After a midday of intense sunshine, the damp soil turned over in the field had long since dried out. The mud clinging to the potatoes had turned into dry clumps that crumbled easily with a tap.
Ray and Lamb dug up the remaining potatoes, while Neil pulled a sack and picked up the ones that had already been dug up from the ground.
The larger potatoes were put in bags, while the smaller ones were thrown into baskets.
After Ray and Lamb dug out all the potatoes, they picked up more potatoes with Neil.
In the end, the tubers that Lai planted in the spring yielded a total of two and a half bags of sweet potatoes and more than four bags of potatoes.
Because large burlap sacks are prone to leaking holes, the burlap sacks here are not very big, so it was expected that so many could be collected.
After harvesting the potatoes and sweet potatoes, Lai temporarily stored them in the warehouse. The warehouse was shady and sheltered from the rain, and it was also convenient to retrieve them.
The remaining small potatoes were placed under the eaves.
Small potatoes are a bit troublesome to process, but you can't just throw them away.
Lai plans to use these small potatoes as a main side dish for the foreseeable future.
Potato salad, potatoes with sauce, stewed potatoes with meat...
A dozen or so dishes popped into his mind, but the sheer number of potatoes still posed a challenge for him.
Sigh, let's just eat as much as we can.
Lei thought helplessly.
The sunflowers, sweet potatoes, and potatoes in the field have been dealt with, but the chili peppers that were planted also need to be harvested as soon as possible.
More than half of the peppers have turned red. After picking these red peppers, just like last year, we can string them together with hemp rope and hang them somewhere.
It doesn't take up much space and is also aesthetically pleasing.
We planted a lot of chili peppers this year; I estimate we can string several bunches of them together.
After tidying up the vegetable garden in two or three days, Lai and Lamb began to wander around the various hilltops with a purpose.
There aren't many chestnut groves, and you have to compete with other people for them. Pine trees are easier to find, but they're a bit far.
Lai is lucky; the chestnut grove from last year hasn't been discovered by anyone else yet, so he can pick even more this year.
Lai and Lamb traveled back and forth between Lai's house and the chestnut grove every day, picking chestnuts for two or three days, barely managing to fill a truckload. It looked like a lot, but after peeling them, not many were left.
Five days have passed in the blink of an eye, and it's time to send food to the goblins working over at the low hill.
They picked three large pumpkins, a lot of cabbages and round cabbages, a small bag of potatoes, a jar of fine salt, half a carcass of sweet and sour meat, flour, and other miscellaneous things.
Ray set off in his mule cart, and Lamb went along with him.
It was still afternoon when we arrived at Aishan.
The goblins were all working in the mountains; only Nana was at the camp.
She wasn't idle either; before Ray and the others arrived, she was making tableware out of wood.
"Lord Lei, Lord Lamb, you have arrived."
Nana greeted him with a smile, but her address of "My Lord" made Lamb feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Iru is also on the mountain?"
"Yes, they won't be back until dusk. Yesterday they found a large area of suitable timber, and Iru took them to cut down trees."
"Nana answered," she replied, her tone tinged with a hint of pride.
Is there any food left?
"Yes, there are many more. Sometimes, hunting wild birds and long-toothed beasts can save a lot of food."
Nana led Lai into the tent and showed him how much food was left.
"Are you coming back to the village with me this time?"
Nana hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.
"Next time, I'll go back together next time."
"Okay, you decide for yourself."
"Brother, I've unloaded the car!"
"good!"
Lamb shouted from the side of the truck bed, and nimbly carried the grain and vegetables from the truck into the tent.
It was hot, so the canvas that served as the door was always open.
With the help of Lai and Nana, they unloaded everything in a few trips.
"Some of the potatoes I brought this time are quite small, so they might be a bit more troublesome to process."
"It's alright, it's alright."
These are all minor matters. Having enough food to eat is already a gift from God. Big or small, none of these matters to Nana. As long as she can eat, that's all that matters.
"Is there anything you want to take back with you?"
Lai asked Nana.
"No, the goblins have not found any food that can be harvested in large quantities."
"Don't worry, we'll find it."
"Um."
Lai's main purpose this time was to deliver food; after that, he drove off in his mule cart. They would stay a few more days when they returned in seven days.
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 09:41:53 on May 21, 2024 and 23:58:23 on May 22, 2024!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Fengyu (19 bottles); Don't be wronged! (5 bottles); Cultivating immortality is great, and Knowledge is boundless (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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