When they arrived at the edge of the field, Zhou and her family had already been working for a while. Chunxiao didn't say much, and started helping Tian tie bean branches. It was the same work from yesterday, and she was already very skilled at it. In the Zhou family before, she had done harder work than this, so this was nothing.
After working for a whole day, there was still about half an acre left in the fields of the eldest and second brothers. It would take another half day to harvest tomorrow to almost finish the harvest.
After dinner, she returned home and immediately ran to the back of the yard. She couldn't tear it apart yet, so she'd better keep it there for a few more hours. Although she was anxious, she knew that impatience wouldn't make things worse. She lit a fire in the yard, thinking that it would be great if there were sweet potatoes so she could roast them over the fire. But she knew there were no sweet potatoes in this world. At least she had never seen one before.
She sat by the fire for an hour. She carefully knocked open the earth bag with a bamboo stick and pulled out all the dry earth blocks. The black carbon inside was exposed. She looked at it in the firelight. The surface was shiny. She broke it with her hands and it made a crisp sound. It should be done, and it sounded of good quality. To further verify it, she turned down the fire of the fire next to her, found a piece of broken charcoal and put it on. After a while, the charcoal burned. There was no smoke, and the burning part had flickering red flames.
Chunxiao lit the charcoal fire without adding any dead branches. As a result, the half-cut charcoal burned for nearly half an hour before it went out. Chunxiao was overjoyed, sure that it was done and of good quality. How to judge the quality of charcoal is that it is smokeless, thick and durable.
She went into the house, lit the lamp, and put the burning charcoal into the room opposite the bedroom in several batches. That room was empty and there was nothing in it, so it was just the right place for her to store some miscellaneous items.
Once the charcoal deal was settled, she felt less anxious. At least she had found a way to make money, and if she couldn't sell it, it wouldn't be a big loss. She could use it for the winter, too. From now on, she would burn a mound of earth every night, and when she went to get a pot in a few days, she would carry a basket to town to test the market.
Because she had plans in mind, she still had trouble sleeping even though she went to bed late.
She still remembered the conversation between the steward and the old man. This good charcoal was 60 wen per jin. The thought of it made her excited again. At 60 wen per jin, her bag of earth would have at least 20 jin, worth a tael of silver. Actually, to go a step further, using fruit wood would be even better. The charcoal would even emit a fruity aroma during use. But who would be so foolish as to cut down a good fruit tree to make charcoal? Fruit trees are worth more than charcoal. As she thought about this, she fell asleep without realizing it.
The next day she got up on time and looked at the charcoal she had burned before going out. She was very happy and full of energy when she went to work in the field.
Today, since the eldest brother had enough people, Zhou and Chunxiao helped the Dahe family harvest. By noon, the beans were almost harvested. Everyone decided to go home and cook after they finished harvesting. They did this until around 1:00 PM when the beans in the field were finally harvested.
The whole family went home together, carrying bundles of beans.
In the afternoon, Yan Dahe and his wife, and Yan Dashan and his wife began to thresh beans at home, while Zhou and Yan Bingfa took her and the children to the fields to pick beans. Not a single bean could be wasted. There were many people in the old family, so Chunxiao helped Duoer and Paner to pick beans. She didn't feel it while picking, but when she got up to go home after work, her back and waist would ache.
"Mom, shall we start preparing the land tomorrow?"
"Yeah, your dad said hurry up, I'm afraid it's going to rain in a few days."
"Raining?" She looked at the fine weather. "Did the village bastard say that?"
"Um."
That's pretty close, "Mom, I'll go get the pot myself when the time comes. I have some things to buy."
"Don't you need someone to accompany you? Can you do it alone?"
"Of course I can, Mom. I find that you always treat me like a child, but now I have my own household." Chunxiao smiled at her.
"I'm used to it. I always feel like you're just my daughter." Zhou smiled. "Otherwise, why does your brother always tease me about being partial?"
"We all need to change. Chunxiao is right. She's already established herself, and she'll have to figure out many things in the future." Although Yan Bingfa was walking in front, he overheard their conversation. "We can't stay with her forever."
"Grandpa, where are you going if I don't accompany you?" Pan'er looked confused.
Yan Bing laughed, "When grandpa gets old, he's going to see the Buddha in the West. No one can stop him."
"Why tell this to the child?" Zhou patted his back. "If she asks you where the Buddha is in the West, I wonder how you'll answer her."
"The Buddha is in the West, why shouldn't I answer?" He picked up Pan'er and said, "When Grandpa goes to the West, Pan'er, remember to burn two more incense sticks toward the west. Grandpa will bless you."
"You're getting more excited the more you talk."
Shuwen and the others did not respond. They were already 11 years old and understood everything they should have. They naturally understood what Grandpa meant.
"Let's not talk about this. We need to till the land tomorrow, but we don't have enough hoes." This tool is really a big problem.
"Almost everyone in the village needs to till the land these days, so it's hard to borrow some. We only have two hoes. You don't need to come help tomorrow, and even if you do, we won't have any tools for you."
"That's impossible. You have to come even if you don't have the tools. Then we can take turns doing it. It won't be so tiring. Mom, don't you agree?"
"That's right."
When the group returned home, Tian was sorting the bean stalks. She moved the shelled stalks aside and swept the shells and beans on the ground together and sifted them with a winnowing basket.
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