Chapter 37 Why didn’t she make trouble?
Bai Li knew nothing about what was happening with Nangong Min. The next day, just after dawn, Aunt Bai prepared breakfast: steamed buns with wild vegetable egg drop soup.
The white flour was given by Bai Li, the wild vegetables were dug on the road, and the eggs were pheasant eggs that Bai Li found while hunting on the road.
All these foods are managed by Grandma Li.
Bai Li knew that he had to work today, so he told himself last night that he had to eat well today, otherwise he would be exhausted.
Mrs. Li also felt sorry for her children and grandchildren, so she took out some white flour and asked Aunt Bai to knead it and let it rise overnight.
The Bai family had a delicious breakfast of white bread, wild vegetables and egg soup in the stilt house and felt full of energy.
When the village chief sent someone to call them, Bai Yue's family had just woken up, so naturally they had no time to cook.
When we arrived at the village entrance, we happened to meet Li Dong and his group who had already returned and were entering the village.
Li Dong glanced at the Bai family with complicated eyes. Cao Rong, whose hands were tied in the crowd, fixed his cold eyes like a poisonous snake on Bai Li's face.
Bai Li turned around and glared at him. He couldn't bear the pressure and looked away unwillingly.
A group of people went over and headed towards the military camp.
Bai Li guessed that Cao Rong was a spy and Li Dong should be unaware of it, but it was hard to say whether he turned a blind eye or not.
Li Dong is a smooth person who knows how to handle current situations and when to advance and retreat. If it weren't for this incident, he would be a talented person who can accomplish things.
Now, even if he was completely unaware of the situation, he could not escape the responsibility of lax management. At the very least, he would be dismissed from his official position and fined, and at the worst, he would be beaten and thrown into jail.
After the group walked away, Bai Li, who was in a trance, was stuffed with a sickle by the village chief. When he heard about the reward for his labor, he was dumbfounded.
"Adult men eat one pound of black noodles a day, and women half a pound?"
Mulangde answered seriously: "Yes, this is only available in our Guizhou area. Other places only give out two black-faced steamed buns a day."
Bai Zongren was explaining to his family: There were two places of exile in the Great Zhou Kingdom, one was the military household area of Yuezhou, and the other was the border area of Qianzhou.
Yuezhou suffers from frequent floods and reduced grain production, and often relies on Qianzhou for grain supplies.
Although Qianzhou is mountainous and not conducive to growing crops like rice that require sufficient water, it is able to grow crops like corn, millet, cotton, and soybeans that are cold-resistant and have strong growth capabilities, and the harvest is good.
The areas in the Great Zhou Dynasty that were rich in grain included Yuezhou, Qianzhou, and Southern Jin.
Only then did Bai Li roughly understand the situation in the Great Zhou. Before, she had the protection of her family and lived a carefree life, jumping around like a monkey every day. How could she care about national affairs?
Having said that, she now has her own space and no worries about food and clothing, so why should she earn that half pound of black flour?
She stuffed the sickle back into the village chief's hand and said, "I work so hard all day and only get half a pound of black flour. I'm done with it, and neither are my mother or my grandmother."
Village chief: “This…”
Bai Yue said quickly when she saw this: "Then we won't do it anymore. Let my father and brother go hunting. At least they can fill their stomachs."
The work is so tiring and the only food we eat is black noodles. I just feel unmotivated no matter how much I listen to it.
"That won't do, you are prisoners now and cannot act on your own.
Female relatives who are sick or weak can be exempted from work, but male relatives must go, otherwise three kilograms of rice will be deducted from each person every day."
"What! If you work, you only get one pound of black flour, but if you don't work, you will be deducted three pounds of rice?
Who made these rules? Is there any justice left?"
Bai Li also felt it was outrageous. He had never seen anything so unfair.
The village chief's face turned black at this time. So many prisoners came here and obeyed the arrangements obediently, so he was kind to General Bai's family. But he was actually taken advantage of!
"This is the rule set by the higher-ups. If you don't agree, you can appeal!
Now, the autumn harvest is approaching. If you delay the storage of autumn grain, you will go to the military headquarters to receive punishment!"
After hearing this, Bai Li stopped thinking about being lazy, took the sickle obediently, put on the weft hat her mother had made overnight, and said to her family behind her: "Let's go!"
Bai Yue was dumbfounded, "Hey! No..."
Why didn't she make a fuss anymore?
Is this a compromise?
Bai Li turned around and rolled her eyes at her. She really thought that everyone else was a fool, not knowing that she was the one who was both stupid and incompetent!
All the members of the Bai family took the farm tools and left, including eight-year-old Bai Yu and six-year-old Bai Liulang.
During the busy farming season, there is no one idle. Children who cannot do the work of adults pick up rice ears behind their parents, and are compensated by the kilogram of rice after work.
Bai Zongshen had no choice but to follow. Baihu muttered "hungry" and walked away while touching his stomach.
Seeing that everyone had gone far away, Mu had no choice but to pull Bai Yue to follow.
When Bai Li and the others reached the highest point, they saw a magnificent autumn harvest scene:
The golden autumn sunshine shines on the terraces, making them golden and brilliant, as if the earth was covered with a gorgeous golden carpet.
Looking down from above, the rice terraces are surging layer by layer, and the rice ears are shining with golden light.
On these layers of ridges, farmers came to the fields early with farm tools on their shoulders.
They wore conical hats and coarse clothes, their faces filled with the joy of a good harvest.
The men rolled up their trouser legs, stepped into the rice fields, bent down, and waved the sickles in their hands. The sound of "swish" was endless, and one swarm of plump rice ears fell one after another in their hands.
The women followed closely behind, tying up the cut rice ears with skillful and neat movements.
As they worked, they chatted with each other, their laughter echoing in the terraced fields: "This year's harvest is much better than last year!"
"Yes, God bless you, our hard work has not been in vain."
The children were not idle either. They ran around the fields, helping to pass the rice bundles. Their little faces were covered in sweat, but they were full of energy.
The threshing ground in the distant village was even more lively.
The old ox pulled the stone roller, walking in circles on the ground covered with rice. The grains fell off the rice ears, making a crackling sound.
Several strong men held wooden shovels and kept turning the rice so that every grain could fully receive sunlight to dry.
Behind Bai Li, the village chief Mulangde stroked his beard and looked at the busy and orderly scene with satisfaction, muttering to himself: "Another fruitful harvest."
Good harvest, full granaries, and healthy people."
"These can only be looked at, not eaten. I don't know which corrupt official has eaten them. I really don't know what they are so happy about!"
Bai Li said this in a very unpleasant way. Mulangde wanted to cover her mouth with her hand, but the scene of her beating up an entire platoon suddenly flashed through her mind.
The shadow in his heart followed him everywhere, and he couldn't get rid of it. He couldn't withstand her punch.
So, the hand just stayed there awkwardly.
"My dear aunt, please don't say that. You'll lose your head!"
Seeing how pitiful he looked with his face pale with fear, Bai Li decided not to make things difficult for him.
The autumn wind blows, bringing with it the fragrance of rice, and the entire terraced field is immersed in the joy of harvest.
People's laughter and working figures blend into the golden rice fields, forming a beautiful picture of the terraced fields in autumn harvest.
Bai Li was stunned by what he saw. It was undeniable that the painting was quite beautiful.
"Let's eat!"
Bai Zongren took the lead. He took off his cloth shoes, rolled up his trouser legs, rolled up his sleeves, bent down with a sickle, and cut a few crops with one sickle. He grabbed them with his big hands and put them aside.
The movements look quite skillful.
Bai Fu cut a path beside him, and the others dispersed, standing on the ridges and cutting a few crops before stepping into the fields.
Meanwhile, Aunt Li Liming, Yuebai, and others were cutting down crop after crop of rice stalks and piling them into rows of "rice stacks". The hanging rice ears were full of grains and golden in color, which was a delight to look at.
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