Qingxia Village.
Chen Gui convened a general meeting of all clan members.
Chen Qingshan arranged for several children to act as portable loudspeakers.
"Uncles, aunts, grandpas, and grandmas, gather under the big banyan tree."
Fifteen minutes later.
More than a hundred households came here in scattered groups.
Chen Gui coughed a few times.
"I don't know if you've noticed that there are more locusts in the fields lately. This is not a good thing. Many years ago, there was a locust plague in the village. Thousands upon thousands of locusts swept through the wheat fields and cut down all the wheat stalks. Many people in the village starved to death that year."
"The reason I called everyone here is to let you decide whether or not to start harvesting the wheat ahead of schedule."
After he finished speaking, there was a commotion below.
Aunt Mei glanced at Chen Xian's house.
"San Niu mentioned this before."
Granny Jia muttered, "Now is the time when the wheat ears are growing wildly and full. If we rush to harvest the wheat now, won't we lose dozens or even hundreds of kilograms of wheat?"
Zhang Daguang chimed in, "Yes, yes, I was hoping that after finally finishing the wheat harvest, I could finally have a proper meal of steamed buns that would leave me stuffed. Now that we've lost a few hundred pounds of wheat, who am I supposed to ask for compensation?"
As an elderly man in the village, some people gathered around Uncle Chen.
"Sir, can you collect your packages in advance?"
Uncle Chen hesitated for a moment, which stirred up his long-forgotten thoughts.
I still vividly remember the locust plague that plagued the village years ago, with hundreds and thousands of locusts devouring the crops.
I couldn't help but shudder.
“My family accepted the money early, and I don’t care what you think.”
When someone takes the lead, others will naturally follow suit.
Some people are still observing.
Chen Qingshan continued, "Do you think it's better to harvest less grain in advance, or to wait until the locusts come and leave you with not a single pound of grain? That's all I have to say. You can decide for yourselves."
After finishing speaking, the meeting adjourned.
Chen Xian's family had hand-pulled noodles and braised pork soup for lunch.
The noodles were sprinkled with a lot of wild vegetables.
A lot of chili oil was added.
The strong aroma triggered the whole family to start frantically slurping noodles without saying a word.
After finishing their noodles, everyone had a simple meal and some tea.
Chen Xian chuckled.
"I have to say, people's tastes are really strange. All wild vegetables that don't usually taste very good, and even some roots and stems that are spicy and bitter, when mixed with meat, instantly cut through the greasiness and become incredibly delicious."
After Cuihua finished washing the pot.
Give each member of the Chen family a sickle.
Of course, this excludes San Niu and Si Niu.
The two little girls took four or five bowls and a pot of tea.
I took five or six white steamed buns.
She skipped and hopped along behind the Chen family.
Then came geography.
Chen Xian then realized that there weren't many people working.
Da Cheng's mother asked doubtfully, "Da Zhu's father, are you really going to harvest the wheat ahead of schedule?"
Chen Xian nodded, but didn't say anything.
We arrived at the field.
Six adults stood on one side.
As the sickle made intimate contact with the wheat straw.
Long-forgotten memories began to haunt Chen Xian.
He had harvested wheat.
I attended the village primary school when I was a child. Back then, there was a seven-day wheat harvest holiday, during which the school teachers would also have to go back to harvest wheat.
It's uniformly called Mangjia.
First, with his left hand, he grabbed a large handful of wheat.
Place your right hand on the bottom of the wheat straw.
Pull hard.
He casually gathered the wheat into a pile.
I worked all morning.
My lower back is both sore and numb.
The call of a cuckoo came from nearby.
Coo coo coo coo.
The cicadas chirped and sang.
He blew his nose forcefully.
His mouth and ears were filled with black ash and he was restless, covered in a foul stench of sweat.
The skin on my wrists, arms, and neck is red and itchy.
Dazhu was running in the lead.
His workload was the heaviest among the Chen family members.
Next is Cuihua.
Then there's Li Niang.
Finally, Chen Xian and Shuangshuang came in last place.
The two girls were picking up ears of wheat in the field.
They were only a small distance apart, and he was still far behind.
It was left in my old rural hometown.
A strong, able-bodied man who slacks off like this will be looked down upon.
Chen Xian had a coarse towel draped around his neck. He wiped his flushed face, his body hot and sweaty, as if it were a furnace.
They were stopped by my call.
"Take a break and have some water."
Then the whole family sat in a circle.
While eating steamed buns and drinking water, San Niu and Si Niu shared the cleaned wild onions with everyone.
The Chen family lived on wild scallions, steamed buns, and water.
I'm exhausted after a long day.
My body aches and hurts.
Fortunately, the spring water drawn from the mountain was being channeled into the village's nearly dried-up well.
Otherwise, with the hot weather, lack of water, and inability to take a shower, the sticky and sticky feeling would be unbearable.
Chen Xian and his two sons began fetching water to the Chen family home.
After a busy day, I feel uncomfortable if I don't take a shower.
The night sky is dotted with stars.
After the Chen family finished dinner, mosquitoes were buzzing around outside.
Cuihua pulled out a cattail stick from the corner, lit it, and the room was instantly filled with smoke and fire.
The mosquitoes disappeared by more than half, but everyone was also coughing from the fumes.
Dazhu kept reminiscing about the oil-splashed noodles he had tonight.
It smells so good!
Boil the bay leaves and star anise, add aged vinegar and ginger, then remove the spices.
It's just a bowl of soup base.
Put chili flakes and peanut crumbs in a bowl, cook the noodles, and then pour hot oil over them.
Add bean sprouts and greens.
Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
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