The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had just finished drying the wood ear mushrooms when Xu Errui returned carrying a hoe, his bare feet still damp with moisture: "Mother, Uncle said the wheat can be harvested in half a month at most."
These past few days, the sparrows have been increasing in number, ruining many ears of wheat; even scarecrows aren't working!
Don't underestimate sparrows just because they have small beaks; they're incredibly good at eating crops, after all, they truly deserve their reputation as one of the "Four Pests".
These days, Grandpa Xiaoman stays on the terraced fields every day, watching over the birds during the day and the rabbits at night, competing with these mountain animals for a bite of food.
There's really nothing we can do!
Sparrows can fly, and there are many of them. At first, we used straw men to scare them for a while, but now they can perch on the straw men's heads to have a feast and poop.
Not only do they play with people, but they can also call on their friends and companions. Jiang Zhi felt that all the sparrows within a hundred miles of the mountain had come.
There's nothing we can do with them; we can only take turns guarding the fields.
Jiang Zhi is also busy. With the high temperature, there is more work to be done with the cotton seedlings, including pruning and breaking off buds.
To prevent them from competing with the main branches for nutrients, remove a few reserved side branches and leave no other branches.
If you're lazy for a day, you'll grow an extra branch; if you're lazy for three days, you'll become so lush and leafy that the flowers that have already bloomed can't get sunlight and pollinate, and eventually even the cotton bolls will fall off.
Jiang Zhi was still waiting for these dozens of cotton plants to survive the winter, so she dared not be careless at all.
She calculated that if the cotton was not lost, she could harvest ten kilograms of seed cotton.
One pound of seed cotton can yield four ounces of lint cotton, which is equivalent to four pounds of clean cotton for spinning yarn and making cotton wool without any cottonseed.
The winter temperature here is around 0 degrees Celsius, but it's not freezing cold. Four pounds of cotton is enough to make coats for two adults and there's still some left over.
Fortunately, the rain is even, with a shower every three to five days, so there's no need to carry water for irrigation, saving us a big hassle.
Things don't always go smoothly. Jiang Zhi had just finished inspecting the cotton and was carrying a full basket of vegetables and beans home when Xiao Man came running over in a panic: "Auntie, a lot of people came to the village today!"
He went to check on the situation in the village again.
As Jiang Zhi sorted the green beans in her hands, preparing to cook a pot of green beans, she asked, "Tell me, who are they?"
A few days ago, Xiaoman mentioned that there were migrant workers living in the village, and now there are just a few more households.
Xiaoman ran quickly, her face covered in sweat. She first grabbed a bamboo tube filled with spring water and gulped down two mouthfuls before saying, "A lot of soldiers have come to the village again, bringing things in a horse-drawn cart. It looks like they're going to build a shed. They've also stopped the refugees on the road and won't let them leave."
This is somewhat surprising. If it were hot and humid, the refugees might stay for a few days. What were the soldiers planning to do by stopping the refugees?
Unfortunately, Jiang Zhi hasn't dreamed of listening to audiobooks for over a month, and she doesn't know if the male lead, Nie Fantian, has already caught a ride on the wave and embarked on his own storyline.
However, since the male protagonist and she have already separated, she doesn't need to worry about him anymore; she just needs to live her own life now.
Jiang Zhi became serious: "Look at those sheds the soldiers have set up. Are they just for temporary use, or are they going to stay there for a while? And what are those refugees doing?"
Xiaoman fanned himself with his sleeve: "They're intercepting able-bodied migrant workers. Those sheds are made of tarpaulin and look very sturdy. I'm afraid we'll be living there for a while!"
Jiang Zhi was confused. Was the village's military force good or bad to them? This was a problem caused by a lack of information.
She couldn't sit still, so she quickly went to the edge of the terraced fields to find Uncle Xiaoman, who was chasing away sparrows.
Outside the terraced fields, a thatched hut was built with tree branches. Several people took turns guarding the birds during the day and at night because food was so precious.
After chasing away the sparrows, Grandpa Xiaoman didn't rest. He kept working in the fields, crushing the clods of earth into fine powder and pulling out all the weeds to make a big pile of fertilizer.
The rice seedlings in the paddy field have already grown to a foot tall. Time is running out. As soon as the wheat harvest is finished, we must quickly irrigate the field and transplant the rice seedlings.
Jiang Zhi called him back from the rice paddy and asked Xiao Man to repeat what she had just said.
Xiaomanye also looked worried. Although he had experienced war and chaos for several months, he had also been through it.
He was young then, able to run, jump, and fight. He could run with a child in tow, so he wasn't panicked. He just kept going in the village and eventually got through it.
Now things are different: "What can we do? We can fight back when refugees come, but we wouldn't dare do that with soldiers!"
When refugees arrive, they are simply attacked; even the dead can be quietly buried and that's it.
Sergeant Lai cannot do that; not only will he be outmatched, but if one of them gets into trouble, an entire battalion will be sent.
For a moment, everyone was at a loss!
Grandpa Xiaoman stared at the wheat field, anxiously rubbing his hands. The wheat had already begun to be harvested. Harvesting it a few days earlier wouldn't be a bad thing, but it wouldn't be plump enough and would lose weight.
He was considering whether or not to harvest the wheat ahead of schedule.
"Don't panic. I'll go check on things tomorrow too. Don't scare yourself!"
Jiang Zhi still harbored some hope, after all, the cliff she was on was not close to the village.
If the soldiers were to set up camp, even if they were to demarcate a warning zone, they wouldn't demarcate it to this particular hilltop.
If it really is soldiers searching the mountain, then they need to find a way to leave quickly, otherwise the "weapons" they made will be useless.
That night, under the bright moonlight, Jiang Zhi, Xiao Man, and Xu Errui set off together to check on the situation in the village.
Qiaoyun could only be entrusted to Xiaoman's grandmother for a while.
There were no roads on the mountain, so they had to trek through the forest and climb rocks, but fortunately the three of them were already familiar with the terrain.
Aside from nearly stepping on two snakes, startling three pheasants, and scaring away a badger, the journey was relatively smooth.
When Jiang Zhi reached the cliff where she usually kept watch over the village, she looked down and saw that the village had indeed changed.
The once desolate village was now lit by several bonfires, and figures could be seen moving about, with even the knives at their waists visible.
Beside the campfire were several newly built, large sheds.
Several dilapidated houses were demolished in order to create these sheds, including Jiang Zhi's house.
Xu Errui snorted angrily: "There were a few jars at home that we didn't take when we went up the mountain. They wouldn't burn even if we burned them. But once we opened them, there was nothing left!"
Xu Errui couldn't bear to leave his own home.
Jiang Zhi didn't make a sound. At this moment, she was annoyed by the long-legged mosquitoes in the mountains biting her.
Suddenly, Xiaoman, who had been silent all along, exclaimed, "Look! The refugee living in my house is a woman!"
Jiang Zhi looked toward Xiao Man's house in the village. There was a shack there, and someone was burning mugwort around it to repel mosquitoes.
The firelight cast indistinct shadows, obscuring faces; only the outline of a woman's figure and movements could be discerned.
The woman's mugwort hadn't finished burning, and she was about to turn around and extinguish it when suddenly a man crept out from the shadows and grabbed her waist...
well!
Jiang Zhi turned her face away, intending to tell Xiao Man to stop looking, but then she heard a man's screams and curses coming from the direction of the village.
He turned around abruptly and saw the woman holding a bright red moxa stick, frantically pounding it into the man's hands, face, and chest.
Sparks flew under the moonlight, and amidst the man's screams and escape, there was laughter from other refugees, as well as the screams and cries of women.
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