October 28, 2007, sunny.
It was late autumn and the dawn came much later than in the summer. At six o'clock in the morning there was only a little gray light.
But the three groups' courtyards had already been busy, washing their faces, brushing their teeth, eating, and then picking up their tools and rushing to the "battlefield" according to the areas demarcated at the meeting last night.
It will be a tiring day today and we won't be paid a penny, but no one has any complaints. Instead, everyone is more excited than usual.
Because today is the day they work hard and reap the harvest for the year.
The man carried a hoe (a soil-digging tool similar to a hoe but lighter than a hoe) with a basket hanging on the handle, and the woman held a pair of scissors, and they went up the hillside with the morning light.
When they arrived at the medicine field, everyone followed the method that Mr. Hu had talked about yesterday. Well, actually, it was not much different from what they usually did, except that it was a little more scientific.
First remove the stems and leaves on the ground, then use a hoe to dig a deep groove on one side of the Salvia miltiorrhiza bed to expose the roots of the Salvia miltiorrhiza.
Then dig out the complete roots along the salvia miltiorrhiza. Be careful not to break them.
The next step is to use scissors to trim the remaining stems, and then expose the dug Salvia miltiorrhiza to the sun in the medicinal field.
Wait until the soil is dry, then clean the soil off the roots, carefully stack them in baskets, and send them to the drying yard to dry out the moisture.
The villagers of Hushan Village used to "sweat" the plants, which meant piling them together to allow the moisture inside to evaporate quickly.
But Mr. Hu told them that this operation method would reduce the content of tanshinone, which has the most obvious medicinal value in Salvia miltiorrhiza, so it was abandoned.
It is easier said than done.
The 180 acres of medicinal fields will be nearly 200 acres after being sorted out, which involves excavation, sun exposure, soil cleaning, basketing and transportation.
Men, women, young and old from the cooperative all joined in the work. They brought their meals to eat in the fields and worked under the rare scorching sun for a whole day, only to complete about one-third of their task.
Huo Qianli was not idle either. He also rolled up his sleeves and joined the working team. At this moment, he sat on the ground to take a break, his whole body dirty, drinking from a large cup of tea with a frown on his face.
Gu Daqiang took a puff of his cigarette and pointed at the red clouds in the sky, "Don't worry, the sun will still be shining tomorrow."
Huo Qianli sighed, turned his head and looked, "It will take at least two days. It will be difficult if it rains the next day."
Gu Daqiang flicked the ash off his cigarette and said, "It's not realistic to ask Group 1 and Group 2 to help."
After more than a year of tacit understanding, Gu Daqiang knew what Huo Qianli was thinking before he even opened his mouth, and at the same time, he denied it in a rare move.
Huo Qianli turned his head and looked at him. Gu Daqiang explained: "First, they also have to collect their own. Second, if something goes wrong, it will be very difficult to deal with."
Huo Qianli thought about it and had to agree with Gu Daqiang's judgment.
Working in the fields and being in a hurry, no one can guarantee that the plants will not be broken or damaged.
It is easy if they are all members of the cooperative, as no one will deliberately harm their own interests. But if other people come to help, they have to be wary of the dark side of human nature and also prevent disputes caused by unintentional mistakes and malicious speculation. It is indeed difficult to deal with.
Gu Daqiang comforted him, "I think it should be fine. God has been tormenting us for so many years, it's time to reward us with something. It's not too much to ask for a few sunny days!"
Huo Qianli smiled bitterly and shook his head, but he also knew that some things could not be forced. Although the villagers were considered hardworking and were willing to harvest the crops overnight, the key was that there was no light, which was a big problem.
Even if you find a way to pull an electric wire and hang a light, you can't clean out the developed roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza hidden in the soil as accurately as during the day.
He suddenly had an idea, "Brother, brother, I have an idea."
He looked at the villagers who were cleaning the roots and said, "What do you think? If we come to dig during the day, find some lighting equipment at night, clean the roots, put them in baskets, and then transport them, will that work?"
Gu Daqiang hesitated for a moment, "It's OK. We can just use a flashlight to clean the mud, but is it necessary? As long as it's sunny the day after tomorrow, we can just do it like we did today, and it will be very comfortable."
Huo Qianli smiled and said, "Brother, do you still remember how you refuted me when I first told you about growing medicinal herbs? You asked me what to do if it failed."
Gu Daqiang's expression changed, "Okay! I'll go door to door to arrange it for everyone tonight!"
He understood what Huo Qianli said. What if? What if it rains the day after tomorrow? What if it rains for several days?
Even if there is only a chance of success, they dare not gamble because they cannot afford to lose.
Can't afford to lose on every level.
So, the next day, the harvesting strategy changed.
As soon as the sun rose, everyone started digging and then drying them on the fields.
Those who were quick helped those who were slow, and they managed to finish the collection by evening, but the sunset glow had indeed disappeared from the horizon.
Then they took out the flashlights that they had prepared long ago, and the men and women in the family worked together, one helping to light the way while the other used the dim light to carefully clean the dried soil on the roots, and then they took turns.
Throughout the entire process, no one in the cooperative complained.
Even people like Gu Gang know that this is for their own things and it will benefit them.
Huo Qianli even made a special trip to the town to borrow a batch of emergency lighting sources from Secretary Zheng.
That night, looking from a distance, there were dots of light in the dark forest, shaking and trembling from time to time.
There is a bright full moon in the sky, and the starlight is dim, as if the stars have fallen into this quiet valley.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
