How many people in this world can do that?
"Mother," Xie Shi sidled closer, "I knew you were the best!"
"Alright, stop trying to sweet-talk me. Go boil some water; the whole family will take a bath tonight."
"Okay, I'm going right now!"
After finishing her sentence, Xie rolled up her sleeves and left. She never dragged things out.
Jiang Nuan herself went back to her room, took out paper and pen, and racked her brains trying to figure out how to manufacture a hand-cranked threshing machine.
The worst threshing machine she used was the kind that burned diesel, a hand-cranked antique that she had only seen a few times in museums.
She knew the structure, but she wasn't sure if certain parts could be manufactured with current technology.
"Never mind," she said, drawing out the various parts from memory. "Let's leave it like this for now, and we'll see if we can make it."
Even if we can't make a bearing, we can make a simplified version, which is still easier than hammering with a wooden stick.
That's right. Threshing in this era involved threshing with a stick, and it required a high level of skill—the ability to thresh the grains without breaking the skin.
Damaged grains are more difficult to preserve.
The grain in everyone's granaries was all with the husks on, and the grain required for tax collection was also with the husks on.
Normally, grain is ground whenever needed. In the past, whoever cooked in the Huang family would grind the grain. Later, Xiao Liu took over all the work. It could grind enough grain for the whole family to eat for ten days in just one hour.
"Since we have nothing else to do, let's get the seeder out too."
"And the frame needs to be modified. The current oxcart is too bumpy. It's a pity we don't have rubber. Could we use something else to replace it? And the springs, could they be forged by hand?"
And so, Jiang Nuan kept muttering to herself while writing and drawing, creating a pile of useful and useless drawings, which she then carefully organized and put into a box.
While Jiang Nuan was writing and drawing in her room, the entire Huangjiakou was filled with a strong smell of vinegar.
"Honey, is Ya Ya going to the ancestral hall to pay respects to our ancestors tomorrow?"
"Hmm, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, it's just that I feel a little uneasy," Sister Huang pursed her lips. "She was the first woman to be allowed to go to the ancestral hall to worship her ancestors."
Even she, as the clan chief's wife, is not an option, and besides, she might never have the chance in this lifetime.
This last point is what really bothers her.
“She deserves it, it was only a matter of time, just a few years earlier,” Huang Shi paused, then continued, “You are different from her.”
“I know,” Sister-in-law Huang said dejectedly. “Yaya is indeed capable, better than any of the men in the village. It’s only right that she goes to pay respects to our ancestors. I’m just… just a little jealous.”
Sister-in-law Huang always considered herself the eldest sister-in-law and took good care of Jiang Nuan. Now that this incident has suddenly occurred, she immediately realized that the gap between the two of them has been widening.
Unbeknownst to her, Jiang Nuan had already left her far behind, and even everyone else. This kind of disparity was not easy to accept.
"Just accept your fate," Huang Shi said, somewhat frustrated. "Someone like her is capable and lucky, and you can't suppress her. Let's not compare ourselves to her, we can't win."
“Listen to what you’re saying,” Sister-in-law Huang couldn’t help but pinch Huang Shi. “No matter how capable she is, I’m still the eldest sister-in-law. The eldest sister-in-law is like a mother. She can never surpass me in this lifetime.”
“That’s right, that makes sense. In our family, besides Mom, you’re the oldest. No matter how capable Ya Ya is, she’ll still be third.”
"That's right, otherwise how could I be the sister-in-law?" Sister-in-law Huang proudly raised her chin.
“Exactly,” Huang Shi sighed, “I feel bad too, not because I’m being suppressed, but because I envy her kids. Every single one of them is better than us in the mountains.”
His son is driving him crazy; in just two days, he feels like he's aged a lot.
Upon hearing this, Sister Huang's relaxed expression instantly froze, and she fell silent.
After a long silence, he finally spoke, "Why is Dashan growing up to be more and more crooked?"
Two months ago, I couldn't see it very clearly, but now I have to admit that my son is indeed a bit of a failure.
"Strange," Sister-in-law Huang murmured in bewilderment, "those boys from the second branch of the family weren't this outstanding before."
There was a reason why she looked down on these people. They always had their heads down and backs bent, their faces full of misery. They had no vitality at such a young age and looked gloomy. No matter how you looked at them, you couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
It was as if she, as an older woman, had done something to offend them.
“That’s the difference between having someone to protect you and not having someone to protect you,” Huang Shi sighed. “Before, Ya Ya was still in shock because of her second brother’s death. Otherwise, how could she have just watched her children suffer?”
“Xiao Chuan and the others used to have no one to protect them, and they had to grit their teeth and endure everything on their own. Life had broken their backs. Now that someone is supporting them, they are slowly regaining their true nature.”
“Our family in Dashan is the complete opposite. We’ve never had a hard life since we were born. You can’t tell the difference in normal times, but you’ll see the difference when something happens.”
In the end, Huang Shi was very frustrated.
He excelled his whole life, but his son, that good-for-nothing brat, was hopeless.
"If that doesn't work, do as Ya Ya says, kick him out and let him get roughed up for a few days, and he'll naturally get better."
"Let's talk about it later, I'll think about it some more."
After they finished speaking, they closed their eyes and fell silent, their breathing gradually becoming steady.
At another house, Liao Chunhua tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
"Wife, I'm going to sleep even if you're not. Tomorrow is Qingming Festival, and we can't be careless. If anything goes wrong, your husband will be punished by the ancestors."
"Honey, there's too much vinegar today, it's so sour I can't sleep."
"What's so sour about?" Huang Sheng asked, puzzled. "Life is just fine. We have extra money, we don't have to worry about food, and we've saved enough money to get Dahai a wife. What else could you be dissatisfied with?"
Anyway, he felt that he hadn't lived as comfortably as he had in decades.
Suddenly, I felt as if the mountain that had been weighing me down had vanished. With money in my pocket, I felt confident in everything I did.
Upon hearing this, Liao Chunhua gritted her teeth and said, "That old woman Jiang has suppressed me my whole life. We've been fighting ever since I married into the Huang family, and in the end, I still lost."
And they lost so completely!
Because she made a big mistake, she is now inferior to others when she goes out, while this woman is becoming more and more proud, and all the men in the village have to treat her like royalty.
We're both experiencing life for the first time, so why is there such a huge difference?
The more Liao thought about it, the more bitter she felt, but she knew that things were different now. She just complained a few times and didn't intend to do anything.
"When did you ever win?" Huang Sheng asked in surprise. "How come I don't know?"
Upon hearing this, Liao felt as if an arrow had been pierced her heart.
It seems that, indeed, they never won from beginning to end.
"Forget it," Liao said, not expecting her husband to say anything nice after being offended by Huang Shi's words. "Go to sleep, go to sleep. We have a lot of things to do tomorrow."
"Okay, time to sleep."
After a long while, just when Ms. Liao thought her wooden husband had fallen asleep, she suddenly heard him say:
"Don't think about it. Let's just live our own lives. There's no need to envy Huang Mu's wife. My son and I will make sure you have a good life sooner or later."
"Um!"
Tears welled up in Liao's eyes, but she felt completely at peace.
She doesn't need to be jealous of anyone; she's always had the best, she just hasn't paid attention to it.
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