Chapter 92: Dark and Gloomy
While she was thinking, Lu Dongping asked, "What's going on with my uncle's family? Where's Dongcai's wife?"
Zhang Hongying glanced up and said, "She's pregnant. It's not a good sign. She can do other things, but I'm afraid she won't be able to stand cutting wheat in this hot weather."
Wen Wan looked at the mother and daughter in confusion, and for a long time she couldn't figure out what this meant.
Li Laiying and Lu Dongcai have been married for more than a year, and there has been no movement in her stomach. She even had spotting last month, but this month she vomits everything she eats. She went for a check-up and was told she was pregnant and had been pregnant for two months.
She suffered a lot when she was a child. She had a weak constitution and was very cold. It was not easy for her to get pregnant. She vomited all the time and no one dared to let her go to the fields. She just helped cook at home and picked some pig grass in the private plot to take care of the two chickens and one pig in the family.
Because each household was responsible for a piece of land, Lu Mingjiang and his father were not in a hurry to carry the wheat downstairs. While it was cool in the morning, they both got sickles and started cutting the wheat together. With the whole family working together, the wheat naturally fell very quickly.
Only when the sun rose did Lu Chun'e throw away the sickle and start to bundle wheat with Lu Donglin.
The land of Laoyaliang extends directly from the top of the mountain to the ditch below, and is directly connected to Maoerling. Standing at the foot of the mountain, you can see wheat fields everywhere. Standing on the mountain, it is even more spectacular, with rolling waves of wheat. This area occupies most of the slopes of the production team.
The slopes were packed with people, too busy to even take a break, wanting to finish their work in one go and then go back for a couple of days of rest. The weather had been beautiful these past few days, with clear skies, and while it was tough, it was worth it to be able to harvest the wheat efficiently.
Lu Minghai, his face tanned, walked towards his family's allotment. He'd spent a long time discussing the division of land with Liu Chaoxing and Zhou Minghong the previous night, and had spent the entire morning dealing with various matters, which had delayed him considerably. But the delay wasn't in vain. Everything was settled. Everyone could do their own work. When they finished, they could go home. If they couldn't finish, they could return to work properly. If others could finish in three days, it would be fine if you took five. Earning three days' work points in five days was not bad either.
When Lu Minghai thought of this, he felt relieved and he started to hum a tune.
Then he walked in front of his wife and could no longer hum.
There were originally four people working in their family at the time, and since he had been delayed for the whole morning, there were only three people left. Gao Xiulan, Lu Dongcai and Lu Dongfu were all busy harvesting wheat, but they hadn't even tied up a single bundle yet!
Gao Xiulan couldn't help but complain. At this time, Lu Minghai kept silent and stared at Lu Dongcai and Lu Dongfu.
He didn't respond, and Gao Xiulan lost interest after complaining for a while. She discussed with him, "When you and Dongcai carry the wheat back, tell his wife to cook it. After it's cooked and dried, send it to the fields. The time spent running back and forth is enough to do more work."
Lu Dongcai said: "I don't know if she can go up the mountain."
Gao Xiulan was furious: "Why don't you just say you can't even walk! When I was carrying you, I was still working in the fields with a big belly! I can't be a mean mother-in-law, but I won't spoil you either."
Lu Dongcai shut up, but he had a righteous mind. He turned around and carried the wheat back and ran home on the way.
Li Laiying was not idle at home either. She just took advantage of the cool weather to pick some pig grass and sat under the eaves to chop it.
As soon as Lu Dongcai entered the yard, she asked, "Why are you back?"
"I came back to see you. How are you? Did you eat breakfast? Did you vomit?" Gao Xiulan was telling the truth. She wasn't the type to indulge others. After all, her personality and her circumstances were there, but she wasn't the kind of mother-in-law who would be harsh. After Li Laiying found out she was pregnant, the family hens rotated and gave her an egg every other day. As soon as she got up in the morning, she'd make her a bowl of sugared eggs. There was no other way. She vomited everything she ate. If she couldn't hold anything in her stomach, the adult wouldn't be able to handle it, and neither would the child.
Li Laiying shook her head: "I didn't vomit, I'm much better. Just focus on your work, I'm fine at home!"
"Mom asked me to come back and tell you that I won't be back for dinner. Please cook breakfast and hang it up to dry. I'll come back and bring it to the field to eat."
"That's fine!" Li Laiying agreed. "You should be careful too. If the sun is too strong, go to the shade, or rest in the woods. Don't get yourself a heat stroke."
Lu Dongcai laughed so hard that his mouth reached his ears when he heard his wife's instructions. He responded and ran away with the backpack on his back.
Lu Mingjiang's family had the same idea. When the sun was almost up, they asked Lu Chun'e to go back to cook and feed the chickens and pigs. They would not run back and forth. They would work in the fields for as long as they could. If not, they would go to the shade to take a break. The time they spent on the way back and forth was enough for them to rest.
The sun was too strong at noon, and she couldn't bear it if she didn't go back to the fields. Lu Chun'e cooked some porridge with mixed grains, made some pancakes, and brought a pot of water up the mountain.
The whole family ate under the shade of a tree.
Wen Wan scooped up half a bowl of porridge, mixed it with some pickled cabbage and potato shreds, and took a bite. The biscuit was so dry in her mouth that she couldn't swallow it.
Lu Donglin said, "Sister, how can you drink that? Porridge is not enough to satisfy your hunger. You can even pee."
"I can't eat that either. I'll take a nap. Call me when it starts."
She didn't care about it now. She could fall asleep even if she laid a layer of leaves on the wheat stubble. She had never been so tired in her life.
Not only her, everyone else was also exhausted.
Lu Mingjiang shielded his eyes with his hands and looked at the radiant sun in the sky. "The sun is too strong right now. Let's take a break first. It will be cooler in the evening, so we can endure it a little longer."
"That's fine. Even the strongest person can't stand this sun."
Lu Dongping glanced back and saw Wen Wan was already fast asleep, curled up there, her face pressed into the grass, leaving red marks. He took the coat he had worn that morning, reached out to lift her head, and put the coat under her.
Wen Wan opened her eyes drowsily and glanced at him. She mumbled something, turned over and continued to curl up and sleep.
Lu Dongping chuckled, with a glint in his eyes, and he leaned against the edge of the bench and closed his eyes.
The sun moved slowly from the sky to the west, and the sun also shone under the shade of the trees. It was so warm that Wen Wan was woken up by the heat.
She struggled to get up, only to find that Lu Dongping and the others had already started working without her knowing when. There were so many people on the ground that she was probably the only one sleeping there.
Not daring to delay any longer, he got up, stared at the clothes beneath him for a moment, picked them up, and took the sickle to join in the work.
When it was getting dark in the afternoon, Zhang Hongying called her: "Wanwan, Chun'e has to go back to cook first. You go back with her first." After the work was divided among the households, Lu Minghai went to work and left without any fanfare. Let them do whatever they wanted!
"What about you?"
"We need to hold on a little longer while it's cooler, so we can harvest more and suffer less in the fields."
"Then I'll go too." She really wanted to leave, but her mind told her not to. How could she run away when everyone was working in the fields?
Lu Dongping called her, "Go back with Chun'e, boil some water and wash up. Don't wait for us. We can just wait a little longer. It's pitch black at night and you can't see the road. We can do it, but you can't."
This is true!
Wen Wan went back with Lu Chun'e first.
I'm tired after a day of work and I'm very annoyed about cooking. There are still some breads left from lunch, so I'll continue to make porridge in the evening. The potatoes are ready to eat, but they are still growing in the field. I can't dig up much and bring home a lot. The vegetables planted in the field are not yet ready to be eaten. I have to rely on the jars of pickled vegetables under the chopping board to survive.
Lu Chun'e had to cook and feed the pigs. When she was busy, the pigs in the pigsty suffered as well. They were starving and now they heard human voices groaning and groaning as if they were going to rebel.
She added water to the pot and Wen Wan helped watch the fire.
Two pots, one for cooking and the other for hot water. I was covered in wheat ash and sweat. I couldn't sleep at night without washing.
The meal was ready, but Lu Dongping and the others hadn't returned yet. Wen Wan, armed with a flashlight, went to the educated youth camp, fetched some clean clothes, washed them with hot water, and then soaked the dirty clothes in a basin. She called out to Lu Chun'e, "Chun'e, are you okay? I'll give you the flashlight. Go to the field and meet them. How are you going to get back in the dark?"
Lu Chun'e responded, took the flashlight and left.
She was also tired, but she had been used to working since she was a child, so she was not as annoyed as Wen Wan.
Wen Wan's waist and legs were almost stiff. It had only been two days since the busy vacation of half a month, and she really couldn't bear it anymore.
Lu Dongping had sent her to school because he was worried she wouldn't be able to handle the summer harvest, but he'd forgotten about the busy holiday. Food was the most important thing, and no one could escape the rush to harvest and plant.
When she finished washing the clothes in the dark, Lu Dongping and the others still hadn't returned. There was an oil lamp in the room, with a bean-sized flame emitting a little light, and the rest of the room was pitch black. The pigs in the pigsty were all asleep, occasionally grunting as if they were talking in their sleep.
No one knew what the ghost thing was outside the yard, and it would occasionally make a few calls. Wen Wan squatted alone at the kitchen door, her heart pounding, and she was extremely scared.
She had never been in such an environment before.
I forced myself to think about this and that and not pay attention to my surroundings, but I couldn't ignore it.
Until voices and light were heard outside the yard.
Lu Chun'e was holding a flashlight in her hand, and Lu Donglin was holding a torch in his hand. I don't know if they, Lu Minghai and his family, had just returned at this time.
The work points allocated to you are for three days. After working for two days, you can still have one day to lie at home with your work points. Who wouldn't work hard?
Several people entered the yard. Wen Wan stood up suddenly and shouted, "Lu Dongping!" Her voice trembled.
Lu Dongping responded.
Wen Wan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "There's water here. Let's wash first?"
"Okay!" Several people took a basin of water and washed their hands and faces first.
"Eat, eat, I'm starving!" Lu Donglin didn't mind the darkness and rushed into the house quickly.
Zhang Hongying scooped up some rice while talking to Wen Wan: "I told you to come back first because I wanted you to eat and rest early. Why are you still wasting time here? Can you get up tomorrow?"
Wen Wan didn't say anything. It was pitch black. She didn't say she didn't have a flashlight, and even if she did, she wouldn't dare to go out alone.
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