Chapter 27 Mung Bean Soup
Although the next solar term is the Beginning of Autumn, the weather in the southern mountains will not be much cooler just because it has the word "autumn" in its name.
In general, summers in the south are extremely long, so long that spring and autumn seem ridiculously short, passing by in the blink of an eye.
A month ago, the weather was as hot as a steamer, and two months later, it's still as hot as a steamer that's been in operation for three months straight. Countless cicadas outside have already died from their incessant cacophony, the scorching heat and sweltering humidity assaulting our already limited patience.
Zhao Xuan had never harvested rice before, nor had Lu An, but their plan was very detailed. They would leave at dawn, return around 10 a.m., leave again around 3 p.m., and finish work after dark at 7 p.m., avoiding the hottest time of day to prevent heatstroke.
Because she and Lu An were unfamiliar with farming, they were not very skillful in their work. It took them a long time to transplant rice seedlings in the five mu of paddy fields. At first, they couldn't even control the strength and angle of the transplanting, and often had to go back halfway to straighten the leaning seedlings. But she was confident in harvesting rice. It was hard work, which involved bending over, cutting the rice, and getting up to walk three steps.
But she forgot that when she planted rice seedlings, she also bent over, planted the seedlings, and then stood up and walked three steps.
When you actually try it, you realize how difficult it is... Farming is just too hard!
The two of them got up earlier than the chickens, ate a quick bite, and rushed to the fields. Besides sickles, they also needed to bring large baskets for the grain and a foot-operated threshing machine. So Lu An rode his tricycle, first taking all the farm tools and Zhao Xuan to the edge of the field, then the two of them put down the baskets, grabbed their sickles, and went into the field to harvest.
The water in the field has long been drained, and the mature rice will turn yellow. Clusters of rice ears droop as the moisture decreases. The whole plant dries out, and you can hold it by the base of the root and cut it with a sickle, and the whole rice plant will be off the ground.
Zhao Xuan and Lu An both wore wide hats to shield themselves from the sun, and their long sleeves and trousers were tied up to prevent mosquito bites. They also wore work gloves to avoid being cut by sharp rice leaves.
But it's just...too hot.
As soon as the sun peeked out, the temperature climbed relentlessly. They were both dressed very warmly, and when the temperature rose, they were covered in sweat. Because they faced the sun for a long time, their cheeks, which were not covered by their hats, turned bright red after a morning. Their breath was so hot that it could steam buns.
Zhao Xuan's sweat poured down like a waterfall. Her hands were too dirty to wipe it, so when she bent over, the sweat flowed backward and dripped into her eyes, making her scream.
Harvesting rice and transplanting rice seedlings are both highly repetitive tasks. Soon, her back could no longer support her. Their rice plants were small and thin, requiring a large bending over. After harvesting a row of rice, it needed to be set aside. This "setting aside" action required standing up, but not standing too straight. So, after Zhao Xuan repeated the series of actions of harvesting and setting aside rice dozens of times, when she was about to bundle the fallen rice stalks together and carry them to the ridge—at that moment, after straightening her back, the sharp pain from her lower back made her cry out again.
It's too bitter, it's just too bitter!
At this moment, she wished she could tell Lu An, "Why don't we skip hulling the grain and just eat it whole? Eating it with the husk on is the only way to truly cherish the food that they risked their lives for."
After the harvested rice is bundled into a large bunch, it can be placed on the threshing machine to thresh the rice. By stepping on the pedals, the rollers on top start to turn and beat the rice ears into grains, which are then blown out from the outlet below. The rice stalks can be left standing in the field for a few days to dry. They can be burned on the spot as fertilizer or taken home to be used as firewood when you have time.
The millet that is harvested cannot be hulled immediately; it needs to be dried for a few more days. Only the amount of millet to be hulled is removed. Millet can be stored for a longer time than rice, is less prone to moisture, and is less likely to be infested with insects.
The two men were cutting rice slowly; despite their hard work, progress was still worrying. 460, who had come with them, had already found a shady spot to doze off, occasionally opening its eyes to check on its owners, and then closing them again once it was sure they weren't exhausted.
For the entire morning, Zhao Xuan and Lu An barely exchanged a few words; people don't want to talk when they're extremely tired. Around ten o'clock, when the temperature was no longer suitable for staying in the fields, Lu An called to Zhao Xuan, and the two of them loaded the two baskets of millet onto the tricycle.
The threshing machine and sickle were left on the edge of the field—let anyone who wants to steal them, since the two of them didn't want to carry an extra pound of stuff right now.
Lu An looked as if he'd been pulled out of the water; the water they'd brought that morning was long gone, and his lips were parched. He had a strange sense of responsibility. He worked very hard, feeling that if he harvested more rice, Zhao Xuan would have to harvest less.
Zhao Xuan felt sorry for him and didn't want him to sit in the back, so she let Lu An ride in front while she pushed from behind. She didn't use much strength; since she was already too tired to stand, she simply used the force of her leaning forward to help push the bike.
The two had just returned to the courtyard when Zhao Xuan, disregarding the dirt, plopped down on the ground, hunched over, and stared blankly, looking like a malnourished blade of grass.
Lu An washed two cool towels and handed one to Zhao Xuan. Seeing that she didn't react for a long time, he squatted down and wiped her red and swollen face, and then wiped her hands.
He said, "If you can't keep going, then don't go. How about taking a nap this afternoon?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xuan regained her composure and firmly shook her head.
In life, you can't expect one person to do everything for you; she's not the kind of person who likes to take advantage of others.
At noon, both she and Lu An unusually had little appetite; people don't eat when they're tired, but a nap is essential. Lu An was so exhausted that she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Zhao Xuan tiptoed out of bed, rummaged through the storeroom, and took their last bag of mung beans into the kitchen.
Half of the mung beans were collected before the New Year, and the other half were grown by herself. After the long beans were picked and dried in the scorching sun, the pods burst open, and some of the beans inside turned red and some turned green. Zhao Xuan picked them out according to color, but there wasn't much of a quantity. She didn't like eating beans very much, so she didn't put much effort into growing them.
A handful of mung beans and a piece of rock sugar are poured into a large earthenware pot, along with most of the water. Charcoal is lit, and the series of actions are performed smoothly.
Zhao Xuan casually stirred the mung beans with a spoon, then covered them and quietly returned to the bedroom and climbed into bed.
He slept for more than an hour. When he woke up, there was no one beside him. Zhao Xuan was afraid that Lu An had abandoned him and gone to the fields, so he hurriedly looked into the yard and saw Lu An sitting in the shade of the yard, holding a bowl and eating something.
A breeze blew by, causing the branches to sway gently, and scattered golden sunlight flickered uncertainly in Lu'an. Even the air felt scorching in the heat; the cicadas had fallen silent, perhaps even the summer insects couldn't bear the heat and had all hidden themselves away.
It was very quiet at Lu An's place. He silently drank what was in his bowl, occasionally scratching his ear because the sweat was making him itchy.
Zhao Xuan turned off the fan, slipped on her slippers, and ran downstairs. When Lu An saw her, he smiled and pointed to the kitchen: "Your mung bean soup is ready. Do you want some?"
The charcoal fire in the small stove had burned out and extinguished itself. Most of the water in the earthenware pot had been boiled down to a small portion. This method of simmering over a low flame always makes the food very soft and tender. The beans inside had already split open, and a thick layer of mung bean paste had settled at the bottom of the brownish-red broth.
The soup was still very hot, steaming even in this sweltering weather.
Zhao Xuan took a small bowl and filled it with some food. She hadn't eaten much at noon and was a little hungry.
She likes to eat cold things, and she often makes cold dishes in the summer. Since she got a refrigerator, she eats popsicles and drinks cold water more often. But she is still careful. It is nice to eat something cold when you are feeling good, but if you go out to the fields with a stomach full of cold food, you will get sick.
The two silently finished their mung bean soup under the wall. Lu An filled their water bottles and washed the dishes. Zhao Xuan changed into long clothes and trousers, tied up his cuffs and trouser legs, and then came out with their straw hats.
Once seated in the back compartment, Zhao Xuan mustered his fighting spirit once more: "Let's go!" He almost wanted to add a bugle call to his voice as he shouted.
In the afternoon, while harvesting rice, they encountered a dog that came to patrol the fields. That's right, it was the Yao family's slack season. Yao Yuan and Zhang Xiaohe had gone to set up power lines, and since the rice didn't require too much effort during this time, they sent the dog to check on the fields in the afternoon.
The dog, wearing a vest and shorts, with a large taro leaf on its head and a replica rifle on its back, appeared on the ridge of the field riding a Type 28 rifle.
That old-fashioned bicycle was clearly something he'd found in some junkyard somewhere. The tires and rims were gone, leaving only the two metal rims rolling around. And those rims weren't even perfectly round; they'd vibrate violently if they bumped into a small pebble.
The dog's legs couldn't reach the pedals, so he had to give up sitting on the seat and stretch one leg under the handlebars to pedal. His whole body was tilted because of the handlebars, and since his arms weren't long, it looked like he was struggling to hold the handlebars. From a distance, he looked like a monkey hanging on a big bicycle.
The ridges between the fields were narrow, but the dog bike rode quite fast. Along the way, it encountered pebbles and puddles, and the bike seemed to fly high into the air, but it always managed to land steadily.
"This kid is quite talented." Lu An watched the little boy speeding towards them and straightened up, uttering this exclamation.
Zhao Xuan wasn't surprised. When she was a child in the countryside, there were no small bicycles for kids to practice on. To learn to ride a bicycle, you had to ride an adult's bike, which looked exactly like the dog's now.
The Yao family lives a bit far from the rice paddies, and this area is the only one among several villages with a stable water supply, making it the preferred location for rice paddies. Therefore, having a bicycle is essential, even though this bicycle is already fifty years old.
Dog is usually quiet and reserved, much like an old cadre, so it's rare to see him so lively. He first inspected his own fields with the cart, then turned to Zhao Xuan's side.
"Sister Xuan, Brother An!" the little guy called out loudly.
Zhao Xuan responded, "Doggy, why are you patrolling the fields alone today? Where are your parents?"
“My dad went to set up the electricity and told me not to touch anything electrical. My mom went to water the vegetable garden and told me to come and walk around the fields to make sure the birds don’t eat the rice.”
After 3:30 p.m., the heat began to subside, but the dog's face was still rosy. The child seemed unaffected by the heat. Zhao Xuan watched as the dog grew darker this summer, even losing the bridge of its nose in the sun, but it still seemed full of energy. With practiced ease, he braked with his foot, then kicked off the kickstand, parking the large bicycle on the edge of the field.
Lu An said, "Go find a better bicycle, the kind with rims. It doesn't matter if the rims are leaking air, I'll inflate them for you. You'll be able to ride it to patrol the fields faster in the future."
The dog asked with delight, "Brother An, can you fix bicycles?"
Zhao Xuan said, "Give him some tools and instructions, and he'll fix your universe!"
The dog was overjoyed. He immediately took off his toy gun, hung it on the handlebars, and said, "I'll help you!" He then jumped off, picked up the ears of grain they had cut, and headed towards the threshing machine.
Zhao Xuan was a little worried: "Hey, those rice leaves are very sharp, don't get cut!" At the same time, she was reluctant to lose this little helper, so she said: "Help me pick up some rice ears."
The dog puffed out its chest: "No problem!"
Picking up rice ears was less of a farm chore and more of a game for him. After picking for a short while, 460, who had been missing for most of the day, returned. 460 had formed a deep friendship with the dog when Zhao Xuan and the others went to Taiping Town, and was very happy to see the dog. The little dog, who had just grown up, immediately started playing with the child.
They had too few playmates, and the dog hadn't been in contact with anyone else for a long time. It was difficult for Yao Yuan, a man, to protect his wife and children in a crowd of strangers who could distinguish between good and evil, so they avoided people after leaving the camp. During that time, the dog rarely spoke a few words all day, and the harsh language environment almost made him mute.
For a long time, Zhao Xuan and Lu An were like this. When they moved into the village but did not encounter the Yao family, she and Lu An rarely talked.
There was nothing new to say; most of the time, they remained silent for long periods due to hunger and exhaustion.
The dog kept babbling, which distracted Zhao Xuan and Lu An, so they didn't feel as tired from harvesting rice in the afternoon as they did in the morning. As the sun was about to set, Zhao Xuan urged the dog to go home.
The dog seemed a little reluctant to leave, and as it got on its bike, it asked her, "Sister Xuan, are you all harvesting rice these next few days?"
Zhao Xuan gestured with his chin towards the remaining expanse of rice paddies: "What do you think?"
"Sigh..." The child suddenly sighed maturely, then said goodbye to them, got on his big bicycle and rode away, his speed so fast it seemed like he had a jet engine attached to the back of the bike.
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