Chapter 21 It's Raining
"Who told you to arrange my eggs? There are 239 eggs in total. Take 200 of them to the town to sell tomorrow, and leave the rest for the children to nourish their bodies."
Zhang Jinlan doesn't care whether her eldest son is ashamed or not.
She brought up her son by herself.
I've seen everything.
After telling her eldest son how to prepare the eggs, she took her daughters-in-law to prepare lunch.
"Fubao, tell your uncle, are the eggs really picked from the mountains?" Jiang Dahe didn't dare to ask his mother again.
He picked up Jiang Fubao and inquired about the news.
"Yes, uncle, we picked the eggs from the mountain. Grandma and the others said that someone hid them there. Don't worry, uncle, no one saw them. We even left an egg there."
Jiang Fubao smiled sweetly after saying this.
She hid her achievements and fame.
"That's good. No one saw it. Fubao is in for a treat today. Your grandma will definitely make egg custard. Fubao, eat more and get fat."
Jiang Dahe rubbed Fubao's head, put her down safely, picked up the backpack, and prepared to go up the mountain to chop firewood.
“Boom boom boom—”
"Who closed the door? Open it——"
Sudden.
There was a knock on the door from outside.
Judging from the voice, it was Jiang Shoujia.
"Coming." Hearing his father's voice, Jiang Dahe quickly picked up the bolt.
"Why are you locking the door in broad daylight? Huh? Why are you back? Don't you have any work to do?" Jiang Shoujia was bored in the morning, so he went to his friend's house and chatted with him for a long time.
Naturally, I didn't know that my children and grandchildren had returned from town.
"Well, there are too many people looking for odd jobs, so I'm late. Dad, I'm going to the mountain to chop wood. Mom and her friends are back and are cooking in the kitchen."
Jiang Yamato's voice was a little muffled.
After he answered, he stepped over the threshold and went out.
But the next second.
There was a 'click' sound above my head.
A cool feeling.
Jiang Dahe raised his head.
“Tick-tock—”
It’s raining!
"Oh, God bless you, it's raining, old woman, come out and see, it's raining -"
Jiang Shoujia in the yard also saw it.
He shouted towards the kitchen with great joy.
A few seconds later.
Everyone in the house came out.
Including Jiang Eryong, who was sleeping in his underwear.
"Oh God, you finally opened your eyes and understood our suffering. Please rain more and harder..."
Zhang Jinlan heard it was raining.
There was still flour on my hands, and I didn't have time to wipe it off.
She ran out and knelt on the ground devoutly.
Bow straight ahead.
Jiang Fubao also looked up.
The rain fell on her forehead, nose, cheeks, and mouth.
When I licked it with the tip of my tongue, it actually tasted slightly sweet.
No wonder people in ancient times liked to use rainwater to make tea.
Modern rainwater is extremely dirty.
After all, the environment is polluted, there are factories everywhere, and there are all kinds of radiation.
Who dares to drink?
Unlike here, rainwater is called rootless water and is also widely known as holy water.
It doesn't seem to be a lie.
Jiang Fubao opened his mouth wide and drank a few more drops before hiding under the eaves.
The raindrops are falling more and more frequently, and my body will be wet if they get wet again.
The Jiang family members retreated one after another.
Standing in a row with Jiang Fubao, watching the rain.
"Let it rain. If it rains harder, we can plant rice this year. When the tax is paid, we can sell it all and exchange it for some brown rice. We can use the remaining money to help Tong Jin find a wife."
Zhang Jinlan seemed to have an obsession.
I must find a wife for my eldest grandson.
Jiang Fubao only thought about it briefly and then he understood.
Jiang Tongjin is the eldest grandson of the Jiang family.
People get married early here.
There are many people who become fathers at the age of fourteen.
If Jiang Tongjin didn't get married until he was seventeen or eighteen years old, he would probably be gossiped to death by the villagers behind his back.
In ancient times, idle talk could kill people.
"Although brown rice is drought-resistant, its yield is not as high as that of rice, and the price of rice is much higher. If the rain is really heavy, we will survive this year."
Jiang Shoujia's voice trembled slightly.
The suffering I endured in the past two years is still fresh in my mind.
If the Jiang family hadn't had some savings, they would have had to sell the land when they were required to perform labor service.
I heard that there was a poor family in the neighboring Zhujia Village who could not pay the fine and had only a few acres of land. They were reluctant to sell it, so they had no choice but to send their three sons to join the army.
A few years ago, news came from the government that two people had died.
The old woman from the Zhu family cried so much that her eyes became blind.
"Yes, last year the tax rate was 30%, which almost drove us to death. Fortunately, I worked with them and went to the town to do odd jobs and earned some money. We also picked a lot of mushrooms, dried them and sold them, so we managed to survive."
Zhang Jinlan was also in a heavy mood.
It’s all lies to say that we are not afraid of drought.
Who in the family doesn’t need food and drink?
If this rain hadn’t fallen, I wouldn’t know how we would have survived this year.
Seeing the water level in the river getting lower and lower, the villagers went to check every day, fearing that one day there would not be a drop of water in the river at all.
By then, someone will die.
If there is no food, you can go up the mountain to dig wild vegetables and mushrooms, or eat some grass roots and tree bark to fill your stomach.
But without water, we can't even survive.
"Why did the rain stop?"
Just as the old couple were reminiscing about the past, Sun Pingmei suddenly exclaimed.
Everyone looked up when they heard the sound.
I saw the dark clouds in the sky gradually dissipate, and the raindrops became smaller and smaller until they stopped.
From beginning to end, the rain didn't last more than three minutes.
Everyone was silent.
The smiles they had just had disappeared in an instant.
Instead, it was replaced by sorrow.
"What should I do? Why did it stop raining all of a sudden? It's been raining for so long that the mud in the field is only half wet. How can I grow rice? "
Jiang Shoujia sighed and shook his head
"Look, the sun is out. It can't snow anymore. Boss, plant the seeds while the ground is still wet."
Zhang Jinlan had a hunch.
It shouldn't rain again during this period.
Instead of waiting in vain, it is better to plant brown rice early.
Jiang Shoujia nodded.
He thought so too.
I don't think it will rain anymore.
After all, it was the same last year.
"Well, the eldest and second families, hurry up and cook. After we finish eating, we will go to the fields. Eryong, put on your clothes. Your eldest sister-in-law and the others are here. It's inappropriate to wear an undershirt."
But the frustration in his heart was stuck there, and Jiang Eryong, who was wearing a loose undershirt, happened to bump into the muzzle of the gun.
After cursing, Jiang Shoujia felt much better.
He turned and went to the backyard.
Poor Jiang Eryong was completely confused.
What's wrong with him wearing underwear?
His father never scolded him even when he was shirtless in the summer.
A quarter of an hour later.
The Jiang family finished their lunch quickly.
Everybody got down to the ground.
Including Jiang Fubao, who insisted on going to play in the fields.
The Jiang family owns a total of six acres of land, all on the other side of the river, including the fields of the 88 households in the village, which are also there. There is also a small piece of wasteland at the foot of the mountain on the other side, which is a bit far away.
It takes about a quarter of an hour to walk there.
To sow seeds on six acres of land, even if the whole family is mobilized, it will take until nightfall even if they work as fast as possible.
Jiang Fubao made the calculation in his mind.
One mu of land is approximately 666 square meters.