Carrying two pots of plum wine, Wang Yu still walked back. His home was not far from the town, so he could exercise by walking every day. He only used the mule cart occasionally when he went to the winery.
When he got home, Cheng Chen was feeding some vegetable leaves to his chickens. Seeing Wang Yu, he dropped the remaining leaves, clapped his hands, and walked over to him, saying, "My husband is back?"
Wang Yu smiled and nodded, holding up the two bamboo tubes in his hands and motioning to Cheng Chen, "I bought two pots of plum blossom wine, you and mother can drink some."
Plum blossom wine, Cheng Chen had drunk it once a long time ago. His elder brother bought two pots in town and shared a little with each of them at home. He still remembered that it had a light fragrance and tasted very good. He took the bamboo tube from Wang Yu's hand with sparkling eyes.
Wang's mother was making clothes in the room. The fabric was the same one Wang Yu bought last time. She was going to make a summer outfit. Cotton fabric is sweat-absorbent and comfortable to wear in summer. When she heard Cheng Chen calling her, she put down her needle and thread and came out.
Cheng Chen: "Mom, my husband bought us plum blossom wine."
When the Queen Mother heard this, her eyes lit up. She had never tasted plum wine before, but she knew it was sold in the town. She had heard before that a tube cost twenty cents.
The Queen Mother took the bamboo tube that Cheng Chen handed her and opened it. A light fragrance wafted out. She took a sip and savored it. No wonder it cost twenty coins. It was indeed delicious. She took another sip and put it down, saying, "Give your father a taste too."
Cheng Chen opened it and let Wang Yu drink it first, but Wang Yu refused. There was not much in one can. If he had known, he would have bought two more cans. He thought that it would be better for Cheng Chen and his mother to drink it and forget about his father.
Wang Yu: "You've already drunk it. If you like it, buy more next time."
Cheng Chen nodded with a smile, thinking that he could earn money by embroidering handkerchiefs and buy some drinks for his husband.
The next day, Song Boyan said that his mother was willing to go. Wang Yu asked his mother to go the next day. In the afternoon, he asked someone to go to Xiling Village to talk to Brother Cheng about this and let him make the arrangements.
Song Boyan bowed gratefully towards Wang Yu: "Thank you."
Wang Yu: "Everyone has their own needs. No need to thank me. We are still classmates."
The days passed by and it was the season when rice was ripe. The rice in the fields was golden and heavy, like the treasure of the earth.
The weather was getting hotter, so the academy had a one-month agricultural holiday, and the winery also gave Song's mother a one-month holiday. Their family situation was special, and the family's fields could not rely on Song Boyan alone, and there was not even someone to cook.
The rice here is planted in two seasons. In the first season, the seedlings are raised in February, the rice is planted in March and April, and it matures in June and July. Then the fields are plowed and the rice is planted again, and it matures around September and October. Of course, wheat can be rotated once, but they mainly eat rice here, and few people eat pasta. Most of them still plant rice, and each family only grows a small amount of wheat.
The corn planted in the two acres of dry land is almost ripe. After harvesting the rice, the corn will be harvested, and then autumn rapeseed can be planted. It will mature around May of the following year. The rapeseed can be used to extract oil, which basically provides enough cooking oil for the whole year. You can also grow some winter vegetables, such as radishes and cabbages, which you can eat yourself or sell in the town or county to earn some income. Hardworking people are busy all year round and have little free time.
The weather has been fine these days and the water in the fields has basically dried up. Although the college is on vacation, the restaurant is not, so the time for going to the restaurant has been changed to the morning. After finishing the restaurant's accounts, Wang Yu can go to the fields to harvest.
He himself had never done this, but the original owner had worked in the fields during the busy farming season, so Wang Yu had some memories of it. He was not used to it at first, but it got better and better over time. However, the rice ears made his body itchy, and the weather was so hot that sweat was about to flow into his eyes. The longer he bent over, the more tired he became.
Wang Yu stood up and wiped his face with a towel, then wiped his hands. His hands holding the sickle were sweaty. He needed to be careful or he would easily get cut. He glanced at his parents who had left him far behind... He felt that he was still a weakling, and he missed the modern harvester very much.
Cheng Chen, who was holding rice in the back, came up with a pot of water and poured a bowl of water to Wang Yu: "Husband, take a rest and drink some water. I put mint in it."
Wang Yu took the water and drank it in one gulp without hesitation. There was mint in the water, which was very refreshing and heat-relief. Then he drank the second bowl. After drinking two bowls of water, he relieved a lot of the heat.
Cheng Chen put away the bowl and said, "I'll go get some water for my parents. If you're tired, take a rest."
"Are you tired, Achen?" Cheng Chen's job is to stack the rice together and tie it up with hemp ropes so that it can be carried on the shoulder. His family has a mule cart this year, so they don't need to carry it manually.
"I'm not tired. My husband and parents are the most tired." Cheng Chen's little face was also reddened by the sun.
"You can take a rest if you are tired. Don't worry. If you can't finish, you still have your husband." Wang Yu wanted to reach out and wipe the sweat off his face, but when he raised his hand, he found that his hand was too dirty, so he put it down again.
Three people from their family finished harvesting five acres of land in two days, and the rice was transported to the drying yard. This drying yard was built by several families living nearby. It was separate from the Zhou family's drying yard, and each family was allocated a piece of land.
The rice needs to be threshed after being transported to the drying yard, which also requires manpower. However, this year, mules can be used to pull stone rollers to grind the rice. After all the rice is ground, the fallen rice needs to be dusted again to remove the ash and empty husks. It then needs to be dried for another two days. After drying, it can be packed and the rice straw is neatly piled up for use as fuel for cooking.
Because the grain would need to be dried for two days, someone had to be arranged to guard it at night. The drying yard was full of grain, and to prevent someone from stealing it, several families discussed and arranged for someone to guard it.
After the rice in the fields was harvested, Cheng Chen and his neighbor Ang'er carried baskets on their backs to pick up rice ears in their own fields. At this time, almost every household had their children picking up rice ears. It was a very happy thing to be able to bring back one or two pounds of rice.
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