Grandma Yan knew they genuinely cared about their family's food supplies; they were all childhood friends of Yan Xiaoqiang. Grandma Yan didn't hide anything and voiced her concerns.
Everyone then realized that the Yan family was worried about this matter. They immediately decided that if any family dared to have any crooked ideas, they would not let them off the hook. They told Grandma Yan to put away the cornmeal, mix some wheat bran with the cornmeal, and make a few pancakes. The family was short of food and could not afford to waste it.
Yan Xiaoqiang readily agreed, saying that they would do it that way, and at worst, they would send some food to each household as a return gift after the project was completed.
Mushroom Village is bustling again. Uncle San's old ox is going to work hard again, carrying bricks and tiles back from town time and time again, making at least two trips a day. But Uncle San is happy. The Yan family provides grain and money, and the two younger ones even go up the mountain to dig up the freshest grass for their old ox to eat.
Yan Xiaoqiang bought firecrackers. Today was an auspicious day to start work. Amidst the crackling of firecrackers, shovels began to level the ground. Yan Xiaoqiang's childhood friends were all skilled workers, and in one day they leveled the entire two acres of land cleanly.
Cuihua and Tang's wife were cooking porridge in the yard. The porridge was thick and thick. Xuemei was making pancakes in the kitchen. She listened to her grandmother and made pancakes with pure cornmeal. Today was the first day of work, so she wanted to have a good meal.
There are still three big, fat rabbits in the pot. Old Wolf delivers five rabbits every day now, and the Yan family is used to it. They were originally meant to be sold in town, but they can't sell them today; they'll keep them for lunch.
The lunch brought tears to the eyes of his childhood friends. This brother, without hesitation, gave one of the four large bags of grain to Xuehu, one to his father-in-law, and now he's taken out another bag. That's all the grain his family has left.
I have elderly parents to care for and young children to raise. My three little ones are at the age where they're practically living off me. I feel guilty for squandering their money like this. I'll have to work hard this afternoon. But what's wrong with these rabbits?
Yan Xiaoqiang had already thought of the answer: he would go to town and exchange it for cornmeal. He needed to let people know that the cornmeal at home was almost gone. The three rabbits weighed eighteen pounds, so he would exchange them for eighteen pounds of cornmeal.
Everyone did the math in their heads and realized, wow, the Yan family used nearly 30 jin of cornmeal today! That's enough for a family's food supply for a month. If they used coarse grains instead, that would be enough for three months!
Grandma Yan must have been terrified by the old bachelor and Widow Zhang. She was willing to go hungry rather than not distribute grain widely. With that thought in mind, everyone slowed down their eating speed. They couldn't even reach out to get another bowl of porridge or another pancake.
Tang's wife took the piece of flatbread and rabbit meat that Cuihua had given her and went home. She would break the flatbread in half and boil it again. She would give the rabbit meat to her daughter and husband, one half and the other half. Her husband was cutting down trees on the mountain, and the family could have dinner when he came back.
Yan Xiaoqiang didn't know how many villagers were envious of this start-of-work meal, but Liu Sanzi's wife, Liu Sanniang, was unhappy. Why could Tang's wife cook but she couldn't? She was much stronger than Tang's wife.
The next morning, Liu Sanniang stood at the gate of the Yan family's courtyard, waiting for Cuihua to open the door. Cuihua would never open the door so early. In the countryside, the morning is the most precious time. She has to feed the chickens and wolves, feed her little girl, wash the clothes for the whole family, and sweep the yard.
Just as Cuihua finished preparing to open the door, Tang's wife arrived right on time. It was agreed that she couldn't take anything home today, otherwise she would be shamelessly freeloading.
Upon encountering Liu Sanniang at the door, Tang's wife's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that she's here to steal her job? Congratulations, you guessed right! Liu Sanniang put her hands on her hips and said, "Tang's wife, your husband has already taken on the furniture work for the Yan family, and you still want a piece of the pie? That's too heartless."
Tang's daughter-in-law blushed a little, knowing she wasn't good at arguing. Cuihua creaked open the courtyard gate and said, "Sister-in-law Tang, you've arrived! Come in quickly."
Liu San Niang could tell at a glance that she was obviously helping the Tang family's daughter-in-law, but since she needed the Yan family's help, she could only swallow her pride and say, "Cuihua, how about I help with the cooking today? Look how strong I am, I can handle it all by myself."
Cuihua quickly shook her head: "The Liu family doesn't need it anymore. Xuemei, Sister Tang, and I are enough. You can go back."
Liu San Niang glared at her: "What, you look down on me? Are you afraid I eat too much or what? Tell me, I'm not leaving until you give me a straight answer."
Okay, so he just resorted to shamelessness. When Bei Nan heard Liu San Niang's voice again, he slipped out from behind and went to find Village Chief Ma. Everyone in the village knew that Liu San Niang was afraid of Village Chief Ma. Who could blame her? Liu San Niang's surname was Ma. She was Village Chief Ma's distant cousin. She had just married Liu San Zi and changed her name to Liu San Niang.
Village Chief Ma was just about to go to the fields to take a look. The spring sowing had been done, and everyone says that spring rain is as precious as oil, so it should rain twice. However, there was only a light rain the day after the spring sowing, and it has been almost a month now without any rain. You know, if there isn't enough rain for spring sowing, it will be bad and cause a drought.
The already worried village chief, Ma, was in a bad mood. After Bei Nan's words, he suddenly got angry. He picked up his pipe and ran towards the Yan family. Before he even got there, he heard Liu San Niang say that she wanted to give him some advice. Without saying a word, he swung his pipe and whipped Liu San Niang on the back.
You should know that the village chief's pipe was made of purple bamboo, which was incredibly tough and hurt a lot when it hit someone. Liu Sanniang was hit and was about to jump up and hit back, but when she saw the village chief's face, which was red with anger, she screamed and ran away as if a ghost was chasing her.
Village Chief Ma chased after her for a few more steps, but realizing he couldn't catch up, he turned back and sighed to Cuihua, "Qiangzi's wife, don't take it to heart. This Third Sister deserves to be taught a lesson. Next time she comes, I'll break her legs."
Grandma Yan came out carrying Nan Nan. When she saw the village chief, she quickly welcomed him inside. Xue Mei cleverly brewed a pot of tea and went to make pancakes. Today they were going to dig the foundation, which was all hard work, so she needed to eat more.
As the village chief watched Xue Mei make pancakes, he thought of the fields in the village and sighed, "Sister-in-law, it's been half a month since spring planting, and there's only been one light rain. I'm worried."
Grandma Yan's heart skipped a beat. She was an old farmer who had been growing crops for decades. Everyone said that farmers depended on God for planting crops. If the weather was good, it was God's blessing. But this spring, it seemed like there hadn't been any rain.
After thinking for a moment, he said to Village Chief Ma, "Village Chief, we need to find a way as soon as possible. Those who have money should hurry to the town or county to exchange for grain, or it might be too late."
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