Back home, Xu Ningyan began packing the things she would need for tomorrow.
Long-sleeved clothing, work gloves, hats, water bottles, and towels are all essential.
Gu Zhiyuan has a military water bottle, and Xu Ningyan also has a water bottle in her spatial storage, but it's not convenient for her to take it out.
However, with the large enamel mug that Gu Zhiyuan gave him, it was enough to hold herbal tea.
A straw hat is a must. Although we don’t have any at home, there’s a family in the brigade that knows how to weave straw hats. We can go to their house and exchange for two.
The supply and marketing cooperative sells work gloves, but they are not cheap, and most people are reluctant to buy them. They usually just wrap strips of cloth around their palms to make do.
Fortunately, Gu Zhiyuan had a few pairs of shoes that he had used when he was clearing land. Although some parts were torn, Xu Ningyan had mended them with needle and thread, so they could still be used.
People are like that at this time; they're lucky to have anything at all, so why bother choosing between new and old?
Xu Ningyan also had her own space, but she only took out two small pairs for herself, saying that she bought them in the county town, and that was enough to fool everyone.
The double harvest season is a great test of physical strength and endurance. Even the poorest families in the brigade must make sure their families are well-fed during this period, otherwise they simply cannot persevere.
Everyone went to bed early that night, and Xu Ningyan and Gu Zhiyuan got up just as dawn was breaking.
Xu Ningyan was busy making breakfast and gave Gu Zhiyuan the meat coupons and money, asking him to go to the supply and marketing cooperative early to buy some meat and eggs. Otherwise, after a month of this double harvest, the two of them might not be able to keep up.
Gu Zhiyuan accepted the money and tickets and quickly disappeared at the end of the alley.
After Xu Ningyan finished preparing breakfast and lunch together, she also boiled a large pot of tea and let it cool, and prepared all the equipment needed to go to the fields.
Gu Zhiyuan rushed back, covered in sweat.
He was carrying two pounds of pork belly, an old hen, two large bones, a basket of eggs, and about ten pounds of broken rice.
I drank two large cups of herbal tea as soon as I entered the house, and that's when I felt really alive again.
Xu Ningyan gestured for him to rest for a while before having breakfast.
I tied a rope to the old hen's leg and put it in the kitchen, then threw a few vegetable leaves for it to peck at.
Put the eggs and broken rice away. Put the pork belly in a pot to cook until done, then take it out and put it in the cupboard. It won't spoil for a day.
Sure enough, right after breakfast, before I even had a chance to finish eating, the whistle to start work blew.
The two put on long sleeves and trousers, tucking the cuffs and pant legs tightly, and wore hats. They also had towels draped around their necks so they could wipe away sweat at any time.
Gu Zhiyuan carried a water bottle on his back, while Xu Ningyan carried a basket containing her own teapot and her large tea mug.
When we arrived at the assembly point, the captain was already assigning tasks.
Gu Zhiyuan and Xu Ningyan were both assigned to the third squad, whose captain was Xu Daming, the eldest son of the battalion commander.
Apart from him and Gu Zhiyuan, the entire third squad consisted of women.
After queuing up to receive their sickles, they walked into the wheat field.
A group of women chattered away, glancing at Gu Zhiyuan and Xu Ningyan from time to time.
Upon arriving at the destination, Xu Daming counted the number of people and quickly assigned them to their places.
Each person has one acre of land, and they can only go home after they have finished harvesting.
As for Gu Zhiyuan and Xu Ningyan, the brigade leader had given them advance notice and assigned them a plot of land of about one and a half acres, which would be their task for the day.
The woman in the same team couldn't help but chime in sarcastically, "Oh dear, people's lives are so different! Have you heard? Siya has caught the eye of the county leaders and is going to work in the county town! It's not even close to happening yet, and people are already rushing to curry favor and try to get benefits. Don't they even realize how likely it is that she'll get the job? It's too early for them to be trying to curry favor with her!"
"We all have a quota of one mu (0.16 acres), but this couple, including the grown man, only have a quota of one and a half mu! Isn't this discriminating against people based on their status?"
“Hey Daming, take it easy! Even if you want to curry favor with someone, you have to choose the right person! Siya’s husband is a black element, he’s been sent down to our brigade to be supervised and undergo labor reform, he’s not here to enjoy himself! You think you can make him do labor reform with such a small amount of work? Don’t end up getting nothing but trouble!”
Upon hearing this, Xu Daming's face turned red with anger, and he was about to speak.
Xu Ningyan interrupted, "Third Team Leader, did you hear that? Aunt Qin's awareness is really high! She only has the life of a commune member but worries like a team leader! Since when did our team have to listen to her to assign tasks?"
Xu Daming was already angry, and upon hearing this, he glared at her: "Qin Daxiu, how about you take over as squad leader? You're always nagging and causing trouble! You're so conscientious, the big leader is right, women hold up half the sky, you go to the first team!"
The team consisted of capable men; they were the ones who carried and threshed the wheat.
Women generally can't do this kind of work. Occasionally, some brigades would produce one or two "Iron Ladies," who were highly praised at the time. However, as they got older, the aftereffects of overwork were quite significant.
Upon hearing this, Qin Daxiu immediately cowered. Without saying a word, he tucked his tail between his legs, grabbed his sickle, and slunk off to the ground.
Xu Daming scanned the room: "Anyone who doesn't want to work here, say it now!"
Who would dare say that? If they did, they'd have to go to a small team, okay?
The women suddenly became obedient.
Gu Zhiyuan had never harvested wheat before, and he didn't know where to begin when he held the sickle.
Although Xu Ningyan didn't have it in her previous life, she had Si Ya's memories. As soon as she got to the ground, her body's instinctive memories returned. She held a sickle in one hand and grabbed a wheat ear in the other, cutting it quickly.
Gu Zhiyuan has a strong learning ability; he learned it after watching for a while.
Although I can't keep up with the speed yet, I've tried my best not to fall too far behind.
The people around them stopped joking and got down to the ground to cut the wheat. For a while, all you could hear was the sound of sickles cutting through the wheat stalks.
As the sun slowly rises, the temperature gradually increases.
The dew on the wheat ears dried in the sun, and the awns fell onto the exposed skin. Sweat dripped down, causing itching and pain.
You can't grab it, the more you grab it, the more uncomfortable you'll feel.
Xu Ningyan finished cutting the entire plot in one go before straightening up and looking back to see that Gu Zhiyuan was about ten steps behind.
His clothes were soaked with sweat, and his left hand was clearly exhausted, but he was still gritting his teeth and persevering.
He wiped the sweat off his face with the towel draped over his shoulder before speaking to Gu Zhiyuan, "Take a break and have some water."
As he spoke, he walked towards a shady spot not far away.
There is an old willow tree there, and people rest under it in the vicinity.
They left their water bottles there.
Before them, some people who couldn't stand the thirst had gone over there to rest for a while, had some tea, and then went back to work.
Gu Zhiyuan didn't insist. He nodded, got up, wiped his sweat, and followed him to the willow tree.
Beside the willow tree was a ditch, with some water in it, which was fairly clear.
The two of them didn't care about such formalities; they scooped up water to wash their faces and hands before drinking it.
Xu Ningyan then noticed that although Gu Zhiyuan was wearing a straw hat, his face was still flushed from the heat, and he was unconsciously pounding his lower back from time to time.
My back must be aching from bending over to cut wheat all the time.
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