After threshing, the wheat had to be dried in the threshing ground until it was completely dry before it could be bagged and sent to the state for grain distribution.
Drying wheat also requires caution, as you might encounter bad weather and it might rain in the middle of the night, which would be disastrous.
So, during these days of drying the wheat, no one dared to sleep soundly; everyone was on high alert, and would get up to check as soon as they heard any noise.
And on that day, it really did rain in the middle of the night, waking everyone up so they could all go and harvest the wheat.
Everyone moved the wheat that wasn't completely dry and was left outside to dry the next day into the warehouse to keep it from getting wet in the rain.
"Hmm... what's wrong?" Song Lili asked, still a little groggy, after being suddenly woken up in the middle of the night.
"It looks like it's going to rain, everyone's busy checking on the wheat," Zhang Qinghua said as he put on his clothes.
Song Lili immediately opened her eyes. "It's raining?" She quickly grabbed some clothes to help.
Zhang Qinghua grasped Song Lili's warm little hand and said, "You don't need to get up. I'll go check on her."
"There are so many people in the village, one person from each family is enough, you can go to sleep."
"But..." Song Lili was still worried, afraid that everyone might not have heard it and it would cause a delay.
"Don't worry, Uncle Weiguo will go door to door to call people in a little while, it won't be delayed, don't worry."
As Zhang Qinghua spoke, he pressed Song Lili down to lie down again, saying, "You can continue sleeping."
"Is it really okay not to go?" Song Lili was still a little uneasy.
“Of course it’s fine. Ai’ai has never been before, so it’s okay if you don’t go.” As he spoke, Zhang Qinghua was already dressed.
Before leaving, he bent down and kissed Song Lili on the forehead. "Go to sleep. I don't know when I'll be back."
"Then be careful. If it rains, the road will be slippery and you could easily slip and fall."
"knew"
After Zhang Qinghua left, Song Lili was fully awake and couldn't fall asleep for a while, lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) lost in thought.
Thinking of the kiss Zhang Qinghua gave her before he left, she unconsciously reached out and touched her forehead, feeling a sweet warmth in her heart.
To be honest, she never imagined that she would live such a life after marrying into the family.
Over the past few years, she has a clear understanding of the kind of lives people lead in this era.
Although she had advanced ideas, she was not stupid. When she realized that ants could not move elephants, she could only accept her fate.
Marrying well might mean that her family respects her and there aren't as many conflicts.
If you marry poorly, you can just separate later.
She never expected that what she would encounter in the end would not be one of these two possibilities, but rather a situation she had never imagined.
Even now, thinking back on it, her heart is still unsettled, yet it's also surging and full, as if she's holding a flint, constantly radiating heat that warms her body so she can't feel the cold at all.
Thinking about how good Zhang Qinghua was to her, and how much Zhang Shengtian and the others doted on her, she felt happy.
So she was very lucky to have the best family.
She was thinking this when she fell asleep, and she didn't even hear Zhang Qinghua come back.
When I opened my eyes again, it was the morning of the next day.
I wonder how things went yesterday.
Seeing that Zhang Qinghua was still asleep, Song Lili got up quietly and went to make breakfast.
He must have been very busy yesterday, so let him sleep a little longer.
After Song Lili finished preparing breakfast, Zhang Qinghua groggily came out and asked, "Are you ready to eat?"
"Awake?" Song Lili smiled at Zhang Qinghua. "If you're awake, go wash up, eat, and then go back to sleep."
The weather is overcast today, so there's no way to dry the wheat. I'm pretty much free today; I can eat and then go to sleep.
"Okay," Zhang Qinghua yawned, glanced at the gloomy weather, and went into the kitchen to wash up.
After the family finished eating, Zhang Shengtian asked, "Qinghua, were all the grains moved to the warehouse last night?"
Zhang Qinghua nodded, "Yes, they've all been moved inside and haven't gotten wet."
Zhang Shengtian breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good that the grain is in good condition. We can continue drying it when the weather clears up. As long as it doesn't get wet, it's fine. Otherwise, I'm afraid it will sprout."
Last night, Zhang Qinghua stopped everyone else and went out to move the wheat by himself, which is why Zhang Shengcai asked that question.
Seeing that Zhang Qinghua kept yawning, Song Lili said to him, "Go back to sleep for a while. You should be fine today."
The weather is overcast, so the wheat can't be dried in the sun and has to stay indoors.
A short while later, Li Weiguo arrived and said to Zhang Shengtian, "We can't dry it today. Come with me in a bit and open the bag. I'm afraid it will get damaged if we keep it covered up."
"Okay." Zhang Shengtian agreed and followed Li Weiguo.
Song Lili also found out that she didn't need to go today, which meant she was free and had nothing to do today.
Because of the busy work during this period, I was only focused on harvesting wheat in the autumn and didn't have time for anything else. My dirty clothes at home have piled up.
So, Song Lili decided to do laundry today and wash all the dirty clothes she had taken off.
Once she had an idea, she took action. Song Lili gathered up all of her and Zhang Qinghua's dirty clothes and removed the bed sheets and duvet covers.
Then, Zhang Qingguo said, "Qingguo, do you have any dirty clothes? If so, hurry up and get them. I'll help you wash them."
"Also, if you have any, please bring them out as well."
After Zhang Qinghua got married, the task of washing clothes was handed over to Song Lili, while Zhang Aiai usually washed Zhang Shengtian and Zhang Qingguo's clothes.
Sometimes Zhang Aiai would bring one or two of Zhang Qinghua's clothes, but she never touched Song Lili's, and Song Lili wouldn't let her wash them either.
Song Lili also wouldn't wash Zhang Aiai's clothes, or Zhang Shengtian's and Zhang Qingguo's clothes, such as coats, and sometimes she would bring one or two of them along.
"Sister-in-law, no need, neither Dad nor I need to wash anything, you can wash your own."
"Alright then." Since Zhang Qingguo had said so, Song Lili carried the two people's clothes and went out.
Zhang Aiai was always at home, so she assumed that Zhang Aiai had washed their clothes and didn't care anymore.
She carried a large basket on her back and went to the river behind the village. She found a quiet spot with a gentle current before she started washing clothes.
The washing took most of the day, and it wasn't until the afternoon that Song Lili finally carried the clean clothes home.
"Why did you take so much?" Zhang Qinghua took the basket off Song Lili's back, feeling its weight, and asked in surprise.
"Is there anything to eat? I'm so hungry. I'll talk to you after I've eaten." Song Lili threw down her basket and ran to the kitchen. She was starving and all she wanted to do right now was have a good meal. She didn't care about anything else.
"Yes, I left it in the pot for you, it's still hot," Zhang Qinghua called out to Song Lili's retreating figure.
He only found out that Song Lili had gone to do laundry after he woke up. He left her some food at noon, but he didn't expect her to only come back now.
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