However, no one in Hongqi Village wanted to drag things out, so the final result was that the work was carried out simultaneously in multiple locations.
Seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boys were made to drive livestock and thresh wheat with stone rollers. Men and women were divided into groups, each group taking a section of land, and they used flails to thresh the grain.
A flail consists of a long handle and a set of parallel bamboo or wooden strips. It is used to beat grains, wheat, beans, sesame seeds, etc., to make the grains fall off. It is also called a yoke (from Baidu Encyclopedia).
Some children went with their parents to turn the wheat, while some elderly people and children stayed behind at the stage to turn the wheat. The whole village got involved.
Song Lili didn't know what was going on, and inexplicably ended up staying at the stage. Fortunately, Yang Mei was there too, and even more coincidentally, Zhang Qinghua and Li Qinghua were also there, in charge of herding the livestock.
At first, it was very leisurely, with children running after the livestock, jumping and shouting, their joyful voices carrying far and wide.
When it came time to turn the wheat, it was quite difficult. The children, mostly teenagers or toddlers, weren't as strong as the adults and couldn't lift too much wheat with wooden forks.
At this point, the livestock stop, and teenagers like Zhang Qinghua will help, while others will wait.
Song Lili was the one who turned over the wheat, but she didn't find it strenuous at all; on the contrary, she could easily lift a large swathe.
However, she was quick, and only Yang Mei noticed the unusually large size of the wheat she picked up, but she didn't think much of it.
The stage was quite large, and although Song Lili was strong, she eventually felt her arms were too heavy to lift.
She no longer picked up large quantities of wheat, but followed the crowd, harvesting it little by little.
As their speed decreased, the group that had just been resting became dissatisfied. One of them, a boy who was about thirteen or fourteen years old and a bit fatter than the other children, pointed at Song Lili and shouted.
"Hey, hurry up! What are you dawdling about? Don't even think about slacking off, or I'll tell the brigade leader and he'll beat you to death." As he spoke, his droopy eyelids were filled with malice.
Song Lili was furious and couldn't help but roll her eyes. "You think you can do it? You're all talk and no action. Anyone can talk a good game."
The boy who had just spoken about Song Lili, Luo Yuejin, pointed at Song Lili with a flushed face and said, "You... that's your job, I'm the one who herds the livestock."
Song Lili stopped picking wheat and put her hands on her hips to rest. "Who can't herd livestock? It's just following the animals. What's so difficult about that? Even if you don't herd them, the animals will walk on their own."
"Don't act like you did something technically difficult, okay? If we're talking about slacking off, you're the one who's lazy!"
Song Lili muttered, "It's really a case of the thief crying 'stop thief!' I've never seen such a shameless person. If you just admitted you were lazy, I'd admire you..."
Song Lili said it was just a muttering, but the sound was audible to the children around the stage, and some of the less composed ones even chuckled.
Luo Yuejin was furious. Hearing laughter around him, his face contorted with rage as he glared at the people around him. "Who the hell dares to laugh? Anyone who laughs, I'll beat them to death..."
The surrounding sounds vanished with Luo Yuejin's vicious words, and some timid children quietly retreated, hiding behind others.
Song Lili frowned. Whose child is this? How can someone so young be so full of hostility? He doesn't seem like a good child!
Song Lili tried to say something, but Zhang Qinghua blocked her way, saying, "Don't say anything, give me the fork, I'll flip it."
As he spoke, he took the fork from Song Lili's hand and nudged her arm, seemingly gritting his teeth, "That's Luo Juan's younger brother..."
Song Lili: "..." What? Luo Juan's younger brother? Oh my god, I can't afford to mess with him. I'd better stay away. With a father who has such a vicious older sister, this kid probably isn't any better!
She shrank back a little in fear, and slowly, taking advantage of Zhang Qinghua's cover, squatted down, pretending to look at the wheat.
Luo Yuejin: "..." We're turning over the wheat now, okay? You think I can't see you just because you're squatting down?
Luo Yuejin rolled up his sleeves, ready to step over and have a good talk with him. He had never been confronted like this before!
"Yuejin, hurry up and help turn over the wheat. I see the weather isn't looking good, I'm afraid it might rain in the afternoon, and the wheat won't get wet! The sooner we finish, the better..." Luo Yuejin was stopped by Li Qinghua.
Luo Yuejin glanced at Li Qinghua, then at Song Lili who was squatting not far away counting ants. He gritted his teeth, pursed his lips, and glared fiercely at Song Lili.
"Fine, I'll give you face..." Luo Yuejin turned away unwillingly, but the ruthlessness in his eyes was clear to everyone.
The person who stopped him was the son of Li Weiguo, the village party secretary. Li Weiguo was someone even his father, Luo Weijia, couldn't easily offend, so he held back today.
Luo Yuejin snatched a wooden fork from the person next to him and began to turn the wheat over, as if he were treating the wheat as if he were Song Lili and trying to kill it with the fork, his expression vicious.
Luo Yuejin quieted down, and Li Qinghua finally breathed a sigh of relief. Zhang Qinghua, who had been standing in front of Song Lili, also relaxed.
He turned his head, wanting to give Song Lili a good talking to, but looking at her small head, all he could do was feel helpless.
With a sigh, he could only pick up his fork and quickly turn the wheat, hoping that Luo Yuejin wouldn't hold a grudge. But judging from Luo Yuejin's expression, was that possible?
Zhang Qinghua wasn't sure either. Oh well... let nature take its course, and take it one step at a time.
Song Lili was still not calm. She stretched out her invisible hands and slapped herself hard across the face.
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