The next morning, the weather was gloomy and the sun was nowhere to be seen. Several dark clouds looked heavy and full of moisture, as if they could burst into water at the slightest touch.
The swallows flew very low, and there were many big-eyed blue-eyed goats flying around in mid-air.
Li Xiangdong was aching all over and having a jumbled dream when Li Jin woke him up.
Li Jin frowned deeply. "Wake up quickly, wash your face, eat something, and harvest that barley field by the road in Dongwa. I don't think the weather looks right!"
Li Xiangdong instantly woke up, rolled over and got out of bed, and pulled back the curtains to see that the sky was dark and the air smelled of rain!
"Dad, the other harvester will work too. I'll teach you how, and we can work together faster!"
Li Jin had driven trucks and jeeps when he was in the army, so he could probably learn to drive them quickly.
"Alright, hurry up and eat something. Your mother boiled three eggs for you and stewed some small fish!"
Li Xiangdong quickly dressed, washed his face, sat down at the dining table, and exclaimed, "Wow!"
There are so many delicious things to eat!
A large bowl of braised small mixed fish, a plate of stir-fried shredded pork with pickled vegetables, and steamed buns and eggs.
The whole family had gone out to harvest and glean wheat. If Li Jin hadn't felt sorry for Li Xiangdong, who had been working so hard for so many days, he would have woken him up long ago.
Seeing that Li Jin couldn't sit still, Li Xiangdong broke open a steamed bun, added a chopstickful of pickled vegetables and stir-fried meat, and tore some scallions into pieces and put them in as well. "Come on, Dad! Let me show you how to open it."
The father and son sat in the driver's seat. While eating a steamed bun, Li Xiangdong explained to Li Jin how to use the various buttons for forward, reverse, and turn.
Despite being in his early forties, Li Jin's mind was still sharp, and he mastered the operation after only two tries.
The father and son each drove a car, chugging along into the wheat field.
Here, as soon as they noticed the sky was overcast and it looked like it was going to rain, everyone got up, grabbed their sickles, and went to the fields to harvest as much as they could!
Finally, around nine o'clock in the morning, the dark clouds slowly dispersed and drifted westward, revealing the fiery red sun. People took off their straw hats and cheered!
Good heavens, this is terrifying!
Li Xiangdong worked tirelessly all day again. Except for getting out of the car to relieve himself, Li Ping delivered lunch to him and his father in the car.
Li Xiangdong felt like his buttocks and thighs no longer belonged to him, but the wheat harvest was like a battlefield! He could only grit his teeth and work until nine o'clock at night.
This was only because the machine got too hot. If he wasn't worried about breaking the machine, his dad would have worked all night!
And so, including the more than 40 mu that the villagers harvested by hand, and the more than 180 mu that the father and son harvested, there are still 1,000 mu of land left to harvest in Lijiapo!
Li Xiangdong felt he wouldn't last that long; he would die from exhaustion!
Finally, after discussing with team leaders Li Jin, Li Tang, and Liu Changhai, it was decided that anyone in the Lijiapo Brigade who could read, aged 14 to 50, could come and learn how to operate the harvester!
The news caused another uproar.
What?
Free, guaranteed learning?
Do you get eighty work points for operating a harvester for eight hours?
In no time, a long line formed in front of Li Xiangdong's house.
Who wouldn't want their child to learn more skills? If they really learn them, they'll have something to eat in the future.
Through careful teaching and observation, Li Xiangdong and Li Jin selected four outstanding individuals: Guo Daming, Liu Changhai, and Li Xiangchao, who were the eldest sons and grandsons of Li Jin's uncle, Li Jinshan.
The last person was someone no one expected; the one who learned the best among the four was actually Ning Ruoruo!
The little girl learned it in one go and immediately memorized all the buttons and operating steps!
Since these four people started working, each machine operates in two shifts, and Li Xiangdong has been free.
He slept soundly all day, without eating or drinking, and his family spoke and walked in very low voices, afraid of waking him up.
Li Xiangdong felt completely relaxed after sleeping, stretched out a big yawn, and finally felt alive again.
He was young and had a fast metabolism; his stomach was rumbling with hunger.
Suddenly I have a strong craving for braised goose in an iron pot!
Add some dried potatoes and dried green beans inside. The dried vegetables, soaked in oil and broth, are chewy and fragrant when you bite into them, unlike fresh potatoes and green beans, which always feel watery no matter how you cook them!
Now, most of the land in Lijiapo is being harvested by combine harvesters, and only small plots and corners that combine harvesters can't access are being harvested by hand.
This reduces the need for so many people; many people spontaneously went to collect wheat stalks and gather wheat ears.
Zhao Sufang did not go to work in the fields, which was also Li Xiangdong's strong request. He did not want his mother to be too tired, like in his previous life, and to suffer from illness at an early age due to overwork.
Li Xiangdong lifted the curtain and entered the room. Zhao Sufang was wiping the cabinet with a rag. Li Yan was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) teasing the big tabby cat. The tabby cat was pinched by Li Yan and meowed, then moved to a place away from Li Yan to lie down.
"Mom, let's have stewed goose in an iron pot for lunch today, and make a ring of small cornbread pancakes around the edge of the pot!"
“Sure! But we don’t have any geese at home. Your second aunt has two. I’ll ask her if she’ll sell them!” Zhao Sufang asked Li Xiangdong to watch over her younger sister, then took a roll of change from under the kang mat and rushed off to her second sister’s house at the east end of the village.
"Mom, while you're at it, buy some dried potatoes and dried green beans from Auntie's too!" Li Xiangdong called out as soon as he remembered this.
As it turned out, Zhao Sufang had already gone far away. Li Xiangdong, carrying Li Yan, locked the front door of the house and went to chase after Zhao Sufang.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com