It's raining!
Large raindrops pelted the people, and everyone who overheard the conversation between the Li father and son felt that Li Xiangdong was no longer Li Xiangdong; he was now a brilliant strategist!
Otherwise, who could have such the ability to predict the weather?
As the word spread, Li Xiangdong, who was already a prominent figure in Lijiapo, was shrouded in mystery by the villagers.
...
Li Jin, along with the two production team leaders, Li Tang and Liu Changhai, arranged for all the grain to be properly stored.
Now only a small portion of the wheat remains undried, so the wheat harvest in Lijiapo is practically over.
Next, we need to deliver grain to the government and sell grain under the unified distribution system, but this is not urgent and we need to wait for the commune and county to make arrangements.
There's something urgent right now: pressing oil!
Previously, Li Xiangdong left eighty yuan for his third sister, Li Ying, asking her to get eight hundred catties of wheatgrass seeds.
As expected of Li Xiangdong's sister, Li Ying bought them at five cents a pound. She bought two pounds for one cent, twenty pounds for one mao, two hundred pounds for one yuan, and a total of sixteen thousand pounds for eighty yuan!
Old Dongxiang has a lot of arable land, wheat, and wheatgrass. Even though it's only five cents a pound, there are still plenty of people selling it.
Just like in Lanshui Village, the county didn't allow wheat harvesting, so with nothing to do, the brigade collectively organized its members to collect wheat stalk seeds!
Now Li Jin has sent most of the commune members out to work, giving them a subsidy of one work point for every pound of grain they collect. According to previous years, one work point is worth eight cents.
The villagers didn't lift a finger; they just bought it at five cents a pound, and they could keep a net profit of seven and a half cents!
The members of Lijiapo commune have expanded their business of collecting wheatgrass seeds to neighboring counties!
Now look what's happened! The threshing grounds, warehouses, and granaries in Lijiapo are piled high with wheat stalks, roughly estimated to weigh 700,000 to 800,000 jin!
Li Jin was both happy and worried. He was happy that the 700,000 to 800,000 catties of wheat wormwood seeds could be pressed into 300,000 to 400,000 catties of wheat wormwood seed oil, but he was worried that there was nowhere to put the harvested wheat!
Liu Changhai, Li Tang, and a few others initially didn't know why the brigade leader and accountant were so insistent on collecting wheatgrass seeds. But after tasting the wheatgrass seed oil, they were so happy that their mouths stretched to their ears!
Head east, oh east! This isn't just the smoke rising from the Li family's ancestral graves, it's the smoke rising from our Lijiapo brigade!
...
The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier, and you couldn't even see the raindrops anymore; they were just streaks of silver!
Heavy raindrops pounded on the roof, the locust tree leaves, and the tops of the chicken coop and doghouse, pattering and crackling. Soon, the rainwater in the yard formed a small stream, swirling and carrying thin pieces of firewood, flowing out of the yard through the drain...
A southeast wind was blowing outside, and the wind suddenly picked up. The people who were sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) with the window open to enjoy the cool breeze were suddenly drenched in rain.
Li Yan giggled at the joke, and Li Xiangdong quickly closed all the windows. Although the windows were closed, the room was still much cooler than before.
It was as dark as midnight when Li Xiangdong turned on the light in the room, filling the entire room with warm yellow light. Zhao Sufang was sewing cloth shoes with multiple layers of soles for Li Xiangdong. Li Jiabao, Li Ping, and Li Yan were teasing the big tabby cat, which was annoyed by the three of them and kept meowing.
Li Xiangdong lay sprawled out on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), his limbs spread out like the Chinese character "大" (da), and closed his eyes to enjoy this rare moment of peace and warmth.
The sound of rain outside the window grew louder and louder, and Li Xiangdong fell asleep while listening to it.
I don't know how long I slept, but I vaguely heard people talking.
"Da Ming, how did you get back in such heavy rain?"
"Captain, I came back in a car with a staff member from the county committee who stayed in Longshui Village."
"Where is Xiang Chao?"
"Xiang Chao is still in Longshui Village. I've left him there to watch over the two harvesters!"
"I came back to ask you for advice. It's raining so hard, we can't work. Should we bring the harvester back, or leave it in Longshui Village?"
Guo Daming sounded a little anxious. No one expected that before the day's work was finished, a torrential downpour would begin.
The village head of Longshui Village was so anxious he was jumping up and down, insisting that Li Xiangchao and Guo Daming work in the rain!
Li Xiangchao and Guo Daming couldn't agree to that. Who knew if driving the harvester in the rain would damage the machine?
The two drove the machine to a rain-soaked area, leaving Li Xiangchao to watch it alone, while Guo Daming rushed back to discuss ideas with Li Jin and Li Xiangdong.
The village head of Longshui Village had no choice but to order all the villagers to brave the rain and rush to harvest the wheat.
...
Just then, another person braved the rain to come to Li Xiangdong's house. It was a young woman in her early twenties, quite tall and thin, with rather ordinary features, but still quite pretty.
"Sixth Uncle, Sixth Aunt, has Xiang Chao returned? I'm a little worried about this heavy rain."
This is Li Xiangchao's wife, whom he married two years ago. According to the family hierarchy, she is called Li Jinliu.
"Xiao Hong, come in quickly! Why are you out in such heavy rain? Is the child at home?"
Zhao Sufang quickly pulled Xiang Chao's wife, Xiao Hong, into the house.
“Yes, Aunt Liu, my mother-in-law is watching over it!” Xiao Hong said crisply.
“Xiang Chao is still in Longshui Village. He probably won’t be back tonight. Don’t worry, he won’t be mistreated there!” Li Jin said.
"Alright, then I'm relieved. Uncle Liu, Aunt Liu, Daming, I'll head back now!" Xiao Hong didn't linger any longer and went home after getting the information.
At this moment, Li Xiangdong was fully awake. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and greeted Guo Daming.
The two men saw that Li Xiangdong had woken up and asked for his opinion.
After all, no one knows these two machines better than him.
“Dad, Brother Daming, these two harvesters are tracked, so they're not afraid of wet fields, but they can't work in the rain right now. First, the straw is too wet for the harvesters to cut, and second, the wheat and husks won't separate if it's too wet.”
"So you definitely can't go to the fields while it's raining, but the rain can't keep falling forever. If there's a window of time when it stops raining for half a day, you can seize the opportunity to harvest."
"Okay, I understand. I'll have dinner and then head back as soon as possible." Guo Daming got up to leave.
"Brother Da Ming, don't worry, I don't think the rain will stop anytime soon. You should stay home and sleep peacefully for the night. If the rain stops tomorrow, I'll ride my bike to take you there. Eighty miles is too far, it'll take forever to walk there!"
Seeing that Guo Daming was all wet, Li Xiangdong quickly handed him a towel so he could dry his wet hair.
Guo Daming didn't answer. "It'll get wet again if I go outside in a bit. I'm not going to bother anymore. I'm leaving now!"
Li Xiangdong nodded.
Guo Daming turned to leave and bumped into Li Zhen, who was coming out of the west room. His face flushed red again.
Li Zhen greeted him, and Guo Daming glanced at Li Zhen again before going out wearing a makeshift raincoat made from fertilizer bags he had taken from Longshui Village.
Li Xiangdong's expression was no longer as relaxed as before. This time, the grain of Lijiapo Brigade was saved, but what about the other villages?
Li Jin was relieved that there were harvesters available; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to harvest even a little over half of the land in Lijiapo.
"Let's hope this rain stops tomorrow! Even if the wheat is ruined, we won't lose too much," Li Jin said.
Li Xiangdong thought silently, "I doubt anyone would have imagined that this rain would be a lousy, lingering downpour that lasts for more than ten days."
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