Most of the students at the forest farm are just studying to get a diploma so they can be recruited in the future.
So people don't really care about grades; if there's something going on at home, they just ask for leave.
When it was time to earn money, like by gathering wild ginger, almost half of the junior and senior high school students would take leave and go home. The boys would go into the mountains to gather wild ginger, while the girls would go home to help dry it.
As for studying, just getting by is fine. These days, there's no chance to go to university, and most parents don't care much about it.
The Sheng family values their children's education, but given the current economic climate, apart from Sheng Xiping, the rest of them have little idea about the future. As the saying goes, making money is the most important thing.
There are only two or three weeks left. Once the season is over, you won't be able to earn money even if you want to work hard. So, let's focus on the present first and think about the future later.
"They're here, big brother." Upon hearing this, Sheng Xi'an and Sheng Xikang quickly dropped what they were doing and came out to help Sheng Xiping.
The so-called "catching feet" is a tool used in Northeast China for hunting animals such as deer and roe deer.
Use wooden strips that are a little over an inch square to nail together a wooden frame that is six or seven inches square.
Several seven-inch-long spikes were nailed to each side of the frame. The spike heads were angled inwards to form a perforated shape.
Sheng Xiping learned this kind of foot catch from Qin Qiuyan. He thought it was too bulky and didn't use it much, nor did he have one at home.
Wasn't I planning to go hunting for deer antlers? Suddenly I remembered, so I quickly found some things and made a few.
The three brothers spent the whole afternoon in the yard with saws, axes, hammers and other tools, making about ten foot catches.
The next morning, the three brothers carried their carrying poles and salt bricks for digging salt pits, and went up the mountain together.
Those salt bricks were made by mixing salt with human urine. The urine had a foul smell, and when mixed with salt, it could better attract deer to lick them.
Sheng Xiping made a few pieces in advance, dried them, and then wrapped them in paper.
The three brothers, carrying a lot of things on their backs, left the forest farm and headed towards the deer trails that Sheng Xiping was familiar with.
The three brothers walked for more than 20 miles and came to a sunny hillside. The hillside was covered with a large area of second-generation forest, which had only grown for a few years. At the foot of the hillside, there was a small stream.
In winter, Sheng Xiping saw traces of deer in this area, which confirms that it is a deer trail.
Under Sheng Xiping's command, the three brothers dug pits on the nearby hillside, buried salt bricks, and covered them with a layer of soil.
Then, dig a few small pits around the salt bricks and bury the foot in them.
Use wire or rope to tie the feet to the roots of nearby trees, and cover them tightly with dry grass and fallen leaves.
After spending most of the day, the three brothers finally managed to place a few salt bricks and about ten talons in the locations that Sheng Xiping thought would be frequented by deer.
"Let's go, we can come back for a walk in a couple of days."
After finishing all that work, Sheng Xiping straightened his back, wiped the sweat from his forehead, told his two younger brothers to take their tools, and set off to head back.
After setting the trap, the prey won't fall for it immediately; you need to wait a few days.
So the next day, the three brothers followed Sheng Liancheng and took the commuter bus to Dadianzi in the industrial area to loot cattle.
During this season, the whole family, young and old, really goes out. Those who can go into the mountains go in, and those who can stay at home dry their hair in the sun.
There was no one idle in the entire forest farm and Dajianchang Village.
When it comes to physically demanding work, the advantage of having more boys becomes apparent.
Sheng Liancheng led his three sons into the mountains, and the four of them could carry back about 300 catties of fresh cow hair in a day.
By evening, just to blanch the vegetables, the large pot with twelve seals in the yard had to be used several times.
"Hurry up and eat. After you finish eating, you can go pluck cow hair. If you pluck a basketful, you'll get five cents."
Zhang Shuzhen and Zhou Qinglan had prepared the meal early, and the water in the large pot outside was boiling.
When Sheng Liancheng and the others returned, they first boiled Niu Maoguang in a pot, then placed him on a tattered mat.
Everyone went inside to eat, and by the time they finished, Niu Maoguang had gotten cold, so it was the perfect time to start grooming him.
With so many hairs on the surface, not to mention anything else, just the process of removing the hairs alone takes a lot of time.
With only a handful of people at home, Zhang Shuzhen came up with this idea to encourage Sheng Yunfang and the others to work harder.
The Sheng family's earthen basket was quite large; it could hold twenty or thirty catties of cow hair. With five cents hanging from it, the younger ones would be willing to work.
Otherwise, these unruly kids are unpredictable; they get tired after a while and start acting like bullies.
Sure enough, upon hearing that they would be paid for their work, not only Sheng Yunfang and Sheng Yunfei, but even Sheng Xitai's eyes widened in surprise.
"Hurry up and eat, then we can make money!" That's what the children all say.
And just like that, the children slurped and devoured their meal in no time.
Then they put down their chopsticks, ran outside, each with a dirt basket, found a stool or wooden stump to sit on, and started picking up cow hair.
Zhang Shuzhen and Zhou Qinglan chuckled as they cleared the table, washed the dishes and put them away, and then went out to pet Niu Mao Guang.
As for that troublemaker Sheng Xinhua, he had already left with his grandfather long ago.
While others were playing with cow hair, he would go over, grab a handful and give it to this person, then grab another handful and give it to that person. As long as there was something to play with, that was fine.
An electrical cord was strung out of the yard, and a light bulb was hung on the clothesline. The family chatted and laughed as they worked under the light.
The family of ten, apart from Sheng Xinhua who caused trouble, all the others were quite efficient at their work.
Before nine o'clock, a huge amount of bloatware had already been published.
Sheng Yunfang and Sheng Yunfei were quick workers; the two sisters filled three baskets with soil in front of them. Sheng Xitai was a little slower, but he also filled one basket.
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