If there's something going on at the factory, I can only work for a short while at noon and then go back to the factory in the afternoon.
And so, the family of three worked on and off for a week to finally bring back all four or five acres of land.
The autumn harvest is tiring, but looking at the yard full of corn cobs, sorghum, and millet, no matter how tired you are, you feel at ease.
After finishing the farm work, we need to take some time before the winter harvest to go into the mountains to pick some walnuts, mushrooms, jujubes, and pine cones.
Now, the Sheng brothers, one in college and the other in high school, are not at home; only Sheng Liancheng and his father remain.
You can immediately tell that there isn't enough manpower in the family, and doing any work isn't as enjoyable as it used to be.
In autumn, not only are people busy bringing back all kinds of mountain products, but all kinds of animals in the forest are also eating like crazy in order to store up enough fat for winter.
Wild boars will roam the mountains and fields searching for oily nuts such as walnuts and hickory nuts, while bears will hide under wild grapevines or jujube vines and use their paws to pick and eat the jujubes and wild grapes.
Both wild grapes and jujubes are climbing vines that twine around other trees for support.
From a distance, the small green mounds on the mountain are mostly planted with wild grapes or jujubes.
Not only do animals love to eat jujubes and wild grapes, but humans do too.
People in mountainous areas generally like to use wild grapes to make wine or soak them in alcohol. Soft dates can be kept as snacks or used to make wine.
So every year during this season, many people carry baskets into the mountains to find grape trellises and jujube vines to pick wild fruits.
This is also the time when you are most likely to encounter a black bear.
People happily picked wild fruits outside the vines, while a black bear sat under the trellis, using its huge claws to pluck the fruits.
Before they knew it, the person outside and the bear inside had fallen for each other.
If the bear could talk at this moment, it would probably ask, "What are you looking at?"
Given the temperament of Northeasterners, if someone asked that, they would definitely reply, "What are you looking at?"
Of course, if the opponent is a black bear, most people's reaction would be to turn around and run away.
But how can a human's two legs outrun a black bear? Therefore, the probability of an accident is relatively high.
That day, Sheng Liancheng and his son had just left the forest carrying two sacks of pine cones when they saw someone running quickly toward the forest farm's health clinic.
"What's wrong? Where are you going?" Sheng Xiping asked, grabbing someone's arm.
"It's Xiping! Oh, something's happened. Someone went into the mountains to pick jujubes and got injured by a bear." The person being pulled away quickly explained when he saw it was Sheng Xiping.
"Who is it? Who hurt Black Bear?" Sheng Liancheng asked urgently from the other end of the line.
"It's your processing plant, Chen Haixia, and a few other female workers." The other person said this and hurriedly ran towards the clinic.
When Sheng Xiping heard that it was the female foreman of the processing plant who was in charge of handling the corrugated iron sheets, he was also taken aback.
"Dad, you go home first, I'll go check on things." Sheng Xiping threw down the sack full of pine cones and ran towards the clinic.
Before Sheng Xiping could even reach the clinic, he saw several people carrying a stretcher, hurrying towards the small train station.
When Sheng Xiping stepped forward, he saw a person lying on the stretcher, looking like a blood gourd, with their head and face completely wrapped in gauze, and bright red blood seeping through the gauze.
Beside the stretcher, two boys, around ten years old, were crying loudly, calling for their mother.
The people on the stretcher were unrecognizable, but Sheng Xiping recognized the two children as Chen Haixia's two sons, Wang Chao and Wang Yue.
Chen Haixia's husband, Wang Lin, died a few years ago when he was killed in an accident while logging. He was crushed by falling logs.
Chen Haixia and her two sons were left behind. The widow and her children were unable to make a living. The forest farm, understanding their plight, allowed Chen Haixia to take over Wang Lin's job.
Over the years, Chen Haixia has been both a father and a mother, and she finally managed to raise her two children to be around ten years old. I never expected that something like this would happen to her today.
If Chen Haixia can't save them, the two children will become orphans.
Without saying a word, Sheng Xiping followed the stretcher and ran towards the small train station.
When they arrived at the small train station, the forest farm's motorcycle was already parked. Everyone quickly lifted Chen Haixia onto the motorcycle, and Sheng Xiping also got on.
The accident happened to a worker at the processing plant. He's the factory manager; how could he not show up?
The others who followed were also factory workers, and they escorted Chen Haixia straight to Songjiang River.
On the way, Sheng Xiping inquired and learned the general details of how Chen Haixia was injured.
Today is Sunday, and the processing plant is closed. The female workers, who finally have a free day, have made plans to go to the mountains to pick mushrooms and walnuts.
Chen Haixia and her friends came across a few jujube trees. Remembering that their two sons were always craving jujubes and there wasn't much good food at home, they decided to pick some jujubes to keep for the kids.
This year's auspicious solar term resulted in a bumper harvest of jujubes. When Chen Haixia came across that tree, she found it laden with jujubes.
She was happily picking vines when, by chance, she looked down and met the eyes of a wild beast.
Chen Haixia cried out and stepped back. From under the jujube vine, a black bear emerged.
Black Bear, whose meal had been interrupted, was in a very bad mood and pounced on Chen Haixia.
Chen Haixia, a woman, may seem energetic and capable in the processing plant, but when she encounters a black bear, she can't use any of her skills.
She hadn't run more than a few steps when Hei Xiazi caught up with her and slapped her to the ground.
In a panic, Chen Haixia tried to get up from the ground despite the pain, but Hei Xiazi's second palm strike ripped off her scalp.
Chen Haixia felt a sharp pain and then lost consciousness.
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