For several days in a row, the villagers were busy on the mountain. During the day, they picked mushrooms on the mountain, and at night they heated up their kang (a traditional heated brick bed) to dry the mushrooms.
At first, everyone was very excited and went up the mountain to pick mushrooms every day. However, as the amount picked increased and mushrooms kept sprouting in the ground, everyone gradually lost interest.
However, the village elders would urge them to continue going up the mountain every day, and they would give them a long lecture.
"We don't know how the crops in the fields are doing right now, or if there will be a harvest. Right now, everyone has to rely on the mountains for their livelihood. If we harvest all these mushrooms from the mountains, even if there is no harvest in the fields, it will help us for a while."
The village even held a meeting to encourage everyone not to be lazy and to go up the mountain to pick fruit every day.
However, there were simply too many mushrooms. They picked them for a whole month, and every household's cellars and houses were overflowing with mushrooms.
But the village elders weren't satisfied. They went so far as to force them to pick the fruit outside the village. They even emptied out the prefabricated houses so that several families could share them for storage.
They picked all the mushrooms from within a ten-mile radius of the village before finally letting everyone stop.
Only then did everyone realize that the crops in the field had only grown a little taller.
"If we had fertilizer, that would be great; we should be able to get some harvest that way too."
"I've mentioned this issue before, but where are we going to find chemical fertilizers now? We might as well make more organic fertilizer ourselves."
"It's too late to compete with fertilizer companies now, so it's better to go find chemical fertilizers instead."
"But if this continues, we might end up with nothing, and all our previous efforts will be wasted."
"Why!"
The village officials were discussing the matter, but they couldn't come up with a solution, so they simply rang the gong to call everyone to the square to brainstorm together.
"As everyone knows, the crops haven't grown much. Because of the lack of sunshine and the hot, humid climate, the rice plants don't seem to be growing properly. I'd like to ask if anyone has any suggestions?"
"What can we do? Maybe we should organize some people to go out and find some fertilizer."
Upon hearing this suggestion, the young people started to clamor and clamor to be the first to sign up.
"Look at these people, they think it's a big market outside now, everyone's rushing out," Yunqi said to Yunxia standing next to him.
“That’s right. My Yunheng was saying the day before yesterday that it would be so exciting if he could go out with his brother-in-law again, like last time!” Yunxia laughed as she said this. “As a result, my dad chased after him and beat him up. This kid really has no sense of danger at all. My dad even said that if the village needs someone to go out again next time, he will go himself. Haven’t you seen how listless Yunheng has been these past few days?”
“Serves them right. These rascals need to be properly disciplined. Every few days, they come to your brother-in-law's house in groups, trying to persuade him to take them out for a stroll. They think they're on the road of adventure.” He then asked Yunxia, “Now that all the household affairs are on your shoulders, are you managing?”
“I can manage. My dad and Yunheng would lend a hand if they were home. I only realize now how hard my grandma used to work.” Yunxia said this with a sense of apology. She felt she had been so immature and unfilial in the past.
"Everything is in the past, things will be better in the future," Yunqi said, patting her hand to comfort her.
It was only then that I noticed the scars covering Yunxia's entire hand, and the thick calluses on her palms. It seemed that she, who had never done housework before, had gone through a very difficult period of growth.
Just as I was about to say something more, I heard the village chief shouting through a loudspeaker.
“Everyone is so fixated on chemical fertilizers, but have you ever thought about it? The factories aren’t producing them anymore, so where will we get fertilizer in the future? Just like the engine oil we used before, that won’t be available anymore either. We’ll have to rely on ourselves for planting and harvesting crops.” At this point, the village chief took a sip of water from his cup. “We can’t rely on chemical fertilizers anymore either. We’ll have to rely on the homemade farmyard manure we used to make to increase yields. Starting tomorrow, if any family wants a harvest, they should go up the mountain to collect fallen leaves and weeds, and dig deep pits to collect the fertilizer themselves.”
Hearing this, many people felt hopeless. They could barely finish the farm work now, and if they had to rely on fertilizers in the future instead of machinery, they would truly become old farmers.
"Even if we try to fertilize now, the crops in the fields can't wait," someone suggested. "Why don't we go out and look for some? What if we find something?"
"Yes, village chief, let us go out. Maybe we can still find it."
The leaders of several villages discussed the matter and realized that it was too late to fertilize the land now. If all else failed, they would send these people out for a walk, let them see the harsh realities Yun Zhixin had described, and hopefully calm them down.
"If all else fails, go out and look for something. If we're lucky enough to find it, at least the village can still have some harvest." Looking at the sparse crops in the distance, everyone frowned deeply.
“There should still be some in town, but I’m afraid those people won’t be willing to give us their fertilizer.”
"After leasing out the land for so many years, we really forgot about stockpiling fertilizer. Otherwise, we wouldn't be in such a passive situation now." Third Grandfather sighed. His family had stockpiled everything else, but they really hadn't thought of fertilizer at all.
"It's all pointless to say anything now. If all else fails, let them go further afield and ask Yun Zhizhong in the city to see if they have any ideas." The second grandfather was also very annoyed. He had actually forgotten to ask about it when Yun Zhixin came back.
"Then we don't need so many people to go?"
"Let more people go. If they happen to get fertilizer, it will be a hassle to transport it back."
"Awu, go and inform everyone. Just like last time, each family should send one person. It's best if they're in good health, otherwise it will be troublesome to carry the load back."
The village chief cleared his throat and addressed the crowd through the megaphone: "This time, it's the same as before. Each household will send one person. But there's one thing: those who go must be strong and able to carry heavy loads. After all, if we find fertilizer, we'll have to carry it back, so we can't be lazy. It won't be easy for the families either. They need to dig the pits and prepare the fertilizer during this time. The fertilizer will need to be prepared for half a year before it can be used next year. If you don't know how to do it, come to me and copy a guide."
"We also need to come up with a plan together regarding what we can use to exchange for fertilizer this time."
When the topic of exchanging their own belongings came up, everyone fell silent. In the current situation, every little bit used is precious, and no one wants to give up anything.
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