Chapter 456 Replanting
Knowing that the conscripted men would be back soon, the villagers of Taohua Village were full of hope, with smiles on their faces every day, and more people were chatting at the village entrance.
But no one is idle. We can't just wait and have fun. The work in the fields and the affairs in the village must be sorted out before the spring plowing.
As soon as the three-day banquet ended, Taohua Village lost its excitement and returned to its usual busyness.
The red lanterns hanging at the entrance of the village had not yet been removed, and firecracker debris was scattered on the ground, but the ridges of the fields and the foot of the mountain were already full of villagers working.
The mulberry and tea trees that I spent a lot of effort to plant last year were almost all dead due to floods and droughts. Only a few crooked seedlings were left. I have to replant them from scratch this year.
Hybrid rice is of utmost importance. Last year's harvest was poor and a lot of rice died of drought before it matured. In order to avoid famine this year, it must be planted on a large scale.
Even the peach trees that were grafted last year had few survivors, and now they have to be pruned and grafted again.
Some people work in workshops during the day, and after work they go to the fields to work for a while.
There were so many things to do and they were so complicated that the villagers had to go to the fields before dawn every day and return home after dark. They were all so tired that they could not even straighten their backs, but no one complained.
Because they are farmers, the fields are their bread and butter. Only by taking good care of them can they expect a higher return next year.
But seeing the villagers' red eyes and increasingly emaciated bodies, Gu Jiayue was so anxious that she rubbed her hands and walked around in circles. "Hire someone! We must hire someone! We can't exhaust our men and women just to save a few bucks! Money can be earned again, but if you exhaust yourself, you lose everything!"
The village chief fully agreed with this decision.
When the news spread, people in the nearby villages were shocked.
I just had a buffet in Taohua Village a few days ago, and now I heard that Taohua Village is recruiting workers, paying twenty cents a day, which is much more cost-effective than working in my own fields.
Those who had finished their farm work at home ran to Taohua Village with dry food in their pockets, fearing that the quota would be full if they arrived too late.
With more people, the planting progress is much faster.
Last year, I taught the villagers the techniques of planting mulberry and tea trees, and this year everyone is particularly skilled.
Loosening the soil, planting seedlings, and watering were all done in one go, and no one made a mistake.
Even the professional farmers that Zheng Qinghe found from other places did not "say anything irresponsible" this time.
They had been taught a lesson last year. Apart from anything else, the hybrid rice they planted last year was a slap in their faces. They had long since given in and had honestly followed Gu Jiayue's teachings, interplanting mulberry and tea trees according to Gu Jiayue's method, and even strictly following the spacing requirements.
Gu Jiayue stood at the foot of the mountain, looking at the mulberry and tea seedlings planted neatly in the ground. When the wind blew, the tender green leaves swayed gently, and her heart was filled with a sense of accomplishment.
She put her hands on her hips, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise, her eyes sparkling.
Just wait two more years, just two years, and these mulberry trees can be used to raise silkworms, the tea trees can be used to harvest tea, the hybrid rice can have a good harvest, and the peach trees can bear large fruits.
Taohua Village will definitely be able to get rid of poverty and let every household live a good life with enough food and clothing and even be able to save some spare money.
But while busy with spring plowing, Gu Jiayue also has to take care of teaching in the school.
The academy examination in April is getting closer. Not only the 41 students of Qiushi Academy who passed the county examination in February will participate, but also the students who came from the county town and surrounding villages and towns to study will have to take the exam together.
All in all, there are almost hundreds of people.
It is hard for ordinary people to imagine the effort Gu Jiayue put in to tutor hundreds of people to a level where they can cope with the college entrance examination.
She would rush to the school before dawn every day, first check the students' morning reading, watch them do exercises and memorize during the day, and stay up late at night to correct papers and organize the next day's handouts. She often stayed up until late at night, and when her eyelids started to droop, she would wash her face with cold water and then continue correcting.
In March, students' classes were moved from ordinary classrooms to the third floor of the library.
This is a mock examination venue, and the daily procedures are exactly the same as the formal college entrance examination.
Before entering the examination room, candidates must be searched to prevent them from bringing in cheat sheets; the examination time is strictly in accordance with the time of the academy examination, and early submission of the paper is not allowed; even the placement of pens, ink, paper and inkstone must be consistent with the requirements of the examination room.
After a mock exam, Gu Jiayue would lead the teachers to explain each question one by one, help students review the wrong questions, analyze which knowledge points they have not mastered, and which answering skills need to be improved.
Over time, many students couldn't help but feel daunted when they saw the door to the third floor of the library. Some even leaned over their desks and sighed, "If I take any more exams, I'm going to vomit!"
But no matter how much they complained, no one really stopped.
They all knew that if they endured more hardships now, they would have more confidence in the college entrance examination. They could not let down their efforts over the years, and they could not let down Gu Jiayue's teachings.
During this period, there were times when students could not hold on.
The half-grown child hid in the quilt and cried secretly at night, his tears soaking the pillowcase, and he kept muttering "I'm so tired" under his breath.
But the next day, before dawn, he got up again with red and swollen eyes, took a copper basin and filled it with cold water to apply to his face. He forced back his tears, then sat in the yard with his books, reciting various textbooks in a low voice.
Such hard times will not last forever. Only by trying your best now can you have choices in the future.
Gu Jiayue also noticed the pressure on the students and occasionally gave them half a day off to let everyone relax.
She organized concerts where students played the piano and sang folk songs.
We held a "complaint conference" to allow everyone to express their grievances and pressures.
On a particularly sunny day, I took all the students on a spring outing to the river.
On the day of the spring outing, the children were very happy. Before Gu Jiayue could explain the rules, the children began to speak actively. Some said they could bring pots, and some said they could bring stools.
Some people are willing to bring meat.
Seeing the children happy, Gu Jiayue also felt happy. "Today, no talking about studying, no writing poetry, and no mention of the college entrance examination. We only have one goal: to have fun and eat well!"
The students' tasks were also divided.
The children in the village were responsible for bringing ingredients, pots and pans, while the students from the county town were responsible for cooking.
The place for the spring outing was not far from the village, just on the river bank outside the village. There was a flat shallow beach with mountains and water beside it. The willow trees had just sprouted new buds, hanging over the water. When the wind blew, the branches swayed gently, which was very comfortable.
The children were quick and nimble, quickly bringing three bluestone slabs of similar size to form a simple stove, and then placed the iron pot they brought from home steadily on it.
A tall boy waved his hand, assigning tasks. "Go to the river and collect firewood. Be careful not to get your shoes wet! Follow me and wash the vegetables and potatoes!"
As soon as the words fell, the children dispersed.
Those who were collecting firewood ran to the woods and ran back with dead branches in their hands; those who were washing vegetables squatted by the river, rinsing the vegetables with clean water, not caring about the splashes on their trouser legs.
The children who were not assigned any work were chasing each other and playing in the shallows. Some took off their shoes and stepped on the water, while others picked up small stones and skipped them on the water. Their laughter drifted far away on the river breeze and was even heard by the villagers working in the fields nearby.
"It's still good to be young!" An old villager carrying a hoe stopped, looked in the direction of the children and smiled, his eyes full of nostalgia.
"That's right!" The villagers nearby also sighed. "I still remember thirty years ago, when Gou Zi and I went to the mountains to collect bird eggs. We fell and got covered in mud, but it didn't hurt. Now thinking about it, it feels like it happened just yesterday!"
Gu Zhoushu has been transferred to Qiushi Academy for some time and is also one of the students taking the college entrance examination this time.
When he first arrived, he was not used to the learning atmosphere here.
Too nervous and too serious.
In the old days, although teachers also paid attention to the lessons, they never broke down the learning content into separate sections. Most of the time, they asked students to go back and read the books on their own and ask for help if they encountered something they didn’t understand.
But Qiushi Academy is different. Here we rely on mock exams to identify deficiencies, and then provide repeated explanations and exercises targeting those weaknesses, allowing people to identify and fill in the gaps in a short period of time.
In the previous school, Gu Zhoushu had always been among the best students.
The teachers all praised him for passing the imperial examination this year, and he himself was a little arrogant.
But when he arrived at Qiushi Academy, the first mock exam gave him a heavy blow.
His grades are not even as good as Gu Yuhe's.
After taking several more exams, he realized that what he had learned was too one-sided and too rigid, and he always subconsciously avoided policy essays that he was not good at, which led to more and more loopholes.
Fortunately, after this period of "devil training", he made rapid progress. The knowledge points that he didn't understand before gradually became clearer, and his answering became more and more fluent.
Now if someone asks him "Can you pass the college entrance examination?", he will definitely say "Yes" with certainty, without any of the nervousness he had before.
"Zhou Shu, what are you daydreaming about? This is for you!" Gu Yuhe came over with a skewer of golden roasted meat and handed it to him, with some charcoal ash on his hands.
"Thank you, uncle." Gu Zhoushu took the skewers and thanked him politely.
According to seniority, he should indeed call Gu Yuhe "uncle".
Gu Yuhe felt a little embarrassed by being called "little uncle" and scratched his head. "You are older than me. Just call me by my name in school. No need to be so polite."
Gu Zhoushu shook his head, his tone serious. "Etiquette cannot be abolished. Call me what I should call you."
Gu Yuhe muttered to himself, "Old-fashioned," but said nothing more. Instead, he asked, "What do you think of the barbecue?"
Gu Zhoushu took a bite, the gravy spreading in his mouth. He praised it respectfully. "It's roasted very well, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and marinated well. It's even more delicious than what I eat at home."
"So what do you think about my first business being barbecue?" Gu Yuhe's eyes lit up and he expressed his idea.
He has always been thinking about using his New Year's money as "start-up capital" to open a small stall.
Gu Zhoushu was stunned for a moment, but he didn't quite agree in his heart.
Why sell barbecue instead of reading good books?
He really couldn't understand Gu Yuhe's train of thought, but he was used to not criticizing others casually, so he nodded: "Come on, little uncle, I'm rooting for you!"
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