In early September, the family harvested cotton from various wastelands. The cotton yield was low, mainly depending on the weather.
Picking cotton requires skill; otherwise, the picked cotton will be dirty and need to be cleaned repeatedly at home.
The cottonseeds need to be picked out, dried, and then sold or kept for personal use. If you accumulate enough, you can press them for oil, but it needs to be refined, otherwise it will be toxic.
Generally, the cottonseed oil that is sold is used to make cosmetics.
Of course, it can be eaten, but it needs to be refined to meet edible standards.
There are no guarantees whatsoever from small workshops in the countryside. Some people have suffered serious health consequences after consuming toxic cottonseed oil.
So the best way to solve this once and for all is to sell it cheaply. Even though it's not worth much money, every little bit helps, right?
In early October, the autumn harvest began. This year, Zhao Lingli and Tao Changyi were responsible for transporting the crops back and forth, while the elementary school boys, along with Cuiju and Cuilian, were responsible for picking corn. The school also gave them a few days of autumn break, and the old man went over to help cut millet stalks.
The old lady in the old house was feeling weak and unable to keep up, so she took the initiative to stay at home with a small bottle of wine and busy herself drying vegetables.
Xiao Jiu, still at home, continued to go into the woods with her friends to see if there were any wild walnuts, wild hawthorns, or wild persimmons to pick.
Unfortunately, we weren't so lucky for several days in a row; even the worst-tasting fruit was picked clean.
In the end, these children could only carry baskets of pig feed or firewood home.
The entire autumn harvest will not be finished until at least mid-to-late October, because there will be autumn sowing after the harvest, and the land needs to be cleared in advance.
This period was also a crucial time for Grandma to quickly dry the vegetables.
This is also the crucial period for radishes and cabbages to grow strong and healthy, requiring fertilization and watering. Their growth depends entirely on these days.
Livestock and poultry are no longer kept in the courtyard houses in the town; they have all been moved to the old houses, so there is no shortage of people here.
Xiao Jiu just happens to like the mountains and countryside, and didn't make a fuss about going home. The reason why the grandmother and grandson, as outsiders, were able to integrate into Xihe Village so quickly is mainly because the old lady is clean and straightforward. She is happy and angry according to her mood. If she feels that she can get along well with someone, she will continue to associate with them. If she feels that someone is unreliable, she will avoid them next time. Therefore, the reputation of the Tao family is polarized.
The same goes for Xiaojiu. She is able to make so many friends not only because of her extensive knowledge and charitable nature, but also because she never complains and never speaks ill of anyone in front of others. At most, if she doesn't like someone, she will quietly distance herself from her or avoid that person.
During the day, most of the children on the mountain are girls who need to dig pig feed for their families. Only after school in the evening do the boys come out to chop and carry firewood. I had heard that Xihe Village was poor, and it really was poor. No more than five people from this village go to school, and they all go to school in nearby villages because their village doesn't have the resources.
If production teams are established in the future, their village probably won't have a chance to build a school.
When I lived in the town, at least there was a gravel road in front of my house. But after coming to the village, I realized how muddy the roads in the village are after it rains.
After walking a few steps, your feet would be covered in mud; cloth shoes from that era would get soaked in no time.
"It's raining, so don't go outside. Come on, help Grandma peel peanuts."
Whenever this happened, Grandma would call her over and give her some chores.
Or peeling peanuts, peeling cotton seeds, or braiding hair.
Other children couldn't sit still, but she could not only sit still, but sometimes she could even learn embroidery from her grandmother and learn the direction of the stitches.
In short, she has learned a lot of fine skills from the old lady over the past few years.
"We need to save up the cotton we planted this year, and plant more next year so we can make a few cotton-padded clothes for you little ones,"
"Grandma, I don't want it. I'll wear my brother's clothes. My brothers grow up quickly, especially my eldest brother's cotton-padded coat. We've already taken them all."
"Don't worry about your older brother, he's got your dad's old and worn-out clothes to protect him. He's all grown up now, he's not afraid of the cold. But you're different, you're the most delicate. We can do without anyone else in our family, but we can't do without you."
It was difficult for people in the countryside to get their hands on fabric. In the past, the difficulty lay in the high price. Every time they went to buy fabric, they had to wait in a long line, and by the time they got to the front, it might be sold out. Or some fabrics would be sold out by insiders before they even reached the counter.
The reason for implementing a planned economy was to ensure that everyone could buy cloth. Unfortunately, after the plan was implemented, it became even more difficult for ordinary people to buy cloth throughout the year, because farmers could only receive a few feet of cloth coupons each during the Spring Festival, and not at other times.
The Tao family had many children. Usually, after Tao Zui finished wearing the clothes, the remaining younger brothers would take turns wearing them. The boys used up a lot of fabric, climbing up and down all day long. By the time all the fabric was discarded, it could be made into sleeves or overcoats to wear. It was never even suitable for Xiao Jiu. In fact, the fact that Tao An was allowed to pick them up meant that the fabric had reached its maximum lifespan.
If it weren't for my two daughters sending back some old clothes from other places, we might have had to buy new bottles of liquor to keep going.
Although she didn't care about the quality of the fabric, what girl doesn't love to look beautiful? If she's dressed up nicely, everyone will feel comfortable looking at her. Moreover, the old lady and Zhao Lingli, who had raised four sons with great care and effort, both felt that the girl was more considerate than their sons and were even less willing for her to suffer in this regard.
The old lady was exceptionally skilled at sewing. Her stitches were dense and flawless. She used to embroider, and although she doesn't dare to embroider anything too flamboyant now, she can still sew a beautiful flower bud with dark thread when patching something up.
Xiao Jiu felt it would be a great pity if this craft were lost, so she often followed the old lady to learn how to make clothes. When she couldn't recognize the needle, she would lick the end of the thread, rub it gently, quickly thread the needle, and then hand it to her grandmother.
"Oh dear, it's all thanks to Xiaojiu for keeping Grandma company. If you're not bored, Grandma will start teaching you how to make clothes and sew shoe soles, okay? Girls should have these skills, so that when you want to make clothes in the future, you won't have to bother others and can do it yourself."
“I know, I know. The leader said that only by doing things ourselves can we have enough to eat and wear. Milk, I am willing to learn. Little wine is willing to learn from you.”
"Oh, you're so good. Grandma will not only teach you how to make clothes and shoes, but also how to spin and weave. Look at our loom and spinning machine, we haven't used them in a long time. Every year, Grandma will go to wasteland to plant cotton. After we harvest it, we'll take it home to weave. Let me tell you, the cloth we weave ourselves is really strong, better than any cloth you buy."
The bed sheets woven by the older generation are not only practical and sturdy, but also fit snugly on the bed and feel cool to the touch, which is quite rare.
Her family had bought a few sheets like these before, and they were really good. Apart from being a bit ugly, they had no other problems. Her parents would occasionally use them. She didn't know their value at the time. Later, when she and her mother were changing the sheets for the season, her mother brought them out and told her about where they came from. Although they bought them from an old lady they didn't know on the street, they could achieve this effect for just a few dozen yuan. After washing them, there wasn't a single wrinkle. She regretted not buying more.
Now that her grandmother says she'll teach her how to weave, Xiao Jiu's interest has been piqued.
"Yay! Yay! I want to learn to weave! Little Jiu wants to learn to weave so she can dress Grandma in pretty clothes!"
The old lady couldn't help but laugh when she saw the little girl, who was only a few months old, already several shades darker from the sun.
"Come on, let Grandma comb your hair. Look how messy it is after your afternoon nap!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiu immediately grabbed her hair.
"Grandma, I can comb my hair, I want to comb it myself, you keep spitting on my hair!"
Upon hearing this, the old lady not only didn't feel embarrassed, but also laughed heartily.
"Oh dear, isn't that just a habit? When it's hard to comb through, you have to add some water. Okay, how about you pay more attention to hygiene when you make the milk?"
Xiao Jiu was still not very willing, but seeing that her grandmother seemed to know she was wrong, she reluctantly nodded.
"Grandma, you can't lie to me. It's not easy for me to wash my hair."
That was really difficult. There used to be shampoo available, but it was expensive. My mother was generous to her, but my grandmother thought it was unnecessary.
It's not that I'm stingy with the money, it's just that I feel that those kinds of things aren't as good as homemade, all-natural ones.
In towns where even soap pods are hard to find, the soap used for washing clothes is all homemade grey soap bought from the locals.
Hair is usually washed with wood ash. At least in the family, apart from my mother who occasionally uses shampoo and soap, everyone else uses wood ash to wash their hair.
She was no exception. At first, she thought wood ash was dirty, but after washing it with water, she was surprised that it could keep her hair from itching and oily for five days. In particular, the hair washed with wood ash was still black and shiny, soft to the touch, and she lost very little hair.
In modern times, with so many toiletries available, if you try not washing your face for three days, you'll definitely feel horrified.
Although Xiao Jiu is only five years old, her hair has already reached her chest. It could have been even longer, but it was trimmed once in the middle.
People who collect hair say her hair is of good quality, so she has always insisted on washing her hair with wood ash water, which is a shampoo she made herself through observation.
She would soak a basin of wood ash for a whole week, turning the water into alkaline water with a cleaning effect. She would collect this water, pour some into her wash, rub it clean, and then rinse it off with water. This saved her from having to keep rinsing her hair because it was covered in ash, which was a waste of water.
She originally wanted to add some flower juices and oils to see if she could make soap, but after failing twice, she was worried about wasting more materials, so she gave up for the time being. She thought that when she had time, she would go to the grandfather who sells ash soap to see how he makes it and learn from his experience. She heard that the grandfather collects wood ash all year round, and sometimes he can exchange a lot of wood ash for two bars of ash soap.
Everyone in their family brushes their teeth, a habit they've maintained for many years. The money for toothpaste and tooth powder comes from their parents. Whenever someone's toothbrush breaks down, their mother takes them to buy a new one. It's not cheap—one cent a toothbrush and two cents a box of tooth powder. With so many people in the family, this is a considerable expense every year.
She was very fortunate that her grandmother bought her a toothbrush as soon as she started teething, which allowed her to grow a set of neat and white teeth.
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