"There's one more thing, I know that everyone has relatives in other villages, and I do too."
Everyone is having a tough time, so you should weigh the options yourselves. If you're going to borrow money, you need to keep your mouth shut about what you should and shouldn't say.
Even if you don't lend it, you should still maintain a good relationship and prevent any further trouble.
Of course, my idea is to keep it quiet. If you really feel sorry for your father-in-law or siblings, you can help them secretly. Just don't make a big fuss about it. What if they ask you where you are?
We know we've retrieved everything, but will people believe us? What if something goes wrong?
I can't force you to do things or not; you need to think things through yourselves.
Furthermore, this amount, though not a lot or a little, is still quite a sum in these times.
They said they'd hold out until the autumn harvest, but everyone knew the crops would be shriveled, and frankly, no one wanted to hear it. Just avoiding a total crop failure was a good thing.
You all have elderly parents to care for and young children to raise. You should all think about the bigger picture.
Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Come on, let's divide the stuff!
The mood, which had been dampened by the autumn harvest, instantly surged again.
There are about 300 people in the village, and nearly 200 of them went up the mountain today. On average, each person brought back at least 100 jin (50 catties), and strong laborers brought back at least 200 jin (100 catties). Each person can get 70 or 80 jin (35-40 kg)!
Upon hearing this number, many people burst into tears again.
What does this mean? Before Jian Dan arrived, from spring until now, every family had barely managed to stay afloat. Seventy or eighty catties (approximately 35-40 kg) was enough food for a large family for half a month or twenty days, and that had to be mixed with wild vegetables and ground corn cobs. Now, each person can get just that much.
"They should be able to hold out until the autumn harvest,"
"Yeah yeah,"
Some children were even drooling.
"Mom, is there any food?"
"Milk, is this for us to eat?"
The simple, only familiar little black egg also widened its round eyes.
"Is this for food? Is it for a child?"
Wang Guihua's eyes were also red as she rubbed her grandson's little shoulders.
"It's food, it's food, no one will starve."
That evening, a sweet aroma filled the air above Liujiatun.
The simpler portion was delivered by Liu Weimin's son, Liu Jianshe. Liu Jianshe didn't say much, except for one sentence before leaving.
“Jian Zhiqing, just let me know if you need anything.”
After saying that, he turned and left without waiting for a simple reply, which surprised Jian Dan for a moment.
After realizing it, I couldn't help but think, "That's good too, at least they know how to be grateful."
Taking advantage of the good weather, I quickly planted the cabbage and radish seeds that Wang Guihua had found for me. There were quite a few of them, and I planted them all in the empty space. Whether they will grow or not, we'll just have to go with the flow.
Besides, she's going to be staying here for over ten years, and this will be part of her daily life from now on; she'll have to adapt.
However, it seems that nothing else can be planted this season.
She walked around the front and back yards several times, then dug out some thorny bushes she had dug up from the deep mountains and planted them against the base of the wall. She had specially chosen these bushes from the mountain; they could grow to over a meter tall, almost as tall as the wall. They were thorny, so they served as an extra layer of protection.
They also planted a small pine tree on each side of the main gate.
She did want to build a grape trellis, but thinking about the chaos that might occur in a few years, she decided to put up with it. Her background was already weak enough to withstand scrutiny, so she shouldn't attract attention and give people the impression that she was greedy for pleasure.
Let's stick with the tall, straight pine tree, which symbolizes integrity.
Thinking back to the rural novels I've read, what else could people do in the countryside during this period?
Drying vegetables is not a good idea. This year, the drought is terrible, nothing can grow, and even the vegetable seedlings from each household are not enough to make a living.
After looking around for a while, I realized that all I could do was go up the mountain, since all the good stuff was up there.
Alright, she had nothing to do anyway, so she picked up her basket and went out the back door.
It's a few steps closer to the mountain here, mainly because it's in a different direction from where the villagers usually go.
The area at the foot of the mountain has definitely been thoroughly searched. It's a little better uphill, but it's still very desolate.
Simple didn't care; she didn't let any dry branches or withered twigs go to waste. She was making a fire wall, because she needed plenty of firewood for heating in the winter.
Days passed by, and soon it was harvest time. The closer it got, the more worried Liu Weimin became. Several village officials and elderly people stood in the fields all day, sighing and complaining.
When the day of harvest arrived, Liu Weimin lacked confidence at his mobilization meeting, hastily saying a few words before starting.
The corn cobs that used to be heavy are now light and fluffy.
Although everyone knew what was going on, seeing it in person still made their hearts sink, and many people were working with red eyes.
The lively joy of previous years was almost entirely silent this year, as farmers fear most that the heavens will turn against them.
The corn harvest, which would normally take ten days, was completed in just five. Some of the corn cobs had a few kernels, but most only had a few kernels left. In later times, these kernels would have been ground into powder and fed to pigs. However, no one could bear to part with them. Even if only one kernel remained, they were all carefully collected.
The entire threshing ground was piled high with corncobs, representing less than a tenth of last year's harvest. Throughout, everyone remained silent; this meager harvest wasn't even enough for the government's grain quota, let alone what they could receive. The atmosphere was heavy; many felt their arms and legs were too heavy to lift. The good mood of the past few days had vanished, replaced by deep despair. Even the children had slowed their pace, no longer daring to make a fuss.
The sweet potatoes and potatoes that followed fared better, since they are drought-resistant.
Although the yield was significantly lower than in previous years, it was still a high yield compared to corn, which gave the desperate villagers of Liujiatun a little bit of comfort.
The harvest was poor, but there was less work to be done than in previous years. For Miss Jian, who was new to farm work, it was still a challenge.
It's just that he has a lot of strength and gets extra meals, so he gets enough nutrition.
The autumn harvest took only half the time of previous years, but the main crop of corn, which was used to deliver grain to the state, still failed to reach the target.
Of course, this wasn't just happening in Liujiatun; the entire commune, the entire county, and the entire province were almost all experiencing the same situation, with several severely affected areas even seeing people starve to death.
Liu Weimin, who was attending the meeting, was extremely fortunate that he was assigned to Liujiatun. If it had been the previous educated youth, this tragedy might have happened as well.
Thinking about it now, it's actually quite frightening.
He hesitated when he first went into the mountains, so what made him determined to go?
The situation was similar in all the villages, and the commune was helpless as well.
After all, the city's grain supply still depended on this public grain, but the farmers couldn't be driven to desperation. The commune protected the lower levels, while the higher levels favored the city. After a week of back and forth, it was finally decided that this year's public grain would be replaced with potatoes and sweet potatoes, and only one-third of last year's amount would be paid.
Even so, many village chiefs burst into tears on the spot.
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