I came several times that day, but I couldn't get anyone to open the door.
In the morning, I was trying to get her to come up the mountain; in the afternoon, I was just worried about her.
Fortunately, there was always a response. As soon as there was a knock on the door, the little dogs inside would bark loudly. As soon as they heard that the dogs were home, they knew that Jian Dan was home.
As for why they didn't open the door, they probably just hadn't woken up yet, since they had taken a long nap.
However, by the afternoon, no one had come to answer the door, and the group began to worry.
"Is she home? I hope nothing's happened to her."
"Probably not? Maybe she's still sleeping?"
"Is it possible? Can you sleep all day?"
"Could she have gone up the mountain by herself?"
"No way, Jixiang is still at home."
The group exchanged glances, and Chen Jianguo felt that they were worrying unnecessarily.
"I think Xiao Jian is fine. Maybe she just wants to rest. She's been tired for the past two weeks. Have you forgotten that she's only sixteen? It's no wonder she's exhausted after working for so many days."
Besides, aren't there also auspicious symbols?
They'll come looking for someone if anything happens.
Several people reluctantly accepted this explanation, but less than two hours later they returned, and Li Yan made an even more abrupt announcement.
"If no one answers this time, I'll... I'll..."
"What are you going to do? Climb over the wall and get in?"
Li Yan immediately deflated.
"That's impossible,"
The wall over there wasn't low; she couldn't get in.
"Even if they went into the mountains, they should be back by now, right?"
With no news, Li Yan started to let her thoughts wander.
"Did the oxcart leave the village today? Did she go to the commune?"
"No, I saw Hu Zi at noon. He said his grandpa was working at home."
When a few girls get together, their conversation veers off-topic, and Chen Jianguo interrupts them speechlessly.
"You guys are overthinking things. Before, you forgot she was a child, but now you're treating her like a child all the time?"
Have you forgotten that she's more capable than all of us?
"...Right? No matter how amazing she is, she's still a child, several years younger than me."
When Jian Dan woke up, the sun was already setting.
Sitting in the yard, I watched with great interest as Jixiang and the others tumbled around, scrambling for food.
The door opened, and the group breathed a sigh of relief.
"How did you get here?"
Li Yan came in and immediately began to scrutinize him.
Did you go up the mountain?
I was asked a question that seemed completely out of the ordinary.
"No, the autumn harvest just ended, we should be resting. Why are you in such a hurry to go up the mountain?"
Chen Jianguo shrugged.
"See, I told you she'd be fine. You guys were way too anxious."
At first listen,
"Did you come here specifically to see if I was here?"
"You still dare to talk? You're just going to stay cooped up in the house all day without even going up the mountain? Don't get sick from being cooped up like that, you hear me?"
Speechless
"Don't worry, even if you get sick from holding it in, I won't."
I placed a plate of sunflower seeds on the table.
"Here, have some snacks. These are from the garden I grew."
He turned around and sat down himself.
"You came during the day, didn't you?"
Li Yan is quick-witted.
"Isn't that right? I was originally planning to ask you to pick mushrooms. It just rained, so there should be plenty of mushrooms growing. It's not like anyone has a monopoly, is it?"
The answer was surprising.
Aren't you tired? Do you still have the energy to climb the mountain today?
They're all from the city, yet they're so much better than her?
She was somewhat incredulous at one point, wondering if she was really that bad.
It's normal to be less capable than farmers at work, but now we can't even keep up with educated youth?
"hey-hey,"
Li Yan chuckled.
No, that's not it.
The grain that had just been collected was still in the village office's warehouse. It had been covered up overnight and hadn't dried out completely. Liu Weimin had already started contacting people to prepare to deliver the grain to the government. He instructed the villagers to turn it over and ventilate it, as he didn't want any more problems to arise at this crucial moment.
In several nearby villages, not to mention the closest one, Liujiatun, some corn was also damaged by the heavy rain. They worked all night and still couldn't harvest it all.
As soon as the rain stopped, disregarding the mud in the fields, Liu Jiaxiang led the villagers down to the fields. They were determined to salvage whatever they could, as these were precious resources that could save lives and fill their stomachs.
This situation is not uncommon in the surrounding dozens of villages, all of which are busy salvaging the grain from the mud, so there are really not many villages that are handing over grain to the state now.
Only after the grain was handed over and the red stamp was clearly imprinted did Liu Weimin's heart finally settle down. This year was finally over, and the rest was up to the village.
A group of people went there in oxcarts, handcarts, and carrying poles, and came back all happy.
Many people at the village office, mostly elderly people and village officials, would say the first thing to them upon their return:
"The grain has been delivered? There shouldn't be any problems, right?"
This year, Liu Weimin was confident and his answer was resounding.
"It's alright, it's alright. We've finished delivering the grain. We'll calculate our work points and distribute the grain as soon as possible, then we'll prepare to go up the mountain."
Upon hearing this, the surrounding villagers cheered.
The distribution of grain and meat is the happiest time of the year in rural areas, especially today with favorable weather and diligent work. There are almost no weeds in the fields, and the harvest is in their hands. They are filled with hope.
After the autumn harvest, there isn't much work to do. Most of the work involves clearing corn stalks from the fields. At this time, it's not required for everyone to work. Most of the villagers' men do the work, while the housewives basically move to other jobs. With winter approaching, there's a lot to prepare for at home.
The cabbages and radishes will be ready to be harvested soon. The garden isn't finished yet; we're preparing autumn and winter vegetables. There's still a lot of work to be done.
At this time, not many educated youth went to work. Those who didn't have much money and were waiting to exchange work points for food were like Wang Jiancheng and Lin Zhaodi.
People like Jian Dan, Lin Dongfang, and Ling Weidong, who clearly don't rely on these work points, basically stop working. Of course, they can't stay idle; they also need to get through the winter. Besides, they're not as familiar with the villagers as they are, so they have to ask questions and learn from the villagers about many things.
Simple tasks like tending the garden are no problem for her, but when it comes to stocking up on vegetables, pickling sauerkraut, and making salted vegetables, only Tan Yajun is truly skilled at it, after all, she has several winters of experience.
At this point, she had complete control. She tidied the garden, picked cabbages and radishes, went down to the cellar, chopped pickled vegetables, blanched cabbages, and dried vegetables, doing everything in an orderly manner.
Fortunately, the older educated youth knew their own situation and didn't try to be brave. They did whatever they were asked to do. After all, they wanted to eat the food they were asked to eat, so what was the harm in doing whatever they did?
The new educated youth were quite busy. They were leisurely at first, but seeing the older educated youth getting busy, and after taking a walk around the village, they finally realized that there was still a lot of work to be done. Hibernating now was really too early. If they didn't prepare properly, they probably wouldn't be able to stay still.
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