After the weather warms up, there's always water drying in the yard. The small vat isn't very tall, so the little girl can just reach it when she washes her hands.
She came in, still damp from the sweat, and made a special trip over to tell Jian Dan to hold on.
"Look, they've all been washed clean!"
I glanced at it briefly and saw that her little hands and face had been washed, but the water hadn't been dried. Clumps of hair were stuck to her face, and the front of her clothes was wet. It didn't look like she had gone to wash up; it looked more like she had gone to play in the water. It was quite a pitiful sight.
It's so simple, it's almost laughable.
"Alright, alright, go change your clothes. Look at you, you look like a little mud monkey."
"Why!"
She could usually do these things herself. She ran back quickly, pulled back the curtain, and took out her clothes.
A moment later, she came out carrying two dirty clothes and threw them directly into the laundry tub.
With its short legs, it scooped water from a small vat with a gourd ladle, its movements shaky but quite impressive.
It's simple: let the kids run wild, but not to the point where they have to do chores.
"Alright, alright, leave it there, I'll wash it."
The little girl turned around and pulled out another wooden basin. The weight of the pure wood was considerable, and it wasn't easy for a child to carry.
Jian Dan had just sat down to wash the two little clothes when she saw the child fidgeting with his legs without making a sound.
Soon, a circle of basins, baskets, and large wicker baskets appeared around her. Then, she solemnly brought out a small stool and sat down next to them.
"Do you even know how to prepare vegetables before you've laid them all out?"
The little girl pursed her lips, revealing her small white teeth.
"I'm waiting for my sister, she will."
Well, even the kids know to assign her tasks.
The two sisters washed the few wild vegetables and mushrooms they had harvested that day, not intending to eat them immediately, and laid them out to dry in a large basket. Jian Xin waved her little hand.
"Save it for winter."
"You're thinking way ahead. Do you even know what season it is? It's only spring and you're already thinking about winter?"
"So what should we be thinking about? Should we grow vegetables? Should we also grow watermelons?"
After running up the mountain, the child was still tired. After fussing for a while, he managed to eat dinner and fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.
After tidying up a bit and rummaging through the groceries, I took out some of the dry food that could be exposed to the light. Tomorrow I'll be back to work; this time it's proper spring planting.
The main crop grown here is corn, but there are also small areas planted with soybeans, sorghum, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and red beans.
This area is characterized by one harvest per year, and the planting seasons differ somewhat from other regions. However, the planting times for these crops are largely similar, and each village makes its own arrangements.
Corn is the main grain crop, followed by sorghum and sweet potatoes, which are also distributed as coarse grains. It can be said that everything grown is very important to farmers.
Compared to tilling the land, starting to plant crops means working much more intensely.
When we gathered in the morning, Liu Weimin didn't say much. He simply and decisively assigned tasks: digging holes, planting seeds, and applying fertilizer. Previously, fertilizer was applied directly when turning the soil, but sometimes it wasn't diluted enough or mixed evenly, and many seeds would be burned by the fertilizer.
This year, the village discussed it and decided to plant the seeds and apply fertilizer at the same time, keeping a close eye on them. They couldn't afford to burn the seeds again. It would just be a bit of a hassle, but the village has plenty of people, even if it doesn't have much else.
Sowing seeds was manageable, but fertilizing was a crucial task. They didn't trust the educated youth to do that, as they sometimes didn't know the importance of it and ruined the seeds. This heavy responsibility fell to the men of the village.
Simple, these educated youths were assigned jobs that only required physical labor: digging holes, planting seeds, and watering.
Apart from Chen Jing and his two companions who arrived recently, everyone else had participated in the village's collective labor to some extent and was not immediately fooled by the ease of the situation.
Li Guang muttered to himself as he followed Chen Jing and Gu Jianjun.
Liu Weimin was very anxious. Spring planting is such an important thing in rural areas. If it is delayed, it will affect the harvest.
I was assigned the simple task of planting seeds. The person in front of me was digging holes, and I followed along at a distance. This job looked easy; I didn't have to bend over or hurt my hands.
However, there is one thing: she needs to carry a bag of seeds while working, planting them as she walks. Of course, the seeds get lighter and lighter, and this bag of seeds is enough for the whole row. In other words, she doesn't need to go back and bend down to replant.
Simple and strong, she put the bag directly into the basket on her back and slung it across her chest. Her aim was also good, so she didn't throw it off course or out of the pit. Then she swept it with her feet and covered it up. She practically did it while walking, and she really didn't feel very tired.
Compared to other female educated youth, it was less than that; they weren't as light.
They don't have that much strength; they can only carry about 20 kilograms at a time. The time spent moving around to replenish their strength is wasted. Not to mention anything else, they fall behind in this aspect.
In addition, you have to bend down to pick up the things that occasionally fall out of the pit, and repeat the process a couple more times if they are not properly covered. When you get tired, you have to rest. Before you even get to the end, your shoulders are already sore and your arms are so tired that you can barely lift them.
When they finished work, none of their morning cheerfulness remained. They all looked like they'd been battered by frost, dejected and listless. There was hardly anyone talking on the way, let alone chattering. They had truly used up every last bit of their energy.
Especially the educated youth, even those who had worked with the villagers once or twice, were far inferior to the villagers who had worked for many years. They were tired, but it didn't stop them from chatting and laughing.
Knowing that Jian Dan was working on this plot of land, Xin Xin arrived early. She was playing on the road, and as soon as she saw Jian Dan, she ran over to her.
"elder sister!"
Li Yan and the others were listless and weak.
"Xin Xin, are you here to pick up your sister?"
The little girl stared at them with wide, curious eyes, then leaned close to Jian Dan's ear and whispered a question.
"Are they hungry? Why are they behaving so strangely?"
I glanced back briefly, and they all looked like wilted flowers, drooping and lifeless. Wasn't that strange?
"Yes, they were exhausted and hungry. Look, they don't even have the strength to speak."
Mingzhu took leave and didn't go to work. Lin Zhaodi cooked today and ran off after work. The three who left together were Jian Dan, Li Yan, Tan Yajun, and Chen Jing.
Lin Dongfang, missing his wife, had already run home, while Ling Weidong, with his three long legs, had long since disappeared.
Li Guang, following behind, also wailed and acted silly.
"Xin Xin, I'm out of energy, what should I do?"
Li Yan and the others were now completely familiar with Li Guang's personality and had long since stopped being polite to him.
"Xin Xin, ignore him, he's just pretending to be pitiful."
Jian Xin scratched her head. This was a new word; she'd have to ask her sister what it meant when she got back.
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