At this time, the autumn harvest is just around the corner, and the crops in the gardens are almost ready to be harvested.
Early-ripening crops like cucumbers and persimmons are almost finished growing now. Only the top leaves of the plants are green; the bottom has long since withered. It's the same in the garden. Cucumbers and persimmons need to be pulled up, early-planted green beans are past their season and need to be cleared away, and early potatoes need to be dug up to make room for autumn vegetables.
Other things, while not urgent, are basically ready.
Eggplants and peppers are ready for harvest, but even if we don't pull them out now, they won't grow back.
The cabbages and radishes planted in spring should be harvested soon. At most, the watermelons can last a few more days. The sweet potatoes that the children have been longing for have also turned red. If the children are at home, they can be eaten in three to five days.
The sunflower seeds, even those on the edges and corners, were simply cut off with a sickle and placed in a large winnowing basket to dry.
There's no rush to harvest the squash and other things growing by the cane; we can harvest them before the first frost.
There are a few scattered dark ground cherries, but I haven't touched them. My child will be back in a few days, so I'll leave them for him to pick and play with.
Not only were the adults busy, but Tiger also led a group of children over; it was time for their autumn harvest.
The plot of land wasn't big, but the crops were growing really well. Half of it was planted with watermelons, and the rest with sweet potatoes, potatoes, and a little bit of peanuts. Right now, the watermelon vines were still green, while the peanut, potato, and sweet potato vines were already a bit withered and yellow. However, when they were pulled up, they all had clusters of fruit attached to them, and the children were very excited.
Peanuts weren't grown in the village before, and not many were, but potatoes and sweet potatoes were familiar to them; they were grown every year, and every household had them.
But the feeling of growing something yourself is completely different from growing something for adults. The children were overjoyed, jumping around excitedly and constantly checking with Jian Dan.
"Sister Jane, are they all ours?"
"Can we eat all of this? Can we eat the watermelon?"
"Will we get scolded if we eat it?"
Ultimately, these are different from the wild fruits on the mountain; those are just snacks, and no matter how much you try to fill your stomach, they won't satisfy you.
But these are different; these are all things that can fill your stomach. Not to mention the distant past, even during the drought two years ago, a sweet potato or a potato was a treasure.
Peanuts and watermelons were rare treats for them; even their parents might not have eaten them. Tiger and his friends only got to taste them last year thanks to a simple gift.
When planting in the spring, everyone is full of enthusiasm. But when they see that the plants have actually borne fruit, the older children become uneasy. They are old enough to understand that these are good things, so how could they possibly end up in their hands?
Seeing their expectant eyes, he simply patted his chest and said...
"This land is mine. You cultivated it yourselves. I say it's yours, so it's yours. Let's see who dares to take it from us!"
Wow! That's great! That's great!
"With so many sweet potatoes, we can have enough to eat for several meals."
"Watermelon, slurp! I want to take a bite and see if you're sweet?"
They are not in danger, so we simply won't guard them and won't disturb either of us.
The children, big and small, were motivated and had inexhaustible energy to work. Their little faces were flushed from exhaustion, and their heads were soaked with sweat, but none of them complained of being tired.
But they are just kids after all. It was lunchtime, and they had only finished half of the job. Jian Dan didn't offer to save food for them. They were already excited about the harvest, so there was no need for such extra help.
"Sister, we'll come after class tomorrow morning,"
There was warm water in the yard, and when a few small, dark hands touched it, the water immediately changed color.
"Okay, shall we take these things?"
After working for half a day, the children were hungry, and their eyes shone as they looked at the food. However, since they were used to having Tiger in the lead, they all turned their attention to Tiger.
Tiger scratched his head.
"Why don't you take some of it home? Otherwise, you'll have to do chores at home tomorrow, right?"
Today's harvest was sweet potatoes. Each of the children picked three or four big ones. Seeing them reluctant to leave, Tiger waved his hand and gave each of them a watermelon.
He'd worked all day, and when he left, he was still beaming with excitement, just like someone who'd received a year-end bonus. As he was leaving, Tiger gave him some final instructions.
"We'll continue the rest tomorrow; you don't need to help us."
He simply waved with a smile.
"Okay, don't worry, I won't do it."
Jian Dan always thought that these were the children's own hard work and that no one would be so shameless as to try to take them. However, she was soon proven wrong.
She had just started cooking when there was a loud banging on the door, with barking dogs in the yard and shouting outside, creating a chaotic scene.
She simply opened the door with a frown, speaking bluntly.
"What are you doing? What did my front door do to offend you?"
His imposing manner was so strong that the person opposite him was so frightened that they took several steps back.
"Jian, Jian, the educated youth,"
She was a village woman, someone Jian Dan didn't know well and had almost never interacted with. Seeing that the woman was coming in aggressively, Jian Dan couldn't figure out what she wanted, so she blocked the doorway and simply asked,
"What's up?"
Upon seeing the person opposite her, Wu Lianhua immediately straightened up, becoming righteous and assertive. She took two steps forward, but after looking at Jian Dan's dark face, she hesitated for a couple of seconds and remained rooted to the spot. However, her voice immediately rose, and her aura became incredibly imposing.
"Jian Zhiqing, you can't treat a child like this! You made the child work for you all spring and summer, and all you got were a few lousy sweet potatoes and one watermelon. Aren't you bullying the child?"
A simple eyebrow raise,
"Is that what your child said?"
To be honest, among those children, the only ones whose names she could easily recall were Tiger, Little Flower, and Black Egg, and there was another one named Stone, who seemed to be from the Liu family or someone else's. She was only vaguely familiar with the other children.
But she never said those words, and she never did them, so naturally she can't admit to it.
Wu Lianhua stood with her hands on her hips and her head tilted back.
"Does that child lie? Jian Zhiqing, I'm not trying to be mean, but our family and you educated youths aren't exactly strangers. You can't treat people like this. This isn't the behavior of a landlord or a spoiled young lady."
Simple's gaze immediately turned cold. This was a terrible accusation; if she actually did it, things would be very complicated. Thinking about it, her words lost their warmth.
“I say, auntie, let’s not even talk about how we’re complete strangers. How can you call yourself an outsider?”
Besides, who told you your child was doing chores for me?
Looking at the people following behind, Jian Dan didn't stand on ceremony. Anyone who was with someone like that was bound to have a foul mouth.
"Or have the aunties all obtained evidence proving that I bullied him?"
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