With tractors available this year, we can no longer rely entirely on manual labor as in previous years.
However, tractors cannot replace all jobs. After all, it is not a fully mechanized era, and the main labor force is still manual. Tractors, being rare, can only help in a limited way.
Transportation is naturally its biggest function. For example, the harvested crops that had piled up used to have to be transported by hand, with carrying poles, which was troublesome, or by oxcart to the fields and then to the village office. This was not only laborious and time-consuming, but also took up most of the villagers' energy.
The fact that the autumn harvest lasts so long every year is largely due to this; half the time is spent on transportation, leaving the villagers with no choice but to accept the harvest.
Autumn isn't all sunny days. What they fear most is the heavy rain when they are harvesting the crops, or the continuous autumn rain when they have just brought in the grain.
Now things are much better. While tasks like husking corn and harvesting beans are still done manually, the elimination of transportation has reduced the villagers' burden by more than half. They are much happier working now, and their words are full of praise for this major project.
"Oh my, this tractor is really a good thing. Look, we've been harvesting corn all morning. If it were any other time, it would be all grown men carrying it to the field, and it would be a busy job with at least dozens of people."
"These big trucks, just two trips and they've finished the haul. Look at that, one truck after another, how much effort does that save?"
"Sister-in-law, you're not entirely right. The truck was delivered directly to the village office, making our old ox much lighter."
He was all smiles as he spoke.
Farmers are dependent on the weather for their livelihood. Not to mention the usual harvest, even in the autumn, they have to race against time. Otherwise, Liu Weimin wouldn't be so anxious and upset.
If a heavy rain comes during the autumn harvest and the grain still hanging on the poles cannot be harvested, it's not too bad. Once the weather clears up and the grain dries, it can be aired out, so the impact isn't too great.
But if it rains just as you're bringing all these things in and letting them dry, it'll be a real chill to the bone.
So much grain, all crammed together, couldn't breathe, and the moisture got trapped inside. The temperature difference between day and night was large this season, but the daytime temperature was still very high. The saying "autumn tiger" was really true.
At this temperature, the grain covered in moisture will definitely spoil or even sprout in less than two days. That would truly be a desperate situation where you can't call for help from heaven or earth.
The first and foremost burden on them was the public grain tax, which accounted for the largest share.
This is done regardless of wind or rain.
Aside from extremely bad weather like three years ago, there are basically no exceptions.
In addition to the food for people and horses, the amount of grain a village needs each year is naturally not small. This is something that village cadres like Liu Weimin start to worry about every year when they hibernate. Only after distributing the grain to the villagers from spring to autumn can they feel at ease.
Then, after only a few days of free time, you have to start worrying about the next year again.
Now that we have tractors, efficiency has increased by at least half. The villagers only need to focus on harvesting the crops, and then two people load the tractors while one person drives them.
Speaking of driving, when the tractor was delivered that day, there was a demonstration. Several young people in the village tried it out, and Liu Jiefang, who had suffered a setback a few days ago, picked it up the fastest. This surprised even Liu Weimin and the others, who thought that a nimble young man in his twenties would be more suitable.
The other person who could drive it skillfully was actually the youngest, Li Guang. Even Chen Jing and Gu Jianjun, his childhood friends who lived and ate together every day and knew each other very well, were quite surprised.
However, this job was on a completely different level of labor intensity compared to working in the fields, and the work points were also quite high, so the two of them were naturally happy.
So, the two tractor drivers from Liujiatun came out.
This autumn harvest was their debut. Two people took turns working, and the third person also stayed with the truck without rest. One person was there to step in if anything happened, and also helped with loading the truck.
Rural people are not afraid of hard work and never have a moment of leisure, let alone during this golden period of autumn harvest.
After the two educated youths were injured, Liu Weimin's face never looked good. No matter how tired the others were, they didn't dare to complain at this critical moment. Even Liu Xiaoyun and Chen Yu followed the villagers obediently, afraid that the next fire would spread to them.
Amidst the envious and jealous glances of neighboring villages, while they were still bent over picking corn and digging sweet potatoes, Liujiatun had already completed the autumn harvest in less than half the time compared to previous years, and the whole village was ready to finish harvesting.
Not only the villagers, but also the educated youth enjoyed collecting mountain produce. It was tiring, but it was all real food; all the mountain produce they collected was their own sustenance.
If we're talking about grain, needless to say, we definitely won't have enough to eat. We also need to plan ahead, since we'll be dealing with the lean season of the first month of the lunar calendar and early spring next year. So, whether we can fill our stomachs this winter or not, gathering mountain produce is a very important step.
The group of friends who had made plans beforehand gathered at JianDan's house early in the morning.
Tan Yajun, Mingzhu and her husband, Ling Weidong, Yuan Ye, Qian Cheng, Chen Jing, Gu Jianjun, and Li Guang are basically still this small group. As for Li Yan, Chen Jianguo, and Lin Zhaodi, they have had less contact with them after marriage, and naturally, they each act alone as a couple.
On the educated youth side, Bai Xiaoqin, Tang Hongying (who had just arrived), and Wei Shujuan grew closer and closer, and naturally they started walking together. Behind them were Chen Heping and several other male educated youth who were close to her.
On the first day, they didn't plan to go any further in; their activities were mostly limited to the outer perimeter. Jian Dan and his group were no exception; they didn't intend to do anything special or mingle with the villagers.
The grove closest to the outer village is mostly filled with hazelnut and walnut trees. Everyone is familiar with the process: the men climb the trees and shake down the fruits that are eight or nine tenths ripe, while the women and children in the village are busy collecting them from below. The change in the baskets and sacks is visible to the naked eye.
Simple and the others didn't mingle in the middle. Instead, they found a spot on the side and started packing the sacks while discussing their next move.
"Shall we go uphill tomorrow and head to our secret base?"
It wasn't exactly a secret base, though. It was in a remote location with a hidden path covered in tangled bushes and vines, so hardly any villagers went there. They got a good deal.
And, coincidentally, this area is not far from where they grilled fish.
Over the years, they've gotten used to it.
Moreover, there are quite a few things in that area. People like Ling Weidong haven't bothered to hide it; it's practically their playground now.
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