I had the same idea as Sun Dalian, so I followed her and each of us carried a basket of corn kernels. We each took a row and followed her example. We pinched the seeds between our fingers and threw them into the holes. As we walked forward, we covered the holes with our toes.
It looks simple, but when they get their hands on the seeds, they become unruly. They scatter a handful in one hole and throw a single seed in the next, so they have to stop and redo the work. After checking the seeds, hey? Their feet also become unruly. They either add too much or too little soil, or the soil is crooked. What Sun Dalian can do in one step, they need at least four or five steps to do.
After those two pits were finished, when I looked up, Sun Dalian was already more than ten meters away.
The group of people were speechless for a moment.
What else is there to say? Let's hurry up and chase after it.
Sometimes practice makes perfect, but sometimes the busier you are, the more chaotic things get. These girls are currently in the latter category. The more they try not to make mistakes, the more their fingers disobey. If they throw the ball into one hole too little, they'll end up in another. Okay, they've thrown it out of bounds, so they have to bend down and pick it up, and then repeat the same action.
These few repetitive actions alone were enough to drive them crazy.
To be honest, it's not difficult or tiring, but the coordination of these beginners is just not good. They keep doing things wrong. Sun Dalian has already turned back from the end of her row, while they've only gone halfway, and the people watering behind them are already catching up with them.
Their fingers were stiff and wouldn't obey their commands, and the baskets of corn kernels on their arms were getting heavier and heavier. As the sun rose, their throats suddenly felt like they were on fire.
As she approached, Sun Dalian greeted her.
"How did it go? Did you get it?"
If you ask an old farmer, this doesn't need to be taught.
Even with just a few simple examples, I was still embarrassed. I knew how, but I just couldn't keep up. Either my hands were too fast or my feet were too slow. Sun Dalian noticed this too.
"Don't rush, we're all used to this, we know how to do it even with our eyes closed. Take your time, don't waste the corn kernels, I'll come back to greet you when I'm done here."
He walked several meters away in the time it took to finish speaking, leaving several educated youths watching him in a daze.
They couldn't help but look down at their own hands and feet. These things were different from other people's.
Tanya Jun did it before, and it was alright; she could barely keep up.
Chen Jianguo, being a man, didn't do the same work as them. Only Jian Dan, Lin Zhaodi, and Li Yan remained, moving forward at a snail's pace.
While everyone else had finished two rows long ago, Jian Dan didn't care. He plopped down on the edge of the field and looked at his hands over and over. He finally got a little better at the second half, but his fingers were completely stiff.
"How are you? Tired?"
"Don't say that, you're overthinking it."
Before noon, she naturally had to continue working, but this time Jian Dan did a bit better. Not only was her speed improved, but her efficiency also increased significantly. Villagers passing by would greet her from time to time. Jian Dan was quite something. At first, she blushed, but as more people approached, she stopped caring. With her little face, she just smiled at whoever spoke to her, regardless of whether it was embarrassing or not. By the time she finished work at noon, she was able to accept the villagers' teasing without blushing.
Li Yan and the others found Jian Dan and walked back together.
"How's it going? Have you settled in yet?"
Simplicity is somewhat resigned to life.
"It's alright, much better than this morning."
The simple physical labor she had used during the autumn harvest came in handy, leading her to believe that she could quickly adapt to spring planting as well. However, she was proven wrong; this was not a labor-intensive task.
Even if there were such a task, Liu Weimin would never assign it to Jian Dan, a girl who is only sixteen years old and has just passed the New Year, right? How could someone be so heartless as to do that?
Although it was only early spring, the midday sun was still quite hot, so she started work early in the morning and had a long lunch break. She quickly got home and rested. She needed to rest, she absolutely had to rest!
Otherwise, with her small frame, she wouldn't be able to handle it this afternoon.
He declined Li Yan's and the others' invitations, parted ways with them, and hurried home. The first thing he did upon entering the house was to collapse onto the kang (a heated brick bed) and let out a deep sob.
"Ugh... I'm so tired!"
With food readily available, she naturally wouldn't drag her tired body to cook. After eating, she went straight to the base and immediately took a hot bath.
Putting everything else aside, it really did relieve my fatigue; I almost fell asleep in the bathtub.
It did have some effect; at least when I went to work in the afternoon, I managed to stay awake a little longer before I felt tired.
After hearing about Jian Dan and the others' deeds at noon, Liu Weimin came over to check on them in the afternoon. Seeing that Jian Dan wasn't as dejected as they had described and was in good spirits, he was relieved. Before leaving, he didn't forget to give them some advice.
"Jian Zhiqing, take it easy, you're still young, don't let the pressure stop you from growing!"
"What?"
This topic is quite hurtful. Feeling hurt, Jian Dan treated herself to a big meal that night. She could do without anything else, but height was absolutely unacceptable. If someone could be stunted by not having enough to eat or drink, she might as well just die.
We don't grow rice here, but corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, soybeans, and sorghum. They're all grown in these dry fields. Except for potatoes and sweet potatoes, which need to be cut into pieces and sprouted first, the other crops are grown in similar ways. They don't require much skill; they're just repetitive actions.
After this busy period, the base layer was gradually covered in green, and people took off their thick clothes and put on light summer clothes.
Through this period of training, Jian Dan and the others have become increasingly adept at foraging for wild vegetables. Going alone is no problem for them. Just as they were engrossed in their work, even seriously studying what to eat, Liu Weimin arrived, looking worried and troubled. It was clear something was wrong. Jian Dan and the others gathered around to look at him.
"Uncle, we didn't cause any trouble, did we?"
Chen Jianguo also joined in; a busy spring had given him a noticeably healthier complexion.
"Village chief, do you have any instructions?"
Liu Weimin stared wide-eyed. What were these kids saying?
"Get ready, I'm going to pick up the new educated youth in a bit."
"What?"
Several people were still surprised that educated youth were coming at this time of year.
"Village chief, why are you educated youth coming now? It's still the lean season, are you here to dig for wild vegetables with us?"
"We only came here last winter, it hasn't been that long!"
Liu Weimin was extremely worried. These few educated youths were relatively obedient, and they contacted Liu Jiaxiang more often this winter. Whenever he heard about the lively scene among the educated youths in Liujiatun, it gave him a headache.
"How should I know? They're just notifying me to pick them up, what can I do about it?"
Upon hearing this, the group wondered why the village chief was speaking so aggressively today.
After thinking about it, I decided to be honest.
Chen Jianguo quickly said,
"Village chief, please rest assured to go and pick us up. We will be fully prepared."
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