Another year
With a loud thunder and a drizzle of rain, the Loess Plateau lost its winter yellow color, and clusters of green emerged among the hilltops and fields.
It is a good time for spring ploughing and preparation. Every household in Xiaogou Village is taking action and busy figures can be seen in the fields.
The Qin family is no exception. Last year's corn field was just reclaimed two days ago, and this spring rain turned the originally yellowish land into dark brown. Qin Shengtian bent down and dug up the soil to check the moisture content. Wen Li walked two steps into the field, looked at the mud on his rain boots, and nodded to his father: "It's not sticky, it can be covered with film."
As he walked back, Qin Shengtian also stood up and walked towards the tricycle, and the two of them unloaded the ground film in unison.
In the alfalfa field not far away, small mushrooms popped up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. The white and tender stems are topped with small white caps of the same color, which are like small decorations on a green carpet and are particularly eye-catching.
"Sister, there is one here!"
Qin Shu shouted happily, ran over, and carefully stood aside, waiting for his sister to come and pick the fruits.
"Okay, go take a look at the front..." Qin Yu squatted down holding the small frame.
On the other side of the field, Qin Zhu and Qin Qian each had a small basket and cheers broke out from time to time.
In the field not far away, Qin Ling stopped the hoe in her hand and looked at her siblings chasing and playing, with a hint of envy in her eyes.
This is the treasure hunt game that the sisters love to play every spring. Even if after playing and having fun all morning, the mushrooms we picked are not enough for a dish, what does it matter? The happiness at that moment is irreplaceable. But now, this happy scene is right before her eyes, but it is a luxury that she cannot reach.
"What are you standing there for? Did I ask you to come to the field to be a stake? You can't do the work and you think of ways to be lazy. You are as lazy as your mother. Hurry up and dig!"
When Qin Ling heard Liu Rong's sharp and thin voice, she trembled instinctively, retracted her gaze, lowered her head and raised her head.
Liu Rong followed her line of sight, then turned around and looked at Qin Ling with a suspicious look, "Humph, you are just jealous of others' fate. Their parents are successful, but your mom is just a prostitute. How can you be the same as them?"
The tone was full of sarcasm and malice.
Qin Ling seemed not to hear it, but her hand holding the handle of the handle was tense.
…
In the courtyard of Lao Qin's house, Hu Yufeng walked out of the kitchen quickly. Fresh air mixed with the fragrance of earth blew towards her, and she couldn't help but take a deep breath. Well, the depression of being forced to cook was immediately replaced by refreshment.
"Yuyu, Yuyu, the meal is almost ready, come home!"
"Hey... Grandma, we're back." A voice came from afar. After a while, hurried footsteps were heard, and two children with red faces appeared in the field of vision, holding frames.
"Grandma, we picked some mushrooms..." Qin Shu shouted from a distance, wishing he could announce his treasure to the whole world.
"Run slower, be careful not to fall..." Hu Yufeng smiled as she watched her grandson jumping towards her.
"Grandma, look, my sister and I picked them!" As soon as Qin Shu arrived, he couldn't wait to raise the frame to show it to Hu Yufeng.
"Wow, that's amazing. How do you want to eat?" Hu Yufeng felt that the question was redundant after she asked it. She should have asked what she could cook.
Seeing Qin Shu showing a tangled look and Qin Yu still some distance away from the two of them, Hu Yufeng decisively said: "I'll go make you some mushroom soup, it's so fresh and delicious, you wait for your sister."
As he said that, he took the basket, turned around and slipped into the kitchen, and couldn't help but applaud his own cleverness. In other words, Qin Shu doesn't care about being deceived, but he definitely can't fool Qin Yu.
Rinse the fresh mushrooms with clean water, tear them into small pieces, stir-fry in a pan with hot oil, cook for a while, add the mixed noodles and eggs, and sprinkle with spinach and salt before serving.
Qin Shu took a bite and found it was indeed delicious.
At the table, Qin Wenli was reporting the morning's results to Hu Yufeng.
"We have mulched one acre of land, but the three of us were too slow. On our way back, we ran into my brother Mancang and his wife, who promised to help us at noon. I want to try to mulch all the land by tomorrow."
Hu Yufeng nodded: "Okay. I'll let Huizi stay for a while in the afternoon, and she and your grandma will cook dinner."
Qin Wenli finished his meal in a few bites, put down the bowl and went out.
This is how the Northwest is, we rely entirely on God for our livelihood. God has finally given the farmers a favor and it has rained, so they have to seize the opportunity. Otherwise, if the sun shines for two days, all the moisture in the soil will evaporate.
Hu Yufeng quickened her eating speed as she thought about it, not forgetting to glance at Qin Shengtian. Qin Shengtian, who was leisurely rolling a cigarette, suddenly felt a sense of crisis, and after rolling it in a few seconds, he ran out.
The three adults were busy, and Qin Yu consciously cleaned up the dishes.
…
At noon, Lao Qin's field was divided into two groups, two people were working backwards in the front to spread the ground film, and three people were carrying shovels in the back to cover the soil. It is not enough to just press on both sides. The wind is strong in spring, and if the membrane is not tight, there is a risk of it being blown away by the wind, so a horizontal beam must be pressed every three meters or so.
Qin Yu saw his grandparents bending over to shovel the soil from a distance, so he quickened his pace and did not forget to call out to his younger brother who was lagging behind.
"Grandma, uncle, aunt..." He greeted them one by one when he arrived.
"Yu Yu, Xiao Shu, why are you two here?" Hu Yufeng turned around with a smile.
"The house has been cleaned up, we're here to help." Qin Yu said as he carried the shovel and prepared to compact the soil.
Hu Yufeng couldn't stop smiling when she heard this, and felt very relieved, but she refused, "We are here to take care of the farm, you two are still young, go back and read books."
"Mom, let me work for a while when I'm here." Although Qin Wenli loves his children, he does not spoil them.
Although the family's conditions have improved a lot in recent years, the two children still have to do as much work as before. He has always believed that only by experiencing the hardships of life can one understand and cherish the hard-earned good times and know how to work hard to make progress.
"Yuyu, stop pressing the soil and come to spread the film."
As for Qin Shu, Qin Wenli looked at him and then at the mulch film. This kid's arms might not be as wide as the mulch film when they were spread out. After thinking for a while, he made a decision: "Xiaoshu, just watch from behind and fill in the soil where it is not compacted tightly."
Qin Yu and Qin Shu had no objection to their father's arrangement and they were enthusiastic about doing their jobs.
Five adults and two children worked until five in the afternoon. Hu Yufeng stood up with her hands on her waist and wiped the sweat off her head. "It's done now. We're all tired. We'll do the rest tomorrow."
Qin Shu couldn't bear it any longer. Hearing this, he shouted "Great!" and ran towards the end of the field.
Qin Yu waited for his father to cut the plastic film, then held the plastic film roll and grinned.
Qin Wenli looked at her sweaty forehead and red cheeks, and couldn't help but feel soft in his heart, and said softly: "The mulch is heavy, let Dad hold it!"
Qin Yu handed it to his father and followed his brother with a smile.
Wang Mancang was an honest man and wanted to cover all ten acres of land in one go. Hu Yufeng waved her hand and smiled, "No, let's go back and eat first. Your uncle and Wenli will finish the remaining food tomorrow morning."
Seeing that his uncle and aunt were both pounding their waists, Wang Mancang stopped insisting.
…
After dinner, Hu Yufeng forced a bag of fried dough twist on the two men and sent them out.
Qin Shengtian carried a basket and added fodder to the cattle and sheep. We now have four cows and fifty sheep at home. If we don’t go out into the mountains, we will have to consume several carts of fodder every day.
The wheat straw and corn stalks harvested last year are almost all gone. If we don’t leave the mountains, we will have to eat soil.
After feeding the cattle and sheep, Qin Shengtian raised this question.
The family is really busy. Not to mention food and drink for the cattle and sheep, there are also forty acres of crops, so thinning and weeding are both essential. Hu Yufeng secretly glanced at Qin Shengtian, who looked aggrieved. Well, the two pounds of weight he had gained in the winter were gone again, and he looked very dark and thin.
No wonder Chen Xiulian and her husband told everyone that she treated the old man like a farmhand. It was indeed hard work for the old man.
Thinking of this, Hu Yufeng wondered in her heart: I still have to find someone, otherwise, with only this old man alone, I'm afraid I won't be able to fool him for a few years even if I give him money.
Seeing Wen Li coming in, Hu Yufeng simply called the two of them into the house: "...This is the situation. You can herd the sheep while the film is covered for the next two days, and call people when the corn is planted!"
Qin Wenli listened silently for a while, then looked up and suggested, "Mom, why don't we start building the house in two days!"
Hu Yufeng was very surprised, but then she frowned again when she thought of something.
"The money is still not enough!" After a winter and the beginning of spring, the money from business plus the money from selling sheep before the New Year is less than 20,000 yuan, which is still some distance away from 23,000 yuan.
"It's almost enough. There are more and more people in my family. If we don't build more, we won't be able to live there."
During the winter, he and his mother took over three more towns and hired two more female workers in the shops in the towns. The delivery routes were getting longer and longer, and he was really too busy to handle making tofu and delivering the goods part-time.
The same goes for the situation at home. In fact, during the Chinese New Year, he suggested getting rid of the cattle and sheep. But Qin Shengtian refused to agree, saying that these were the roots of his family. Qin Wenli could also understand him. For an old man who had been hungry, doing business was like building a castle on water, which could collapse at any time. But as long as the land at home is still there, and the cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens are still there, you will never go hungry.
Anyway, ever since he made this suggestion, Qin Shengtian has been particularly concerned about the cattle and sheep at home, and has looked at him with a vigilant eye from time to time. Qin Wenli was left in tears and laughter, and only after he repeatedly assured him that he would not sell the cattle and sheep did his old father let down his guard.
Coming back to his senses, Qin Wenli continued: "This is what I think. A house cannot be built in a day, but we have income every day, so let's build it first. What do you think, Mom?" He was really worried because the calf at home was almost half a year old. Could it be slaughtered?
How about it? Of course.
Hu Yufeng smiled kindly, praising Qin Wenli for his thoughtfulness. After praising him, she did not forget to improve her son's impression in front of his father: "Wenli, this is all for you. According to me, the house can be built next year, but Wenli saw that you were too busy and there was no place to live, so he started the construction in a hurry."
As he spoke, he began to make big promises: "When the house is ready, our whole family will move into the new house. This yard will be left to you, and you can lead a group of people to raise cattle and sheep. As long as you can make achievements, the benefits will be huge."
As Hu Yufeng ate the pancake, images appeared in Qin Shengtian's mind uncontrollably. Seeing Qin Shengtian's happy face, Hu Yufeng said, "Then you should take care of the household affairs more before the new house is built."
"Of course, don't worry, I will take good care of it..." Qin Shengtian immediately assured loudly.
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