The village chief waited until 10 p.m. before the group drove back to the stone courtyard in their van.
Upon seeing Yan Jie, he asked, "How's it going? Has the harvester issue been resolved?"
Yan Jie poured himself a cup of hot tea, took a sip, and said:
“We have contacted the distillery, and they will send a harvester to collect the sorghum tomorrow. However, the Guizhou main factory has very strict requirements for brewing sorghum. If it does not meet their requirements, all the sorghum will be returned.”
"What you're talking about is difficult."
The village chief said with a worried look, "A few years ago, some people in the village sold sorghum to the distillery. One out of ten households could pass the distillery's quality inspection. The sorghum that was returned would be sold to the grain mill at a very low price, so no one dared to sell sorghum to the distillery after that."
"Right now, only the harvesters at the winery are still empty."
Yan Jie took another sip of tea and said, "If it weren't for the fact that it's a farming variety show, we couldn't hire them to harvest the sorghum even if we paid them. The most important thing right now is to harvest the sorghum first."
The village chief thought about it and agreed; this was the only option for now. "What are the distillery's grain purchase standards?"
Shen Yingyu took out a form and read it aloud one by one:
"Sorghum must be plump and uniform in size. Grain moisture content exceeding 16% is unacceptable. Glutinousness below 97% is also unacceptable. Any product with an imperfection rate or a standard impurity rate exceeding 1% will be returned."
"This requirement is ridiculously high."
Not wanting to dampen their enthusiasm, the village chief offered a comforting remark, "But anything is possible with effort. The red sorghum you've planted is excellent; it might just meet the distillery's requirements."
Amen—
Jiang Hexi's abrupt prayer interrupted the village chief's blind optimism. She made the sign of the cross in front of her and devoutly closed her eyes in prayer:
"My Father in heaven, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and may you bless the high-quality sorghum in the fields so that it may pass quality inspection smoothly."
Everyone was bewildered by her action.
Yu Xiangwan couldn't help but complain, "Xi Mei only ever says the same thing over and over again."
Chu Yang chimed in softly, "Sister Jiang prayed the same way last time, and the result was—"
He suddenly fell silent. Yan Jie gave him a piercing look, which made him swallow hard and dare not speak carelessly in private anymore.
After Jiang Hexi finished praying, she opened her eyes and looked at everyone in front of her, saying:
“I told Allah about this. Don’t worry, Allah will bless the sorghum in the field so that it passes inspection.”
Her clear eyes swept over everyone, as if a holy light was shining upon them.
Yan Jie affirmed her, saying, "Xi-mei, well done."
Everyone, including the village chief, thought it was absurd. After hearing this, they were all fed a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection).
"—Amen—" This sentence immediately sparked laughter throughout the dormitory!
[Everything was fine when Yu the Great finished reading the grain harvest standards, but as soon as Xi Mei opened her mouth, the whole tone veered off into comedy and there was no turning back.]
[Xi Mei is being mischievous, and even the King of Hell indulges her. This doting affection is so obvious it practically overflows from the screen.]
At nine o'clock the next day, three harvesters from the winery drove into Canglang Village.
Six rented grain unloading trucks were parked early in the fields, ready to start work at any time.
The distillery workers, carrying grain moisture content testing instruments, scattered in all directions as soon as they got off the truck, each taking samples from the sorghum fields to test the moisture content of the sorghum.
"15.6%, barely meeting the target."
Jiang Hexi followed behind the team leader. After hearing the result read out, she excitedly patted her chest, trying to calm her flustered emotions.
She had never been this nervous before, not even during her college entrance exams.
The sorghum with a moisture content exceeding 16% is substandard. They barely passed by; if the moisture content is even 0.4% higher, forget about whether the sorghum can be put into the distillery. Even the large combine harvesters won't drive into the field; it will be returned directly to the factory. Not a single sorghum will be harvested.
The team leader picked a handful of bright red sorghum stalks, crushed off the husks, and carefully stroked the kernels, saying:
"The sorghum grains are plump and uniform; you've grown sorghum very well."
"Of course."
Jiang Hexi said without any boasting:
"We selected high-quality red tassel sorghum. Before sowing, we applied a base layer of well-rotted farmyard manure. On this basis, we turned the soil, sowed the seeds, removed weeds, applied fertilizer, and irrigated. That's why the sorghum grows so well."
The team leader laughed heartily after hearing her deliberate introduction.
The moisture content of sorghum at the other three locations was also measured, and was 14.7%, 15.3%, and 14.9%, respectively.
"This batch of sorghum is ready for harvest."
The team leader and a few others boarded the harvester, adjusted the machine, and prepared to harvest the sorghum.
Jiang Hexi quickly ran to the grain unloading truck, and Yan Jie's command came through the walkie-talkie:
"Shen Yingyu will lead the way. Everyone should watch how he loads the grain. Remember, the front of the truck must always be parallel to the combine harvester to prevent the grain from spilling onto the field..."
Through the car window, she gazed at the fiery red sorghum stalks burning to the edge of the mountain, the waves rolling, and the golden sunlight dancing on the red sorghum, her heart surging with emotion.
No one knows how long she had been waiting for this moment.
The joy of the harvest reached its peak amidst the rough, loud roar of the combine harvesters.
Jiang Hexi gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying her best to calm herself down, when she heard a call coming from the walkie-talkie:
"Xi-mei—, Xi-mei—?"
"receive."
"It's your turn. Drive up and follow, then wait in line to load the sorghum in the field."
"clear."
Jiang Hexi released the brakes and stepped on the gas to drive the grain unloading truck to the dirt road in the field to wait.
The sorghum harvest in the field was bountiful. It is conservatively estimated that the yield per mu reached about 600 jin. Three harvesters started harvesting at the same time, and the unloading trucks on both sides had to keep up with the pace and be ready to load the grain at any time.
Yan Jie stood at the edge of the field directing the operation, shouting into the walkie-talkie:
"Xi-mei, drive the car into the field and keep up with the harvester's speed."
"receive."
Jiang Hexi excitedly drove the car into the field. Following the tracks left by the car in front, she slowly approached the harvester, maintaining her speed and moving side by side with it.
She saw in the rearview mirror that the harvester slowly extended its long arm, hovering high above the truck bed, and amidst the roar of the machinery, all the sorghum grains were scattered onto the unloading truck.
As the autumn wind rises, sorghum stalks fall in droves.
Jiang Hexi excitedly patted the steering wheel twice, and Yan Jie could feel her excitement even through the walkie-talkie.
"Xi-mei, move at a steady speed, exceeding the harvester by half a head. The front compartment is full; if you load any more, it will overflow."
"It's full so quickly?"
"Hurry up, it's really full, move at a steady speed and exceed the harvester's cab by half a head."
"I won't let the sorghum fall to the ground right away."
Jiang Hexi stepped on the gas and sped off in a flash.
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