“I’m not worried that you’re not feeling well and might get upset, so I’m giving you some nourishing food. Goat milk is the most nourishing. You should eat it quickly. Sanya, have one too. I brought eight, one for each of you, and you can have the rest, Auntie.”
"Leave one stone for yourself, and you can take the rest back."
"No need, you should eat quickly. If you get sick from anger, you'll have to spend money to see a doctor, which is not worth it. Auntie, I brought the rabbit over; I'm keeping it to help you recover."
"No need, you can take it back."
“I said I’d give it to you, so why are you always refusing? This isn’t like my straightforward Auntie Zhang at all.” Zhang Hongmei said, then picked up the cage and left.
After lunch, we decided to take the sheep out for a walk in the afternoon.
Leading the old sheep, followed by five others, they marched in a grand procession into the mountains.
"Red Plum, are you going to herd sheep? The grass over there is quite nice."
Zhang Hongmei ran into Er Lengzi on the way.
"Hey, you simpleton, what were you doing?"
"I was hoping to run into a wild boar or something."
"Did you run into them?"
"Hey, if I ran into you, would I act like that? Your sheep are doing quite well, want to sell them?"
"Can I sell it? I'd like to keep the sheep."
"You won't sell the ram? You have three rams here, you can keep just one."
"But I can't bear to part with it. I want to slaughter a pig for meat during the New Year. I'll need Brother Er Lengzi to help me with that."
"That's great, then we'll have meat to eat again. But your ewes need to be bred, do you know where to go?"
"I don't know, I'd like to ask my third aunt."
“I’m free tomorrow, I’ll take him.”
"Thank you so much, Brother Er Lengzi."
"What's the big deal? It'll be time to weed and weed in a few days, so take advantage of the time you have to go. You go herd the sheep, I'm going back now."
Another problem was solved. I was too embarrassed to ask about it, and even more embarrassed to act as a go-between for them. Luckily, Er Lengzi was helpful.
After herding the sheep to a grassy area, Zhang Hongmei sat on the ground, watching them graze, but her thoughts drifted away. She didn't know what she was thinking; she was just lost in thought.
They didn't drive the sheep home until it was almost dark.
Herding sheep here is quite nice; I'll go again tomorrow.
Looking at his yard, he squinted his eyes contentedly. He still had to fetch water to water the vegetables; he couldn't be lazy.
Another task is relieved; we no longer need to feed the sheep.
The next morning, Er Lengzi came over. He led away with three ewes, and Zhang Hongmei gave him three steamed buns and five yuan. "He's done so much for me; he can't go hungry," she said.
Because Zhang Hongmei watered the vegetables diligently, they grew quite well in her yard. Satisfied, she took one last look before herding the remaining three sheep up the mountain.
When I got back at noon, I steamed some cornbread. Er Lengzi was bringing sheep today, and I couldn't eat well every day, or what would others think? But I didn't want to deprive myself too much, so I used cornmeal from my own storage space.
It was almost midnight before Er Lengzi came back, leading the sheep into the yard and herding them into the sheepfold.
"Brother Er Lengzi, I steamed some cornbread and mixed some wild vegetables with it. Just eat some of it."
"Okay, I've got nothing to eat when I get home. Here, this is five yuan. I'll only collect the money after the mating is successful."
"Alright, I'll send them the money later."
In the afternoon, Zhang Hongmei took six sheep to graze. She was having a great time as a shepherd and was so engrossed in her job that she didn't even want to go back to work. She was too lazy to even go up the mountain.
When I came back in the evening, I saw Liu Erya waiting in front of my house.
"Sister Er Ya, how long have you been here?"
"You've been here for a while. You've been enjoying yourself herding sheep, haven't you?"
"That's right, I'm too lazy to do anything else."
"We can't be too lazy to do it anymore. The whole village will be out weeding tomorrow."
"Oh dear, I forgot. Are you going to school tomorrow?"
"I'm not going. I'll stay home and earn work points. You haven't eaten yet, have you? Let's talk again tomorrow. I'm going back now."
"Okay, let's go together tomorrow."
For Zhang Hongmei, a life of hardship was about to begin.
The next morning, Zhang Hongmei added bean stalks to the sheep's food. Liu Erya also arrived, carrying a small hoe.
“Hongmei, you have to bring your small hoe too, we can only use the small hoe.”
"Okay, I'll go find it in a bit. I just finished watering the plants and haven't eaten yet. Sister Er Ya, do you want some?"
"I've already eaten, so don't eat too much either, it'll be uncomfortable squatting to weed later."
"Okay, I'm finished eating. Let's go, or it'll be late."
For ten whole days, the whole village was weeding. The crops weren't growing well, and even the weeds couldn't take root, so weeding was quite an easy task.
Er Lengzi came to see Zhang Hongmei and said he often went to check the traps, but he really didn't find anything. He kept saying that Zhang Hongmei and Er Ya were just lucky. Why didn't he ever run into any?
The women were the ones who weeded the sorghum fields, mainly because they were afraid of damaging the seedlings if they didn't use the hoe properly.
Zhang Hongmei didn't know either, but after weeding, she went to the sweet potato field. Not to check on the traps, but to see how the sweet potatoes were growing.
The wheat harvest is about to begin, but everyone is quite disappointed. There was no rain when the wheat was heading, and still no rain when it was time for the grain to fill out, so the grains are all shriveled. It's estimated that not much grain will be harvested, and even delivering the grain to the government will be a struggle.
The sweet potatoes are growing quite well, at least better than the ones in the village. The trap didn't move at all, but that's fine, it saves us from wasting the crops.
Zhang Hongmei went home, took her sickle, and went to Liu Maocai's house. Her sickle was too dull, so she asked Liu Maocai to sharpen it for her.
Actually, Zhang Hongmei knows how to use a sickle; she used it before to help her mother cut grass.
Harvesting wheat is tiring, strenuous, and hot. If there were a good harvest, it would be fine, but now, while it's not a complete crop failure, it's pretty much over.
Fields of wheat were cut down, bundled up by the people behind, and then carried to the threshing floor. The older people dried the wheat on the threshing floor, while the younger people gleaned the ears of wheat. There wasn't a single person idle.
Now everyone has accepted the reality of the drought, and it won't rain, so this year's wheat harvest is the slowest ever. As a result, everyone isn't as tired and can rest while working.
Zhang Hongmei was in charge of harvesting wheat. Bending over all the time was exhausting; her clothes were soaked with sweat, and she felt extremely uncomfortable. But she found it easier than bundling wheat. Er Ya and her friend took turns, so it was easier for them than for the others.
They ate lunch in the fields, bringing their own food from the morning. Most people lay down directly on the wheat, but Zhang Hongmei couldn't stand it and had to sit on the ground to rest for a while.
I didn't dare bring any spiritual spring water, afraid that others would ask me for water, which would be a real inconvenience for me. After resting for an hour, I started the arduous task of harvesting wheat again.
The older folks were drying wheat while sighing, saying there weren't many grains left in the wheat, how were they going to survive?
But no matter how painful it is, it's already like this. I guess we won't even be able to save the wheat seeds this year. They're too shriveled, and it's questionable whether they'll even germinate.
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