The Taoist priest threw the peeled corn in his hand on the ground and said, "I'm not doing this anymore. I'm going back to sleep."
The next day, Xu Han and Lu Chuan got up before dawn as usual.
We need to harvest beans today, and we have to do it early, otherwise the beans will dry out when the sun gets strong at noon and they'll burst open as soon as you touch them.
The group could only harvest in the morning, when the soybean pods would be moistened by the dew overnight and wouldn't be too dry, so the beans wouldn't fall off during harvesting.
Lu Chuan, Xu Han, the Taoist priest, and Grandpa Zhao each had a sickle and stood in a row cutting forward together.
They cut one row of soybeans at a time, and they don't just cut one row; they can cut several rows at once.
The cut soybeans were placed on a tarpaulin to prevent any accidentally popped soybeans from falling to the ground, and it also made it easier for Xu Han to transport the soybeans home directly.
Corn is drying in the backyard, so soybeans can only be dried in the front yard.
In no time, the courtyard was filled with drying grain, looking quite festive.
Xu Han felt as if she had returned to her childhood, when her family would have the same scene every autumn harvest.
The four of them worked very quickly together. In the morning, none of them took a break. They just ate a few bites of breakfast and then continued working.
I didn't stop until after 10 p.m. before going home to rest. The sun was getting stronger and stronger; if I continued working any longer, I would get heatstroke.
By the afternoon, the bean stalks had dried out, so Xu Han didn't ask anyone to cut any more beans.
The family will take a half-day break and continue working tomorrow.
Even during breaks, we don't do nothing. The corn husks in the backyard haven't been completely peeled yet, so we quickly peel them and put them out to dry.
Xu Han reminded Lu Chuan, "We were supposed to harvest the rice right away, but the rice in the field isn't quite dry yet. Let's hold off for a few days until it's completely dry before harvesting. Otherwise, if we harvest too early, the rice won't be plump."
"Okay, let's wait a bit. We'll process these soybeans and corn in the next couple of days, dry them, and then store them in the granary."
"Okay, just don't forget. These corns need to be dried for a few more days to be completely dry. Once they're dry, thresh them and store them."
Lu Chuan paused for a moment and then said, "I'll grind some cornmeal another day. It's been a long time since I've had cornmeal pancakes."
"Okay, when I have some free time, I'll grind some of this year's new corn and make you guys braised chicken with corn pancakes."
Grandpa Zhao chimed in, "That's a good idea. It's been a long time since we've had this. We definitely have to make a braised chicken stew after the rice harvest."
"Okay, okay, we'll add some steak in later, I guarantee you'll want more after you eat it."
The next day, they continued harvesting soybeans, and finally, after two days, they had finished harvesting all the soybeans, which are now piled up in the front yard to dry.
After being exposed to the scorching sun, many soybean pods crackled and popped, and round soybeans rolled far, far away.
After the beans had been drying for a day, Lu Chuan started using oxen to pull a stone roller to press the beans in the evening, separating the bean stalks from the beans so that the beans could be dried separately and faster.
After a week, the group finally managed to dry all the corn and beans in their yard.
However, the corn hasn't been threshed yet, so it can't be put into the space for now; unthreshed corn takes up too much space.
Xu Han then piled all the corn into the shed that had just been built a few days ago.
After threshing, let it dry for a day to completely remove the moisture before storing it in the storage space.
As for the soybeans, once they are completely dry, after the wind blows away some of the dust, you can simply put them into bags and store them in a space.
It's already early August, and after a week, the rice is fully ripe. The group didn't have time to rest before immediately throwing themselves into the busy rice harvest.
Harvesting rice is different from harvesting wheat, soybeans, and corn. When harvesting rice, you can cut the rice and thresh it at the same time.
Threshing rice requires a mixing bucket and a bamboo mat. The method for harvesting rice is the same as that for harvesting soybeans.
However, it cannot be piled up all at once like when harvesting beans; it needs to be placed in small handfuls to make it easier to thresh the grain later.
The harvested rice is placed in the paddy field, and then the mixing bucket is also moved into the paddy field.
To prevent the rice grains from spilling out during threshing, bamboo mats are used to surround and elevate the three sides of the mixing bucket, preventing the rice grains from falling into the paddy field and becoming impossible to retrieve.
Xu Han, Grandpa Zhao, and the Taoist priest were in charge of harvesting rice, while Lu Chuan was in charge of threshing it.
Because Xu Han and Lu Chuan had never grown rice before, they did not have any tools for threshing rice at home.
This mixing bucket was made on short notice a few days ago. No one had thought about it until Grandpa Zhao mentioned it, and Xu Han realized that one of the most important things was missing.
Pick up a handful of rice and slam it into the mixing bucket. After being slammed, the mature rice will fall into the bucket on its own.
Once there are no more grains of rice on the straw, you can stop threshing it. Then, replace the straw with the next handful of rice and continue threshing. Repeat this process until all the rice has been threshed.
Because threshing rice is a physically demanding and tiring task, Lu Chuan and the Taoist priest took turns threshing the rice.
Once the grain in the mixing bucket has accumulated to a certain extent, it is directly packed into burlap sacks, transported home to be dried, and then stored in the granary.
The harvested straw needs to be bundled into a large bundle, then placed upright in the paddy field to dry, and then it can be stored away.
Whether used to build thatched roofs or made into straw ropes for binding things, it's a good choice.
It took the four of them five days to harvest all the rice.
After harvesting the rice, the group was exhausted. Xu Han was so tired that she didn't want to move at all, and she hadn't even cooked for the past few days.
For the past few days, the group has been eating meals prepared in advance from the space.
Not only that, but during these busy farming days, the house hasn't been cleaned much; it's all been done in a perfunctory manner.
Only when a place is absolutely filthy will it be tidied up a little.
As soon as the busy farming season ended, Xu Han began preparing for the spring cleaning.
Now, apart from the rice drying in the backyard, the rest of the place is empty.
Xu Han first swept the house inside and out, and then mopped it.
Wipe the dust off all the furniture, such as tables and chairs, with a cloth.
After finishing all that, I washed all the clothes and bedding sets I had accumulated recently.
Seeing that Xu Han was already very tired from working inside the house, Lu Chuan offered to help tidy up the yard and the area outside.
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