"Fellow villagers, fellow villagers! Heaven has opened its eyes and brought hope to our Changfeng Village. From today onwards, everyone hurry up and plant the rice seedlings in the fields. Now I announce that sowing has officially begun!" Zhao Tingzhang stood confidently under the old locust tree, his face flushed with excitement.
That's great! There's hope for their village.
"Thank God, our food supply is almost gone. If we can't grow any more food, our whole family will starve to death."
"Yes. Our family's food is almost gone. Now that spring is here, we can go up the mountain to find some food, which should last until the rice harvest."
The villagers chatted amongst themselves, their faces beaming with happiness.
Zhao Tingzhang is busiest during this period, as he is busy with both the important farming matters in the village and the construction of houses in the village.
He was busy every day, but he always had a happy face.
The men, women, and children in the village get up before dawn every day to plant rice seedlings, and when the sun comes up, the men go to work in the mine.
After finishing work in the evening, they would go up the mountain to haul soil, make adobe bricks, and dry them. Every household used all the available manpower, but it still felt like there was never enough work to be done.
These days, when they're so busy they barely have time to breathe, make the villagers feel fulfilled and at peace.
He Tiantian's family was extremely busy. The four children, also considered as laborers, worked in the fields every day, and were so tired that they couldn't even eat.
Yulan's family has a total of three mu of paddy fields and two mu of dry fields. The family of four spends the morning transplanting rice seedlings in the fields, and in the afternoon they go to He Tiantian's fields to help plant beans.
They had never done this before, so they were clumsy and their movements were a bit slow.
He Tiantian's belly was already quite large, and now even bending over was a bit difficult. It was also her first time doing farm work, so naturally she was slower than Sister Yulan and the others.
"Wanzi's mother, you're too heavy for physical labor. Let my family do it. You can rest." Sister-in-law Yulan bent over and stood up, rubbing her stiff lower back.
"No, I'm a bit slow, but I can still get some work done." He Tiantian refused. The four children had been working in the fields for seven or eight days and hadn't complained of being tired yet. As an adult, she had to set a good example.
Sister-in-law Yulan glanced at her worriedly, "Sigh, I reckon the rice planting will be finished in two or three days. We should be able to hire people then."
He Tiantian had planned to hire someone to do the work from the beginning, paying twenty coins a day. However, these days were the busy planting season, and no one had any spare labor.
In this era without modern machines for planting, relying entirely on manual labor was incredibly difficult.
They worked for three days and only managed to plant a little over three acres of the ten acres of land.
He Tiantian looked at the two-thirds of her empty field and felt utterly devastated. Indeed, farming isn't something everyone can just decide to do.
In her previous life, she only worked on farms before she was ten years old.
"Maruko's mother, Maruko's mother. I've sent my son to help you!" Zhao Tingzhang shouted from the edge of the field.
Upon hearing this, He Tiantian stood up and saw that Zhao Tingzhang, along with his son Zhao Dahai and Zhao Xiaohe, were already walking towards them.
"I'm so sorry, Maruko's mother, we're late. We have so many fields at home, and it took us so many days of hard work to finish." Zhao Tingzhang's face showed a slight apology.
He had promised to help Maruko's mother with farming, but he arrived so late.
"You're too kind, Pavilion Chief. My beans are different from rice, so it's fine if they're a few days late."
He Tiantian carefully explained the precautions for planting beans, and the bean seeds were all selected and disinfected beforehand.
When planting, put about two beans in each hole, and use a pre-measured stick to poke a hole in the soil, about the depth of a finger.
If you find insects or weeds in the soil, you should remove them. Beans are prone to insect infestation, so this will prevent the seeds from being damaged.
In this era, there were no chemical fertilizers available, so we could only use some farmyard manure to make up for the lack of fertilizer.
Zhao Dahai and Zhao Xiaohe were stunned. Goodness, these beans are so troublesome. It's much more difficult than transplanting rice seedlings for them.
Both the ocean and the river were uncertain, unsure if they could do it well.
"Do you understand what I'm saying? It's not actually that difficult, it just requires attention to detail," He Tiantian asked, looking up at the sea and the river.
Zhao, the pavilion chief, was also completely confused. He coughed awkwardly and looked away.
"I understand, I understand..." Zhao Dahai scratched his head, grabbed a handful of beans and a wooden stick, and began to work.
Zhao Xiaohe followed his brother's example and started doing it in a very professional manner.
"Alright, I'm going to check on the other fields. You can have the sea and the river." With that, Zhao Tingzhang left. He was going to wander around the paddy fields to see who hadn't finished and needed to urge them on.
After working for a while, He Tiantian saw that the sun was already high in the sky and guessed that it was already noon.
Just then, she also felt hungry, so she said, "Yulan's mother, I'm going home to cook. You and the children can rest for a while."
There was still some pork and pig's trotters left from the last trip to town, so she dried them after spring arrived. He Tiantian planned to stew all the meat to nourish the children.
"Alright, then Maruko's mom, please take your time going back."
He Tiantian walked to the edge of the field, and just as she put on her shoes and was about to go back, she saw Liu coming over with a basket on her shoulder.
"Wanzi's mother, you haven't eaten yet, have you? I brought you some food." Liu Shi came over with a smile.
He Tiantian even forgot to bring her shoes. She clicked her tongue and said, "Sister Liu, I feel so bad. Look, both of your sons are helping me with the farming. Logically, I should be the one to provide meals."
Liu knew in advance that her husband and sons were coming to help He Tiantian with farming. Ten acres of land couldn't be cultivated in a short time.
Since she had some free time at home, she thought she would cook the meal ahead of time and deliver it over.
After all, Maruko's mother always thought of her family when good things happened, so she should reciprocate.
"Don't mention it. I'm free anyway, so I can still cook a meal. I'll bring you meals for the next few days. I'll feel at ease if the crops are planted in the fields as soon as possible."
Liu brought over a lot of cornbread and some tea.
The group of people were starving after working in the fields all morning, so they sat down and ate with great relish.
The four children got covered in dirt and grime in the field, looking like little kittens.
Liu Yonghe and Wang Dazhuang even took a few days off from the mine to join the army of bean growers.
He Tiantian planted beans on eight of her ten mu of land, and plans to plant sweet potatoes on the remaining two mu in a few days.
Only then can the farm work in the fields be considered truly finished.
[Author's Note]: My darlings, this chapter is trending these days, please vote for it! Thank you!
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