The next day, Li Min cajoled her elder sister-in-law into bringing down another piece of corduroy, saying she wanted to make clothes.
Tian Jing brought it down without a word.
Two days later, Tian Jing received a vest, lined with rabbit fur and with the corduroy she had later brought down from the mountain on the outside.
"Why did you make it for me? What about yours, Mother-in-law?"
Mother Li smiled, "I'm not cold, I don't get cold sitting on the kang every day, mine isn't urgent."
"Is the fur enough?"
"Enough, enough, more than enough."
For her daughter-in-law's vest, only four rabbit pelts were used. Although her daughter was taller and sturdier than her daughter-in-law, four pelts would suffice.
Because she could first piece together the rabbit fur needed for her own cotton-padded jacket, the remaining scraps could be sewn onto the sides of her daughter's vest.
As for her cotton-padded pants, if there were any scraps left, she would piece them together; if not, they would discuss it later. Her son and daughter-in-law would bring back wild rabbits in the future.
Moreover, her health was almost fully recovered this year, so she wasn't afraid of winter anymore.
Tian Jing was relieved. She put it on as soon as she returned to her room, without even wearing her outer jacket, and ran into the east room, "Mother-in-law, look, it fits perfectly and it's warm."
Mother Li's eyes crinkled into a smile, "Yes, it fits perfectly. Wear it like this for now. If there's more later, I'll make you a cotton-padded jacket." Sudan Novel Network.
"Thank you, Mother-in-law."
Having received the vest, Tian Jing was clearly very happy. She made a special trip up the mountain and brought down rice to make lunch.
She stewed a dried rabbit, stir-fried eggs with dried chili, and cooked a pot of sweet potato soup.
Salty sweet potato soup?
Li Min raised her eyebrows and drank two bowls, "Sister-in-law, can sweet potatoes be made savory? How come I didn't know?"
"You only know how to make sweet potato porridge with flatbread. Just use your brain a little more. The ingredients are simple, if you don't use your brain, your stomach will protest."
Li Min retorted, "Then why don't you try a different way of cooking this rabbit?"
"Do I dare to try? Eat up quickly, you must finish it."
Li Zhengguo put some rabbit meat on Chen Suozhu's plate, "Eat quickly. For your grandfather, I can only send some salty sweet potato soup and scrambled eggs."
"I understand."
The Li family was already being watched, so the rabbit meat couldn't be seen by others. However, "Brother, can you take me up the mountain to hunt? If we hunt something, we can hand it over to the production team, and my grandfather can also eat meat. What I most want to catch is a pheasant."
"Do you think hunting is that simple? Stay at home honestly."
Li Zhengguo glanced at the person opposite him. This guy was trying to indirectly get meat for his grandfather, and he was even complaining that he hadn't hunted a pheasant.
If it weren't for the rabbit pelts, he would have wanted to hunt pheasants to make chicken soup for Tiantian.
"Yes, I'll listen to you, Brother."
The first thing she did after putting down her bowl was to clean the rabbit bones. Tian Jing carried her bowl to the back of the house. Just as she was about to 'bury' the rabbit bones in the earth, she heard Li Zhengguo loudly calling for the Party Branch Secretary and the Captain from inside the house.
She continued to 'bury' the rabbit bones deeper, then 'pulled' the rabbit bones from that day further down. She looked at the bowl in her hand and decided to 'bury' it in the ground as well.
Circling back to the front of the house, she saw Secretary Yang and Captain Ou, along with the two comrades from that day, coming to inspect the vegetables in the plastic shed.
Those two comrades' eyes lit up when they saw Tian Jing, "Comrade Tian."
Tian Jing nodded, "Hello, comrades."
"The older one is Comrade Ji, and the younger one is Comrade He," Secretary Yang introduced Tian Jing.
"Comrade Ji, Comrade He," Tian Jing greeted them separately.
"Comrade Tian," the older Comrade Ji said, "the vegetables you've planted in this shed are excellent. We didn't see such good vegetables in the spring."
"Moreover, it's winter, and this is in the Ku Shan mountains with the worst soil. Comrade Tian, would you be willing to tell us your methods for growing vegetables?"
Tian Jing's gaze fell on the Captain and the Secretary, "On the first day of building the shed for planting vegetables, I already told the members. Secretary Yang and Captain Ou were both present then."
"Those two, they are old hands, and they still say they can't explain it clearly."
Tian Jing didn't believe that the two old hands couldn't explain it clearly. Since the commune cadres wanted to hear, she would say it again.
"...Isn't the method very simple? I also heard it from others. When I was at the Tian family, I only watered the vegetable patch in the backyard. It was impossible to experiment with the Tian family's vegetable patch."
"In Ku Shan mountains, with such soil, to put it bluntly, it's like treating a dead horse as if it were alive."
"However, I put a lot of effort into nurturing these seedlings before planting them. I nurtured them in wooden boxes, which many people saw that day."
"I used crushed eggshells as fertilizer, but raw eggshells need to be washed clean, as the residual egg white can attract insects."
The young Comrade He was furiously scribbling on his paper and pen.
Seeing that Tian Jing had finished speaking, Comrade Ji asked again, "Do you have any other insights on farming?"
"No, no, I don't know how to farm. I can only manage to plant some vegetables, because I've been watching the Tian family's vegetable patch for over ten years."
Tian Jing would never admit that she knew how to farm. She was just a half-baked person relying on her special abilities.
"Then what suggestions do you have for the soil in Ku Shan mountains?"
"Sift it, just like I do. Land without gravel is truly land."
"Sifting soil? If the effect after sifting soil is unknown, the members' enthusiasm won't be mobilized."
Tian Jing looked at Li Zhengguo, who nodded. She then asked Captain Ou, "Captain, usually when working, the members' enthusiasm isn't very high, is it?"
Captain Ou nodded, "Isn't that so? They know that after sweating a lot, the harvest is poor. No one has the motivation."
"I have a humble suggestion. If I say something wrong, please don't blame me, comrades and Secretaries Yang and Ou, as I am just a woman who revolves around the stove."
Comrade Ji nodded, "Please speak, Comrade Tian."
"I'm only talking about Ku Shan mountains. Captain Ou, has Sister-in-law Niu also sifted her soil? Has she complained about hardship or fatigue? Has she been slacking off?"
Captain Ou nodded, "Very enthusiastic. Your family finished sifting in three days, and hers also finished in three days, with no help at all."
"Isn't that enthusiasm?"
Secretary Yang and Captain Ou both looked at Tian Jing with confusion.
Comrade Ji, however, said, "Are you implying a sense of responsibility?"
Tian Jing nodded, "Exactly. For example, if one mu of land originally yields two hundred catties, divide a piece of land among a fixed number of people and tell them that two hundred catties per mu is worth eight work points."
"If the yield is two hundred and twenty or two hundred and forty, it's worth ten work points. Anything beyond that will get an extra two work points, and anything beyond that is theirs."
"Try it, will they do it? Slack off? Impossible. They'll probably be in the fields twenty-four hours a day."
"You don't have to calculate their work points every day. Even if they only work half a day, as long as they meet the standard."
"Of course, if they don't deliver two hundred catties, their work points will be deducted. If the difference is too large, they'll have to compensate with money."
"As for farm tools and seeds, they are still from the team. Every day, just like before, they get their tools. It will be obvious at a glance who is diligent and who is lazy. Those who are extremely lazy, quickly take back the land, don't ruin the year's harvest."
Comrade Ji listened with shining eyes.
Comrade He listened with his hands in constant motion.
Secretary Yang and Captain Ou exchanged glances. This young daughter-in-law was too talented to be just a women's director.