Down the mountain, Li Min still craved chicken soup. Despite eating meat for two to three days since coming up the mountain, she had also worked the land for another two days. She was tired, but her elder brother wouldn't allow her to accompany them up the mountain.
Niu Da Sao’s household’s acre of Chinese cabbage had a bumper harvest. Each head was tightly formed, weighing four to five catties.
Ouyang Lei was once again summoned to collect the vegetables. He had thought they were from the Li family’s land. Upon arriving at Ku Shan, he discovered that the Niu family had planted an acre of Chinese cabbage behind the village.
He hadn’t intended to take much, but upon seeing the quality of the vegetables, he decided to take them all.
Brother Niu dared not act so brazenly. He still gave Ouyang Lei only half, with the other half going to the supply and marketing cooperative.
Moreover, this half was further divided: half of the acre, and then half of that.
This was because Niu Da Sao wanted to give a thousand heads to Tian Jing and reserve another thousand for relatives.
As Tian Jing was away, Li Zheng Guo made the decision to accept only five hundred heads. The remaining five hundred were taken by Ouyang Lei.
The villagers' fields had all been planted with winter wheat. At this time of year, only winter wheat was suitable, and this allowed for two harvests per year.
Furthermore, everyone had seen how well the wheat from the Li and Niu families had grown.
This time, the villagers’ wheat seeds were exchanged from the team. The seeds collected by the commune were, naturally, prioritized for use in Ku Shan.
The team only provided free seeds for the first season. For subsequent seasons, individuals could keep their own seeds or exchange them at the team.
The team’s one hundred mu of land was also cultivated under the leadership of cadres. A group of diligent and capable young people were selected to help plant the winter wheat, and they were credited with work points. Sudan Novel Network.
These young people's families were very willing, as although work points seemed unrewarding now, the team owed the Li family so many work points…
Future work points might not be a bad benefit, perhaps… hehe, in any case, following the Li family was the right choice.
With the winter wheat planted, the village officially entered its slack farming season.
…
Li Jianguo came to Li Zheng Guo to borrow money. He needed to take his daughter to the provincial hospital.
Li Zheng Guo gave him five hundred yuan. This money was all from selling vegetables with Ouyang Lei's help.
Although the agreement stated that half of the vegetables were to be used to repay Ouyang Lei for the plastic sheeting, no matter how expensive the plastic sheeting was, it couldn't be worth using vegetables from several years to repay the cost of it.
Ouyang Lei was adept at handling people. Initially, when he took half, he would appropriately return a portion of the money, calculated against the cooperative’s purchase price.
This way, those who had used his plastic sheeting were deeply grateful to him, including the party secretary and team leader who understood the underlying dealings.
Li Jianguo flinched, withdrawing his hand. "Two hundred is enough."
“A poor home and a well-stocked journey. You don’t know what you’ll encounter when you go out. If something unexpected happens, you’ll have no one to call on. Take this. Sew it into your clothes separately. Be careful with everything.”
"Okay," Li Jianguo accepted. "I'll definitely be able to repay you."
"I believe you, cousin."
…
In the mountains, ginning cotton took ten days. Tian Jing spent ten days accompanying her mother-in-law from dawn till dusk.
The ginned cotton was all packed into burlap sacks. Mother Li felt a pang of regret, but she also felt regret about the cloth used to make cotton bags. Fortunately, there was plenty of cotton, so it didn't matter if the sacks snagged some. Besides, the cave was not damp, and the sacks were placed on the heated brick bed.
"Once things are less busy down the mountain, we'll make cotton quilts."
"No need. We'll make them down the mountain. There's enough cotton down there. If it's not enough, I'll get more."
Her mother-in-law worked as if her life depended on it. Tian Jing couldn’t bear to let her endure the autumn wind on Qing Song Yan.
"Alright, let's go back. The cotton down the mountain should be ready for harvest."
"When we get back, Mother, you must rest for a few days. That acre of land has attracted too much attention. We'll pick it as it ripens. Why do you need to do it yourself?"
The cotton down the mountain was not like the cotton on the mountain, which Tian Jing had accelerated in ripening. Therefore, the amount picked each day varied, depending on how many cotton bolls opened.
"Yes, yes, I'll rest for a few days."
Mother Li didn't refuse. Although she was busy, she felt that the more she worked, the better she felt. With her daughter-in-law cooking her chicken soup and stir-fried rabbit meat every day, she had even gained weight.
…
They came down the mountain early today. Niu Da Sao was helping tie corn husks in the Li family's courtyard. Seeing Mother Li, she exclaimed in surprise, "Auntie, where have you and Tian Jing been these past few days? I haven't seen you for days, and you look like you've gained weight!"
"Really? I also feel like I've gained weight. Are these freshly harvested corn?"
Mother Li changed the subject, and Niu Da Sao immediately went off on a tangent.
"Yes, it’s from your cotton fields. We peeled and dried them in the fields, and only pulled them when they were almost dry."
As Niu Da Sao spoke, her hands were not idle, tying the corn cobs in pairs.
When intercropping with cotton, only one cob was left per corn plant. The weight of one cob was considerable, more than three liang.
Mother Li wanted to sit down and help with the work, but her daughter-in-law and daughter pushed her into the house to rest.
Over two thousand corn cobs were hung on bamboo poles under the eaves of the main house.
Finally seeing Tian Jing, Niu Da Sao began to grumble about her own family affairs.
With farming in the slack season, the family division, originally scheduled for after the Mid-Autumn Festival, was moved up. Mother Niu had divided her youngest son and his wife into their own household.
They had already been separated and allocated a plot of land to the far west of the village, west of Li Rong Guo. It was still unknown when they would build their house.
Mother Niu agreed to let her youngest son and his wife stay at home until after the New Year before moving out, as even if they started building now, they wouldn't be able to live in it immediately.
Brother Niu and Mother Niu couldn't possibly drive their own brother out.
"Tian Jing, don't you think I've suffered a big loss in this family division? I wish it was me who was separated, so I could be closer to you."
Tian Jing sighed. This Mother Niu was a formidable mother-in-law. It was a good thing Brother Niu was so cunning.
"Niu Da Sao, don't worry. If your sister-in-law tries to take advantage of me, it's a no-go."
She was unwilling to help those who had benefited from the harvest, and that included Brother Niu's family.
Niu Da Sao understood. Tian Jing’s indirect answer to her question made her furious.
Tian Jing comforted Niu Da Sao, "The more your mother-in-law helps now, the harder their lives will be after your mother-in-law is gone. Look to the future, why worry about the present? Sometimes, losing is gaining."
"Yes, yes, you're right. I'll just wait and see what happens in the future."
…
The next day, Tian Jing asked her mother-in-law to pickle sauerkraut.
Li Min scrubbed the pot and boiled water. Da Mai followed, stripping the old outer leaves from the cabbage.
The cabbage was scalded and then cooled in water, filling a large vat.
Tian Jing licked her lips. "Mother, when can we eat it?"
"A month."
"That's too long, Mother. Can you make me some mock pickled cabbage stir-fried with vermicelli?"
"Okay."
Mother Li smiled happily. Her daughter-in-law's reaction clearly indicated that the baby would be a boy.
…
On the Li family's barren land, villagers gathered daily to observe the cotton harvest.
More and more cotton bolls appeared, and the villagers began to help pick them from the fields.
Within a few days, only cotton stalks remained in the fields.
The villagers then came to the Li family to help remove the seeds from the cotton. They refused to let Mother Li use the seed-removing machine, as they wanted the cotton seeds themselves, fearing that the machine would damage them.
They also wanted to grow cotton. How convenient it would be to grow it for their own use! Buying cotton required ration coupons and still only yielded a few catties.
Since it was planted on barren land, the Li family’s cotton harvest this season belonged entirely to their own household and did not need to be handed over.
Mother Li looked at her daughter-in-law.
Tian Jing clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention. "I understand your desire for cotton seeds, but I'll say it again: you can take the seeds, but I won't be responsible for the harvest."
"We know, we know. Thank you, Tian Jing," the villagers said gratefully.
"Wait until I'm finished speaking," Tian Jing signaled for quiet. "To save on seeds, it's best for you to start seedlings and then transplant them. One mu of land will need at most eight liang. Each person can take one jin, and the rest will be left for..."
"Leave it for me, leave it for me."
Captain Ou rushed in, his mouth opening to scold the villagers. "I was almost late. You guys actually came here behind my back to ask for cotton seeds?"