After everyone had rested for a while and had some hawthorn water to aid digestion, the mother-in-law quietly approached Chen Lan and asked in a low voice, "Xiao Lan, ask your father-in-law, if we were to harvest the autumn crops now, what would the weather be like for the next ten-odd days?"
Chen Lan immediately opened the system's search function with her mind, looking for the weather forecast for the next fifteen days. As she spoke to her mother-in-law, she mentally reviewed the system's screen prompts: "Mother-in-law, father-in-law says the weather for the next fifteen days will be sunny, with the highest temperature between 24°C and 27°C, and the lowest between 12°C and 15°C. The south wind will be 1 to 2 levels. It will be cool in the morning and evening, so everyone should pay attention to keeping warm and avoid catching a cold."
Upon hearing Chen Lan's words, the mother-in-law immediately sprang into action. In the temporary shed where everyone usually ate, she convened the first full staff meeting since arriving in the valley. The main topic of the meeting was "Autumn Harvest," which was, in essence, a general mobilization meeting before the harvest.
Chen Lan, holding one child in each arm, and accompanied by Wen Qi and Wen Kai, also came to attend the autumn harvest mobilization meeting.
The mother-in-law, as the moderator, spoke first. She got straight to the point: "I've asked everyone to stay today to discuss tomorrow's autumn harvest. De Shun and Chen Fu went to the cornfields a couple of days ago and found that the corn is already ripe. We need to take advantage of this good weather and strong sun, and since the drying ground is also ready, we've decided to start the autumn harvest from tomorrow. This year's harvest requires everyone's participation. So, from tomorrow onwards, we will all eat and sleep in the valley. Don't worry about accommodation; the five houses are basically completed and are perfectly livable right now. Right, Teacher Zhou?" She then looked at Teacher Zhou for confirmation.
Teacher Zhou quickly replied, "Yes, the main structures of the houses are all complete. The only remaining tasks are wiring and installing plumbing."
Seeing the murmurs among the crowd, the mother-in-law continued, "Don't worry about the corn harvest, digging potatoes, or picking peanuts being too strenuous. Machines will handle all of that. Your job will be to peel the leaves off the corn cobs, transport them to the drying ground, and spread them out to dry. It's the same for peanuts. You only need to be responsible for drying the harvested grains. Are there any problems?"
Everyone responded in unison, "No problems!"
The mother-in-law turned to Teacher Zhou and said, "Teacher Zhou, I know you're busy with your own work and on a tight schedule, but there's no helping it. We have fewer people working now, and the autumn harvest needs good weather. It's rare to have so many consecutive sunny days. We need to hurry up and get the corn husked and dried. I promise you, Teacher Zhou, as soon as you help with husking the corn, you won't have to help with anything else, and you can go back to your own tasks."
Teacher Zhou smiled and replied, "That's only right. We need to eat too. Please don't be so polite with us. This is something we should be doing. If you need our help with anything in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."
The mother-in-law smiled contentedly and said, "That's good! That's good!"
The mother-in-law continued with her instructions: "That's basically all for the autumn harvest. Now, let's talk about the arrangements for these items. The kitchen pots and pans will be carried over by us women using the carrying baskets. The outdoor sheds, tables, and stools will be handled by you men. Xiang Dong, you'll be in charge of arranging that. As for your personal belongings in the vehicles, pack them up tonight! We'll take them all to the valley tomorrow morning."
At this point, Ming Zhe voiced a question that was on everyone's mind: "Mother, if we all go to the valley, what about the cars?"
The mother-in-law involuntarily glanced at Chen Lan. Seeing no reaction from her, she impatiently said in a low voice to Ming Zhe, "You're so fussy. The cars won't get lost if we leave them there."
Ming Zhe grumbled softly, "I'm just worried!"
The mother-in-law then turned to Xiang Dong and Er Hu and said, "Xiang Dong, Er Hu, tomorrow, ask the drivers of each car to turn off all electrical appliances, close the windows, and lock the doors when they leave. You two should do a final check, collect the car keys, and hand them over to Xiao Lan."
She then added, "Make sure to tell them to clean out the toilets in the cars and bury the waste far away by digging a pit."
Xiang Xi and Er Hu replied, "Auntie, we understand. We'll get up early tomorrow and handle it perfectly!"
The mother-in-law nodded with great satisfaction.
The next morning, Chen Lan woke up groggily to the sound of voices outside the car and rustling sounds from inside. She opened her eyes and saw only herself and the twins on the bed. Her mother was no longer sleeping there. There were sounds from the kitchen and the washroom. She immediately became alert. Because the morning temperature was low, she quickly got up, took a thick coat from the system's warehouse, and put it on. She also prepared thick clothes for her mother, her two younger brothers, and the twins. These were old clothes she had worn before and stored in the system's warehouse when they left home.
Xiang Xi and the others had the leather jackets that Chen Lan had bought for each of the men on their previous trip.
After breakfast, everyone meticulously packed and organized their belongings according to the mother-in-law's instructions from yesterday's meeting. Items that could fit into carrying baskets were packed, and those that couldn't were carried by individuals. If one person couldn't carry it, two people would lift it together.
Soon, everyone was ready. Xiang Dong and Er Hu had also finished inspecting the five cars and handed over the car keys to Chen Lan.
Seeing that everyone was prepared, the mother-in-law waved her hand and declared loudly and with commanding authority, "Let's go!"
Chen Lan, carrying Jia Hui and with Jia Yao strapped to her back using a special carrier purchased from the system, held a large bundle of belongings. Together with her mother, who was also carrying items and a bundle, and Wen Kai and Wen Qi, they followed the group towards the forest on the mountain.
About twenty minutes later, they emerged from the forest and stood on the mountain, looking out at the distant woods. The scenery resembled a vibrant and colorful oil painting, with evergreen coniferous forests, layered alpine shrubs, and patches of colorful tundra. Red leaves, green trees, white birches, and blue skies painted the entire mountainside in a kaleidoscope of colors, as if a mischievous child had overturned a palette.
Chen Lan had no time to admire the picturesque scenery. She led the group down into the valley and first settled the children, her mother, and the mother-in-law and other elders on the sofas in the living room on the first floor of the first house. She then quickly went upstairs and took out all the winter clothing, padded pants, coats, quilts, and shoes that her mother and the others had prepared for everyone at home from the system's warehouse, placing them in the largest room on the second floor. She also purchased twenty rectangular synthetic fiber carpets from the system. These would be spread on the ground later for people to sit on while working.
She carried the twenty carpets downstairs and spread out two of them on the floor for the twins to crawl on. She briefly spoke to her mother and mother-in-law, telling them to rest well for now. The corn hadn't been harvested yet, and they could go to the drying ground to help after it was brought back. With that, she quickly departed.
She hurried towards the cornfields in the valley. Large swathes of corn were ripe, their husks yellowing, stalks starting to dry, and tassels looking scorched and turning black.
Chen Lan walked up to a corn cob, peeled back the leaves, and saw the kernels gleaming with a glossy sheen. She pinched a kernel with her fingernail and found it to be very hard, leaving no indentation. These signs indicated that the corn was mature and ready for harvest.
Chen Lan walked further and saw Uncle De and Uncle Fu. She approached them and greeted them.
Uncle De said, "Xiao Lan, we've just inspected this cornfield. The corn is ripe and ready for harvest. I've already asked Xiang Dong, Er Hu, and the others to bring the multi-functional agricultural tractors to harvest it."
Chen Lan thought for a moment and nodded. They could work in pairs: one car harvesting while another loaded, and the third car transported back.
Chen Lan said, "Uncle De, Uncle Fu, I'll leave this to you two. Please remind Brother Xiang Dong and the others to finish harvesting one variety before moving on to another, so as not to mix them. We'll only harvest thirty mu of land per day. That's about thirty tons of corn per day. Harvesting them separately will also make it easier to distinguish the varieties when drying them!"
Uncle De and Uncle Fu nodded and said, "Don't worry! We'll explain it clearly to Xiang Dong and Er Hu. You go back and make arrangements."
Then, Uncle De continued, "We'll leave this here to you. I'll go back and inform Mother-in-law to arrange for everyone to get ready at the drying ground."
With that, she bid them farewell and turned to leave, walking back.