The golden autumn season, a time of harvest, was also a season of abundance. The people in the valley reaped not only their crops but also joy and hope!
After the rice was dried and stored, it was time for the corn harvest.
This year, with ample time, the corn was planted earlier than last year. Chen Lan had chosen to plant the late-maturing variety, Woyu No. 3. This corn seed was known for its strong adaptability, good lodging resistance, and excellent disease resistance, as well as its large, uniform ears and high, stable yields.
Early in the morning, before even eating breakfast, Chen Lan arrived at the cornfield. A gentle morning breeze carried the sweet scent of corn. Looking up at the stalks, only three or four green leaves remained on each plant. The husks of the corn ears were already withered and somewhat loose, and the outer skin of the cobs was no longer as tightly wrapped as before. Sudannovel.com
The corn cobs were thick and long. Chen Lan peeled back the husks of a dozen or so plants, examining them. The kernels were plump and neatly arranged, the milky lines on the kernels gradually disappearing. The sweet aroma of corn slowly diffused into the dense morning fog.
Chen Lan knew this was the best time to harvest corn, yielding both high quantity and quality.
Without hesitation, Chen Lan turned and left the cornfield, returning to the main kitchen. After breakfast, Chen Lan instructed Lin Mai to take Qian Yingzi, Liu Man'er, Zhang Xiaohe, Wang Yuling, and Sister-in-law Chen from Hubei province, each driving a multi-functional agricultural tractor, to the cornfield to collect the cobs.
Lin Mai asked somewhat curiously, "Xiao Lan jie, why aren't we using a combine harvester to collect the corn?"
Chen Lan explained with a smile, "I know it's more convenient to harvest corn with a combine harvester, but it crushes the corn stalks and cobs. We need corn stalks for kindling when we cook separately in winter, and we need to burn corn cobs to keep the fire going at night. If everything is pulverized and returned to the field, what will such a large group of people in our valley use? If we only rely on cutting down trees for firewood, this mountain will be cleared in no time."
After speaking, Chen Lan glanced at Qian Yingzi and the others and continued, "Fortunately, we have many people in the valley this year, so pulling off the husks should be quick. Today, besides the kindergarten children and comrades busy building houses, warehouses, and sheds, everyone else will be at the drying ground to work – husking corn."
At this point, Chen Lan paused and added, "Oh! Right, Ming Wei, since the students are all here, inform them that all the members of the reading society will go to the drying ground to participate in the labor. Their task will be to husk corn."
Ming Wei happily agreed, "Okay! Big Sister-in-law, I'll go inform them right away."
With that, she turned and left to organize the group.
Lin Mai also said goodbye to Chen Lan and hurried towards the garage with Qian Yingzi, Liu Man'er, and the others.
Hu Yuzhen and Cui Qiao, who had participated in husking corn last year, immediately notified the young wives and daughters-in-law of each household to quickly go home and fetch their rugs to the drying ground. Many people were puzzled by the idea of bringing rugs to the drying ground, but seeing others go home to get them, they followed suit.
After everyone had spread out their rugs and received a straw hat from the warehouse, the sun had already risen. Before long, the chugging sound of tractors could be heard. Qian Yingzi appeared at the drying ground, driving a tractor laden with corn cobs, the first to return.
The crowd waiting at the drying ground swarmed forward as the cobs, piled into a small mountain, were unloaded. Ming Zhe, Wen Kai, and Wen Qi, who had participated in husking corn last year, were very familiar with the task. They sat on the rugs and, with heads bowed, quickly began to husk the corn. The other students, seeing this, followed suit.
Soon, layer after layer of husks were peeled off, and the golden corn quickly piled up into small mountains. Ming Wei and the older students swiftly transported the cobs to the center of the drying ground, spreading them out evenly so that each cob could receive ample sunlight.
The weather was exceptionally good. Everyone was determined to finish the work as quickly as possible to allow the corn to dry thoroughly.
Xu Mingxuan's comrades also joined the labor today. Those with mobility issues were responsible for husking corn, while those with nimble hands but less mobility were tasked with pushing the husked cobs to the center of the drying ground for drying.
At this moment, Ming Wei walked over with a few young corn cobs and said, "Big Sister-in-law, can you tell everyone to be careful when they find young corn cobs? Please set them aside separately. Can we boil them like we did last year?"
Chen Lan smiled and replied, "Why not? You can just tell everyone directly."
Ming Wei, without hesitation, loudly announced, "Brothers, Sisters-in-law, classmates, please pay attention when you husk the corn cobs. If you find any young corn, set them aside separately. Young corn cannot be dried for grain. We'll borrow a large pot from the main kitchen later and cook a big pot of young corn for everyone to taste."
Upon hearing this, everyone was overjoyed and shouted, "That's great! We'll have young corn today! To be honest, just smelling the corn makes you crave it."
One tractor load after another of corn was quickly brought back, rapidly forming corn mountains. The crowd stopped chatting, heads bowed, diligently working. With swift movements, they husked the corn cobs, and the only sound around was the rustling of husks being peeled.
Not much corn was planted this year. Chen Lan had asked Xiang Xi to plant only fifty mu of the new late-maturing variety. Looking at the harvested cobs, Chen Lan estimated the yield to be around 1,500 to 1,600 jin per mu. With such a yield, this year's corn harvest was considered abundant.
After husking, drying, threshing, and further drying, the corn was finally ready to be stored.
After more than a month of autumn harvest labor, despite the significant assistance from various machines that eased much of the workload, everyone was still quite exhausted. After all, the autumn harvest had been a long process, stretching from mid-August to the present, nearly two months.
Especially the students who had been with Chen Lan, collecting mountain goods and working in the fields, their participation in such prolonged labor had left them utterly worn out.
As soon as the corn was stored and they could finally relax, they all appeared listless, slumping here and there!