After the family had their meal, they quickly packed up and went up the mountain. But when they saw Zhenzhen's expectant face, both Mrs. Li and Wang Sufen were dumbfounded. If they didn't take Zhenzhen with them, it would be too much of a hassle to have one less person to work with. If they took Zhenzhen with them, Mrs. Li was really afraid that this little ancestor would cause trouble.
"Why don't you take Zhenzhen home? At worst we can just work for two more days." Old Mrs. Li said hesitantly.
"Mom, you stay at home. The mountain roads are not easy to walk on. Your feet will hurt again." Wang Sufen quickly snatched the basket from her hand and said, "I am young and strong. I will go up the mountain with Dongzi's father."
Zhenzhen looked at Old Lady Li and then at Wang Sufen and suddenly became anxious. She patted the kang vigorously. Seeing that Old Lady Li and Wang Sufen turned around to look at her after hearing the noise, Zhenzhen immediately pointed at herself and said in a loud voice, "Go!"
When she heard that Zhenzhen was going, Mrs. Li softened her heart. She sat on the kang and hugged Zhenzhen in her arms: "Baby, do you want to go up the mountain?"
Zhenzhen didn't bother to play dumb anymore, and nodded her little head like a chicken pecking at rice: "Go away!"
Wang Sufen quickly picked up a fruit and coaxed her: "Baby, be good, the adults went up the mountain to work, not to play with you."
All day long, Zhenzhen stays in the house, lying on the windowsill. She can't leave the kang unless someone holds her. Zhenzhen is almost going crazy staying in the house. Now that she has a chance to go up the mountain and have fun, how can she not go
Zhenzhen looked at Wang Sufen, her mouth flattened, and her eyes turned red. Seeing her granddaughter's tears about to fall, Mrs. Li became anxious and shouted without hesitation: "Go!"
Zhenzhen immediately burst into laughter, looked at Old Lady Li and said sweetly, "Good morning!"
Old Lady Li was so touched by Zhenzhen's words that she forgot all the worries in her mind. She only knew that her granddaughter wanted to go to the mountain to play, so she immediately went to get Zhenzhen's jacket happily. While Mingnan and Mingbei were packing up farm tools in the yard, Wang Sufen took Zhenzhen in her arms and told her seriously: "My dear, I'm telling you, there will be many people going up the mountain now, so you can't let the branches pass the fruit to your mouth. It will be terrible if others see it."
Old Lady Li was just coming over with Zhenzhen's water bottle and clothes. When she heard Wang Sufen's words, she was shocked: "When did this happen?"
Wang Sufen took the clothes and put them on Zhenzhen while saying, "It was when we were harvesting crops last time. She was on my back. When I turned around, the blueberry branches stretched out more than ten meters behind my head. She ate one by one, and the branches would retract after she was done."
Old Lady Li was shocked for a moment: "This is incredible. I wonder which deity has this ability?"
"In ancient times..." Wang Sufen thought again of the dream she had when she was pregnant with Zhenzhen.
"Don't bother with Shanggu. I don't understand Shanggu." Seeing that Zhenzhen had packed up, Old Lady Li helped Wang Sufen get the cloth bag and put it on Zhenzhen's back. Before leaving, she thought for a moment and took a basin and half a bucket of water.
Mingbei had just finished packing his things and was about to come out to call for help. He saw that Old Lady Li had a bundle in her left hand and a pot in her right hand, so he quickly took them from her: "Grandma, why are you carrying a basin?"
"Pick some fruit for your sister!" Old Lady Li waved her hand and said, "Hurry up, get up the mountain!"
This time, when taking Zhenzhen up the mountain, Old Lady Li made all the necessary preparations. She asked Mingnan and Mingbei to pick more than a dozen kinds of fruits along the way. When they got there, they spread a rag on the ground and took out a slightly deformed lunch box from the basket. After opening it, it was filled with pine nuts and three biscuits bought from the supply and marketing cooperative. Wang Sufen washed the fruits with half a bucket of water and put them in a basin next to Zhenzhen. Zhenzhen took a look and felt that this was no different from the spring outings when she was in school.
Old Mrs. Li looked left and right and felt relieved. All the fruits that could be picked along the way were in the basin, which was enough for Zhenzhen to eat. She squatted beside Qingqing and stuffed pine nuts into her mouth while whispering to her: "Baby, let's eat the fruits in this basin. Don't pick them from other places. Do you hear me?" Zhenzhen nodded quickly. She was afraid that if she played dumb again, Old Mrs. Li would pick another basin.
The three men at home over there have already started working. Although Ming Bei usually likes to talk a lot, he is good at hunting in the mountains, fishing in the rivers, and harvesting crops. Anyway, as long as it is about food, he is enthusiastic about doing anything.
Li Muwu and his two sons dug potatoes together. After digging the soil to loosen it, they pulled the potato vines with their hands and pulled out a large bunch. Mingnan looked at the potatoes one after another and couldn't help shouting, "Grandma! Come and see, our potatoes are a disaster!"
"Nonsense, can potatoes really become a disaster? It would be great if they really did, we wouldn't be hungry any more." Old Lady Li took a look and immediately laughed: "With so many bunches, I'm afraid the field must be full of them."
Mingbei happily threw all the potatoes into the wicker basket he brought, waiting to be transported down the mountain. It was the busy autumn season, and although there were no farmers in Beicha, almost every household grew some food. In addition to some in the yard, the rest was reclaimed by themselves. As long as it was reclaimed wasteland, it was not close to home, so those who had carriages used them themselves and no one borrowed them.
Li Muwu pushed his own flatbed cart to the foot of the mountain, and brought a shoulder pole and a number of wicker baskets up the mountain. It didn't take long before the baskets were full.
Li Muwu and Mingnan each carried two baskets of potatoes, and Mingbei also carried half a sack. When they reached the bottom of the mountain and Mingbei was watching the cart, Li Muwu and Mingnan took one more trip and the flatbed cart was full. Li Muwu hurriedly pushed it home.
Zhenzhen sat on the ground and ate wild blueberries one by one happily. Old Lady Li looked back at her from time to time while picking corn. Zhenzhen was small and had a small stomach. She was full after eating for a while. She picked up the handkerchief beside her and wiped her mouth, then watched her family harvest the crops. Old Lady Li picked the corn one by one, while Wang Sufen squatted in the cabbage field and pulled out the cabbages one by one, which looked very strenuous.
Looking outside, Zhen Zhen saw Ming Bei and Ming Nan were still at the foot of the mountain, and there was no one else nearby, so she pointed her finger at the cabbage field. Wang Sufen was pulling a cabbage hard, and suddenly her hand loosened, and she squatted on the ground. Rubbing her waist, Wang Sufen put the cabbage in her hand on the ground, stood up and was about to pull one out, only to find that the cabbages on the ground had jumped out of the soil at some point and were neatly placed on the ground.
Wang Sufen quickly turned around to look at Zhenzhen, only to see her grinning at Wang Sufen with her four little teeth bared. Wang Sufen had no choice but to come over and warn her, "Don't do this when your brothers are around, okay?"
Zhenzhen nodded, took out a lantern fruit from the basin and stuffed it into Wang Sufen's mouth. Wang Sufen couldn't help but smile and nodded her forehead while eating it: "You know how to bribe your mother with delicious food, you little cunning man."
Wang Sufen saved a lot of trouble by not having to pull up the cabbages. She used a machete to chop off the roots of the cabbages one by one. When Mingnan and Mingbei came up, Wang Sufen had already picked up most of the cabbages. The two brothers were stunned: "Mom, you are so good at work." Wang Sufen glanced at them proudly: "Learn from me, don't be so slow, okay?"
The two brothers had no place to check the time, and they just thought that they were delayed because they walked too slowly. When they carried the things down the mountain again, they walked very fast. But they only had so much energy, and after two or three trips back and forth, the two silly boys were exhausted and sweating profusely.
With Zhenzhen's secret help, the Li family harvested the crops very quickly. In just four or five days, the cabbage, potatoes, radishes and soybeans were all harvested, and the sorghum would be harvested soon.
Mingbei rubbed his sore shoulders, glanced at the sorghum field on the gentle slope, and asked suspiciously, "Why do I feel that our land is bigger? Grandma, did you reclaim land again in the spring?"
As Granny Li looked around, she also felt that the area seemed to have grown a lot, but she guessed that it might be Zhenzhen who increased the yield again, so she fooled her grandson with a few words without caring: "Plant more, and I'll make you steamed sorghum rice in the winter."
Because they were busy working, no one had the time to look at the extra land. But when the crops behind the sorghum were exposed after the harvest, the whole family was dumbfounded.
Mingnan and Mingbei looked at the golden field in front of them, their eyes full of questions: "Grandma, why did the sorghum ears turn yellow?"
Zhenzhen smiled as she looked at the exposed wheat field. Although her family tried their best to feed her finely ground cornmeal, it was sweet for Zhenzhen to eat occasionally, but it was really hard to swallow if she ate too much. Moreover, although the family was able to hunt some wild animals this year, it was very difficult to make dumplings. Sometimes, Mrs. Li couldn't stand Li Mingbei's nagging, so she mixed cornmeal and sorghum flour together and made some dumplings for them to satisfy their cravings. But the flour was too coarse and had no fragrance, so the wild boar and cabbage filling was wasted.
At that time, Zhenzhen had the idea of planting some wheat, but in this era of food shortage, sorghum, which has the highest yield per mu and is the most resistant to hunger, is the favorite of Beicha people. As for rice and wheat, which require careful care and have a low yield per mu, basically no one grows them. Zhenzhen was unwilling to give up and controlled her consciousness every night to search many places. One day, she didn't know how far she had walked, and finally saw wheat and rice growing in the fields at a farm.
Zhenzhen took one seed of each and returned to the mountain in a flash. For Zhenzhen, the quantity was not a problem, as long as there were seeds, everything would be fine. So the plants growing behind the sorghum field quickly moved to other places under Zhenzhen's consciousness, and the black soil was automatically turned and flattened. A grain of wheat and a grain of rice fell into the ground, and a field of rice grew in an instant, and matured almost at the same time as the sorghum.
Old Lady Li stood behind her two grandchildren, looking at the golden wheat and was also stunned for a moment, but she was old and experienced, so she reacted in an instant. She coughed, trying to suppress the strangeness in her voice, and said lightly: "This is the wheat I told you about before. When I was a child and my father were in Shandong Province, we planted this kind of grain, and it was ground into white flour!"
"White flour!" Mingnan and Mingbei exclaimed, and then burst into laughter. They hugged each other and jumped up and down happily: "We have white flour. We have white flour to eat."
"Stop making noise!" Old Lady Li shouted, "This white flour is a rare commodity. You can't buy it even with coupons. This is the seed I bought with my food coupons. I only planted this little bit. Keep it quiet. Don't let outsiders know."
"I know, I know!" Ming Nanle couldn't close his mouth. "Only a fool would tell others about such a good thing. What should we do if someone wants to borrow it? We must not let outsiders know."
Mingbei came over, hugged Old Lady Li's arm and shook it: "Grandma, do you grow some rice or something? I want to eat rice." Old Lady Li's legs trembled when she heard this. She also wanted to know if her family grew rice? But can rice be grown on this mountain? Old Lady Li stood in front of the wheat field and calmed down for a moment, and directed Mingnan: "Go and get my crutches."
Mingnan couldn't help but roll his eyes. He picked up the cane that was thrown about ten meters away and handed it to Old Lady Li while muttering, "Grandma, you said you walk with the wind and climb mountains without even panting. Why do you still carry a cane all day? I think it has no other use except to beat me and my brother."
Old Lady Li glared at him, raised her walking stick and tapped him on the buttocks: "Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and transport the sorghum home so we can harvest the wheat. There are many people going up the mountain recently, don't let anyone watch you."
Mingbei was anxious: "Grandma, forget about the sorghum for now, and bring the wheat home first. I'm still thinking about eating steamed buns, or white flour dumplings will be fine."
"Okay, okay, get to work." Old Mrs. Li waved her cane and urged her two grandsons to go cut wheat. She herself walked to the back of the wheat field, trembling with the help of her cane.
Zhenzhen only planted these two kinds of grains to improve her family's meals from time to time and to satisfy their cravings, so she didn't plant much. Soon, Mrs. Li saw a field of rice across the wheat field. She looked at the solid soil under the rice and couldn't help but cover her face with her calloused hands: "My silly granddaughter, how can this rice be called rice without water under it!"
Ming Nan and Ming Bei, who were working in the front, were very motivated when they thought about the flour they would eat. They swung their sickles and the wheat stalks fell down quickly. Li Muwu was also a little confused when he saw the wheat ears on the ground after returning from home. He was silent for a moment, turned around and went down the mountain again. When he came back, he pushed the flatbed cart up directly, and brought the old oilcloth that he had used for many years.
He put the ears of wheat into a basket and placed it on the flatbed cart. He then covered it with oilcloth and tied it tightly with ropes. Li Muwu checked it from front to back and from left to right to make sure the wicker basket would not fall down before he pushed the flatbed cart away.
After two days of hard work, everyone saw the rice behind only after they finished harvesting the wheat. Wang Sufen and Li Muwu remained silent, while Mingbei was so happy that he went crazy: "Grandma, how come you are so good? Grandma, how come you are so capable? Did you know that I planted rice because I really want to eat rice?"
Mingnan glanced at him and said, "What don't you want to eat? In my dream at night, you were drooling and smacking your lips, saying that you wanted to chew on pig's feet. I was so scared that I didn't dare to stretch my legs all night, for fear that you would chew on my feet."
Ming Bei was so angry that he kicked him: "Were you the one who kicked me awake that day? I dreamed of a pot of freshly cooked pig's trotters. Do you know how delicious they were? The meat was so oily and almost boneless when it was stewed. I was about to reach out to take it when you were kicked awake. I asked you the next day and you said it wasn't you!"
"It's not me, it's definitely my second brother. Ask him when he comes back." Mingnan ran very fast. Mingbei wanted to chase him, but old lady Li shouted at him, "Stop making trouble. Hurry up and harvest the rice. I'll stew the wild boar leg I pickled last time for you tonight."
Mingbei was delighted when he heard this: "That must be more fragrant than pig's trotters."
Mingnan touched his stomach and couldn't help swallowing his saliva: "It's a pity that this rice can't be eaten directly, otherwise it would be so delicious to steam a pot of rice and stew pork legs!" He sighed, looked at the rice in front of him and asked Mrs. Li: "Grandma, why is rice called rice? There is no water in it?"
Wang Sufen shivered and almost cut her leg. Old Lady Li coughed and said, "Rice is usually grown in paddy fields, but our variety is different. It's called high-mountain rice, which is grown specifically on the mountains. Well, this is what your uncle sent back."
"Oh, the place where my uncle lives is so nice. I think the crops there are more complete than ours." Mingbei couldn't help but say with envy.
Mingnan couldn't help but roll his eyes at him: "Are you stupid? What we have here is not available in the south. Even hazel mushrooms and pine nuts, don't you have to send them to grandpa every year?"
"You're right." Mingbei scratched his head cheerfully, "Then ours is the best. Our sister likes to eat pine nuts and hazelnuts. We'll bring more back after the harvest. I tell you, she smiles at me when I peel pine nuts for her. She's very happy."
Mingnan glanced at Mingbei and said, "Isn't that the same as you?"
Mingbei nodded repeatedly: "That's right, otherwise how could we be brother and sister?"
Zhenzhen, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but worry about Mingbei's IQ: This silly boy, is that a compliment? Don't you know that your brother is insulting you? Why does he seem to not understand what I'm saying
The Li family, from the old to the young, worked hard for half a month and finally harvested all the grain in the fields. This time, Old Mrs. Li knew for the first time what a full granary meant. The front cellar was still full of cabbage and potatoes harvested last time, but this time they could only be put in the cellar in the back room. Corn, sorghum, wheat ears and rice all had to be dried. Old Mrs. Li harvested all the vegetables in the yard, made a wish to steam big steamed buns for Mingnan and Mingbei, and coaxed them to level the land and dry the whole yard in the sun.
Every household is busy at this time. Those who have reclaimed land on their own are harvesting crops, and even those who have not reclaimed land outside are planting some in their yards at home. In addition, all kinds of mushrooms and wild fruits in the mountains are ripe, so every household is busy bringing them home. When they get home at night, they are so tired that they fall asleep as soon as they lie down. Not to mention visitors, even my third uncle and aunt haven't come for a long time.
Old Mrs. Li was very thoughtful and saved some wheat seeds and rice to plant properly next year. It was easy to hide it from outsiders and the two silly boys at home, but she was afraid that Mingdong, who studied agriculture, would ask too many questions.
Old Mrs. Li had figured it out. If Mingdong asked, she would show him the seeds. Anyway, throughout the year, it was basically the adults in the family who went to the fields, while the children went to school and Guihua took care of the house. They had no idea what was planted in the fields.
After harvesting the crops, except for Old Lady Li who stayed at home to look after Zhenzhen, everyone else went up the mountain again, carrying sacks of pine cones and hazelnuts home. There were more than a dozen kinds of mushrooms everywhere, such as Hericium erinaceus, hazel mushrooms, and pine mushrooms. They were picked and taken home to dry, and in winter they were stewed with pork to make a pot of mountain delicacies. The taste was so delicious. Zhenzhen's favorite wild fruits were also indispensable, blueberries, berries, lantern fruits, and wild hawthorns were carried home in baskets.
Old Mrs. Li sat on the kang, put on the needle and thread, sewed on the girl's skin, strung it into a large string more than one meter long and hung it by the window. She strung more than ten strings for Zhenzhen. Whenever she wanted to eat, she would crawl over, pull down two and put them in her mouth. It was so delicious.
The family was filled with joy over the harvest, but Mingxi was having a hard time in Bingcheng. Mingdong, Mingxi, and Guihua had dinner at their fourth uncle Li Mulin's house. When they came out of their fourth uncle's house at noon, Mingdong felt that Mingxi, who was following him, was a bit annoying. He pushed his glasses and said cheerfully, "Mingxi, don't you also want to apply to a university in Bingcheng? While you're in Bingcheng this time, why don't you go around and see which school you like?"
Mingxi nodded stupidly: "I think so, but we still have to buy things first. Grandma said I have to accompany you to buy things. This is serious business. I don't think the university matters are urgent."
What a poor judge of taste! Mingdong glanced at Mingxi silently, then he started to order him around again: "Well, I forgot to ask when Fourth Uncle will be home? Go ask again, and grandma will definitely ask you this when you get home."
"That's right." Mingxi turned around and ran back after hearing that. Mingdong watched him enter the alley, grabbed Guihua's hand and ran towards the street.
Although Guihua and Mingdong grew up together, they had never held hands before. Before Guihua could react, she felt a warm hand holding her arm. Her face suddenly turned red, and her heart was beating like a rabbit. While running, she couldn't help but look at Mingdong. Mingdong also lowered his head, and their eyes met, and their faces were a little red.
After running out of the alley, a trolley bus came. Mingdong pulled Guihua on the bus. They sat in the back and took a long time to catch their breath. Mingdong thought about his actions and felt that they were silly and funny. He turned his head and looked at Guihua. Guihua smiled at him with her big eyes shining. Mingdong felt that he was addicted to it after just one look.
"Are you tired?" Mingdong's hand was still holding Guihua's wrist. Guihua's eyes slid across Mingdong's hand and fell on his face. She couldn't help but smile happily.
"What are you laughing at?" Mingdong looked at Guihua and felt his face getting hot.
Guihua pursed her lips and smiled: "I never thought that we would run hand in hand on the street like this." Thinking of Mingxi coming out and not finding the two of them, she couldn't help laughing out loud: "What do you think will happen if Mingxi can't find us?"
"I'll probably go to Uncle Si to complain." Mingdong thought for a moment and added, "I'll definitely tell Grandma when I get home."
At this time, Mingxi, who couldn't find them in the alleys and streets, was so angry that he almost cried. He ran all the way back to Li Mulin's house. Li Mulin couldn't help asking him when he saw him coming back, "What did you forget to say again?"
"Fourth Uncle, look at my brother. He threw this sword to me and ran away with Sister Guihua!"
The author has something to say: Northeast China generally grows rice, hehe~~
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