The daily farming life of the black-bellied young lady

Chapter 5

The next day, Chu Ying drank some of yesterday's leftover fish soup and continued to mow the grass. However, she had no other skills but to rely on brute force to make money. Only now did Chu Ying realize what it means to count too much but not to overwhelm her.

When I got to the ground, I found that the grass had been pushed back several steps compared to yesterday, but I didn’t seem to have cut that much, maybe because I was sleepy, Chu Ying took a flat piece of wood as a stool, and it was not that much. tired.

With the sickle, I could only cut more than 20 bundles, but now I cut 35 bundles before dark. Waiting for Grandpa Li to come, Chu Ying took the cattail roots and ate them on the bullock cart.

"Is this still edible? Little mouse." Grandpa Li joked.

"Yes, but you have your own fields to grow rice and vegetables. You don't lack these. Besides, if you eat too much cold, you will have diarrhea. It's good to eat once in a while." Grandpa Li has also heard of Chu Ying. He is a poor child Well, Xiaoxiao lost her parents, no matter whether it is fate or not, it is not easy for this little girl to survive.

"That's right, the grass is tied very neatly, so it's much more convenient for us to store in the warehouse. How much do you have? If there are too many, we won't accept other people." Uncle Qiu took a notebook to record how many bales of grass there are.

"There are still more than 20 for today, but I can't cut much by myself." Chu Ying counted a bunch and 5 copper coins.

Uncle Qiu carefully looked at the tassels on the grass, and Chu Ying, who was counting money in rags and smiling happily. "You can't do that much by yourself. You can hire a few strong ones, and now the ears of grass are solid. After the ears of grass fall off, I can't give you the price of a bundle of 3 cents. You can figure it out."
What Uncle Qiu said is very reasonable. If you can cut it quickly, it will still be a price of 3 cents a bundle. After a long time, you will lose a penny. I will talk to Brother Wang when I go back.

Grandpa Li touched the 12 copper coins, and watched Chu Ying help move the grass with a little sweat on his face. "Chu, there were a few people selling grass in the morning, and it looks similar to yours."
Seeing Grandpa Li hesitate to speak, Chu Ying understood something. "Thank you, Grandpa Li, I see, I'll go buy some rice noodles first, the family has bottomed out."
Just like what Grandpa Li said, the grass looks pretty much the same, so what if you find those who secretly mow the grass, they can still be said to belong to them, but there are not so many weeds on the ground in the village, and even if there is, it is difficult to grow so high It also bears full ears.

When they arrived at the grain store, looking at the rice noodles at different prices, Chu Ying picked the cheapest 3 Wen rice 10 catties, which cost 30 Wen.Looking at other oil, salt, sauce and vinegar can only take you away next time.

On the way back, Chu Ying kept thinking about grass. When she arrived in the village, she didn't bother to carry the rice home and walked to Brother Wang's house.

"Brother Wang, are you home?" Chu Ying stood at the door and knocked.After a while, a little girl with a pretty face came out.

"What are you calling my brother for? Don't keep pestering my brother, and don't look at the life of your father and mother. Don't always come out to harm others." Chu Ying ignored her arrogant look, and shouted a few more times .

"Here, Chu Ying, what's the matter?" Seeing Brother Wang coming, Chu Ying deliberately pulled him aside and whispered about asking someone to mow the grass.

"Hey, Chu Ying, why do you think you can't understand human speech, you should drink milk." Wang Liyuan dropped the melon seeds in his hand and came to pull Brother Wang.

"Sister, let's talk about serious business, you go back to the house." Brother Wang pushed her into the door, leaning against the door with his body. "Chu Ying, don't worry, I will take care of it for you tomorrow."
Listening to the sound of splashing in the pear garden, Chu Ying walked back home with a smile.It was the first time she had rice, and Chu Ying couldn't wait to wash the rice and boil it, and put a piece of dried fish on it.I stared at the clay pot for a long time, listening to the creaking sound inside, and after a while I opened it to have a look, and some of it was still raw.

But sweet, even raw ones are so delicious, Chu Ying couldn't restrain her stomach growling in protest.

Although there are no dishes, only a piece of salty dried fish, but the hot rice is already the best gift from heaven.After eating, Chu Ying licked the bowl clean with her tongue.

I added some water to the earthenware pot and soaked it first, and I can drink porridge when it is warmed up tomorrow.Maybe it was the first time she had a full meal here, and Chu Ying overslept a little the next day.

When I woke up and opened the door, I saw a pile of straw bales at the door.Three shirtless men are mowing the grass. "Brother Wang, are you here so early?"
"Didn't you say 4 bundles and 1 penny? There are already 20 bundles, 5 pennies, don't play tricks." A man who wrote a little immaturely pointed to a pile of grass behind him.

"Didn't you say you want to finish it early? Besides, they are fine at home, and it's not yet the autumn harvest, so they just come out to get active. Don't look, let's work quickly." Chu Ying heated up yesterday's rice crust soup, and after drinking it, she went back to work. Burning a lot of water, mowing grass is physical work, there is no delicious food, but enough water is still needed.

The cooked Chu Ying was placed on a wooden board to cool.Looking at the tall grass, Chu Ying sat on the ground and began to pinch the grass rope.Just the younger man cut twice as fast as himself.

When Brother Wang was tired from mowing, he also sat on the ground and tied the grass with ropes. "Chu Ying, the little one is Qian Yong, and the older one is Lu Meng. Don't worry, they are all good at work and work neatly."
"I don't worry, by the way, Brother Wang, you cut it first, I have to call Grandpa Li, so I have to go back and forth a few times, I have to go early." With Brother Wang here, Chu Ying is 100% relieved.

"Well, let's go." Wang Liyuan looked at Chu Ying, who had been frowning all this time, and finally relaxed with some vitality.

When Grandpa Li came, there were already bales of grass ready to go on the road. The four of them worked together to move them and fixed them with straw ropes.Chu Ying looked at the back of Grandpa Li who had been submerged in the grass, and her hands moved even faster.It wasn't grass that was removed, it was silver. Chu Ying seemed to have seen that copper coins were about to fall from the sky.

When it was midday, everyone went back to their homes to replenish their strength. Chu Ying cooked the rice first, and then tied up the grass that hadn't been tied up yet.

Looking at the large haystacks that have already been laid out, I have to sigh that the man's physical strength is indeed much greater than that of this little girl.And the bundled grass is not sloppy at all, just like Brother Wang said, his hands and feet are neat.

Chu Ying looked at the dried fish with a tail left after it was cut off, and said to herself: "Good boy, let me eat you up when you get rich, and I won't eat you anymore." But thinking about the 10 The tax for the mu of land hadn't been paid yet, so Chu Ying could only touch the fish's tail regretfully.

The difference between men and women's work is the difference in voice. Women can talk about whether they are at home or not, while men can only hear the scythe of the scythe mowing the grass.By the time it was getting dark, Grandpa Li had already done 5 trips, and when the rest was packed, Chu Ying and Grandpa Li went to check out together.

"Go home first, and wait until I get the silver and send it to you."
"No need girl, there's still a large piece of land that hasn't been cut yet, we have to come tomorrow, we'll give it tomorrow, then let's go first." Looking at the sweaty backs of the three men, Chu Ying felt that the men seemed to be so responsible.

(End of this chapter)