Rebirth Farmhouse

Chapter 104

There is little farm work in these days, and a woman can take care of the little cotton. The autumn harvest and autumn planting are over, and everyone is free.So Lao Liutou thought about going to the South River to start building a mill.

He had prepared for a long time before, and consciously saved a lot of stones. In the midsummer, he asked his son to make a lot of adobes. He also saved a lot of wheat chaff, wheat straw, and straw. He basically prepared the basic materials for building the house.

He first checked the almanac to find a suitable day for breaking ground, and then announced that the ground breaking would start on that day, and he asked his son to call some young people in the family who were not in the farm in advance, and asked them to help when the time came.This is how the farm is like. Whenever there is a job that needs manpower, the neighbors help each other.As long as it is during the slack season, the people who are called will basically help each other. After all, it is a matter of helping each other, and no one will suffer.

It just so happened that Qin Ye and Qin Xian were also there, and they happened to be able to help. Apart from those technical tasks, there were also some small jobs that required effort, and even the children could help in building the mill.

After dinner, everyone sat on the kang of the old willow head to talk and plan things about the mill.

Liu Sheng smiled and said, "Grandpa, you didn't let me sell those sorghum stalks to build a mill. I didn't even know that."

Qin Yang, who was lying on the kang table beside Xiuyao, who was literate, raised his head and giggled, "Second brother, grandpa said that he was going to build a mill, and I heard it all. You know how to grind flour all day long, but you didn't hear it at all."

Liu Sheng patted his head, "Be careful not to be at home while studying every day, but you are well-informed."

Liu Fei, who was reading and learning with Qin Xian over there, also smiled and said, "Second brother, I heard that too." He picked up a bound book from the side, "Grandpa even asked me to draw some patterns for him. Woolen cloth."

The mill is not a big house, it is mainly spacious and bright, and the technical content is not particularly high. Lao Liutou will not find someone to design it, but he has thought about it himself, and then based on experience and the neighbors who have experience in building houses. .

Qin Ye has seen a lot in Zhou's family. He is diligent and kind, and he never shirks any work.

He smiled and said, "Grandpa, it happens that I can help."

Old Liutou said cheerfully: "I wanted to call you at first, but you just came to your door." Then he said to his uncle: "Boss, we have collected the sweet potatoes these two days, you brought two The boy came to help, let him Er Dada and the eldest brother manage the mill."

In the early morning of the second day, Mrs. Li brought his daughters-in-law up to cook. Uncle and Liu Sheng went to check the wooden plow. Deep plowing is required, otherwise the sweet potatoes will be easily broken.

Last year, there were few seedlings, and they were dug out with a big hoe. This year, it was five or six acres. If the big hoe is dug, I don’t know when it will be harvested, so Xiuyao proposed to use the plow.

Even though he has never plowed sweet potatoes before, my uncle is a good plow holder. He can easily plow all the sweet potatoes out just by looking at the depth of the sweet potatoes.

Liu Fei led the animals, and my uncle helped the plow, and a large piece of sweet potato was plowed out in one morning.

Xiuyao and the others picked up the sweet potatoes in piles, and then put the grater on the basket, and sat on the lower part of the grater, holding the sweet potatoes with one hand, and then moved back and forth when the knife edge of the razor came out, and put the sweet potatoes into a pile. Cut into slices.The sweet potato peels fall directly into the basket, and when they are full, they can be carried aside and dumped on the ground, and then the children go over and lay them out one by one.This can dry faster, if there is pressure, it is not easy to dry.

In autumn, the sky is clear and clear, with long white clouds, birds flying low under the blue sky, and the sun shining gently on their heads, as if giving them the most intimate warmth.

Looking at the sweet potatoes all over the ground, although the land is thinner, but the amount of fertilizer is sufficient in time, this sweet potato is considered a bumper harvest.This year's sweet potatoes are much better than last year's. There are at least three big ones in the pile, and the small ones are also good. According to this estimate, one mu of land is conservatively worth more than two to three thousand catties.

Old Liutou couldn't help but said to Xiuyao, "Girl, you can raise a lot of pigs." They planted six acres of sandy land, and another two acres of other land, making a total of eight acres of sweet potatoes.Although there are three acres of land that were cut and planted later, the harvest was late, and the impact was not too great. In the coming year, there will be more sweet potatoes.

Xiuyao said happily: "Grandpa, not only sweet potatoes can be fed to pigs, but we can't throw away the sweet potato leaves. They can be crushed directly on the millstone and mixed in to feed pigs." She also told grandpa that green sweet potatoes are the best. Don't feed the livestock, be careful of diarrhea.

"If we don't feed the animals, our animals will have enough to eat, so we will feed the pigs, feed the pigs." Old Liu was even more happy when he heard that, and after thinking about it for a while, he laughed happily, which provoked Qin Xian and the others to ask him how happy he was. What.

Old Liu nodded, "I'm glad we can live a better life if we work harder."

Qin Ye and the others were also shocked by sweet potatoes. I heard that Xiuyao took five or six sweet potatoes home and planted them at my grandfather's house last year, but I didn't know that this was the case.There are several in a pile, five or six more, three or four less, and each sweet potato vine has at least one big one, two medium ones, and small sweet potatoes.

The big sweet potato, Qin Ye weighed it, it was about a catty anyway, plus those small ones, a total of about two catties of sweet potatoes could be harvested in the pile, a little or even more, this is simply a miracle!

After Xiuyao's explanation, he also knew that if it was the sweet potato with yellow skin and white flesh, it would be swollen and big, but the taste would be bad.If it is the kind of sweet potato with red skin and yellow flesh, it will be relatively smaller in size and slightly better in taste.

He looked at the field and exclaimed, "According to this, how many stones of sweet potatoes should be harvested in this mu of land?"

Uncle Liu Sheng and others were used to it, but it was the first time for Qin Xian to see such a scene, so he was naturally even more surprised.

Liu Fei laughed and said: "This can't be judged by stones like wheat, it can be judged by catties. One mu of land is at least three thousand catties, and the other two mus of land are even better, almost all cost four thousand catties." He counted one mu of land. How many piles of sweet potatoes are there in the field, and how many catties can be produced by a pile of sweet potatoes, and then the total is calculated.

This is also the skill of studying books, which was not so good before, so the old Liutou family felt that studying made money.

Qin Ye curiously asked his grandfather how to grow and take care of the sweet potatoes, and the grandfather told Qin Ye exactly what Xiuyao taught him, when to lay the sweet potatoes, how to pour water, pull out the seedlings, and then raise the ridges to plant the sweet potatoes, In the middle, we have to hoe the grass several times and turn over the sweet potato vines, especially after the rain, otherwise the sweet potato vines are easy to take root, and some small sweet potatoes will grow, wasting nutrients, and the big sweet potatoes will not grow well.

Qin Ye exclaimed after hearing this: "Grandpa, it seems that it is not as easy as growing wheat, but the yield is much higher. After this, I can't eat it all in a year."

Old Liutou smiled and said: "Some people can't eat this food, and their stomach hurts. We can feed it to pigs, and it's the same if we exchange money to buy food."

Qin Ye said yes, and then he went over there to take the eraser from Liu Sheng, "Brother, give it a try."

Liu Sheng handed it over to him, and taught him the trick, not to use too much force, and not to hesitate too much, the key fingers should be lifted up, and cannot be sent into the knife edge.Although Qin Ye was illiterate, he was quick at doing farm work and learning things. He got his hands on a few sweet potatoes and wiped them quickly.I saw him shaking his hands up and down, and then the sweet potatoes fell into the basket like snowflakes, and soon there was a big basket.

He picked up the sweet potatoes and scattered them on the open space, and then Xiuyao led Qin Yang and Xiurong to start arranging the dried sweet potatoes.

Xiurong looked at those dried sweet potatoes, some with white flesh, some with lavender veins, and some with yellow flesh like hanging square melon, she asked curiously: "Is this edible?"

Anyway, hanging square melons and square melons cannot be eaten raw, but cucumbers can. I don’t know if this sweet potato can be eaten, but they are all melons.As she said that, she picked up a piece and wanted to taste it, when Liu Sheng saw it and shouted: "Xiurong, don't eat it indiscriminately, your stomach hurts after eating it."

Xiurong quickly put it down, and Liu Sheng said again: "Let's pick up some small ones and go back and eat them. The heat should be higher, and they will taste soft and sweet." This is what Xiuyao taught him.Last year they didn't know, they thought it was good to give away, so they picked some of the biggest ones and gave them to the third grandpa.

Thinking of this, the old Liu's family still laughed.

Xiuyao finished arranging the dried sweet potatoes, stood up to rest, and said with a smile: "Sister, I'll make sweet potatoes and dates for you when I go back."

Both Xiurong and Qin Yang gathered around, "What is sweet potato jujube? Let's make it today."

Sweet potato jujube is boiled sweet potato, sliced ​​or dried in the sun, and then let it frost naturally, and the sweet potato jujube is obtained.The reason why it is not called dried sweet potato but called sweet potato jujube is to distinguish it from raw dried sweet potato.

After explaining the name, Xiuyao said again, "But we have to act quickly, collect these sweet potatoes as soon as possible, then wipe them into pieces and dry them in the sun, otherwise they will become moldy when it rains." Fortunately, here in late autumn The wind is strong and dry, and the rain is slightly less. With a few strong winds, the sweet potatoes will dry out in a few days.

Everyone was working in full swing, the lunch was brought by Liu Qi and his wife, compared to the old Qin's food, it was naturally not one or two grades better.The warm thin noodle flatbread roll with egg and roast pork, and the warm vegetable soup, pickles are naturally enough.

After eating, everyone continued to work, everyone was full of energy, and no one was lazy, but a large area of ​​land was harvested in one day.

In the evening, Xiuyao said to her uncle: "Uncle, I see there are jujube thorns under the river over there, let's go and cut some of those thorns."

The uncle asked curiously, "Why do you chop the thorns? Be careful not to pierce them."

Xiuyao smiled and said, "Uncle, let's make sweet potatoes and dates."

Seeing that Xiuyao liked it, my uncle went to get a sickle, and led Xiuyao to the river to chop off thorns, and only picked those branches that were straight, long and big.After cutting, wrap it with the skin of a velvet plant, drag it back, throw it in a basket and take it home.

In late autumn, the evening comes earlier, the sun sets in the west, and the red light hangs on the blue western mountain.Without the clouds and clouds in the summer sky, the evening is much cooler, and the autumn wind blows on the face, bringing a swish of coolness.

However, everyone is too busy to have time to feel the coolness. Instead, they feel hot because of joy, enthusiasm, and busyness.

Going home in the evening, Xiuyao put the small sweet potatoes that she had picked up into a large pot for her grandma to cook. Put less water and heat up more to make the sweet potatoes soft. The unburnt skin, flowing with sweet potato oil, tastes sweet and fragrant, extra delicious.

Li Shi and the others kept saying that they were addicted to it, but the way they cooked it last year was not right. They were afraid that the sweet potato would be cooked as soon as it was broken, so it was unpalatable.

Mrs. Li packed up a small pot and sent it to the third grandpa's house, and also packed it up and asked Liu Fei to send it to Liu Qing's sixth grandpa's house, and several other families also delivered it.However, when sending it, you should also tell people not to eat too much of this thing. Some people may suffer from heartburn and discomfort if they eat too much.

The villagers didn't have much reaction to Lao Liu's sweet potatoes, as if their family had planted several acres of melons and fruits.Moreover, each farm family has its own planting habits, and it is absolutely not possible to learn from others just by looking at what they grow. After all, the planting habits of several lifetimes are very difficult to change.In addition, if you don't see the benefits of planting, people will not follow, and even if there are benefits, they may not follow, just like melon growers can make money, but not everyone knows how to grow melons.What's more, before Ren Lizheng joked that this kind of sweet potato is actually the food of the untouchables, and that in Jiangnan and other places, livestock do not eat it.Therefore, the sweet potatoes from Lao Liu's family did not cause any disturbance at all.

Qin Ye, Qin Xian, and Xiu Rong all rationed their meals at home, and it is good to eat seventy percent full, where they can eat with their stomachs open like now, and the sweet potatoes are soft and sweet, one by one I'm full.Qin Ye is fine, he eats delicious food, doesn't eat too much and knows how to restrain himself, Qin Xian and Xiu Rong are not good, both of them have a round belly, bloated, and Xiu Rong feels heartburn and discomfort.

Li smiled and said: "I told you to eat less, no matter how delicious this food is, you can't overeat it." She boiled hawthorn soup again and gave it to a few people, and then asked them to go out for a walk to digest food.

Xiuyao said to Liu Xu, "Auntie, let's cut up the unfinished sweet potatoes and hang them on the thorns to dry the dates."

Liu Xu asked curiously, "What is sweet potato date?"

Holding a knife, Xiuyao grabbed a sweet potato and cut a few slices, held up a slice and gestured to her, "It's fine if it's dried."

Liu Xu smiled and said, "What does this have to do with Zao'er?"

Qin Yang leaned over, "Auntie, my sister says it's a jujube, it's a jujube, and it's a pear, it's a pear."

Liu Xu joked, "When you talk about a daughter-in-law, let your sister take care of you."

They always tease little boys about their daughter-in-law, and Qin Yang is used to it. At his age, he doesn't know how to be shy, and he doesn't know what a daughter-in-law is, so he just thinks it's just "talking about a wife."

He giggled, "Of course, I want to talk about eight daughters-in-law." Everyone laughed.

It just startled Xiuyao, who instilled this kid with the idea of ​​lust and concubines from childhood?She reprimanded lightly: "Nonsense, why are there so many daughter-in-laws, one daughter-in-law for each person is enough."

Mrs. Li hugged Qin Yang and said with a smile: "We Yangyang will study in the future, and we will be selected as scholars, selected as candidates, and even won the number one scholar. We don't want to talk about how many daughters-in-law will be."

Qin Yang asked curiously: "Grandma, what is a champion? Can a champion marry several wives?"

Everyone laughed again, Xiuyao slapped him, "You kid, you don't even know what the number one scholar is after studying?"

Qin Yang immediately shouted: "Third brother, third brother, what is the number one scholar? The master didn't let me carry it."

Liu Fei explained to him with a smile that the number one scholar had to go to the county examination first, then the government examination and the courtyard examination, and then he was selected as a scholar, and then he was selected as a scholar, and after that, he had to be a tribute and a Jinshi...

Qin Yang slapped his forehead, "Mother, to be a champion, you have to take an exam, and it will be burnt. Then Mr. Ren is not a champion, and there are quite a few wives."

Ren Lizheng is just a squire, but he also has one wife and four concubines. In addition, there are many people in the house of the housekeeper. Qin Yang is studying in the Ren family school, and he is familiar with those students, and he can listen to what they say. .

Xiuyao hurriedly dragged him over and began to brainwash him again, telling him that a person has a daughter-in-law, and that he can't take more of it, and also told him that the number of daughter-in-laws is definitely related to this person's character, and more daughters-in-law does not mean good learning It doesn't mean that he has many daughters-in-law because of his popularity.

Hearing that Qin Yang was stunned for a while, he turned around and asked in a low voice: "Sister, then they say that the emperor has 72 concubines in the Six Courts of the Three Palaces and the most daughters-in-law. Is it because he is not well educated and has the worst character? "

As soon as this remark came out, Xiuyao was startled, and hurriedly said: "Little Yanger, you can't say this outside, if someone finds out, you will be killed." , a few wives and children, naturally no one will take care of them.But she still wants Qin Yang to pay attention, so as not to accidentally treat it as gossip at any time, and when the time comes, if someone listens to it carefully, there might be something wrong, so it's better to be careful at all times.

This kind of thing that may lead to ransacking the family and destroying the family, it is better to prevent it from happening. It is not easy to talk about the right and wrong of the superior, so as not to be accidentally killed and not know how to die.

Although Qin Yang didn't understand much, but Xiuyao spoke seriously, her expression and tone were more serious than threatening him to jump into the river, so he couldn't help but not listen.

"Sister, I know."

Xiuyao emphasized: "It's okay to know, but you must keep in mind that you can't gossip about that person, otherwise we may all be thrown into the river at any time."

Qin Yang said very seriously that he remembered it, and Xiuyao ended her exhortation to him.

The days are good these days, everyone is working together, no one is lazy, a few acres of sweet potatoes are plowed out, ground into dried sweet potatoes, and placed in the field to dry.In addition, a part of the sweet potatoes used as food for the winter must be set aside and stored at home.

(End of this chapter)