Rebirth Farmhouse

Chapter 63

That night when he came back from the field, Old Qintou said to Qin Dafu: "Boss, don't weave straw sandals anymore, take out some of the wheat straw you saved last year and weave a few straw thatches. A few of those old ones are broken, and there aren't enough straw sandals this year. Gotta make some new ones."

Although there were well-made rainproof cloths and tung oil cloths at this time, the old Qin's family naturally did not have them.Like most farmers, they can only use local materials, twisting wheat straw and velvet husk into grass thatch.

It is very simple for those who know how to beat out the whole wheat first, or you can press the ear part with your hand and pull it on the shovel to pull out all the grains, then dry the wheat straw and use Comb it several times with an iron comb to remove the dry leaves for later use.Soak Abutilon in water until soft, then peel off the skin and make it as long as possible. If you don’t have Abutilon, you can also use the skin of cotton firewood to soak for a little pretreatment.

When making grass thatch, one handful of wheat straw is tied up with hemp leather, twisted, and then tied a second time, and the grass thatch is completed in this way.

It’s easy to say, but you have to pay attention to it, otherwise the grass thatch will be too loose to keep out the rain, or the straw will fall out if the bark is loose, and the straw may be twisted if it is too tight. Stir together upside down.

Xiuyao saw that her father was busy with work, so she went over to help, while watching a piece of thatch spread under his feet like a magic trick, while listening to him explaining various points to her.

The grass thatch usually needs to be rolled up and placed in a circle. When holding it, you should grasp the inside of the top with both hands, not the outside, otherwise the grass thatch will be scattered and it will be very troublesome to mix together.When you use it, you just pick up a roll, put it on something that needs to be protected from the rain, and roll the grass thatch away in circles. When you uncover it, start from the outer layer and roll it in circles. alright.

Qin Dafu compiled quickly, and one roll came out in a short time. One roll was about ten and a half feet long. Xiuyao rolled it up for him, and then lifted it up. It was a little heavy, but she still twisted and twisted the grass thatch to the grass. Put it on the side of the stack, and use it when the wheat is harvested.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days later, because Mrs. Liu stated that she would not snatch Zhang's right to be the head of the family, and she would not be the head of the family even if she was beaten to death, Zhang was a little more relaxed about her. The third aunt was very angry when she saw that her plan did not work, but there was nothing she could do.

Mrs. Liu is not as kind to them as before, and now she is indifferent to them. She spends all day working at Zhou's house, so she just takes a face-to-face in the morning and evening. The second aunt is always angry and doesn't talk to Mrs. Auntie smiled and went forward, but in the end she always got a bad nose every time, and was pushed back lukewarmly by Liu Shi, and she also made fun of herself.

However, the third aunt was not discouraged, and when we saw each other every day, she still greeted Mrs. Liu cheerfully, and Mrs. Liu seemed determined not to give her a good face, and the three sisters-in-law just froze like this.

After eating early this morning, Old Qintou said to Liu Shi who was about to go out: "I have to work on Maizi, and the family can't take care of it like a war. Why don't Xiu Xian send Yang Yang to his grandfather's house."

Although Lao Liu's family also collects food, they are a partnership, so they don't need women at all. When men go to work in the fields, women still have to do what they do at home. Qin Yang will at least eat and sleep without being affected.Otherwise, at home, everyone is too busy to touch the ground, and he will be wronged along with him. If he can't eat or sleep well, he might as well go to grandpa's house.

Liu didn't object, and said: "Father has the final say." Then he left.

It's useless for Xiuting to be envious over there, because Xiuyao is working at home, and at this time, when he is busy, the old Qin's bosses are also very angry, and no one dares to provoke him for nothing. It's a good meal.

Old Qintou said to Qin Dafu again: "Boss, you and the second child will follow me to get rid of the field. Hurry up and suppress the field. It will be time to cut the wheat in two days." Qin Dafu responded, "Father, it's better to use it." The grinder of the Sandada family?"

Roller is a kind of stone tool used to flatten the field. One end is larger and the other end is slightly smaller. When it is put on the frame, it will make a circular motion in this direction when pulled, which is suitable for playing field.

Old Qin's house didn't have a crush, and it was always shared with the third grandpa's house. When it was suppressing, it helped the third grandpa's house to suppress the field. Anyway, the two families were next to each other.

Old Qintou hummed, and then took out the big shovel, iron shovel, etc. for them to carry.

Xiuyao coaxed Qin Yang to go to his grandfather's house first, and asked him to learn a few more words from his third cousin, so that he could teach her when he came back, and she would play with him when he was done harvesting wheat.

Qin Yang was obedient now, he wasn't playing around, he just told Xiuyao not to forget to weave a grasshopper cage for him with straw, and then followed Xiuxian away.Xiuyao saw that Grandpa and the others were going to press the stage, so she ran over and said, "Grandpa, I'll go to the stage with you."

Although her grandfather did not support her sweet potato business, which was understandable for such a poor family, Xiuyao was still willing to learn other things from him.There is no shortage of a little girl like her in the field, so Old Qintou agreed, Xiuli also followed Xiuyao when she saw this, and Xiumei didn't dare to scold her, for fear of being beaten by her father again.

Old Qin's threshing field is not far from the south of the village, not far from the vegetable garden that his family opened up in spring, Xiuyao and grandpa stopped by to see the vegetable garden.Today's vegetables are lush and green, such as onion, ginger, garlic, and leeks. The family has already started eating them, and the green vegetables are already on the table. It is also very fragrant when mixed with miso.

A few square melons and hanging square melons over there grow entwined with vines, and the leaves are green and green. Among the dense leaves, you can see little melon girls hanging on the vines very cutely.

Cucumbers and lentils are also crawling on the shelves that have been set up long ago, and there are also gourd loofahs. In the morning sun, the emerald green leaves are shining with green light, and the growth is gratifying.

Old Qintou smiled and said: "This year we also have vegetables to eat. Sure enough, growing vegetables is more cost-effective than food. See if those hanging square melons can be eaten as food. Lentils, cucumbers, and gourds can also be dried in the sun. For wheat, let’s plant eggplants, and another crop of scallions, so you can eat as much as you want.”

As long as the family is well-off and has something to eat, who is willing to be so picky about their children?

After finishing speaking, Old Qintou looked at Xiuyao, "It's all thanks to you girl."

Xiuyao smiled and said: "Grandpa, I'm just greedy, but I didn't put in much effort. My grandfather wanted the seeds. The vegetable garden was planted by my grandfather leading my father and Er Dada. Grandpa, we need to get more branches. If you block the garden, even if you are not afraid of people stealing it, you have to block the chickens and ducks, and it will not be good if they come in and cause us harm."

Old Qin led the children to bury some tree branches before, and after these days, some of them are dilapidated and useless, and they have to find a way to get new ones, otherwise the ground will be wide open, and anyone can come in and pick vegetables casually.

Old Qintou said: "Let's go over there and cut some cotton locust trees, branches and so on. Later, we will add the sticks we saved earlier, and put a tent to cover it." Then he led Xiuyao and others to the field .

The farmer households dry their grain in their own farms, and the family has a land ranging from one-third to one mu of land. Now there are some weeds growing, and they loosen the soil with a hoe, and then break up the soil and pour water on it. , When it is completely dry, start rolling it with a roller.In the future, if it rains every time before the wheat harvest, it must be overwhelmed, otherwise it cannot be used.

When rolling, spray water and sprinkle plant ash, and then continue rolling until it is smooth and smooth, and there is no loose soil.If loose soil comes out, it may be mixed into the grain, so be careful.This is also a technology. If the technology is not good, the ground will not be flat, or if there is too much mud, the roller will stick to it, if there is too little water, it will not be compacted, and if it is dry, it will crack.

The technique is good, and the ground is as smooth as a mirror after pressing and drying, without any cracks or scattered soil. There is no one in Taoyuan Village better than Lao Qintou in this regard.

At least the sons of the third grandpa's family can't do it. Every time they press the field, they partner with the old Qin's family to pluck the land together, and then dig the soil. The old Qintou sprinkles water and plant ash, and Qin Dafu and Qin Ergui alternately pull the roller to grind flat.

Xiuyao saw the adults busy, so she and Xiuli went for a stroll along the edge of the river not far away, and when they saw wild saplings, they dug them back with a shovel and planted them around the vegetable garden. Although it is not the season for planting trees, they will There is a survival rate, and one tree is alive.

When Xiuyao dug two groups of wild saplings and went back, the adults were also pouring water and ashes on the field.

Qin Dafu pulled the roller and turned it so fast that Xiuyao was dizzy from watching it, but he wasn't chaotic at all, his steps were orderly, pressing one side and the other, like a butterfly wearing flowers.

Xiuyao and Xiuli ran barefoot on it, and when they got tired, they went there to plant small trees.

After finishing the work, they worked on the cotton and sorghum fruit fields for a few more days, and basically reached the wheat harvest. Once the wheat harvest came, the work of Lao Qin's family suddenly increased.

In the past few days, Old Qintou wandered around the wheat field for several days, predicting the harvest and judging when to open the sickle.He has this ability. Years of farm work have trained him. Just by looking at the conditions in the field, he can judge how much this year's harvest will be, and how much his family will have left after paying the rent.

He had to figure out that there were two scythes in the house that were easy to use, one was too rough to tie some rags or something, and the other one always lost the tip of the scythe, which was not very safe, but he couldn't nail it well so he had to take it to the blacksmith shop. I think it will cost money to clean it up, so just throw it away, it can be used by the woman who binds the wheat.

Anyway, I have to go to Zhou's house to borrow a few sickles, otherwise the 30 mu of wheat can't be cut well with a few old sickles.

Hey, I don’t know if I can borrow the sickle this year without using food. After all, before the spring planting, he took his children to help for a few days without asking for money, and now the eldest daughter-in-law is still helping at Zhou’s house.

Qin Dafu walked around the wheat field and came back and said, "Father, the wheat in this field is not very honest."

When I planted wheat last fall, the weather was a bit dry. After waiting for several days of rain, the seedlings emerged late after planting, and the emergence rate was not very uniform.Some places are sparse, but fortunately, cotton is interplanted in spring, so it is not a waste of space.But there is less snow in winter, and less rain in spring. Generally speaking, it is not so satisfactory, and the grain of wheat is not very sincere.

Old Qin nodded, sighed, and still said: "Compared to previous years, it's not bad. We can collect a few more buckets after paying the rent this year." Compared with those years of drought, the harvest is not half. When it came time, it was pretty good.

Qin Xian ran over there, "Grandpa, Dad, the village has already posted a notice for rent collection."

Old Qintou snorted, and said unwillingly: "Just do this diligently, even if you don't post, who would dare to pay less than a grain of wheat?"

Qin Xian said with a smile: "Grandpa, our family is honest, I heard people say that there are people in Siwai Village who are procrastinating, so it doesn't matter."

Old Qin's face sank, and he shouted: "Okay, don't learn, just learn these crooked ways, and it's not your own land, can you drag a bird out? I won't rent it to you at that time, let's see you drink the northwest wind?"

Qin Xian knew that Grandpa was unhappy when the crops were being harvested, so he stopped looking for him, smiled and walked away, continuing to weed the cotton in the wheat field to keep moisture.

Whenever the crops are harvested, it is the time when the old Qin family is happy, but it is also the heaviest time. They work hard to collect the grain home, but they still have to pay a lot of rent. There is no good thing about rent reduction, and the harvest of one mu of heavily leased land is almost all rented, and the family earns some firewood.If you are in a hurry and add the money for renting animals, farm tools, and seeds, maybe it will not be enough to pay for all the harvest?
When will I have my own land, old Qin thought with a sigh, and then felt that fortunately there is still food to eat, even if it is tiring to rent a field, he will not die of hunger anyway.Compared with those who can't afford to eat and are so hungry that they sell their sons and daughters, he is still much stronger.Thinking about it, he became happy again, and said: "In three days' time, go to the field on the northwest slope to open the scythe first."

(End of this chapter)