Chapter 6 6: Plant cotton
Twenty acres of land were planted for six days. Not too slow.
I went back early that day and met many people going home on the road.
Xu Xiulian's popularity is pretty good, everyone talks to her.
"Xiulian, your cheap daughter is quite good-looking. Can you be my daughter-in-law?" A woman with a shoehorned face and triangular eyes said with a smile.
"Xiumei, why don't you let your son pee and take pictures? Even if my daughter can't get married, I won't give you a family."
"Xu Xiulian, don't be so shameless? You thought she was the lady's maid?" "
"Yes, I am a lady. Don't talk to me. I'm afraid I will look like you and have a donkey face."
Yu Min quickly lowered his head. I almost couldn't hold back my laughter just now. This is really quite damaging to say.
The two women were about to take action. Yu Junshan grabbed Xu Xiulian and said, "Don't be angry. It's not worth it. Let's go home."
The expression on Xu Xiulian's face changed immediately. That triumphant look really makes people want to slap her.
After planting the land, I need to tidy up the two yards tomorrow and plow the borders to plant vegetables.
Now Yu Min doesn’t feel as uncomfortable working as she did at the beginning. She does whatever others do.
You have time at home. She took off all her bedding when she got up in the morning. This task was not difficult for her.
“Yu Min, you are really good at it, why are you taking out and washing the bedding now?”
"There is no life today, do you want to come with me?"
"I don't, I might as well lie down if I have that time."
Yu Min went to the well to draw water by himself, boiled water and soaked his back Mattress surface. No one was looking at her, so she secretly put in two drops of detergent. Don't dare to put too much. I'm afraid that I'll be found out, and I don't know if it works or not, just to put my mind at ease.
After washing, I called Wu Xiaoxue and asked her to help wring it out. She was still unwilling to wash her hands, but she still helped Yu Min with the work.
Also take out the cotton cover when it is exposed to the sun outside. It has an old smell, but I can only endure it, thinking that I will wash the cotton when summer comes. Even if it is soaked in water, it will be better than now. Now I have to cover myself with a quilt, and it may not be dry even after three or two days of washing.
Yu Min thought for a while and went next door. The cheap dad was sitting in the yard.
"Dad, did I take out and wash your bedding?"
Yu Junshan already knew that his daughter was taking out and washing the bedding, but he didn't expect that she knew to wash it for himself.
He smiled and said, "Okay." Like his wife, he loves to be clean.
Xu Xiulian didn’t say anything in the main room.
This was the first time Yu Min had entered this house. It was much more spacious than the one they lived in. There were only two quilts on the kang, one at the end and one at the top. She didn't know which one belonged to the cheap dad, so she just tore them apart together.
Xu Xiulian didn’t know how to describe her mood when she saw the bald little girl holding their two quilt sheets.
She was originally a carefree person. Everything he does is done in a daze, and his life is neither refined nor clean. It is cleaner to have the man in your heart.
I really never thought about taking out and washing the bedding. She only washed it once in the summer when she didn't cover herself with the quilt.
Yu Min took it back and soaked it. I used more detergent this time, mainly because their quilt was greasy.
He went back again and exposed the cotton from his two beddings to the outside.
The well water was not too cold, but she still boiled it, so why bother herself? There was so much firewood here that she could burn it any way she wanted.
Being patient, after washing it, I still asked Wu Xiaoxue to help me wring it out. It was the three of them's turn to cook today at noon. The two sisters were lying on the kang. They had been here for almost a month and knew how to cook.
I didn’t ask them to cook. This job is not difficult for her, she has been doing it for many years.
After ironing it, go dig wild vegetables in the yard. It's a little bitter, but it doesn't have that astringency after blanching.
Chop it into hot cornmeal and add salt, so that the pancakes will be delicious and healthy. They always eat pickles, and the corners of the mouths of several little girls are rotten.
Sit down and light a fire in Junshan. Yu Min went out to dig wild vegetables again. She couldn't control whether others would eat them, but she would eat them herself, and she wanted her father to eat them too.
Xu Xiulian didn’t say anything when she brought the steamed bun and looked at the green vegetables inside. Everyone thought it was good when they ate it, but no one said anything. Yu Junshan also has a mouthful of steamed buns and a mouthful of wild vegetables.
The spring wind was quite strong, and the quilt surface was dry in the afternoon. There was no problem with the needlework, and it was quickly sewn on.
When she went over to make two other sets of quilts, Xu Xiulian was already doing them.
She just called Aunt Xu and got on the kang to help.
The two sisters made dinner. This time they chopped the wild vegetables and put salt on them so they could be eaten as pickles. The five mothers also ate it, but they didn't like the bitter taste.
The next day Xu Xiulian took them to another piece of land, which was not large. Through the experience of working these days, Yu Min thinks there are two or three acres of land, right?
“We don’t charge rent for this land, so I thought we could grow cotton. I’ll go to the owner’s house tomorrow to get some cotton seeds.”
The strong Xu Xiulian means speaking in questions, not asking for opinions.
I have adapted to the work of plowing the land. With so many people, it feels like it can be done in just two or three hours, but the work still needs to be done.
To grow cotton, you need to cultivate the ridges at a high point so that they will not fall when it is windy or rainy.
This is not a technical job that is done by noon.
After lunch, Yu Min saw Xu Xiulian leaving in a hurry. The girls were arranged to dig through the vegetable garden.
I don’t know what kind of vegetables are grown here, but I just do whatever I’m told.
Without their mother watching over them, the five girls were passive and slow in their work.
Yu Min does whatever she wants. In short, it is their job. After finishing the work early, I can stay calm. I don't compare myself to their sisters, and I feel a little bit dependent on others. It's more because of my mentality. After all, I am an adult soul. I feel embarrassed because I care about children at all.
By the time dinner is cooked, both yards have been plowed.
"You three plant green onions so that you can eat green onions." Boss Wu Xiaozhen commanded.
Yu Min had no objection. She was still good at planting green onions. If the two of them didn't want to do it, they would do it themselves.
Xu Xiulian came back and placed a paper bag on the table. "These are the cotton seeds given by the master. There is not enough to plant. Junshan, how about we plant soybeans?"
Yu Junshan still smiled and said, "Okay. Soybeans are not bad. You can eat bean sprouts. If you have a stone mill, You can also drink soy milk and eat tofu.”
Xu Xiulian nodded with a smile, these things can satisfy her man.
"Xiulian, soak the cotton seeds in water. If it fails, they probably won't germinate and they will float on the water."
Xu Xiulian was absolutely obedient. She found a basin and soaked it, and there were really more than ten floating ones.
After dawn, the family went out again, and by noon, the three acres of land were planted.
I went back in the afternoon to plant vegetables. It used to be that cabbage was grown here, but now the vegetables grown are of course not the kind that can survive the winter.
(End of this chapter)