Chapter 343 Plowing
Because he went to bed too early last night, he woke up before dawn this morning.
Drowsiness is a thing. If you sleep too much, you will have a headache. If you sleep too little, your head will also hurt.
In the past two years, Zhang An has become accustomed to getting up early and has never slept in. He was already full and climbed out of bed energetically.
It was still dark, and the big rooster in the chicken coop crowed at three or four o'clock.
It is resting now. It is estimated that in another hour, the big rooster will have rested and will get up again and start blowing the morning bugle.
Everyone else in the family was still sleeping, so Zhang An quietly went downstairs, washed up, and prepared to pack breakfast.
The stove fire in the morning was still blocked by a large lump of coal. Zhang An took the tongs to remove the lump of coal.
Clean up the carbon ash at the bottom of the stove to allow the sparks in the middle to be exposed to oxygen.
Then break the coal balls into small pieces and put them on the stove to touch the charcoal inside. In a short time, the stove will light up.
After putting away the stove, Zhang An found the porridge casserole from the cabinet and scooped out half a bowl of millet.
Yes, Zhang An plans to cook a pot of millet porridge for breakfast today.
It has been a long time since he had millet porridge, and he still missed the taste of millet porridge.
The half bowl of millet was washed twice with water, and then put into the delicious space spring water.
Put a handful of polygonatum vinifera that has been steamed and sun-dried for nine times into the pot, then put the casserole on the fire and simmer slowly.
After about an hour and a half to two hours, it will be almost ready to be served. At that time, other people in the family will probably get up and it will be ready to eat.
Looking at the time, it was not five o'clock, so Zhang An got into the space and started working.
On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year yesterday, people in the village began to work in the fields. There must be more people going out to work today than yesterday.
Although many people say that the New Year is not completed until the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the New Year.
But in private, on the seventh and eighth day of the lunar month, one by one started to carry tools and start working in the fields.
Because the sixth day of the lunar month is a difficult day, especially for business people, they will open their doors on this day.
Light up a bunch of cannons, blow them up, hold a simple opening ceremony, and start business.
Over time, everyone followed their lead, and after the sixth day of the lunar month, they were ready to go to the fields and start working.
The Zhang An family is naturally no exception. There are a lot of things going on this year.
After seeing someone starting to work yesterday, he had already arranged today's schedule.
Many people in the village ordered new kiwi fruit seedlings from their place a few years ago, so they had to start preparing for the new year.
Especially because the old uncle had told him before that the open space on the other side of the river at the entrance of the village was given to him to raise seedlings.
So, Zhang An planned to wait until dawn and lead Dahei over to plow those few acres of land.
Zhang An spent a long time in the space and finally gave birth to the kiwi fruit seedlings promised last year.
Coming out of the space, Zhang An placed these newly grown tender noodles in last year’s melon field.
The land over there had been plowed during the previous cultivation of the medicine garden.
In the past, Zhang An placed them directly in the vegetable garden in the backyard.
But the demand for young seedlings is very high this year, and the land in the vegetable garden cannot meet such a large demand.
So when Zhang An was tidying up the medicine garden, he plowed the watermelon field.
Anyway, there will be floods this year. The watermelon field is on the bank of the river and will definitely be flooded. Zhang An has no intention of worrying about it.
So the freed land can be used to raise seedlings, and the land is fertile anyway.
Zhang An spread these young kiwi seedlings that had begun to sprout on the ground and covered them with a thick layer of soil.
In the days to come, Zhang An only needs to carry a sprayer to sprinkle space spring water on them, and they will grow back quickly.
When they grew to a certain height, Zhang An hired a group of people to move them to the other side of the river.
After doing these things, the sky is no longer gray. This scene is what everyone knows as dawn.
Zhang An was covered in sweat when he got home. After finding some clothes, he got into the bathroom and took a hot shower.
When he came out of the bathroom, it was already dark and Wang Fang and Zhang Jianguo had already gotten up.
"Huh? Why did you get up so early today? You even cooked millet porridge."
Watching the casserole on the fire steaming, Wang Fang opened the lid and saw that this pot of millet The porridge is almost done.
So Wang Fang knew that his son must have gotten up early.
“I went to bed too early yesterday, and I woke up right after the first rooster crow today.”
Wang Fang was helpless after hearing this. Young men from other families always feel that they don’t get enough sleep in the morning.
My son is fine. If I want him to sleep more every day, he is afraid that the bed will collapse.
Sometimes as a parent, I feel very conflicted. I am afraid that my child will not be sensible, but I am also afraid that my child will be too sensible.
"Dad, Mom, this porridge is ready. You can eat it after washing up."
After nearly two hours of cooking, the millet porridge in the casserole has become as thick as milk.
Before opening the lid, you can smell the fragrance of millet spreading everywhere.
Su Ying hasn't gotten up yet, and Zhang An has no intention of waking her up.
During the next year, Su Ying became a little lethargic.
But school hasn’t started yet and there’s nothing going on at home, so she will naturally be allowed to sleep until she wakes up naturally.
Soon, a family of three gathered around the table, drinking fragrant millet porridge.
After the grains of millet are boiled, they become delicate and soft, sticky and soft in the mouth, refreshing and making your intestines rippling.
Wang Fang took out a small bowl from the cupboard and took out a piece of moldy tofu from an earthen jar, which is also known as bean curd.
This jar of molded tofu was made by Wang Fang when the family first introduced tofu a few years ago.
After fermentation, it is pickled with pepper powder, salt and other condiments, and finally stored in earthen jars.
After pickling, many people will add salt water and store it in it.
But Wang Fang did not use salt water here, because the molded tofu itself is very salty, and soaking it in salt water will only make it saltier.
She used boiled red oil and soaked the pickled molded tofu in it, so that it would last longer.
Zhang An picked up a piece with the tip of his chopsticks and put it in his mouth, enjoying the taste very much.
In the past, there were few dishes on the table of rural families. Flavored foods like molded tofu and tempeh were very satisfying to eat.
Sometimes there is no food at home, so Zhang An will eat two bowls of white rice with molded tofu and cold black bean sauce.
The fragrant millet porridge, topped with moldy tofu, Zhang An quickly drank two bowls.
After drinking, Zhang An changed his clothes and prepared to lead Dahei out to plow the fields.
"Xiao An, where are you going to plow?"
Seeing his son carrying the plow and leading the horse out, Zhang Jianguo asked, and then prepared to change clothes and follow.
"As for the open land at the end of the bridge, there is nothing to do today. I plan to go and plow it."
Zhang Jianguo knew about the few acres of land at the end of the bridge because Zhang Jianwen came to the door to talk about it a few years ago. "In a moment, I will change my clothes and go with you."
The clothes I am wearing are good clothes. My daughter-in-law bought them for the Chinese New Year.
Zhang Jianguo didn't want to go to the ground in his clothes, otherwise it would be a real waste.
"Dad, those few acres of land are not enough for me to plow, why are you following me?"
A few acres of land is indeed a lot, but Zhang An held Dahei for half a day at most. Just finished plowing.
“Let’s go exercise our hands and feet. I’m really uncomfortable after staying at home for so long.”
No matter what Zhang An said, Zhang Jianguo changed his clothes and put on military green He was wearing Jiefang rubber shoes and went to the ground with Zhang An carrying a nail rake.
When they got to the field, Zhang An was holding the plow shackle, and Dahei consciously dug in and took the initiative to lasso the plow.
The huge body shook, and the plow sheath that was not firmly tightened was tightened.
Dahei has been staying in the circle since he finished cultivating the medicine garden years ago, and his wife is pregnant.
It was so energetic that it couldn't find a place to vent its energy. After holding it in for so long, it had already gone crazy.
After putting on the plow harness, it started running in the field dragging the plow when Zhang An shouted.
Knowing that it was Zhang An who was in charge of the plow, this guy started to vent his anger in the ground unscrupulously.
After all, if it were someone else, if it let go and ran, no one would be able to keep up with it.
Looking at its powerless appearance, Zhang An thought about cutting off spring water and fodder for it in winter.
Save it in the winter and not be able to get out, and repair it when the time comes.
Dahei didn’t know that the unscrupulous owner behind him had silently sentenced him in his heart.
It is still running wildly in the ground, like a boy in the wind, exuding endless vitality.
Looking at the packhorses tied by the villagers in the fields below, Dahei neighed at them with his head held high while running.
After hearing Dahei's neighing, the mares below started prancing around in the field as if they were in heat.
Zhang An saw this and sighed in his heart, Dahei is really not a thing.
Teasing other people's mares wantonly, but when others bring them over, it doesn't make them feel comfortable.
Typically arousing people to the point of burning with desire, and finally saying, "I'm sorry, I'm a very serious horse."
This is simply a scumbag, no, a scumbag.
After dragging the plow for more than an hour, Dahei was finally satisfied.
After releasing its inner excitement, it slowed down.
Seeing Dahei slow down and slowly plowing the plow, Zhang Jianguo came over and changed hands with Zhang An.
This winter, not only was Dahei feeling depressed, Zhang Jianguo, who had been used to working all his life, was also having trouble staying at home.
After taking the handle of the plow, he raised his right hand habitually, and then he realized that there was no whip in his hand.
Before I bought Dahei, my family used oxen to plow the land, and we had to hold the plow handle with one hand and the whip with the other.
Because the old cow has a weak temper, when dragging the plow to plow the land, he stopped walking.
At this time, you have to swing the whip in the air, and only when you hear the sound of the whip being drawn out will they continue to move forward.
It is rare for people to whip the whip directly on cows and horses. If the cow is your own, you will definitely feel distressed when whipped.
If it is borrowed, it is even more forbidden to smoke it, lest others look at it and say that they do not care about their livestock, and it will be difficult to borrow it in the future.
Another reason is that some animals have very bad tempers when they are really whipped.
If you slap it, it will definitely stick its hooves at you. It will not feel good if you accidentally get kicked.
Especially some bulls with bad tempers will turn around and fuck you with their big horns if you make them sore.
When Zhang An was a child, he saw someone whipping a cow on the butt with a whip, and the cow was gored to death.
In the end, the person was hospitalized and the cattle were sold to dealers and slaughtered.
So generally old farmers with common sense will not use whips on animals.
Here in Hongyan Town, it’s quite fun to use oxen to plow the land.
When plowing, one person, one cow, and one plow are all it takes. Unlike other places, one more person is required to pull the cow.
When a person is harnessing an ox to plow the field, and the ox doesn’t know which way to go, the owner behind it will shout “Bao Bao Li Li”.
Bags go to the right, and Lilie goes to the left.
Every time the plowing comes to an end, the owner behind will shout a trumpet, and the cow will turn around after listening to it.
In this way, one person’s effort is saved.
When Zhang An was young, his family also had a cow, and he did the same thing when he went to the mountains to herd cows.
Ride on the back of a cow and shout like this when you encounter a fork in the road. The cow under its butt will find its own way.
Later, my family bought a Dahei, which was trained by Zhang An to be very sensible
Basically, every time it drags a plow, it can tell the difference by itself without anyone shouting, which is very worry-free.
Zhang Jianguo used to use cattle for farming, even though the old buffalo at home had been sold for many years.
But these memories, which had become habits, lingered in his mind, and he remembered them as soon as he held the plow with his hands.
"Dad, Zhang An, it's time to go home for dinner."
Unknowingly, it was noon, and Zhang An and Zhang Jianguo, father and son, were immersed in plowing the fields.
It wasn't until Su Ying came over to shout that she realized it was time for lunch.
This is how people in the mountains are. When working in the fields, it is easy to lose track of time. Unless you are hungry, you will only think about whether it is time to eat.
"Here you go, you go back first, we will be back soon."
Zhang An took a look and found that only half of the land had been plowed in the morning, leaving two or three acres. look.
The plowing couldn't be completed in one time, at least three or four hours, so Zhang An untied the plow and went home to eat first before coming back in the afternoon.
“I didn’t expect that the land at Qiaotou is so fertile that it is almost the same as the land next to it.”
Zhang Jianguo is an old farmer, and he knew it as soon as the land was plowed. The fertility of the land.
“The mud in this field is all black mud that fell from the mountains. It must be very fat.”
This is not actually a piece of land. When Zhang An was a child, it was a small piece of land. Blocks of ladder-like slopes.
But every year when there is flooding, a wall of mountains will collapse on the hillside behind.
The mud that collapsed on the road was transported here to fill up the small slopes.
After so many years, this place has been filled in into a very wide open space.
And because all this mud comes from the slope behind, it is all dark humus soil, so it can't be fertile.
Many people in the village know that the land here is good, but this is the collective land of the village, and no one dares to come and occupy it.
So when Zhang An and his son came over to plow the fields in the morning, many people came over to watch, probably thinking about whether they could take advantage
(End of Chapter)