Chapter 592: Whipping Rice
Near noon, the three people in the field had already finished cutting the rice in one field, and also cut off part of the other field.
In total, more than two acres of land were cut off, which is really a lot.
Generally speaking, three normal people can cut five to seventy percent of a field of rice in one morning, which is already a lot.
But among Zhang An’s family’s rice-cutting trio, there are two anomalies. Zhang An himself has been strengthened by space, and he is simply a freak.
When I work, I don’t even realize I’m tired. I can keep working until dark with my head buried. And because my physical fitness is so strong, I can work much faster than ordinary people. Many, typical attributes of cows and horses.
On the other side, Zhang Yixing is not an ordinary person. Not only has he practiced Kung Fu all his life, but the key is to practice something for him.
The most important thing is that he also knows how to maintain health.
So even though he is sixty years old now, he does not look like an old man at all.
Even the young and strong young people in the village can't compare to him when it comes to work. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is a fierce man.
Otherwise, a sixty-year-old man could break a wooden stake as big as a bowl with one punch.
Of course, there is no comparison with Zhang An. After all, this Taoist priest is just a normal player. His current skills are all achieved by his diligent training. No matter how you say it, he is not as good as Zhang An. Not as good as Zhang An, a guy who is fed by God.
Among the three, Zhang Jianguo is a little more normal, but he is also stronger than ordinary people.
Because their bodies have been nourished by Zhang An with space spring water over the years, their physical strength and endurance have surpassed those of other people in the village.
So these three people came to the field, like a manual harvester. With a move of their hands and a wave of the sickle, the rice in the field was cut off.
"Dad, grandpa, eat rice, eat rice."
While the three of them were immersed in harvesting rice, little Siqi had already run to the fence in the backyard, facing the field They shouted inside.
The little guy has been talking for a while. Su Ying is a Chinese teacher. This is a professional counterpart. She teaches her son every night, so Xiao Siqi’s vocabulary is getting bigger day by day. I got up and can now express myself normally.
"Okay, okay, tell grandma, we will come right away."
Hearing his grandson's cry, Zhang Jianguo stood up and responded happily.
After listening to his grandfather's words, the little guy ran home again to send a message to his grandma.
"Let's go home and eat first, and then come back to cut in the afternoon."
After cutting the remaining half of the rice, Zhang Jianguo pinned the sickle to his waistband Out of the field first.
Back on the road, I met some villagers who had just harvested rice from the fields and were preparing to go home for dinner.
“Hey, Zhang An, your family is so fast, you have already cut so much.”
Zhang An’s family’s field is right on the roadside. When the villagers passed by, they took a look and were immediately impressed. Startled.
Because they discovered that in just one morning, more than two acres of rice in Zhang An's field had been cut off, and only a few acres of their family's rice had been cut off.
Last year, they would not have been so surprised, because they all knew that when Zhang An's family used to harvest, they would spend money to hire people, and the work would go faster if there were more people.
But this year everyone knows that Zhang An’s family did not ask anyone to help. When they passed by in the morning, only Zhang An’s father and son and Zhang and his party were working in the fields.
It was hard for them to believe that the three of them had cut so much rice in one morning.
"Hehe, you really think that these eight hands of mine are for nothing. Of course I have to cut them off faster than you guys."
Zhang An chuckled and said to everyone.
In these years in the village, because he worked very quickly, the villagers joked that he had eight hands.
When everyone heard this, the surprise in their hearts faded a lot, and they realized that Zhang An was a uniquely fierce guy at work.
It’s just that they haven’t seen Zhang An working for half a year, so they forgot about it.
Now that Zhang An mentioned it himself, they even took it for granted.
I still remember that in the past, many families in the village liked to exchange jobs with Zhang An's family.
Because when working, Zhang An can do at least three people by himself, and it is very cost-effective for them to only use one person to help Zhang An's family, so Zhang An's family needs to hire someone to do the work at that time , there is basically no shortage of people.
As long as you can speak a word, no matter who you are, they will readily agree.
It’s just that this kind of good thing stopped when Zhang An’s family started spending money to hire people.
Because Zhang An's family paid them to work, so they naturally didn't have to pay back the work in the future.
Of course, they can also spend money to invite Zhang An, but according to this guy's temperament, he will definitely refuse with a smile.
Everyone chatted briefly on the way, everyone was smiling, and they were basically talking about this year's bumper harvest.
But after all, the pace did not slow down. Normally, when encountering such a happy thing, they would stop and chat for a few minutes no matter what.
But because we have to go to the fields to grind millet in the afternoon, no one will waste time.
After arriving at the intersection, everyone went back to their homes without any sloppiness.
Back home, Wang Fang was taking out the dishes from the kitchen, and little Siqi was running around behind her grandma like a little tail.
"Mom, hasn't Su Ying come back yet?"
Looking at the time, it was almost twelve o'clock. The students had finished school, but Su Ying hadn't come back yet.
"Maybe she's dragging her along again today. I've left some food for her. Let's eat first."
Wang Fang now has some understanding of his daughter-in-law's temper. In the third year of junior high school, Su Ying was more strict with students than before. She had been dragged into class many times after school before, so for Su Ying She didn't think it was strange that she didn't go home after school.
Because he was busy harvesting rice today, Wang Fang did not wait for Su Ying to come back before eating as usual.
But she still saved the food so that Su Ying would not have leftovers when she came back.
When the family was halfway through their meal, Su Yingcai came back from school.
"Mom."
When little Siqi saw her mother coming back, she ran forward with the bowl in hand.
"Be good, eat well." Su Ying pushed the little guy back to sit on the chair, then she took the bowl and chopsticks and started serving the rice.
“Why did you come back so late today?”
Zhang An felt that even though his wife would usually drag herself to court, she would not stay so late.
"We are not those mischievous naughty guys in Class 2. I asked them to go back and memorize the text a few days ago. When I called on them to memorize the text today, not many of them could memorize it. Seeing them go back without realizing it, I simply She stopped them in the classroom and carried them one by one, so it took more time. "
Su Ying said as a matter of course that in this day and age, as a teacher, the stricter she is on her students, the harder it is for their parents. Support, even if you have to draw bamboo sticks, the parents of the students will help prepare the bamboo sticks, unlike in later generations, if you speak a little harshly, you will be complained.
“Mom, I’m so busy at home, I’ll take Qiqi to school in the afternoon. Anyway, I only have one class, so just let him sit with Zhang Tie then.”
Knowing that the family would be busy harvesting rice today, Su Ying felt that she could not help much, so she planned to take her son to school.
You can leave him in the office when there is no class, and when class is about to start, take him to the classroom.
“Is this okay?”
Wang Fang feels that her grandson is still young, and if he takes him to the classroom, he is afraid of affecting other students.
"It's okay, Mom. He doesn't dare to act like a monster in front of me anyway. He is very well-behaved."
Su Ying's usual role as a blackface at home has already established her authority, so the little girl In front of her, the guy was as good as a cat and very honest.
And this also frees up my mother-in-law's hands, so she doesn't have to look at the little one.
"That's fine, as long as it doesn't affect your class."
Seeing that her daughter-in-law was so sure, Wang Fang said nothing more, so that she could go to the fields to cut rice.
Otherwise, she would not have dared to take her grandson to the fields, because the chicken blood rice at home was so irritating that the little one would not be able to bear it even if he did not touch it.
After having a cup of tea and resting for a while, Zhang An took down the bucket from upstairs.
The entire bucket is a square box with a large upper part and a smaller one at the bottom. It is just that there is no top side. There are also eight bucket ears extending from the corners in four directions, which is convenient for Move when the fields are filled with rice.
In the past, the whip bucket was one of the important tools that every household must have. Later, when many people grew up and separated, they started to share one among the brothers.
This is the case in Zhang An's family. The bucket was left by Zhang An's grandfather, but Zhang Jianguo is the eldest, so the bucket was given to him. When Zhang An's second uncle and third uncle's family needs it, just come and get it. .
These days' whisks are all made of solid wood and are very solid, making them very solid for scooping up millet.
But because of this, the bucket is still quite heavy. Although one person can carry it, he can't go too far. Basically, two people carry it together, one in front and one behind.
Because the bucket is carried on the shoulders, the head of the person in front is exposed outside the bucket, while the head of the person behind is inside the bucket and cannot see the person in front. You can only follow the person in front of you on the road, so the person in front must be responsible for leading the way and guiding the direction.
Zhang An's bucket can only be considered to be of average weight. It's not light, but it's not heavy either, but it's nothing to him.
As long as you find a two-meter wooden stick and put it inside, you can easily lift it.
When they arrived at the field, Zhang Jianguo had already come over early to take away the rice in the field and make room for the bucket.
“Hey, the three of you have already cut so much in the morning.”
Wang Fang came to the field later, holding a gourd to hold water. The sun is not shining brightly right now, so we cannot work without water.
"Mom, let's continue cutting later. Let's pull out the millet and try to get half of it home today and finish it all tomorrow."
More than two acres have been cut now. In this place, the first task this afternoon must be to pound the cut rice.
There are four sides to the fight, and four people can work together. However, Zhang An felt that according to the fighting capabilities of himself and the old man, more than two acres of rice would definitely not be enough to fight for an afternoon, so he asked his mother to continue cutting the rice, and he The trio who had been harvesting rice in the morning changed their duties and started to harvest the rice.
Wang Fang didn't say much, and went to another field to cut rice with a sickle, while Zhang An picked up a large handful of rice, walked to the bucket, and started beating it.
Pulling rice requires a little bit of care, and you cannot blindly pursue miracles.
Every time it is whisked down, it must be bumped twice. This is done to prevent the grains that have fallen off and are still stuck in the straw from falling to the ground.
After all, every time you beat the rice, you have to raise the ears of rice high.
Seeing that Zhang An had already taken action, Zhang Jianjian and his entourage were not far behind. They each picked up a handful of rice, occupied one side of the fight, and began to fight in a very rhythmic manner.
For a while, the only sound in the entire field was the sound of being beaten.
Of course, in the entire field, this is not just the case at Zhang An’s house, but also at other houses. Anyway, you can hear it from a long distance away.
The rice has already matured in autumn and has been exposed to the sun for several hours, so the millet on the rice ears falls off very easily. Basically, it can all fall into the bucket after being whipped a few times. among.
Because no pesticides have been used, there are many grasshoppers on the rice. Many grasshoppers did not run away even after the rice was cut.
When the millet is knocked off the ears of rice, the grasshoppers will follow the millet into the bucket and jump around.
It's a pity that the children in the village are in class today. Otherwise, they would definitely come in groups to catch grasshoppers by now.
Don’t think this thing is a bug, but if you pull out the head and internal organs, whether it is roasted or fried, it is very delicious. It is crunchy and crispy. It is a favorite of children. Eat.
Of course, Zhang An also likes to eat, especially fried ones, so he has no intention of letting these guys go.
After half a bucket of millet was scooped up, Zhang Jianguo and Zhang and his party packed the millet into bags. Zhang An pulled out a grass heart and picked up the grasshoppers that were jumping in the bucket. He caught them all, and then threaded the back of his neck through the heart of the grass.
This is the legendary grasshopper after autumn. It won’t be able to jump around for long, and it will have to get out of the frying pan tonight.
By four o'clock in the afternoon, all the two acres of rice harvested in the morning were beaten, leaving only the rice harvested by Wang Fang in the afternoon.
But she was alone, so the speed was very slow, so Zhang An asked his father to go ahead and help.
Anyway, we only need to cut off a little more than three acres today, and we will do the rest tomorrow.
Here in Changqing Village, the dew after autumn is very heavy, so when cutting rice, it is best not to cut it all and put it in the field.
Although you don’t have to worry about it raining at night and knocking the millet off the ears of rice, the dew at night will make the millet wet back, making it difficult to beat it the next day, so you usually start cutting in the morning and do the beating in the afternoon. Beat them, but don't move them at night.
Of course, some Miao villagers will cut off the high-mountain glutinous rice they grow with a harvesting knife, then pick it back home, hang it on the beam to dry, and then beat it.
But this kind of rice is only a minority. People still beat it in the fields and take it home directly.
(End of this chapter)