Chapter 259: Harvesting and Drying Rice
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lan Ruozhu felt he was not fighting alone because he wanted to fight for the people still alive, the people his sister cared for. He also promised his sister he would live well.
After the Mooncake Festival, Su Binglan stayed home to help with the autumn harvest for a few days. Since the paddy had matured, they had to put away the rice quickly. Therefore, the people of Tenghe Town started getting busier over the next few days.
Many did not go home for lunch since they needed to bring the rice home early—instead, they packed dry food and water to eat and drink in the fields. After eating, everyone continued their work.
Although it was autumn. the sun still shined brightlv in the afternoon.
However, none of the villagers felt tired as they were busy bringing the rice home.
Even if some took a lunch break, they would hurriedly finish their food and return to work.
Su Binglan did not go to the shop these days. Instead, she stayed in the village and went to work in the fields in the morning. Even though the family had hired a long-term worker, everyone had grown accustomed to collecting rice themselves during the autumn harvest.
Therefore, Su Binglan could not be bothered with other things these days. She went to work in the fields every morning with her parents, second brother, and third brother.
Baili Jinghua volunteered to help, but Su Binglan thought Baili Jinghua would not know how to work in the fields since she was the Baili family’s eldest daughter. Besides, how could Su Binglan have the nerve to ask Baili Jinghua to help with the farm work?
Baili Jinghua seemed to have guessed Su Binglan’s thoughts and said, “You don’t have to overthink. I’m just curious and want to do something with you. Besides, I’m strong and not a spoiled person. I’ll know what to do once you teach me. I wanted to take my son to play in the fields anyway.”
The villagers had been busy harvesting their rice over the past few days, so Baili Jinghua did not feel at ease if she just stayed home.
Under Baili Jinghua’s insistence, Su Binglan finally agreed to let her help. Baili Jinghua took her son along, and he was very obedient. He would listen if she told him to sit on a rock or the ground.
Baili Xihong noticed everyone was busy, so he wanted to help. “I’ll help you,
Mom.”
Baili Jinghua’s heart melted. “I’m not tired, Xihong. You’re still a kid, so you can just play by the side.”
In the past, Su Binglan thought Baili Jinghua was still a young miss, but after working alongside her, Su Binglan realized she was not as delicate as she looked.
Baili Jinghua was not afraid of hard work. On the contrary, she was tenacious. Su Binglan noticed this and started to admire Baili Jinghua.
The whole family went home for lunch at noon, and afterward, they returned to the fields to continue working. Baili Jinghua raised her head and saw the surrounding fields and busy villagers.
Everyone was collecting rice, and the fast-moving villagers occasionally exchanged a few words. Still, they could not talk or rest too much since they were in a rush to harvest their rice and return home.
When Baili Jinghua looked up, she saw the blue skies as a cold breeze blew. She breathed in the fresh air and felt carefree. She felt at ease here since it was lively yet relaxed. After a quick breather, she wiped the sweat off her forehead and continued working.
Everyone had used all their strength to work over the past few days because they could eat more if they worked hard. After eating, everyone went to sleep on their beds with their comfortable pillows. Perhaps they slept well because they had worked all day and became tired quickly.
Baili Jinghua realized that hers and her son’s mental state had improved as the days passed. One morning, she touched her waist and noticed she had some meat on her bones.
‘D-Did I gain weight?’
She also noticed her son had become heavier when she carried him. Baili Jinghua was overjoyed because it meant that her son had eaten and slept well recently.
In the past, her son remained skinny, no matter how much she fed him. However, Baili Xihong started eating and sleeping well after moving to Su Teng Village.
“I will give you a better life in the future, Xihong. I want you to be happy for the rest of your life,” Baili Jinghua said.
Baili Xihong responded thoughtfully, “You must be happy too, Mother.”
Baili Jinghua felt a warmth in her heart as she replied, “Yes, we’ll all be happy.”
Even though there were many members in Su Binglan’s family, harvesting their rice took a long time. Some villagers had more land than Su Binglan’s family, but they finished their harvest earlier.
Everyone realized that Su Binglan’s family had a high rice yield with large grains. Many looked at Shen Qiuhua enviously, and one person said, “Madam
Shen, we’ve agreed to buy some seeds from you so we can have the same rice grains as you next year.”
Shen Qiuhua looked at the bumper harvest of rice and could not hide her smile.
She said, “We use the same seeds as you.”
“We also want to buy some paddy seeds from you, Miss Shen, mainly because you have twice as much rice as us. Since we’re on the same land, we’ll be happy if we can double the amount of rice we can harvest.’
The Su family harvested two years’ worth of rice in one year, and just thinking about it excited Shen Qiuhua. The villagers asked Shen Qiuhua to lend some seeds, and she agreed since they were from the same village. After all, she would be too embarrassed not to agree.
Still, it was a good thing that her family’s conditions had improved. Shen Qiuhua had spare money and could go to town to buy food, so why wouldn’t the villagers ask her for some seeds?
After sharing some of their rice with the villagers, the Su family might not have enough to eat, but Shen Qiuhua looked at the yard full of rice and happily said, “It’s a good thing my family has plenty of rice. We promise to give you guys some since we still have plenty of grain in reserve.”
Su Fengmao said curiously, “That’s strange. We have the same seeds and share the same land, so why do we have so much more than them?”
Su Wenwu said, “We must have planted the paddy seeds more carefully. We must’ve produced more rice since we used a different method.”
“That’s true. Your brother-in-law was home during a drought, and he watered the land daily. He never let the land go dry,” Su Fengmao said, nodding.
Meanwhile, Su Binglan discreetly put a portion of rice in her pocket dimension. She knew the seeds would improve exponentially when her pocket dimension’s spiritual energy nourished them.
The villagers would have a higher yield the following year after planting these seeds. Then everyone would keep a small portion of rice for themselves and sell the surplus for money.
Since that was the case, the price of rice would not be too high because there would be more in the market. Then people from other villages could afford more rice if they did not have enough.
Still, this change had to happen one step at a time. For the time being, Su Binglan could only change Su Teng Village’s situation.
After harvesting the rice, it was time to dry them. The village had a special field where most villagers dried their rice. However, the village official supervised that place, so no one dared to steal other people’s rice in broad daylight.
Also, the villagers knew each other well and always knew who went in and out of the drying field.
Nonetheless, everyone would put away their rice when it was nighttime since they feared it would rain and wet the rice they had worked so hard to dry..
