It doesn't matter how anxious the Feng family is, but the autumn harvest is waiting for no one. Seeing that the day is getting hotter and hotter, the Feng family can't take a rest, so they went to the peanut field the next day.
Harvesting peanuts is much simpler. Peanut seedlings are short like mimosas. Just grab the roots and pull up. The whole peanut seedling will rise with the roots below, and the peanuts will grow on the roots.
This work is easy, even the big baby and the second baby can do it. Except for Mengmeng, who is still sleeping in the small cradle, the rest of the Feng family are squatting in the fields to work. As soon as the peanut seedlings came out, they immediately realized that something was wrong. .
"Why are these peanuts growing so much?" This year's peanut seedlings were different from previous years when they bloomed. There were a lot of peanuts on the roots.
Madam Feng thought it was very strange, so she quickly opened a few petals of peanuts and looked at them. The skins of these peanuts were pink, the same color of a shrimp, and the nuts were so full that the shells were bulged up like it would explode.
Mrs. Feng threw one into her mouth and chewed it. It was particularly crispy and sweet. After chewing, she swallowed it without any peanut residue.
Such peanuts are incredible. They have grown peanuts for decades, but they have never eaten such delicious peanuts.
The Feng family is even more strange now. Old man Feng surreptitiously looked at the fields next to him and found that other people's peanuts were still the same as before, how much they should be. .
Fortunately, as long as peanuts are torn from the roots and thrown together, others will not be able to see the output for a while. The Feng family just made an appointment. Every time a peanut seedling is pulled out, the soil on it is smashed, and the peanuts are picked directly and thrown into the bucket truck. When the whole truck is full, it will be transported to the house, and it will be transported several times. The harvesting of peanuts is finished.
Did they think it was over? When they harvested sugar cane next, they were even more startled.
This sugarcane field is easy to take care of, and the tails of the sugarcane are directly inserted. Every now and then, some farmyard manure is applied, and they can be left in the field. Therefore, every household in Taoyuan Village has grown a lot of sugarcane.
However, the sugar cane of the old Feng family is better than others'. Other people's families can grow two or three branches on a tail, but the sugar cane of the old Feng family can grow five, six, seven or eight, and even the branches are all grown. It was very thick and dark, and Feng Yimin could just hold it in one hand, which surprised him greatly. Other things can be explained by the harvest, but the sugar cane grows so abnormally, which is against the laws of nature.
Although the fields by the sea were relatively fertile, they weren't as fertile as this, not to mention that his family's fields were not the most fertile, and they didn't grow as well as his fertile ones. It was really strange.
No matter how much Feng Yimin thought about the reason for it, he wouldn't imagine that the bead that Mengmeng swallows was doing the trick.
Although Mengmeng is ignorant, she is smart by nature. She listens to what her family says all day long, and she knows what really happened. But it happens when she is not careful. From the day that she accidentally swallowed the bead, she could vaguely sense everything that surrounds her. It might have affected her family's field.
At this moment, she was sitting on a small sedan chair and was placed in a thatched hut on the side of the mountain. This thatched hut was also built by the Feng family. The sugarcane fields are far from the village, and so much sugarcane cannot be transported back. The people in the village build thatched huts in their own fields, and after harvesting the sugarcane, they boil it into brown sugar on the spot. This brown sugar is the biggest source of income besides seafood.
The sugar cane of the Feng family has a good harvest and the quality is also excellent. When old man Feng and his eldest son squeeze the sugar cane into juice, it smells especially sweet, and when you scoop it up, you can pull out filaments, just like that honey. Madam Feng scooped a small spoonful and put it into Mengmeng's mouth. She smiled lovingly and said, "Let our Mengmeng have a taste, is it sweet?"
Mengmeng smiled and curled her eyebrows after tasting it. She stuck out her little tongue and licked the corner of her mouth. She opened her mouth and waited for Madam Feng to continue feeding her, which made Madam Feng's heart feel as sweet as drinking sugarcane water, so she quickly gave it to her. Feed a small spoon, then put the spoon down to help with the sugar.
Su Wan is in charge of adding firewood below, which is the pressed bagasse, which just fills the stove as fuel. As the flames burned more and more vigorously, the sugar water that Mrs. Feng was stirring became thicker and thicker, golden and yellow, and the fragrance could fill the entire thatched cottage.
When the sugar was finally boiled, the old lady Feng couldn't stir, so the father and son Feng moved the pot of syrup to the side and poured it into the wooden groove to cool and shape. When the syrup hardened, the color would deepen. It turns brick red, and when it is cut, it becomes brown sugar slices.
The father and son of the Feng family came over to cook the sugar. Madam Feng picked up a small spoon and turned it around in the syrup. When it came out, it became a lollipop. She put it in Mengmeng's mouth and let her hold it, but she discussed it with her daughter-in-law. "Su wan, it's time to hand in the public food in a few days. The four adults in our family will pay 320 jin. You have also seen the rice at home. It's very different from other people's houses. It wouldn't be good if we hand it in. They will definitely ask questions if they see it. I think it would be better if we can buy food outside the mountain. I will discuss this with Old feng and the Eldest. The two of us can't go out of the mountain. And I don't feel relieved if we have so much food."
Su Wan thought about it and said, "Mom, I'll listen to you, but everyone has to pay 50 jin for the reserved grain. What should we do?" In addition to paying the public grain, the farmers also pay the reserved grain. There is a word called "Three mentions and five unifications" which are actually local taxes in disguise.
"Alas..." Madam Feng sighed and said, distressed as if she had cut flesh: "If you want to pay 520 catties of rice, the cheapest price is ten yuan and one hundred catties, that's 52 yuan. Even if the Eldest is the village chief he can't earn that much in a month."
Su Wan said sensibly: "Mom, I still have a little money from my dowry here, you can take it and add it."
Madam Feng was a little relieved, but she still shook her head and said, "I have all the money in our family. That is your dowry, You keep it for yourself, we wouldn't know if you will be needing it."
She turned her head to look at the busy father and son, and finally brought up a bit of spirit and said, "Fortunately, this year's sugarcane harvest is good. When we sell brown sugar later, we can make up for it."
After the autumn harvest is over, the people in the village will go out of the mountain to hand in the public grain. Although the commune has been canceled, some things are still the same as before. As the village chief, Feng Yimin has to organize everyone to transport the public grain to the grain station outside the mountain.
On the day of handing over the public rations, the whole village got up in the middle of the night. The mountain road was difficult and long, and they had to carry such a heavy load of food. Therefore, in addition to the men, some strong women in the village also followed. This trip is just to hand in the public rations, and I have to go again when I submit the reserved rations next time.
Before leaving, Mrs. Feng stuffed several pieces of roasted rice into the pockets of her old man and the eldest son, and also fried a bag of peanuts for them to bring, and said the words over and over again. Once again: "Be careful, look at the mountain road, don't go too fast."
On the way, Chen Hongmei also followed, looking at the empty-handed father-in-law and uncle, she couldn't help but curled her lips and said, "Look at the uncle's poor harvest this time, and my mother gave the private house to let them go out to buy food, what about our family? Isn't there such a good thing?"
"You also know that the eldest brother's harvest is not good, can you say something about it?" Feng Laosan was carrying two sacks, and he was almost out of breath. Hearing his wife's complaint again makes him feel uncomfortable. He said politely: "Why don't we exchange with the elder brother's house, his harvest is not good, the next rations will be a problem, are you willing to change?"
Chen Hongmei thought he was unlucky for his words, as if he was cursing her own family, and quickly spit out a mouthful of saliva and said, "Bah, bah, I warn you, Mr. Feng, if the uncle's family comes to borrow food, you are not allowed to lend it to them."
Old Madam Feng and Su Wan sent the father and son away, and went back to sleep again. As soon as it was dawn, they were lying in bed when they heard a cry from outside. The sound became louder and louder. It sounds miserable.
Madam Feng woke up, stood in the yard and listened for a while, then suddenly patted her thigh and said, "Something must have happened, everyone, you stay with Mengmeng at home, I'll go to the front to take a look."
Taking advantage of a little light in the sky, Mrs. Feng walked to the entrance of the village taking one foot to another and saw that several men in the village came back with a wounded man. Accountant Zhang was also inside.
"Whoops, what's wrong with him?" Madam Feng walked over to take a look, and was taken aback by the wounded man.
The man who came back with him said, "This big man is from Widow Liu's family, he fell down the mountain. If he hadn't been caught by the roof of the Dragon Bone Temple on the way, he would be gone now."
Madam Feng turned her head to look at Da Zhuang. He wasn't much better now. He didn't have a piece of good flesh on his body. He was still bleeding out in some places, which was scary to look at.
Widow Liu also rushed out of the house after receiving the news. She was the one who made the cry just now. She threw herself on Da Zhuang's body and cried, "My son, why are you like this? Don't be scared, Mom is here. Accountant Zhang, please save my family, I beg you!"
Madam Feng jumped beside her and said, "What's the use of asking them? They're not doctors, what about Aunt Liu? Get Aunt Liu now!"
The sixth aunt Lou Guizhi also came after hearing the news. She squeezed into the crowd and squatted beside Da Zhuang for a while to check, then frowned and shook her head and said, "Why did this happen? It's all... hopeless."
When Widow Liu heard this, she immediately cried like a mother beast who lost her cub.
This Widow Liu is also pitiful. Her family's man disappeared a few years ago, and she managed to drag her family to sixteen years old, and she was about to enjoy happiness. I didn't expect such a thing to happen at this juncture.
She cried for a while, then crawled over and grabbed Aunt Liu's trouser legs and said, "Aunt Liu, I beg you to save my family, he's the only child. If he goes, I won't be able to live."
Aunt Liu turned her head away and didn't dare to look at Widow Liu. She was a midwife in the village and a health worker. She was equivalent to a barefoot doctor, a midwife, a nurse, and a veterinarian. She only knows a few things. The Doctor's Handbook has been turned over and over, and even if she has been trained, only she knows her true level.
Widow Liu begged for a while, and then knelt down and begged the men in the village: "Someone, anyone please help us send Da Zhuang to the hospital outside the mountain, please!"
"Do you think he will be able to hold on if we send him out now?" Accountant Zhang sighed and said with a gloomy expression: "This trip will take seven or eight hours, and his blood will be drained before halfway through. "
Widow Liu was completely desperate, she only knew how to cry beside Da Zhuang's legs: "Son, ah, why are you like this? How can you bear to leave Mom, my son..."
Seeing that, Aunt Liu couldn't bear it, and wrinkled her face to death and said, "Forget it, Da Zhuang's mother, then let me tell you, your family's Da Zhuang has already become like this, so I will give it a try. Give it a try and don't blame me if it doesn't work."
Widow Liu cried so much that her nose was blistered, as if she was grabbing the last straw, she said, "He's the sixth aunt, please save Da Zhuang, if it doesn't work... just blame me for my bad life."
"Alas..." Sixth Aunt squatted down again, and tied a hemp rope to Feng Dazhuang's body where the blood was bleeding, trying to make the blood flow slower, and sprinkled several handfuls of grass and tree ash on it, then clapped his hands and stood up and said: "Now it's up to Lord Yan to accept him. If he doesn't accept him, he can live, and if he accepts it, I can't do anything about it."
She said so, but she had no hope in her heart. Seeing that blood was still pouring out of Da Zhuang's body, his face became more and more pale, and even his body twitched, and it seemed that he was going to die.
The people next to him are also very uncomfortable. They are all from the village. They also watched Da Zhuang grow up, and he carried the whole family at the age of sixteen. Why did this happen to him?
Madam Feng sighed several times in a row, and inadvertently blinked her eyes, and immediately looked like her eyes were on fire, "Su Wan, why did you take Mengmeng out? The child's family, can't you see the blood, go back quickly. go back!"
Su Wan didn't expect this to happen. Her mother-in-law didn't come back as soon as she went out. The movement outside was getting louder and louder. She was very worried and only came out to take a look. She didn't expect to see this scene and quickly covered Mengmeng. Eyes took her back.
As soon as Mengmeng left, Da Zhuang suddenly stopped moving. The men in the village felt a little bad, and muttered to each other: "Is this Da Zhuang... is he dead?"
Aunt Liu dared to lean in and try to breathe, but before she could reach her hand, Da Zhuang suddenly opened his eyes. "Oh my god, it's scary!" The Sixth Aunt was so frightened that she fell to the ground.
"My son, my son, my son woke up!" Widow Liu burst out loud. She pulled up Aunt Liu and said, "Here Aunt Liu, you should check him quickly."
Aunt Liu squatted on the side and checked it again, unable to believe her eyes, "The blood is no longer coming out, and the pulse is stable, you quickly take Da Zhuang to the health station, they can connect the broken bones for him!"
In the middle of the night, the people who went out to pay for the public food returned to the village. As soon as he entered the door, Feng Yimin sighed and said, "It's too hard, it's too miserable, this child, Da Zhuang, if it hadn't been for Aunt Liu who saved him, his mother wouldn't live through this."
"Isn't it," Madam Feng said while pacing while holding Mengmeng, "Is everything okay about the handing of the public food? Have you paid it all? Is there enough money?"
"There's enough, that's right, Mom, the Da Zhuang family's food is half scattered, and there is no delay in handing over the public food. I discussed it with a few cadres in the village, and together I paid for his family's share." He would say this because he knew that the big Zhuang family was unable to repay the money, and the money would be wasted.
Although Mrs. Feng felt a little distressed, she still said generously: "It's all for the villagers. When it's time to help, you should help. Forget it."
Feng Yimin's expression became extremely determined at this moment, and he said categorically: "We can't wait any longer, we must build the road, this time it's Da Zhuang, next time it might be someone in the village, if there is a road, there will be life, if there is no Road, there will be death!"
Su Wan brought a pot of water for them to drink. Seeing the tired old man Feng, she persuaded softly, "It's too late. discuss it with the people in the village tomorrow, and let Dad go to rest first."
Early the next morning, Feng Yimin ran out without even having a meal. He didn't look for anyone, so he approached Feng Guoqiang, the head of the militia group in the village, and discussed with him, "Guoqiang, you saw what happened yesterday. If the road is not repaired, this might happen again."
"Everyone knows this is true," Feng Guoqiang took a sip of water from the jar and said "It's difficult, the road has to be repaired but there are so many mountains and so many rocks, it will be very difficult."
"No matter how difficult it is, it must be repaired. It cannot go on like this." After Feng Yimin finished speaking, he stared at Feng Guoqiang closely.
Feng Guoqiang thought about it again and again, and finally put the jar down and said, "Just repair it, take advantage of the slack of the farming season to repair it quickly, and then I can go to my comrade-in-arms to get some explosives, it will be a little easier."
Feng Yimin returned home with a heavy heart, and saw Mengmeng sitting in the main room eating breakfast, no matter how tired he was, when he saw his lovely little daughter, his mood instantly relaxed.
He teased his daughter for a while, and he picked up the bowl himself, but he didn't bring it to his lips after holding it for a long time. He sighed and put down the bowl and said, "Dad, we discussed it on the road yesterday, and this time we must repair the road. It is also difficult for the people in the village, but fortunately everyone has the same heart and knows the benefits of having a road."
Old Man Feng was well prepared, nodded and said, "Yimin, since you have decided to build the road, then just do it a little bit. After two days to finish the work in the field, choose a good day, let's try to do it earlier. Repairing it little by little, it might take a year. If not another year will be added. As long as everyone is willing to work to repair it, somehow sooner or later it will be repaired.
"Yah..." Mengmeng listened intently beside her, and suddenly made a little noise, which attracted the whole family to look at her.
"Oh, our Mengmeng can understand it too?" Everyone laughed and teased her.
Madam Feng fed a spoonful of rice soup into Mengmeng's mouth and said proudly, "That's right, our Mengmeng is the smartest."
When the whole family finished eating and went out, Mrs. Feng also went out to wash the dishes. There was no one in the room. Mengmeng was sitting in the small sedan chair, and a small blue fish suddenly appeared in one hand. The little fish flicked its tail and suddenly disappeared again.