Back to the 60s: The Struggle Career of a Charmed Wife
Chapter 259 - 0259: The Autumn Harvest Begins3_1

Chapter 259: Chapter 0259: The Autumn Harvest Begins3_1

The sliced red potatoes are sun-dried during the day and collected in the evening.

If the nightly dew falls on the potato slices, they could easily mold, so they must not be exposed to rain.

A bunch of children, who had either just gotten out of school or did not attend, plucked up the potato slices from the ground with their big and little hands, filling their bamboo or willow woven baskets, then dumping them into larger bamboo containers, before returning to pick up more slices.

Jiang He, Zhang Erya and a group of orphans hurried here and there, with Feng Qingxue assigning them work points according to Wang Zhenguo’s suggestions.

At sunrise the next day, the gathered potato slices would be spread out on the ground to continue drying. This process would be repeated in the evening.

They repeated this every day tirelessly, until the potato slices were completely dry.

As soon as the spring potato slices were thoroughly dried and stored, they started harvesting summer potatoes and corn.

Those responsible for digging up the summer potatoes were experienced farmers. Their digging would result in less damage to the potatoes. With careful screening to remove damaged, diseased, or water-logged ones, only the unspoiled and plump potatoes made it into the storage cellar, persisting on a storage methodology from the past. Throughout the process, everything was handled with the utmost care to ensure the best crops for the next year were saved.

Good seeds bring good shoots, strong seedlings, and naturally, excellent harvest.

Men did the labor-intensive task of cutting down corn stalks one by one, lining them up neatly on the ground. Each row of corn was attended by women and children squatting down to peel back the husks with a pick, removing the corn from the stalk and throwing it onto bare ground.

The piles of corn, golden and lovely, were quite a sight.

The joy of harvest was written on everyone’s face.

The fertile lands of Wanglou Brigade produced long and big maize corncobs, confirming high yields.

Some corn, which grew in shady places and didn’t get enough sunlight, were small and thin. The cornhusks were green and fresh, and the kernels were tender and juicy, bursting with juice when poked.

It required supervision to prevent everyone from eating the tender corn raw out of hunger.

Zhengguo demonstrated his leadership skills by announcing loudly, "Separate the tender corn and put it in one place. When we stop working, everyone can take two ears of corn home to boil. This will not count towards work points. So, no one is allowed to eat it here. If I catch anyone, it’s shame on all of us!"

At these words, everyone cheered and threw themselves into work with a will.

Feng Qingxue, who had not menstruated for more than two months, was certainly pregnant. Apart from recording work points, she too must work. However, she was careful not to engage in labor that required bending over and causing pressure on her lower abdomen.

She couldn’t say she would not work because many pregnant women were toiling away, drenched in sweat.

Even those who were eight or nine months pregnant did not take it easy.

Under these circumstances, how could Qingxue use pregnancy as an excuse not to work?

The men who completed chopping the corn stalks loaded the containers filled with corn onto the donkey cart and transported it to the open for sun-drying. At this time, the summer potatoes that could not be used as seeds had been sliced and spread out to dry in the sun without taking up space in the drying field.

The corn stalks were transported and stacked in the field corner, to be moved near the cattle shed after the wheat was sown.

Both the corn stalks and the sweet potato vines served as fodder for the livestock.

At noon, in order to not delay work, everyone ate their lunch under the shade of trees in the field. Some brought their own boiled water while others drank the flowing river water directly.

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