In the next few days, they all worked in the fields.
The little tiger was kept in Ye Luoxin and Xiao Mu's room. He was very obedient and never ran around.
On the fifth day, it was finally my turn to harvest rice.
They all got up very early that day. Although they had worked for four days in a row and their backs were sore from fatigue, they were still very motivated when they thought about the new food coming out and the delicious new rice they would be able to eat soon.
My own family is different from helping. During the day, I have to cut rice, and I have to spend some time at night to pull off the ears of rice.
This is a laborious task.
The rice has been half dried in the field, so this thing is very painful.
But if you rub it with your hands, it will bleed after just a few strokes.
The Xiao family followed the method of previous years, laying a bamboo mat on the ground, and then placing a few stones in the middle. Everyone gathered around the stones, holding rice handles and beating them on the stones until all the rice grains were taken off.
It seems simple, but it is actually a strenuous task. After falling all night, you will not be able to lift your arms the next day.
Ye Luoxin and Xiao Jing are weak and their arms are not that long.
Xiao Mu then found a few stones with large edges and corners, and taught them to put the rice ears on one end, and press them with a flat wooden board. They could pull off some of the rice ears by pulling hard with the other hand, and repeated After several rounds, the rice grains can be removed cleanly.
They worked very late on the first night and only managed to get out more than ten kilograms of rice.
This year's harvest is expected to be eight to nine hundred kilograms. After the rice is harvested, it will take half a month to thresh it.
"Our harvest is already late this year, so we have to work quickly and dry all the rice while the weather is good. If it starts to rain, it will be difficult." Xu Zhengxiang said with some worry.
The farmer's family's annual income is all tied to food. Even though her family still has Xiao Mu's income from collecting herbs, food is definitely the first priority.
"We have a large family and can still work. It won't take long, so don't be too anxious." Xiao Changhe comforted his wife.
After washing up at night, Ye Luoxin felt like her body was falling apart. Although she used a new method when threshing grains, she still had a few blood blisters on her hands.
When she thought about having to do this for the next half month, she suddenly felt that life in the country was not so desirable.
Xiao Mu felt sorry for his daughter-in-law, and his hands were bleeding, so he decided to apply medicine to Ye Luoxin first.
"You can do less tomorrow, I'll just do more." He said while applying the medicine.
"How can that be done? My sister-in-law and the others are all working, so I can't do less."
Ye Luoxin frowned in pain.
"This method of threshing is slow and tiring. I think we can think of other ways."
"Is there any other good way?" Xiao Mu asked. If there was a simple method, he would certainly be looking for it. Now this method is the most labor-saving method that the villagers have thought of. Many years ago, everyone still used their hands. of.
"Let me think about it." After saying this, Ye Luoxin fell into a deep sleep.
However, she was not idle in her dream. She kept thinking about the structure of a simple threshing machine that she had seen in a book.
When she woke up the next day, the image of the threshing machine had already taken shape in her mind.
Afraid that she would forget it when she got busy, she sharpened her ink immediately and planned to draw a simple structural diagram.
But she overlooked one thing. A brush is far less simple to use than a pencil and a pen.
After I couldn't draw a few strokes, a ball of ink dripped down and stained the entire paper. After changing the paper, the pen tip became thicker and thinner for a while. After drawing a picture, I couldn't tell what was drawn at all.
Xiao Mu doesn't usually write, and there are only a few pieces of paper in the room. If he continues to draw, he will soon run out of them.
When she was feeling worried, Xiao Mu came in from the outside, looked at her face stained by ink, and said with a smile: "What are you doing, madam?"
"Quickly, come and help me draw. Last night, an old man with a white beard entrusted me with a dream and told me a tool that can thresh rice. With this thing, we can save a lot of effort!"
Xiao Mu paused and said, "I can't draw. Wait, you call someone." As he said that, he walked out of the door. After a while, Xiao Jing ran in.
"Sister-in-law, call me."
"I want to draw something and I need your help." Ye Luoxin said as she described the drawing in her mind bit by bit.
Xiao Jing was very smart. After listening to Ye Luoxin's words, he started drawing on the paper.
"There's also a footstep thing here."
"Yes, it's connected to the top."
"It's better to get a baffle behind it."
Under Ye Luoxin's command, Xiao Jing quickly drew the threshing machine.
In fact, when Ye Luoxin was halfway through speaking, Xiao Jing had roughly understood what she was thinking, so the two of them cooperated very well.
Until Xiao Jing put down his pen, Ye Luoxin patted him on the shoulder: "It's really amazing. He must be a scholar!"
Xiao Jing smiled sheepishly.
He scratched his head and said, "Sister-in-law, if this thing is made, it will solve a big problem. How on earth did you come up with it!"
Ye Luoxin thought for a while and said, "Maybe I was too tired yesterday. I complained a few times in my dream, and then a god came to give me guidance."
"Really?" Xiao Jing looked envious: "I have complained many times in my dreams that the Four Books are too difficult to memorize, but why are there no gods to guide me?"
"Maybe..." Ye Luoxin was speechless, "Maybe you have to rely on yourself for studying."
After breakfast, everyone went to the fields to harvest rice as usual.
We have to wait until all the rice is harvested before we have time to study the construction of a threshing machine.
The large area of land will almost be collected today, and the remaining pieces of land will be finished by Xiao Mu and Xiao Song.
Halfway through the work, Xiao Jing also came to the field.
His face didn't look good.
Xiao Changhe quickly asked: "If you are not studying in the school, why did you come back?"
"Master is sick, we have a day off today."
"Confucius is sick?" Everyone was surprised, "Do you know what the disease is?"
"How do I know this?" Xiao Jing's eyes turned red. "I was in class when I suddenly fainted. Li Zheng said he wanted to take him to the county hospital. I originally wanted to go with him, but the bullock cart was running too fast and I couldn't catch up. If you go up, you can only come back."
"Don't worry too much." Ye Luoxin comforted him, "When the people who went with him come back, there will be news."
After harvesting the rice, the Xiao family was not in a hurry to thresh the rice. Xiao Changhe took Xiao Jing to Li Zheng's house.
Li Zheng's wife saw someone coming and hurried out to greet them.
"Sister-in-law, is Brother Li Zheng back?" Xiao Changhe asked.
"Not yet!" Li Zheng's wife also had a sad look on her face, "Logically, it's time to come back. Why has there been no news for so long?"
Several people had to sit in the yard and wait.
It wasn't until after the moonlight was over that a voice came from outside: "Uncle Li Zheng, I'll go back first."
"Okay, if something happens tomorrow, I'll call you."
Hearing Li Zheng's voice, everyone in the yard stood up.
