"Aunt Xiao, it was all my fault in the past, I have offended you so much.
The Zhao family came to bully me that day. Thanks to my aunt for speaking up for me, I have nothing to repay. If my aunt doesn't mind, feel free to ask me for help with any rough work in the future. "
"I have an old man and two sons. What kind of work can I use you for?" Xu Zhengxiang refused unceremoniously.
"You can just raise your own two daughters in a good manner."
"Auntie said yes, I will do it." Mrs. Zhao changed her usual unruly demeanor and responded in a very polite manner.
After Mrs. Zhao left, Yang Feng looked at the newly returned grain and the dried rice at home, and discussed with Xu Zhengxiang: "Mom, the new rice has come down. How about we steam some new rice today?" .”
Just when Xu Zhengxiang had this intention, Yang Feng opened her mouth and nodded her head: "Eat, eat, eat, you know how to eat. How come the things in Luo Xin's mind are different from yours."
Yang Feng smiled sheepishly: "Mom, look at what you said, my younger siblings are lucky stars. How can I compare? I can't think of those complicated things. I just need to follow my younger siblings to get some light."
The husk must be removed from new rice before eating it.
In order to preserve it longer, farmers do not pound too much rice at one time.
Xu Zhengxiang said that he wanted to eat new rice in the evening, so Xiao Changhe took out the stone jar that had not been used for more than two months, poured some rice into it, and started beating with a wooden hammer.
Xiao Jing has been staying at home recently. Seeing that his father was about to pound new rice, he knew that there would be something good to eat in the evening, so he hurried up to help.
"Dad, let me do it." He reached out to grab the hammer in Xiao Changhe's hand.
"Can you do it?" Xiao Changhe glanced at him sideways.
"Why not? I'm very strong!"
Xiao Jing swung the hammer as hard as pounding garlic. After this round, he could no longer lift his arms.
"This work is too tiring." He dropped the hammer and collapsed to the ground.
"No farm work is not tiring. If you keep saying that you are tired from studying all day long, it is because you have not worked in the fields. Once you work in the fields for the first half of a year like your two brothers, you will know that studying is the most relaxing thing. .”
"Dad, I understand, I will study hard." Xiao Jing touched his head.
"But this farm work doesn't have to be so tiring. I want to think of a way to see if I can make rice pounding easier."
Since the last time he and his second brother and second sister-in-law made a threshing machine, Xiao Jing has become very interested in improving farm tools.
From July to August of previous years, he watched his parents and brothers get up early in the morning and go to the fields to plant rice in the middle of the night. When they got home at night, they would beat the rice ears by moonlight. Who would have dared to think at that time that in such a short period of time, In one day, all the rice is threshed.
Isn’t studying and becoming an official just for the common people to live a good life?
Some things do not necessarily require becoming an official. He can now study the improvement of farm tools while studying, so that his family and fellow villagers can save more effort when farming.
Xiao Changhe pounded the rest of the rice himself, knocking off the outer shell of the rice. The pounded shell was rice bran, and the rest was white rice.
Keep the rice bran to feed the chickens and ducks, and eat the white rice every now and then to improve your food.
When Xiao Changhe was pounding rice, Xiao Jing kept drawing on the ground with a stick.
When Xu Zhengxiang came to load the rice, she saw Xiao Jing being lazy and slapped him on the head: "I just know how to play. Didn't you see your father pounding rice? Such a young man has no eyesight at all."
Xiao Jing blushed and felt aggrieved. He defended in a low voice: "Mom, I was studying the tools for pounding rice. I forgot all about your shot."
Just when Ye Luoxin came back from mowing the grass outside, Xiao Jing stood up and ran to Ye Luoxin, stretching his head over: "Sister-in-law, come and pat me, my mother has made me stupid."
Ye Luoxin found it funny, touched his hair and said, "How could it be possible? Our Xiaojing is so smart!"
Xiao Jing chuckled, took Ye Luoxin's basket, pulled her sleeves and walked inside, "Sister-in-law, come and see, I just drew a tool for pounding rice, but I always feel something is weird."
Ye Luoxin walked over and took a look. It turned out that Xiao Jing had drawn a lever-type rice pounder, but the length of the armrests was wrong and it looked like it would not be strong enough.
She saw the problem at a glance and reminded: "The armrest is too long, and it takes a lot of effort to press it down. In fact, this thing does not necessarily have to be operated by hand. It should be easier if you can use your feet."
Xiao Jing suddenly understood and slapped his forehead with a slap.
"Yes, why didn't I think of it? Using your feet not only frees up your hands, but also saves a lot of energy."
He quickly erased the wrong parts of the painting with his hands and added the content again. After a while, a foot-operated rice pounder appeared on the ground.
The front part of the rice grinder is a large round head, connected by a long rod. A crossbeam used as a lever passes through the middle of the long rod. The rear end is a flat foot pedal, and two wooden boards are nailed to both ends of the foot pedal. Pole that can be used as a handrail.
After reading it, Ye Luoxin nodded with satisfaction.
It is not much different from the modern simple rice pounder.
After receiving his sister-in-law's approval, Xiao Jing immediately ran into the house, used pen and paper to redraw the picture on the floor, and shouted loudly: "Let the second brother find a carpenter to make it tomorrow. From now on, all the work of pounding rice will be mine. One person can do it.”
Xu Zhengxiang heard her youngest son's lofty words in the kitchen, and said to Yang Feng who was working: "Did you hear that? I guess Greedy Xinmi Greedy's brain is not clear."
Yang Feng was putting green bamboo shoots into the pot. When he heard Xu Zhengxiang's words, he waved the shovel and said, "My third brother is smart, and he may have made something good again."
The kitchen was filled with smoke, and Ye Luoxin walked in after washing her hands.
Yang Feng saw her and shouted quickly: "Brothers and sisters, take a look at how the meat in your pot is doing? The meat smell has come out for a long time. Just smelling it makes your mouth water."
Xiao Mu bought the meat at the county market in the morning.
A few days ago, he went to the county town and passed Xu Ji Restaurant, and went there to buy some soy pork elbows.
Sauced elbows are expensive, costing 150 Wen per catty, and one elbow cost him 410 Wen.
After Xu Zhengxiang learned the price, she complained while eating.
"It's not easy for you to make some money. Why bother to compete with that Li Cuihua? It's just a dirty elbow. Even if I don't eat it for the rest of my life, I don't think Li Cuihua is beating me."
"Mom, my husband is also filial." Ye Luoxin came to the rescue.
"However, Xu Ji's sauce elbow is not that delicious."
"Sister-in-law, this is not delicious! Have you ever tasted better pork elbow?" Xiao Jing's curiosity was piqued again.
"I have eaten it before. Really good sauced pork elbows should be fat but not greasy, soft and tasty, and even the outer skin should be waxy, so they are delicious."
