It's noon on the day of hoeing, and the sweat is dripping from the soil.
Big beads of sweat rolled down Cheng Wanwan's face, and they fell on the rice field drop by drop.
She didn't even have time to wipe her sweat. She lowered her head and rubbed the straw rope to tie up the rice in the field one by one. She couldn't do it too roughly, otherwise the grains would fall off. If the rice fell in the field, it would have to be picked up one by one. Really It's too much trouble.
After all the rice was bundled, she secretly applied a little medicine on her palms, then picked up the pole and prepared to carry the rice back.
When I looked up, I saw Wu Huiniang walking from the other side of the field.
This field bank is very narrow, with rice piles on the left and right sides. If you accidentally fall down, the consequences will be disastrous.
Cheng Wanwan rushed over and held his daughter-in-law's arm: "It's such a hot day. Why are you pregnant in the fields?"
Wu Huiniang was a little moved.
During the autumn harvest, both pregnant women and children had to work in the fields. She was also ready to go to the fields to harvest rice, but her mother-in-law would not let her do such heavy work at all. She saw that her mother-in-law's palms were full of blood blisters, and she suddenly My heart was sour and my eyes were slightly red.
Cheng Wanwan was startled: "Hui Niang, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling sick in your stomach?"
"No, no, I'm fine." Wu Huiniang quickly smiled and said, "Mom, we have guests at home. They are my cousin's classmates, about eight or nine of us."
Cheng Wanwan walked to the ridge of the field, stood on tiptoe and looked out, and saw three carriages in front of his house.
She probably guessed what was going on, picked up the rice and walked towards the door of her house.
Wu Huiniang helped pick up the rice ears scattered on the ground and followed Cheng Wanwan back.
As she got closer, she discovered that there was a lot of rice spread on the field in front of her house, and three carriages were rolling back and forth on the rice.
It's just that the shaft of the car is too narrow, and running it back and forth dozens of times won't have much effect.
Cheng Wanwan suddenly remembered that when she was watching TV before, she had seen a cow pulling a round stone to grind rice on a rural rice field. The stone was very heavy and was being rolled back and forth, which could save people a lot of effort. It seemed to be called ...Stone wheel.
This thing has appeared in history, but it has not become popular. It seems that it really became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. At that time, every household in the countryside seemed to have this thing.
"Dashan Niang, what's going on at your house? Who's here?" Aunt Wang next door went home to take a drink of water. She was startled when she saw three carriages and people in the yard. She quickly pulled Cheng Wanwan and asked, "All of them are clean and nice-looking, and they are also handsome. Many older girls in the village passed by just now, and all of them turned red with embarrassment."
Cheng Wanwan was ashamed, the folk customs in Dahe Village were really tough.
She smiled and said, "They are all Cheng Zhao's classmates. Come and see him. I'll go in first to entertain him."
She walked to the door, put down the rice on her shoulders, looked up into the yard, and was suddenly shocked.
When she didn't enter the yard just now, she was still thinking that Shen Zheng was indeed quite capable in getting the young master in the town to lend him a carriage to crush rice. Unexpectedly, the seven or eight scholars from this town not only lent the carriage and The driver even rolled up his sleeves and was working.
The farm tools at home were limited. Ah Fu held the only flail, and Cheng Zhao held the only fork. Some of the others used wooden basins to thresh the grains, while others simply used their hands to swipe the rice off the ears of rice. It started very quickly, but before there were even four or five ears of rice, the palms of these young masters started to turn red...
Cheng Wanwan said quickly: "You can't thresh the grains like this, your hands will be injured, so sit down and take a rest."
After saying that, she glared at Cheng Zhao and said, "Zhao'er, these are all your classmates. How can you let your classmates do farm work here? Everyone should stop what they are doing and sit in a shady place to rest."
Cheng Zhao didn't know what to say.
He ignored these people when they came over. It was Shen Zhengfei who wanted these people to stay and do farm work, so he just pretended not to see them.
He walked into the house, took out the chairs and stools, and placed them under the shade of the tree. The group of scholars immediately sat down, their waists and legs pounding with exhaustion.
Cheng Zhao walked into the back room with a calm expression.
Shen Zheng walked quickly to Cheng Wanwan and said proudly: "Three carriages should be able to produce about four or five kilograms of rice. My classmates plus Ah Fu have produced more than twenty kilograms of rice. Ah Fu and I have produced more than 20 kilograms of rice today." Your mission is completed, and tomorrow’s mission is also completed!”
He puffed out his chest and looked like he was begging for praise.
Cheng Wanwan was silent in thought, but he immediately became anxious: "Hey, although I didn't do it myself, the task was indeed completed. You shouldn't keep your word!"
Cheng Wanwan raised her eyes and looked at him: "If I don't call you hello, you can call me Zhao Chengshi like your father, or you can call me Aunt Zhao like Ah Fu."
Shen Zheng twitched the corner of his mouth and spoke with great reluctance: "I'll just call you Aunt Zhao."
Cheng Wanwan nodded and said: "You are good at using external forces to achieve your goals. You are very smart. Just like a strategist is far less brave and skilled than the soldiers on the front line, a strategist can command thousands of troops."
Shen Zheng's eyes widened. Sister-in-law Zhao actually compared him to a military strategist. Is he so powerful?
He suddenly felt a little carried away, his mouth widened into a smile.
"You can think of borrowing the strength of classmates, which is very good, but they are scholars, and four or five people combined are worth one strong labor force in the village." Cheng Wanwan said slowly, "It is better to borrow animals than to borrow manpower, just like Oxen and horses, but the wheels of the carriage are too narrow. After walking back and forth for nearly an hour, the rice produced is only four or five kilograms. The efficiency is too low and the gain outweighs the loss."
Shen Zheng was also thinking about this question, but couldn't think of an answer.
"If there is a stone similar to a wheel, let the horse drag the stone and roll it on the rice, and you will get twice the result with half the effort." Cheng Wanwan reminded him, "It is easy to find stones on the mountain, but it may be a bit difficult to make it look like a wheel."
"What's so difficult about this? I'll find a mason to do it. I can do it in one night." Shen Zheng bared his teeth and smiled, "Aunt Zhao, if I succeed in this matter, next time my father comes, you have to look like Can you praise me like this today?"
Compare him to a military advisor and see if dad dares to call him useless in the future.
Cheng Wanwan couldn't help but smile and nodded: "Of course, you go entertain your classmates first, and I'll go in and make some tea."
Shen Zheng turned around and went to talk to Zheng Wangfeng and others.
Qian Hui was so exhausted that he was sweating profusely and said in a cold voice, "The son of a dignified county magistrate actually talked to a peasant woman for so long."
Shen Zheng sneered: "Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, farmers are second. Farm women are much nobler than you, the son of a businessman. Qian Hui, Qian Hui, you have been working for so long, I am ready to forgive you, but you have to come." You are mocking me, I still can’t get over it, what do you think I should do?”
Qian Hui was furious: "We are here to apologize to Cheng Zhao. If you can't change your tone, what does it have to do with me?"
"Cheng Zhao and I are good brothers, good brothers who sleep together at night. If I don't forgive you, he will definitely not forgive you." Shen Zheng chuckled, "Well, you will go back to town later and I will find you. The most skilled stonemason in Baiyun Town helps make a stone-like wheel..."
