The work of drying wheat wasn’t exhausting in comparison to harvesting it, but it was still quite labor-intensive. They had to spread out the harvested wheat and wait for the village people to drive the oxen to thresh it. After several rounds of threshing, they would need to turn the grain, repeat the process a few more times, and then collect the straw to prepare for the second round of threshing.
After two or three rounds of threshing to ensure all the wheat grains were separated, they could collect the grains and store them in the warehouse, while the straw was piled up into haystacks to feed the cattle during the winter.
In the afternoon, Xu Shuang appeared, carrying a large jar of sour plum soup. As soon as he arrived, he relieved Old Mrs. Xu and Wang Ying from their work: “Take a break.”
The sour plum soup was made based on a recipe Wang Ying had given him, which he had brewed at the restaurant. He had added some rock candy, making it delicious, though it wasn’t cold enough.
Wang Ying and Old Mrs. Xu drank half of the jar, and they even shared some with Qian Juhua. Wu Guihua, who was pushing a cart and bringing over wheat, also tasted a little.
Wu Guihua smacked her lips: “Wow, this is really good. It’s both sour and sweet.”
Wang Ying: “Do you want to brew some? I’ll give you the ingredients. I also added some herbs to help clear heat.”
Wu Guihua savored the taste, and sure enough, there was a slight medicinal flavor mingled with the sour sweetness: “Alright, I’ll have Xinghua bring the money over to your house to pick it up in the evening.”
Qian Juhua raised her hand as well: “Me, me, me, I want some too. How much is it per set?”
Wang Ying: “Five cents, but it doesn’t come with sugar. You can add sugar according to your own taste.”
Five cents, it’s not too expensive, about the price of an egg.
Qian Juhua: “Then I’ll take two sets, we have several people at home, I’m afraid it won’t be enough.”
Wang Ying: “No need for that many. It has hawthorn in it, it’s not good for kids to drink too much.”
Qian Juhua thought about it and agreed, so she didn’t insist.
Wang Ying then asked Wu Guihua: “How’s Xinghua doing lately? Is she keeping up with the training?”
Yes, Tian Xinghua had been with Wang Ying for more than a month, and now it was her time for training. She couldn’t participate in the wheat harvest, and was at the commune’s health center for training all day.
When Wu Guihua heard this, she became happy: “That’s great! She’s keeping up just fine.”
Wang Ying was relieved. It seemed that Tian Xinghua, the midwife, was nearly confirmed for the role. After the training, she would spend another month at the county hospital’s obstetrics and gynecology department for further learning.
When all was said and done, it would be just in time for the peak of the village’s childbirth season.
Now that Wu Guihua was the women’s director, she knew who was pregnant in the village: “This year, there are about ten pregnant women in the team.”
If Xinghua was really selected, she would face quite a few challenges.
The group chatted for a while, and Xu Shuang was diligently working beside them. He was strong and quick at turning the grain, handling the work of two people easily.
By the time it was nearing evening, Xu Shuang mounted his bicycle and went to the restaurant for another round.
Wang Ying and Xu Laotai were busy until after 9 pm, then packed up and went home. They had a simple dinner, took a bath, and went to bed.
The busy wheat harvest continued for four days, and on the fifth day, something happened, neither big nor small.
The incident started with the educated youth. This year, there were quite a few new educated youth, and Tian Youfu didn’t have high expectations for them. The team leader for the educated youth knew that they wouldn’t work hard. After all, they were here for temporary work, not to settle down. Even if there wasn’t enough grain, they wouldn’t starve to death.
Therefore, the speed of the educated youth’s team in cutting the wheat was at the bottom. Some were simply incapable, others had never worked before and got injured, while some were just lazy, pretending to work. There were a few who did work properly, but they were very few.
The team leader was furious and complained to Tian Youfu for a long time.
Tian Youfu thought for a moment, and since these educated youth weren’t capable of working, he decided to assign them to guard the grain stacks.
The reason to guard the grain stacks was twofold: one was to prevent rain at night. In the summer, heavy rains could ruin the grain, so they needed to quickly gather the wheat before it got wet. The second reason was to prevent theft.
Tian Youfu thought that since they weren’t good for working, at least they could guard the field.
So, he assigned several male educated youth to guard the grain stacks at night, and among them was Jiang Lei.
Recently, Jiang Lei had been in a bad mood. Bai Ling no longer paid attention to him. Whenever she saw him, she would walk around him, even in the same field, she would avoid him.
Not only that, Jiang Lei observed that Bai Ling and Yu Pengcheng were getting closer and closer.
Jiang Lei’s heart was like molten lava beneath the sea, cold on the surface but still burning with anger below.
He just couldn’t understand why Bai Ling was behaving like this.
They had been clear about being together, so why would she go and get closer to Yu Pengcheng?
This confusion drove Jiang Lei to stop Bai Ling when the educated youth finished their work.
Bai Ling thought to herself, “Here it comes, it’s this moment.”
Jiang Lei went on and on about his admiration for her, demanding that she give him an answer.
He had spent most of the money he brought on Bai Ling, and if she ended up with someone else, wouldn’t he be a fool?
Jiang Lei was no longer as easy to deceive as before, and demanded that Bai Ling promise to marry him.
Bai Ling bit her lip, looking pitiful: “Please don’t pressure me…”
Jiang Lei pulled his hair, frustrated and confused: “What am I pressuring you for? Bai Ling, we were classmates in middle school, I’ve liked you for a long time. If you marry me, we can be together. When the time is right, I’ll tell my family, and we’ll go back to the city. I don’t understand why you won’t agree.”
Bai Ling’s eyes filled with tears: “I’m not well, I’ll drag you down…”
Jiang Lei: “You’ve said this many times, but I’m not afraid of you dragging me down. We’re both from the capital, how could we have a bad life? If you agree to marry me, I’ll ask my family for some money, and we’ll rent a house in the village. Things will get better in the future.”
Bai Ling still shook her head.
Her hesitation, not rejecting or agreeing, made Jiang Lei feel heartbroken.
“Then what do you want?”
Bai Ling still shook her head.
Jiang Lei, already impatient, had poured all his patience into Bai Ling. Now, hearing her neither reject nor agree, he became enraged and swung his fist at the nearby tree.
Bai Ling immediately felt at ease, having achieved her goal.
Jiang Lei left, and Bai Ling stayed behind to collect herself.
After adjusting her emotions, she cried her way back to her quarters. Wu Guihua, the women’s director, saw her and surely would come to inquire about what happened.
Bai Ling was gasping for breath: “Director Wu, I want to report, just now Jiang Lei tried to assault me.”
