Chapter 247 Autumn Harvest and Horses Eighty Three
Entering July, as the road between Beihai Town and Fuldan City is about to be connected, a large number of manpower is freed from the road construction site. Many people have no time to take a breath and have to start preparing for the wheat harvest again.
For this year's wheat harvest, Chen Qingsong led the agricultural department to start preparations one month in advance. Every household in Beihai Town and Fuldan City has entered the state early, and everyone knows that all the previous hard work and preparations have been completed.
Just for this harvest. The wheat harvest is not only a tough battle in Beihai Town, but also a gluttonous festival.
The agricultural machinery team is inspecting and maintaining equipment every day; due to insufficient equipment, the workshop made a large number of sickles in advance and distributed them to various households; the livestock team, a dozen heavy-duty draft horses and hundreds of Mongolian horses were fed
The fat made him fat and strong; the agricultural department also mobilized a large amount of white sugar from the warehouse and asked the women in the canteen to make candy cubes to be distributed during the wheat harvest to replenish physical strength.
Zhu Dagui had been sharpening the sickle over and over again all morning. Every time after he finished sharpening, he felt uneasy after a while, so he took it out and continued to sharpen it on the whetstone a few more times, then went out to grab some grass and try the sickle.
It's so sharp that you won't stop until you feel comfortable.
His wife silently watched him go back and forth all morning, and she no longer scolded him like she usually did. Every day, she would follow Zhu Dagui to eat first. This tense atmosphere had been spreading for two or three days, except in the workshop.
Except for the workers, everyone else seemed to be possessed by demons and indifferent to other things.
Some people from Henan and Shandong still followed the old method and estimated that there were still ten and a half days until the wheat was mature, so they were ready to start plowing the wheat field. They told the clerk of the agricultural group about their idea, and they got the news.
Chen Qingsong quickly agreed. The wheat harvest must be done as quickly as possible. As long as it can be completed as soon as possible, any good method can be used.
So these people first cut off a piece of wheat on the edge of the field, removed the wheat stubble, and then leveled the ground cleanly. This piece of land became the wheat field. Because there was no time to make a drum, they used big rocks tied with ropes to smash it.
Tamp until the ground in the wheat field is completely compacted and it is as solid and hard as the old road that has been walked for many years.
For these farmers, the upcoming wheat harvest is more important than the sky falling! And waiting is always the most painful. The most feared thing at this time is a strong wind and heavy rain. If the food is not collected in the warehouse for a day, it will be uneasy.
At this time, all the preparations have been completed, and we are simply waiting to harvest the wheat. The large canteens in Beihai Town and Fuldan City have sent people to set up awnings on the edge of the fields, and stack them one by one for drinking.
A large vat of water was set up and a stove was set up, ready to process food on the spot.
The impatient hearts were temporarily calmed down, and everyone took every opportunity to rest. At this time, the entire Beihai Town became slightly calmer.
As the old saying goes, "It takes a while for the silkworms to grow, but it takes a while for the wheat to be harvested." This is the case with wheat. In the mature season, it may not be ripe in the morning, but it may be ripe in the afternoon.
As the leader of their resident group, Zhu Dagui traveled to the fields almost eight times a day these days. On the sixth day of July, he went to the fields after lunch. Looking at the endless golden waves of wheat, Zhu Dagui habitually rubbed his hands.
I blew the ears of wheat with my mouth, picked up one and threw it into my mouth.
"It's ripe?" Zhu Dagui was stunned, and then he quickly realized it. His face instantly turned dark red with excitement. He took long steps and ran back, shouting: "The wheat is ripe! The wheat is ripe."
Familiar!"
As the news of the ripe wheat spread more and more, the whole Beihai Town suddenly boiled! The originally peaceful residential area was like a wild beast that came to life. Whether it was people from the island country, Henan people, Shandong people, every man, woman and even the elderly were red.
With eyes open, they walked out with sickles in hand. They walked in groups to the fields they were responsible for, waiting for the agricultural team clerk to issue the order to cut the wheat.
Food! After harvesting this, I’m afraid I won’t go hungry again this year!
The clerks from the agricultural group finally arrived. They each held an electric horn and found the area they were responsible for. Facing the people who were rolling up their sleeves and looking like crazy people, they held up the horn and shouted: "Open the cutting!"
"
Boom! Everyone rushed into the fields with sickles in hand to start working.
In the distance, the agricultural machinery unit that had been notified drove out in a 9620RX with a harvesting unit! The roar of the motor attracted the attention of many people.
"Dad, that big green guy came out again. One, two, three, four, four!" Zhu Dagui's wife looked up and exclaimed.
"Hurry up and do your job, no matter what!" Zhu Dagui swung his sickle to cut the wheat without raising his head. Thanks to the food he provided for road construction during this period, his physical strength was obviously better. "Senior men say, there are big things.
Hurry, it's better to be small. The sky is getting faster at this time, and it might rain in the night."
"I heard something the other day. Oh, the clerk said that the machine can harvest, thresh, and winnow out the husks. When it finally comes out, there will be bags of clean wheat grains."
"You're being pretentious when you say you don't understand, that's called combine harvesting!"
Old people say that women are afraid of confinement and men are afraid of harvesting wheat. Harvesting wheat is definitely not a good job, but in order to save time, everyone does not care about anything.
In July, the sun was blazing, with a high temperature of more than 30 degrees, making people sweat even standing in the shade of the trees. Like many people, Zhu Dagui simply took off his obstructive coat and kept busy under the scorching afternoon sun;
The woman follows behind and bundles the cut wheat. Scenes like this can be seen almost everywhere. In every house, men are in front and women are behind.
Harvesting, bundling, reaping, bundling, this kind of action is repeated over and over again, no one even bothers to raise their head.
At around two o'clock in the afternoon, after receiving the news, Wang Yuanfang and Wu Siyu ordered all battalions to dispatch. Regardless of new recruits or veterans, they crossed the river by boat in company units and joined the looting army.
The school also gave children a holiday. Many children who did not understand the hard work of harvesting ran to the fields happily. They followed the adults with a bag and kept picking up some fallen wheat ears. They were sensible.
The others ran to the awning at the edge of the field, fetched two bowls of cold boiled water with salt, and sent it to their parents. The most important thing to do when working in such a hot weather is lack of water, otherwise you will definitely suffer from heat stroke.
"Hey~! Why are you here?" Zhu Dagui asked with some reproach as he took the water from his son.
"The teacher asked us to come. He said that by helping with the farm work, he would let us know the hard work of farming and cherish the food." Xiaoshun, the eight-year-old son, explained with a smile.
"I don't need your help. Please study hard for me and become a scholar in the future!"
"What's so good about being a scholar? My husband said that if you learn mathematics, physics and chemistry well, you won't be afraid of traveling all over the world. I will follow the big ship and travel all over the world."
"What?! What's in the book? There can be any gossip in the book, it's all truth! Our old Zhu family is a single generation of three generations, and I hope you will get ahead. If you dare not study hard, I won't be able to beat you to death!"
"I won't tell you anymore, and I can't explain it clearly." Zhu Xiaoshun took the water bowl dissatisfied and asked his mother behind him: "Mom, what are you having for dinner?"
"Eat shit! Are you busy even if you don't look at it? Who has the heart to cook!"
While the mother and son were talking, Zhu Xiaoshun saw a clerk from the agricultural group holding a loudspeaker and shouting as he walked: "Listen! You don't have to go home to cook at night. The big cafeteria has prepared pancakes, rolled meat and oily meat." Spread the eggs and eat them open!"
"Oh!" Zhu Xiaoshun jumped up happily while holding the bowl.
It is said that the biggest difficulty in cutting wheat by hand is to bend down and cut the wheat stalks by hand with a sickle, which results in back pain and leg cramps. At dusk, many people are so tired that they cannot straighten up. What’s more, it only takes half a day to cut the wheat stalks. A layer of skin had peeled off in the sun, and the body was scratched one after another by the wheat leaves. The wheat awns even pierced into the flesh. When I stopped, I felt the stinging pain, and I accidentally scratched it.
With a mouthful of hot noodle soup and a big mouthful of pancake-wrapped meat, Zhu Dagui and his family squatted on the field ridge, eating a very delicious meal. Around them, many people squatted densely, all eating.
While some people were eating, they raised their heads and said to the woman serving dinner in the cafeteria: "Sister-in-law from the Wan family, what are you going to eat tomorrow?"
The woman in charge of distributing the food was Wan Zao's wife. She said with a smile: "Stewed venison and white-flour steamed buns. I told you before I left that we must eat well for everyone."
As soon as he finished speaking, the people around him burst into laughter.
At night, Zhu Dagui and his wife dragged their tired bodies back to the tent with their children. It took him more than half a day to collect less than an acre of land. After the family hurriedly washed up, there was soon a sound in the tent. Snoring.
At this time, in the fields outside Beihai Town, four 9620RXs were still under the light, busy going back and forth in the wheat fields. The four machines harvested a total of 40 hectares, a total of 600 acres of land, this afternoon and evening.
In Beihai Town alone, 5,000 hectares of land have been reclaimed in the past two years; as for Fuldan City, it is more than 1,000 hectares, nearly 20,000 acres. This battle has just begun.
On July 20, the fifty-first year of Qianlong's reign, when Zhao Xin and the others arrived at the Flower and Bird Island on the Thunder God at the agreed time, they found that the person waiting for them was not Liu Quan.
"Why didn't Liu Quan come?" Zhao Xin asked strangely, looking at the man in his fifties and of medium build in front of him.
"Your Excellency must be Mr. Zhao. Manager Liu told me about you. You are indeed a general!" The old man stroked his beard and smiled, then raised his hands in salute. "My surname is Ma and my name is Ruilin. I am from the He Mansion. Steward. As for the two people behind me, they are also from Hefu."
Ma Duanlin, nicknamed Ma Bashi, is the third-ranking figure in the He family after Liu Quan and Hushtu. This man is 18 years older than He Shen and is scheming. Although he does not behave like Liu Quan and Hushtu in daily life. Arrogant and unbridled, but calculating.
After Ma Ruilin finished speaking, he raised his hand and introduced one of them: "This is Wang Ping, the person in charge of Guangdong affairs in the government. This time Mr. Zhao lands in Guangzhou, he will go with the ship."
This man named Wang Ping is a middle-aged man in his forties, not tall, with a chubby figure and a kind face. He saluted Zhao Xinshen, cupped his hands and said: "I am Wang Ping, a native of Baoding. Lord Zhongtang
Please let me accompany you to Guangzhou, sorry for bothering you."
As for another thin man in his thirties, his name is Hu Da, who is also from Baoding.
Ma Ruilin and the other three looked at the Thor on the ocean in the distance, and were extremely shocked. They had heard Liu Quan say that there was a big ship in Beihai Town, but they didn't expect it to be so big, like a hill. And the shape of the ship was too weird.
Yes, it doesn’t look like anything in the human world.
At this time, Ma Ruilin invited Zhao Xin and others to talk in the banquet tent. After Zhao Xin, Liu Sheng, and Liu Zheng were all seated, Ma Ruilin ordered his men to serve tea while apologizing with a smile: "Time is short, I hope everyone can greet you.
Poor, poor greeting."
When the tea was served, Zhao Xin continued to ask expressionlessly: "Mr. Ma, you haven't answered my question yet. Why hasn't Liu Quan come?"
"Well, it's a long story. A major event happened before I left the capital. Butler Liu had to stay in the capital to deal with it, so Master Zhongtang sent a villain here."
Zhao Xin raised his eyes and glanced at Ma Ruilin, and said calmly: "It's Cao Xibao, right?"
Ma Ruilin and the others suddenly felt a thump in their hearts, and their expressions changed drastically. They thought to themselves: How come this person even knows about this? It seems that these rebels must have spies in the capital!
Liu Zheng took a sip of tea, praised "good", and then asked strangely: "What is Cao Xibao? What does this have to do with Liu Quan?"
"Mr. Ma, He Zhongtang can ask you to come here instead of Liu Quan. You must be He Zhongtang's confidant. Could you please tell us?" Zhao Xin squinted at Ma Ruilin and the other three, with a smile on his face.
Ma Ruilin thought to himself that this person was really good at tricks, and he calmly controlled the conversation. His tone seemed to be ridiculing, but he inadvertently hit the point.
He thought about it for a moment and then said: "Mr. Zhao is really powerful! This matter was made by Cao Xibao out of thin air with the intention of framing Butler Liu."
Zhao Xin chuckled and said, "Mr. Ma, when did you leave Beijing?"
Ma Ruilin said: "I received the instructions from Master Zhongtang. The three of us took a boat from Tongzhou and went south along the canal. We didn't dare to delay at all. It took us a month to get here."
Zhao Xindao: "Oh, that's right. Then before you leave, has there been a big change in the Liu family's mansion on Xinghua Temple Street?"
Ma Ruilin and the others were shocked, wondering why he even knew about this? It had only been more than a month! Just as the three of them were doubtful and their expressions changed, Zhao Xin laughed and said, "It's just a joke.
"Don't be nervous, everyone." After saying that, he motioned to the guards behind him to bring the things over.
"The three of you are here today as promised, so can I consider that from today on, Flower and Bird Island will be used by Beihai Town?"
Ma Ruilin said quickly: "Mr. Zhao, as far as I know, your usage period is only five years."
"Of course. In that case, these things will be given to the three of you as a meeting gift. As for the goods, may I ask, have you brought any money?"
Ma Ruilin was surprised by Zhao Xin and felt very uncomfortable. He didn't care to look at the gift, took out an envelope from his arms and said to Zhao Xin: "The banknotes are in full, where is the goods?"
"Okay! You let the sand ship dock next to our ship, and someone will naturally be responsible for handing over the goods."
"This" Ma Ruilin looked hesitant, saying in his heart that if you also robbed the sand boat, I would have no place to cry.
Zhao Xin patted Liu Zheng beside him on the shoulder and said to Ma Ruilin: "Since Mr. Wang wants to go with the ship, I will ask Mr. Liu to take two guards to your sand ship and accompany you to hand over the goods.
"
Ma Ruilin thought that this was all he could do, so he handed it over and said yes.
Liu Zheng had not been out for a long time since he went to Yangzhou last time. He was a little excited at this time, so he waved to two guards, followed Wang Ping and got on the firewood boat, and moved closer to the sand boat.
Many statements about Cao Xibao's participation in Liu Quan's work on the Internet are wrong. Including the teacher who told the story at the Baijia Forum is even more wrong, and most of the deductions are based on interpretation. In May of the 51st year of Qianlong's reign, in the autumn of Qianlong's reign, Mulan Paddock.
His seventieth birthday was over early, and he had nothing to do with the Dalai Lama. He did not return to Beijing until August.