Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

Huixin has been living in the mountains, doing needlework and other things with her mother and sisters-in-law every day, and she is living a comfortable life. Mrs. Chen thought that her daughter was pregnant, so she found some good materials and made some clothes for the child. It is estimated that Huixin can give birth to children in the twelfth lunar month, so Mrs. Chen had to make a small quilt, cotton clothes and trousers for her.

At this time, it’s time to pinch the ginseng flowers again in Bangchui Field. This year, the Xu family all live in the mountains, and there are three good laborers, Zhixin, Zhiming, and the old man. In addition, Wenhan and Wencheng can also work, so the ginseng flowers are picked quickly. Mrs. Chen found a mat and spread all the pinched ginseng flowers on it to dry. They could be sold for some money when dried.

It just so happened that the village chief also came to the mountain that day, so he couldn't help chatting with the old man. "Brother Xu, I really have to thank your family. Look at this, the big guys are here to work, and you are boiling water and heating food. It is really troublesome for the two nieces and nephews. In a few days God, after we finish pruning the ginseng flowers, there won't be much work in the ginseng field. I think it's better to let people from the village help you build a few more houses. Now these five houses can still be seen. In the past, all that was left were shacks. You, a big family, can’t do this in winter,” Village Chief Zhou said while drinking hot water.

The old man nodded after hearing this, "Then the relationship has improved, but I am still worried. You said that Zhixin and Zhiming, the four of them, will not be able to freeze out if winter comes? This is the house we are building. Let's build it in advance. You haven’t prepared any adobes yet? Where can we build them? Otherwise, we have to ram them with earth. Anyway, they are much better than the current shacks.” The old man was naturally happy when he heard what the village chief said, but he didn’t prepare anything at home. Materials, this is a problem.

"Brother, I think it can be done by tamping it with soil. Come on. We people are honest in our work and make sure it is strong. We have plastered the surface with mud outside, and it is very warm in winter. Besides, you have only been here for the past two years. If you can't wait for a while, you can go back to the village and build another house when you make money. The ones on the mountain don't have to be very good. No matter how good they are, this forest will be almost cleared in a few years. Maybe this place will be used. We have to change the place. No matter how good the building is, it will be useless." Village Chief Zhou helped with the idea.

The old man thought about it, and it was true. There are about a hundred households in the village, and more than 2,000 feet of ginseng soil is used in the village every year, which adds up to more than 30 acres of land. This stick has been planted here for ten years, right? It looks like we can still grow it for another seven or eight years, which will be good. In the future, we will have to find another place to rebuild the venue. By then, these houses will be of little use. "Yes, the village chief was very thoughtful. This house really doesn't need to be built, otherwise it will be in vain. Then use soil to ram it, but it will trouble the villagers."

"What does this mean? It's idle anyway. It happens to be time to build it. It can be done in the summer, and in winter, we can move in. We are making the Kang tray bigger and putting it in the house. Just put the fire wall on the plate and burn more firewood in winter. Anyway, there is no shortage of firewood on this mountain." Village Chief Zhou waved his hand, "Okay, Brother Xu, I still have some stick flowers to finish. Let's go to work first. Talk to Zhixin and the others about where to build the house. Don't go too close to here. Our ginseng soil seems to be expanding towards the south. It's best to stick to that side. "Village Chief Zhou said as he walked towards his home's stick field.

When all the workers left in the afternoon, the old man talked to Zhixin and Zhiming about building a house. "Boss, Third, we should also prepare some wood for building houses. Since the village chief said it, we may have to start construction in a few days. Don't be fooled then."

"Hey, Dad, don't worry about this. We have all kinds of wood. All the good wood cut last winter has been transported away, and the rest is in the forest. Lao San and I have also brought back a lot of it these days. , They are all in good repair. We will just cut down a few more trees in the next few days and build Liang Zhen." Zhixin had already planned to build a house, so after going up the mountain, he went to get some wood and build two houses. There is no problem with the house at all.

"Okay, you just have an idea. You two brothers, take a look and decide where to build the house. Don't be too far away from our place, and you have to think about where it will be convenient in the future. I don't think our family will be able to return to the village in three or two years. , you two brothers should discuss this carefully." The old man is still relieved about these two sons. He turned around and said to Chen again. "Old woman, give the eldest daughter-in-law some money and ask them to go to the town to buy some meat, vegetables, and rice and noodles. When people come to build a house for us, the food must not be too bad. Our family can't do that kind of thing. ”

Mrs. Chen nodded, "Don't worry, we are next to the river. Now Wenhan and the others can catch a lot of fish every day. In addition to the ones sent to the town, there are still a lot left. The vegetables we planted are also growing now." It's pretty good, it's enough. In addition to some game in the mountains, I just need to go to the town to buy some meat. The rest is just rice and noodles. I don't have much at home, so you should buy them the day after tomorrow. Let's go to town to buy things." Chen thought about it and listed all the things he wanted to use.

Mr. Xue listened and nodded, "Hey, we will go shopping in the town the day after tomorrow."

Huixin had been staying at her parents' house for about ten days, and she was inevitably thinking about celebrating the new year. Now that she heard that her family was going to build a house, she was worried that she would be in the way. "Mom, since my family is going to build a house, why don't I go back to town, otherwise I won't be able to help at home, and everyone will have to focus on taking care of me."

After hearing this, Mrs. Chen shook her head. "You just stay at home with peace of mind and don't have to rush back. It won't take a few days to build the house. Jingya has nothing to do, so let her stay with you. The two of you have made all the clothes for the child. I guess The celebration will be here in the next few days. When the time comes, you can go back with him. We won’t get it, but this is the first time this girl returns to her parents’ home. How can her uncle not come to pick her up? "

Mrs. Xue and Mrs. Zhu on the side also persuaded her to go back home and then agreed to stay at home and not return to the town for the time being.

Everyone had a happy meal in the evening, and then Mr. and Mrs. Zhixin and Mr. and Mrs. Zhiming all went back to their respective houses. The old couple, Huixin and the children were left.

It's mid-May, and the days are very long at this time of year, and it doesn't get dark so early in the evening, so everyone sits outside and talks. There are many mosquitoes in the mountains, and they are also poisonous, so Zhiming went up the mountain to find several kinds of herbs, specially designed to get rid of mosquitoes. Wen Han and Wen Cheng made a fire and put some herbs in it. Once smoked, the mosquitoes were driven away, so no one was bitten by the mosquitoes.

Jinghan looked at her little aunt and guessed that her little aunt might miss her uncle. I don’t know what my brother-in-law is doing at home. Why hasn’t he come to pick up his sister-in-law for so many days? Like my aunt's family, logically the families should be separated. But now that my aunt has a child, she is far away from her parents' home, and my brother-in-law has to go to the drug store for consultation every day, so he can't always stay by his aunt's side. If the family is divided, there will be no one to look after my little aunt. After thinking about it, I couldn't come up with a good idea. Forget it, let grandma and the others worry about this kind of thing.

"Brother, does that restaurant in town still order ten fish a day?" Jinghan hadn't gone to pick up fish with Wenhan and the others in the morning recently, and she didn't know how the fish was sold, so she asked.

"Now there are fifteen fish a day. We can get up about twenty fish every morning, and the rest are put into the pool dug by our father and third uncle. The pool is not small and can support a lot of fish. We now deliver crickets to restaurants. The price of crickets is about the same as fish and they are easy to catch, so now we can earn five to six hundred cash a day. However, our family’s expenses are also high, every few days. I have to buy some food back, so I can’t save much money,” Wen Han scratched his head and said.

Mrs. Chen sighed. This is enough food for fourteen people in the family. In addition, Wen Han and Wen Cheng were able to eat at the right time. They only planted fifteen acres of land last year. Where can there be enough food? Going to buy food will naturally cost a lot more. Thanks to the ability of these children, they were able to earn five to six hundred yuan a day, which prevented everyone from going hungry. "Wenhan, don't just be busy with these things. Don't fall behind on your homework. Doesn't Zixuan often ask his father to bring him the homework assigned by his teachers? You should also pay attention to it. Wait for this autumn to sell If you get Bangchui, grandma will let you and Wen Cheng go to town to study, and your future will not be delayed. "

"Grandma, don't worry, we take time to read every day, so it won't be delayed. Our family is in trouble this year, so it's okay not to go. It's okay to take it a little longer. We're not in a big grade, so we still have to go." Wen Han comforted with a smile. Chen.

A few people chatted outside for a while, and the fire was almost burning. Mrs. Chen quickly asked all the children to go into the house to sleep. Fortunately, some mosquito repellent herbs were burned in the house, so there were no mosquitoes when I slept at night.

Jinghan was lying on the kang, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Her mind was occupied with how to make money, but there was still no result. I don't know how long it took before I fell asleep.

The next day, just after breakfast, before everyone went to work, they heard movement at the gate of Shenchangzi. Wenhan ran out and took a look. It turned out that his brother-in-law was driving a carriage. Zhixin had already told Qingnian how to get to the ginseng place last time, so Tao Qingnian found the ginseng place quite smoothly.

"Brother-in-law, come in quickly. We were talking about it yesterday and said you should come soon." Wenhan opened the door and helped Qingnian bring the carriage in and hitch it to a tree stump nearby.

Qingnian turned around and took down a lot of things from the car. When Wenhan saw that he couldn't take it, he helped him carry some, and then the two of them entered the house together.

The old man and the old lady were both in the house. As soon as Qingnian entered the house, he put everything on the kang and then saluted the old couple. "Dad, Mom."