Affection for Sidaogou during the Famine

What should she do? She was a little worried. A good woman can't cook without rice!

Her lifelong skills were wasted! How tragic!

Muttering to himself, Han Zhaozhao lit a fire and boiled two pots of water. He went to the vegetable market, but the thermos was empty and he hadn't filled it yet!

She boiled the pot and poured the water into the thermos. She then used the large bowl of water left in the pot, washed a handful of rice and threw it into the pot to cook a bowl of rice porridge.

He threw three small sweet potatoes into the stove, peeled them off and simmered them in the ashes.

When the rice porridge is cooked through and the sweet potatoes are stewed and roasted until soft, serve out the porridge and take out the sweet potatoes.

Not any firewood was wasted and the time was controlled just right.

There were pickles prepared in the morning at home. After Han Zhaozhao finished his lunch, he walked around the yard.

It was not yet two o'clock when she finished cleaning the yard, and it was still early for the appointment with Xiao Sanzi. She couldn't sit still, so she pulled out the wheelbarrow from the warehouse and prepared to repair it.

The wheelbarrow in her family would be considered an antique in later generations. It was made entirely of poplar and locust wood and was very sturdy.

What surprised her even more was that the wheels of the cart were made of wood.

It is 1.9 meters long, 80 centimeters wide and 60 centimeters high. The chassis (top) is flat and has no roof. The wheels should have been improved later, and the outer ring is wrapped with a layer of old tire, which not only increases the service life of the wheels, but also has a shock-absorbing function.

This thing is great!

Without pressing the accelerator or shifting gears, just use both hands to move forward.

It sticks its butt out and stretches its head, no need to add water or oil. It can pull people and manure, and it is full of power and strength.

It doesn't emit exhaust or smoke, and you can hold it with both hands so it won't go off the track. As long as the direction is clear, it won't go east even if you tell it to go west.

It is easy to control and not difficult to do. There is no steering wheel in the middle. No need to practice or learn, and you don’t even need to press the clutch to move forward.

The entire vehicle is made of mortise and tenon structure, which is purely original, economical and environmentally friendly!

Han Zhaozhao used water to wipe off the dust on the cart, and then took out a box of butter from the space to maintain the wheel shaft.

I don’t know who made this cart, but it’s made of solid materials, has exquisite workmanship, and a very reasonable design.

It looked heavy, but when Han Zhaozhao pushed it around the yard a few times, it turned out to be very light.

Not only is it labor-saving, but it also has flexible steering and makes no noise when moving. She estimates that it should have no problem carrying a weight of 200 kilograms.

She is now about 1.3 meters tall. As long as the things on the cart are not piled too high and affect her vision, she can easily push the cart to the suburbs to collect firewood.

This cart is a magical tool for auxiliary transportation. With it, you can travel freely on country roads in hilly and mountainous areas.

Small cart

Wheelbarrow with a roof (for pushing earth and manure)

Pushing three or four bundles of firewood home at a time is absolutely easy, and it can easily replace the carrying capacity of two adults.

Han Zhaozhao was feeling happy when she heard Xiao Sanzi knocking on the door: "Zhaozhao, open the door quickly! Let's go to the western suburbs!"

"Here he comes, here he comes!" Han Zhaozhao ran over, opened the door and let the third child in.

"Didn't you say you would take me there after school? Why are you back so early? It doesn't seem like it's time yet."

"The last two classes this afternoon were labor classes. The teacher organized us to harvest cabbages. Xu Xiaoguo and I told the teacher that we were going to buy cabbages for our family, so we asked for two classes off!"

Han Zhaozhao led him into the house and poured him a large bowl of boiled water. "You are really amazing. You have even learned how to fool the teacher!"

Xiao Sanzi drank two bowls of water in a row, put down the bowls and ignored her ridicule: "I have to say that your well is the best, the water is really sweet, as if it has rock sugar in it, delicious, thirst-quenching!

Okay, now that we've had enough to drink, Zhaozhao, let's go! Oh, we need to take the rope and the basket, and also a shoulder pole.

After buying the saplings, we will carry them when we come back, otherwise they will be too heavy. Xu Xiaoguo said that we must bring some original soil with us when digging saplings, otherwise they will not survive when planted."

Han Zhaozhao took Xiao Sanzi to the yard and pointed at the cart to show off, "I packed the cart today, and just tried it out, it works great.

This saves a lot of effort. We don't need to carry a shoulder pole or a basket. We can just take two hemp ropes and two torn sacks and push the cart. There will be no problem in pushing back as many things as we can!"

As soon as Xiao Sanzi saw the cart, he smiled and grabbed the handle and pushed it up.

"Hey! This cart is great. I've heard from my mom a long time ago that your cart is very useful and light! But Grandma Han cherishes it very much and most people won't lend it to her.

Zhaozhao, hurry up, grab your things and go! Let's go early and come back early, so as not to be late and make the old lady worry."

Han Zhaozhao went to the warehouse and took out two of the most torn sacks and two long hemp ropes. He quickly locked the door and followed Xiao Sanzi to Xizhimen.

When they reached an alley not far from Xizhimen, Xiao Sanzi shouted loudly: "Xu Xiaoguo, Xu Xiaoguo, we are here, come out quickly!"

He turned around and met Han Zhaozhao's puzzled look and explained, "His orchard is outside the city, and his father and grandfather are working in the orchard!

Xu Xiaoguo had agreed with his family at noon that they would dig out a few larger saplings first and then choose the smaller ones when they get there.

By the way, Zhaozhao, Xiaoguo said that his three-year-old saplings are 1.5 cents each, and saplings under three years old range from 0.5 cents to 0.1 cent.

If we don't have cash, they will give us credit for our friendship, as long as we pay it off before the New Year, but they won't give us small change."

When Han Zhaozhao heard this, she was surprised! She was hesitant. If she bought too much, it would be a bit eye-catching for a little kid like her to spend too much money.

It would be great if I could buy it on credit! It wouldn't hurt to cut the meat in half, she could pay in three or four installments, a few dollars at a time wouldn't be a big deal, and the job would be done, that would be great!

After picking up Xu Xiaoguo, the three children pushed the cart out of Xizhimen and headed straight for Xu's orchard.

Xu Xiaoguo's orchard was not far from the city, and in later times it was only within the third ring road.

The orchard was not small, covering more than ten mu. There were a circle of prickly ash trees and acacia trees as fences, and a small mud hut was built not far from the entrance to watch over the orchard.

In October, all the leaves in the orchard had fallen, and the ground was covered with leaves and branches, which looked very desolate.

"My grandpa and dad are pruning the branches these days. Don't think it's a mess now. Come back in the spring.

Hey! There are flowers blooming everywhere, petals falling in all directions, just like a fairyland on earth!"

Xu Xiaoguo led the two children inside and called out a few times, "Grandpa, Dad, come buy some saplings!"

Turning back, he described it to the two of them: "Summer is also beautiful, with lush greenery everywhere, and it's so comfortable just to breathe in the orchard.

You came too late. If you had come a month or two earlier, you would have had a great feast.

Peaches, grapes, apples, pears, pomegranates, red fruits, dates, plums, whatever you want to eat, we have it all, and they are all top-quality fruits that my family has improved for several generations.

Let me tell you, many of the fruits produced in my orchard were tributes to the palace in the past.

If this happened in the Qing Dynasty, you would just hear the name and want to have a bite, but you would be beheaded! "

Xu Xiaoguo told his two friends about the past of the orchard. His tone was filled with undisguised pride, and his narrowed eyes were full of light.

"The skill of growing fruit trees is passed down from our ancestors. My grandfather said that he would pass it on to me. With this skill, I can support my family and make a living no matter how old I am."