Traveling through time as a peasant girl to turn things around

The whole family woke up late, and the first one to wake up was Guoguo, "Ahhh," she seemed to be calling, "Mommy, Mommy." Li Ru was woken up by Guoguo's call. Li Ru quickly changed Guoguo's diaper, put on her clothes, put on the diaper, picked her up, and fed her. Li Ru put the diapers in the washing basin under the bed. These days, it was Grandma Li who took the basin to the river west of the village to wash them. Li Ru wanted the fourth child to wash them today. He couldn't just be a father and take it easy. He had to do things for the children and not just enjoy the kindness of his daughter.

Since she put the clothes on the child, Li Ru has found it much easier to hold her. This girl looks like a little adult. Li Ru is so happy. She had no idea how adorable the child was. In just a few days, the child is already keeping her company and talking to her. She plans to ask her mother to cut two more sets of clothes for the child, including two thick cotton-padded jackets.

Old Mrs. Li got up and cooked a bowl of noodles for the fourth daughter-in-law and brought it to her. Then she went to cook for the family. The eldest daughter-in-law also got up and cooked with her mother. The second daughter-in-law got up, and Hengheng woke up, "Mom, put on your cotton-padded clothes." The little guy still remembered the cotton-padded clothes. Zhang Baohua said with a smile, "My dear son, mom will never let you get cold again." Hengheng obediently let his mother put on the clothes. Hengheng looked at the flowery clothes and smiled. Zhang Baohua put on her son's coat, which was old but clean. She told her son to wear the coat to protect the new cotton-padded jacket inside and not to take it off. Brother, you have a new coat today, just like your brother. Mom put it in our box. You can wear the new one during the New Year, okay? Hengheng: Yes, son, I understand. My brother is tall and has no clothes to cover his cotton-padded jacket, so he can only make a new one.

As soon as Hengheng got off the ground, he ran out, shouting, "Grandma, look at Hengheng! Hengheng isn't cold! He's so cute." Grandma Li came out of the kitchen, looked at her little grandson, wiped her hands on her apron, and picked him up. His little grandson was so soft and fluffy that Grandma Li's heart melted. She kissed him and said, "Go see if his brother is awake. It's time for dinner." Hengheng: "Okay, I'll go get him." He ran off on his short legs.

The family members gradually rose, washed, and ate. The second son ate while feeding his son. Wang Min and Zhang Baohua ate at the small stone table. Old Lady Li came over and asked, "Can we finish harvesting the wasteland today?" Almost. "One of us needs to stay home to thresh the millet today so we can dry it while the weather is good." Li Ru called out, "Mom, let the fourth son stay!" Old Lady Li said, "Fourth son, you stay home and work." The fourth son: "Okay."

The eldest and his wife, the second and his wife, and Old Man Chai carried four pairs of baskets and eight sacks. The eldest's wife went to pick up another pair of baskets. Arriving at the old field, Old Man Chai quietly took the sacks and went to pick cowpeas. He was sulking. He thought about how he fell asleep last night, not his wife, and how she hadn't paid him any attention. He hadn't spoken to his wife alone, and he just kept working.

The eldest and second sons were cutting millet, each one faster than the other, and the four of them agreed to hurry up. The eldest and second sons wanted to go cut hemp in the evening, while Wang Min and Zhang Baohua thought about making cotton pants for their son in the evening.

At home, Li Ru called the fourth child, "Jia Yu". The fourth child went back to the house happily. Li Ru pointed to him, under the bed. The fourth child was dumbfounded when he saw it? Li Ru just looked at him without saying a word, and held the girl in her arms, with her face looking outward at her father. The little baby looked at her father, dancing with joy. The fourth child looked at the girl, hehe. Scratching his head with one hand and holding the basin with the other, he went out to find his mother. In the yard, old lady Li said: Don't look at me, it's useless to look at me, take the brush, go to the west of the village and wash it, wash it clean. The fourth child, who is 1.8 meters tall, went out and looked around. No one was walking quickly west. At this time, every household locked the door and went to the fields. Only the old man was at home cooking.

Lao Si had never done this before, so he soaked it in water. If there was no poop, he rubbed it with his hands, let it float in the water, and wrung it out. He washed the basin clean and put it in. If there was poop, he put it in the water and let it float. He used his other hand to scrub it with a brush. It took a lot of effort to get rid of just two pieces, and he rinsed the brush in the water. Lao Si got up to take a look. There was no one nearby, so he walked north. After a few hundred meters, he saw a lot of hemp along the river. He walked a little further, but there was not much in sight. Lao Si stopped walking and took the basin home.

As soon as he entered the house, he went to look for his mother. Old Lady Li was cutting ears of corn, and her two grandsons were playing nearby. The fourth son walked up to his mother and whispered in her ear: "Mom, there are so many hemp stalks going north along the river that I can't even see the end. Let's go again in the evening and make two more trips. We can weave it into hemp cloth and make sacks to sell. They will be worth a lot of money, and I won't have to go to the county to find work in the winter." Old Lady Li said, "Try your best. Do it quietly now. The fewer people know, the better. Sooner or later, everyone will know. The more you can do, the better. Do it again in the evening when it's almost midnight." The fourth son said: "Work for two hours at midnight and make a few more trips. Tomorrow, after this business before breakfast, I won't go to the fields and will go to sleep. If anyone asks, just say I'm tired." Old Lady Li said: "Okay."

Li Laosi went to dry diapers on wooden poles in the northeast corner of the yard. He took the basin to the kitchen door. Old Lady Li asked Laosi to dig a ditch, the width of which should be the length of the hemp stalks, and the length of the river. He started by digging twenty paces, so he could go deeper. He went to the east end, leaning against the south wall. Sorghum stalks were piled high beneath the east wall. Laosi, being strong, was ready in a moment. He put the hemp in, then went to fetch water, poured it in, and let it soak. After a while, everything was soaked.

The fourth son found a long, fist-thick stick and hammered the ears of corn. After hammering for a while, he gathered them up. The grains lay on the ground, which he swept up and continued hammering elsewhere. Old Lady Li stopped cutting the ears of corn and used a winnowing basket to sow them. After sowing, she put them into sacks and twisted them before eating. This made it easier to store them. It was almost time for lunch, so the fourth son hammered the cut ears of corn aside, swept up the kernels, and dried the pulp in the sun, hammering it again. Old Lady Li pushed the pulp to the west and went to cut the ears of corn. Old Lady Li had already sown five sacks and asked the fourth son to carry them to the barn.

Old Lady Li went to cook. The eldest and second sons returned with their baskets of millet, each piled high with large sacks. They dumped the millet and left again. A moment later, Old Man Chai returned with two sacks of cowpeas, emptied them, and left as well. The fourth son felt embarrassed and lowered his head to cut the ears of corn, not making a sound. The old man glared at him, but it was no use.

While working, Li Laosi said, "Huanhuan, come here, climb on uncle's back and see if you can climb up." Huanhuan came running over, but couldn't climb up. Hengheng also came over and said, "Brother, let me climb." The two brothers had a lot of fun playing on uncle's back, but they couldn't climb up.

The eldest and second sons returned with their harvest, followed by the eldest and second sons' wives, who also returned with loads of millet. Old Man Chai carried two sacks of cowpeas. The cowpeas had been picked. Only the millet remained. Old Man Chai dumped the cowpeas, took the baskets, sickles, and sacks to the farm tool shed, and went to get some water and rest.

The four brothers picked up their baskets and headed out to the fields. The fourth brother watched, thinking they were quite energetic. Before dinner, the eldest, second, and four others returned with their full baskets. The eldest brother spread the millet out to dry, the second brother bundled the stalks, and the two women carried the stalks to the east wall of the yard, arranging them neatly. The stalks can be used to make straw fans, to cover the kang, to cover the roof and cover the windows; they have many uses. In the snow, they cover the cabbages. There are also wild vegetables.

The fields are mostly harvested, so I'll go back in the afternoon to look around. There are still a few small wastelands to harvest.

There was water on the stone table; anyone thirsty could drink. Those who didn't drink could cut the ears of grain. The second son beat the millet with a stick, while his wife used a winnowing basket to sow it. The eldest son's wife went to find needlework and cloth to patch the hole in the sack. In half an hour, a sack of millet was filled, and the second son carried it to the barn. A little later, he filled two more sacks and carried them to the barn. Wooden boards were placed on the ground, and the grain was placed on them. The ground was covered with yellow mud, dry and ventilated.

The barn had two windows, usually open, and the door locked. At night, the windows were blocked and a wooden board was placed. Outside, straw fans were hung. The roof was a framed structure covered with large wooden planks, each one thickly plastered with yellow mud. Straw fans were placed on top of the planks, three layers thick, so even a light rain wouldn't be a problem. Food was the lifeblood of the family, and they were a major concern.

It was time to eat. Old Lady Li fried some meat and cabbage, and had some rice soup. Everyone got a scallion pancake, but it wasn't enough for the sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes aren't harvested now, they're dug out when it's almost snowing. The ones that aren't dug out are covered with millet or sorghum stalks to prevent them from freezing. So they gave two extra potatoes to the fourth son's wife. No one had ever had such a good meal before, especially with so much meat. Everyone was happily enjoying themselves. The little girl in the house shouted, "Ahhh, calling everyone!" Old Lady Li said they'd take a break at noon before going to the fields. The fourth son was still at home hammering the millet. The eldest son's wife was at home sowing the seeds. Old Lady Li cleaned the kitchen and washed up.

At noon, Old Lady Li went to rest. Half an hour later, she got up to boil some water and set it on the table in the yard. The fourth son got up and went to the west room first, gently opening the door to check on his wife and daughter, then came out and closed the door behind him.

The fourth brother drank a few sips of water and went to cut the ears of corn. He thought that at night, there were thorns on the hemp, so he would pull them out by the roots. Or, he would find something to wrap his hands around.

After a while, the second brother and his wife came out to drink water. They both carried baskets, sacks, sickles, and the second brother also took a rope, and they left.

Old Man Chai watched the second son and his partner leave, not calling him, his voice gloomy. The eldest son said, "Dad, let's go together. Let's go to the small wasteland." The eldest son patted Old Man Chai and said, "Let's go, Dad." Old Man Chai didn't dare to get up. He picked up the basket, sickle, sack, and rope and left. It had been a bad day.

On the way, Jia He said: "Dad, we have more than 20 acres of land. We can't plant anything for four or five months in winter. We have a long idle time. It's freezing cold. It's boring to sit there." Old Man Chai: Who said there is no work? Just dig the ground and lie down. Jia He: I have discussed with the second son that after the autumn harvest, we will go to the county to do odd jobs to earn some pocket money so that we can have more money during the New Year. We can also eat outside and save food at home. Old Man Chai was reluctant to let his son go out to suffer. He felt sad because he knew that the eldest son's calculation was correct, but he just didn't want his son to go out. Who knows what will happen? Old Man Li thought of San'er again! The eldest son didn't get a response and didn't say anything. From a distance

The harvest began. Oh, the little wasteland was growing pretty well, with millet, sorghum, and cowpeas. It was quite lively. The eldest son cut the sorghum first, while Old Man Chai cut the millet. It looked like they couldn't finish it in one trip. The basket was filled with millet, and two large bundles of sorghum were placed on top. The eldest son said, "I'll take it home, you cut the millet." Old Man Chai said, "Go ahead." Old Man Chai thought, "My eldest son still knows how to take care of me. This is no longer a competition with his son. He's old, but he doesn't want to admit his age."

At home, the fourth child was hammering the millet, and Wang Min was winnowing it. Old Lady Li was cutting the ears of millet. Little Milk Bag woke up, and Old Lady Li put down the millet and poured a bowl of hot water. She went to give it to Li Ru to drink, and went to hold her granddaughter. Li Ru changed her daughter's diaper and fed her. Old Lady Li put the water on the table, and when she saw her granddaughter was breastfeeding, she went to the kitchen to cook for Li Ru. Old Lady Li rolled the noodles by hand. She fried two cabbage leaves, scooped up the fried meat and oil soup from lunch, chopped some green onions, and filled a big bowl for her daughter-in-law to eat! Old Lady Li took her granddaughter and asked Li Ru to eat. Li Ru said, the child is eating well, and I feel hungry too. Old Lady Li: You are eating for one person, and there are two mouths to feed. She needs your nutrition, or else mother will make you another meal. Eat it, and you will eat more so that the child will have food. After eating, lie down, close your eyes and rest, you also need to take care of your body.

Grandma Li holds her precious granddaughter: Ah. Little Milk Bag: Say to Grandma too, Ahhhh. Aaaaa. Grandma Li: My Guoguo has learned a new language. Ahhhh Aaaaa. Grandma Li imitates her granddaughter's speech, and she laughs so hard! She blows bubbles. Grandma Li is so amused that she's overwhelmed. She's only a few days old, and she can say so much. It's just Ahhhh Aaaaa Hahaha!! She raises her little hands and shakes them, reaching for Grandma Li's face. Grandma Li: Go to sleep with your mom later, so she can rest. You should take care of yourself too. Children grow faster if they get more sleep. Ah, Grandma's sweet baby.

In the fields, one barren plot was harvested. The eldest brother made two more trips. Old Man Chai cut the ears of corn and picked the cowpeas. The eldest brother cut the sorghum, and only returned after finishing it. The eldest brother also made two more trips. The third trip brought two baskets of millet, with two bags of cowpeas on top. Old Man Chai said he would go to the next plot.

The eldest daughter-in-law had already winnowed the grain, and the fourth son carried ten sacks of grain into the barn. Each sack weighed over 150 kilograms.

Old Lady Li was also smiling as she cut the ears of grain. This year's harvest was good, yielding 70 kilograms per mu, a high yield. A bad year would have been a disaster. Old Lady Li calculated that 10 mu yielded 700 kilograms. That was already a lot. They'd all have enough to eat this year. It's just that there wasn't enough flour. Not even enough for the children. Old Lady Li figured that if she traded the millet for flour, she'd have to feed her children anyway. She steamed some buns for them.

As the sun was setting, Old Lady Li got up, bundled the stalks of rice, and carried them to the east wall. Then she went to cook. She took her two grandsons away. First, she washed their hands and said, "Go to Fourth Aunt's room and play. See if your sister is awake." Huanhuan dragged Hengheng along to go play with his sister.

Old Lady Li lit the fire, cooked rice porridge, and then went to feed the chickens. She added millet flour cakes to the porridge. After finishing all this, Old Lady Li went out to the back of the house and picked two cabbages for stir-fried cabbage tonight.

When the little girl saw the food her mother had prepared tonight and found it tasteless, she burst into tears. The whole family ran to the west room. The little girl had never cried like this since she was born. "Mom's food is too bad. It's not what a woman in confinement eats. How could the little girl know? This is good enough, happy enough. In the famine years, people starved to death everywhere. Wow, the little milk bag cried breathlessly. Suddenly, the little milk bag stopped crying. How could I forget? I sent my mother off. The little girl had money in her card, and she died with the money not spent. She closed her eyes and went to the mall with her mind. She bought ten bags of white flour, fifty kilograms per bag, and then they fell into the middle of the room. The whole family covered their mouths in fear, "Ah!" Old Lady Li said, go to the fourth brother, lock our door! The fourth brother ran there! The little milk bag bought another ten bags of rice, also fifty kilograms per bag. Five bags of millet, fifty kilograms per bag. She also bought vegetables, ten kilograms each of eggplant, beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms, black fungus, white fungus, and shiitake mushrooms. "Swish, they fell into the room. She also bought seasonings, ginger, garlic, coriander, aniseed, pepper, chili pepper, etc., more than a dozen bags full. The whole family could only stare. Okay, little Guoguo looked at his mother, then his father, then his grandmother, then the whole family, and waved his little hand, and uttered a word, "Eat, eat." "Ahhh," "Eat." After a long while, the whole family was finally able to move and recover. Grandma Li said that they couldn't say a word to anyone. "Huanhuan, remember what grandma said." "Huanhuan: Grandma, Huanhuan remembers." Hengheng, remember what grandma said, everything you see is delicious, I will make it for you tomorrow. Don't tell others, or you will have nothing to eat. Others will also say that my sister is not good. Hengheng: I know, I won't tell anyone. You can't say that my sister is bad. Grandma Li: Well, this is grandma's good grandson. Grandma Li touched Hengheng's little head. And picked up Hengheng. Old man, look where you put them.