Stepmother in charge: Making a fortune through farming and raising her children to fight back

After dinner, Yun Zhenzhen followed Old Lady Qin to the old house to get some things. There were too many people at home recently, so many things had to be borrowed. They would return them to each family after the new house was built.

Arrive at the old house.

Jiang and her children who stayed at home were also busy, threshing wheat on the ground.

Some time ago, while the sun was shining brightly, every household dried the wheat. Now they are responsible for harvesting the grains and storing them in the cellar.

Threshering wheat is very physically demanding. Qin Shouren and Jiang threshed for half a day but only managed to harvest less than ten kilograms of wheat.

When Jiang saw Yun Zhenzhen coming over, she quickly greeted her, "Sister-in-law, come and sit down."

Yun Zhenzhen walked over with a smile, staring at the large field of wheat on the ground in a daze. Suddenly, she remembered the scene of wheat being threshed in her previous life.

Then she saw a big rock in the corner of the yard.

"Mom, what are those stones used for?" Yun Zhenzhen asked Old Lady Qin curiously.

"This is what we roll on the ground at home. You should have a pile of it in your backyard too." Old Mrs. Qin replied.

Only then did Yun Zhenzhen find the impression of the stone deep in her memory.

In Qinjia Village, every household has such a large pile of round stones. They sprinkle a layer of water on the ground and then roll the stones in the yard. This way, the land in the yard will become much more solid and less likely to be dusty.

Isn't this similar to the principle of a stone mill?

This thing appeared relatively late and did not become popular until around the 1970s and 1980s. At that time, there were only one or two in each brigade in the countryside, and everyone took turns using them.

It just so happens that I still have nearly 100 kilograms of wheat that has not been threshed at home. I will think about giving it a try when I go back.

After returning home, Yun Zhenzhen cleared out a piece of land, spread wheat on it, and prepared to drag the stone over.

Several children looked at her in confusion.

Only Yun Jing watched her actions and seemed to know what she was going to do with this stone.

But if it is used to roll wheat, it should at least be dragged with a rope.

After a while, Yun Zhenzhen took out a blueprint from the house and said, "Take a look at this. What do you think of me using this to thresh wheat?"

Yun Jing took the blueprint and the others came over to look at it. It showed a frame with a large rock sandwiched in the middle and connected by two thick ropes.

It is not difficult to make this thing. The main thing is to use it to grind wheat. What if the wheat grains inside are crushed?

Qin Li also had this concern.

"Mom, using this to grind wheat makes life a lot easier, but will it crush the wheat inside?"

"No, I just tried some wheat. It's very hard after drying. The area of ​​this stone can be made larger so it won't be crushed easily."

Yun Jinjing looked at the simple map with a gleam in his eyes. Although he had never farmed himself, he had discussed farming with his classmates and had a certain understanding of the subject.

He had a hunch that his aunt's stone mill should be really effective, and once it was made, it would save a lot of manpower and material resources.

Yun Jing volunteered to take on the job. There was a master craftsman in their village who was particularly experienced in stone processing, and they could ask him for help.

……

night.

The night view of Qinjia Village is very beautiful. The bright moon hangs high in the sky, and its reflection on the ground seems to have covered Mother Earth with a layer of light and shadow.

Even at night, you can see the road ahead clearly without affecting your vision at all.

After Xu Ling'er cleaned herself up, she walked to a piece of grass on the hillside and sat down, holding her cheeks with her hands, crying silently.

She missed her mother. When her mother was still alive when she was a child, she lived a happy life every day. But later her mother became pregnant, and everyone said that she was pregnant with a little brother.

Later, her mother had a difficult delivery. Xu Ling'er will always remember that day. Basin after basin of blood was brought out from her mother's room, but she could only hug her father and cry. She could do nothing.

That day, my mother passed away, and my little brother also passed away.

Later, my uncle said that she was a nemesis and that she was the one who killed my mother and brother. My father did not believe these rumors and still loved her, allowing her to grow up happily.

Recalling the past, Xu Linger buried her head in her arms. She wanted to cry loudly and unrestrainedly.

"Russing..."

A tiny sound suddenly came from behind.

Xu Linger quickly wiped her tears with her sleeve, then looked up and saw Yun Zhenzhen sitting next to her.

"elder sister……"

The beginning of Xu Ling'er's grievance.

Yun Zhenzhen stretched out her left hand and gently stroked her back: "I don't know what you've been through, but what I want to tell you is that tomorrow will be better."

Xu Ling'er cried even louder.

After a while, she gradually stopped crying. She has never had much desire to share, but today she felt inexplicably wronged, and she wanted to tell Sister Yun about her sadness.

Yun Zhenzhen listened to her story quietly and comforted her from time to time.

"I believe your mother would prefer to see you happy in her grave. The dead are gone, the living are gone. People can reminisce about the past, but they can't live in the past forever, right?"

"What's more, you have a father who loves you. Whether it's for your mother or for your loving father, you should live a good life."

"Yeah!" Xu Ling'er nodded heavily.

night.

When it was time to go to bed, Yun Zhenzhen, Xu Ling'er and Xiao Nan and other girls slept in one room, while the other boys squeezed into another room.

There is strength in numbers. The speed of building houses has been getting faster and faster recently. In less than a month, the new house will be built. After drying it in a charcoal brazier, the whole family can move in comfortably.

……

Early the next morning, Yun Jing came knocking on the door with the stone maker.

Yun Zhenzhen opened the door and saw the finished stone mill. She was filled with excitement and asked, "It's done so quickly?"

The stone maker smiled and stroked his beard. "I've been working with stone for half my life. This thing isn't difficult to make. I can finish it in one night. I heard that Jing'er's aunt wanted it. I happened to have no work today, so I dropped by to bring it to you."

"Okay, thank you very much, Master." Yun Zhenzhen smiled and paid the master the wages, and also gave him extra hard work fees.

Several people in the family excitedly moved the stone mill onto the wheat, eager to try it out, their hearts filled with excitement.

Since mom said it’s possible, then it’s definitely possible.

"Everyone, do as I did and put the wheat ears on the surface..." Yun Zhenzhen said to them while demonstrating.

According to the memory of later generations, she believed that threshing with a stone mill would go smoothly.

They dismantled part of the haystacks in the backyard and placed them outside the yard gate.

Someone passing by in the village saw them spreading the wheat like this and couldn't help shaking their heads. They spread the wheat end to end so that it would be easier to use the flail.

Although Qin Yun was good at business and had brains, she knew nothing about farming and just messed around with the children.

A kind-hearted aunt couldn't bear to watch this, so she put down her backpack and came over to persuade her: "Sister Qin, you can't thresh the wheat cleanly if you spread it out. You will have to thresh it again later. What a hassle."

After saying that, she couldn't help but sigh. It's inconvenient to have no man in the family. A woman doesn't know anything, so don't waste the food.

What's more, the area is so large that if there is a heavy rain, it will be too late to harvest, and the harvest for the whole year will be ruined.