Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

Ji Manqing proudly raised his chin and swung the sickle back and forth a few more times, saying, "With the blade attached, this thing seems to actually be able to cut wheat."

Ji Manchuan retorted, "What do you mean 'can really harvest wheat'? It's just a tool for harvesting wheat. I even fixed the blade. You think it's something to show off to you?"

Ji Manqing chuckled, put down the sickle, rubbed his rough hands, and said, "I'll reserve it first. I'll use this thing when I harvest wheat in a couple of days."

Ji Manchuan looked down, picked up the scythe, and said, "This scythe seems to be quite useful, but it's a pity we didn't make enough blades today, only one."

Ji Manqing said anxiously, "Then let's go to the county now and have the blacksmith forge another one."

At this moment, Grandpa Ji also entered the courtyard. Seeing that Ji Manchuan had returned, he asked, "Manchuan, did you buy a sickle blade?"

“I bought it, Father,” Ji Manchuan replied, swinging his sickle once more.

Grandpa Ji walked over, looked at the scythe in Ji Manchuan's hand, and asked, "Is this the... scythe that your mother mentioned?"

“Yes, Father. You can try it—” Ji Manchuan handed the sickle to Old Master Ji.

Grandpa Ji took it, swung it a couple of times, and said, "This thing is not light. If you swing it, it's not cutting wheat, it's sweeping it."

Ji Yongling smiled and said, "Sir, you really are an old hand. You can tell what's going on at a glance. In some places, this thing is indeed called a 'luezi'."

Ji Manchuan said, "Dad, Manqing and I just tried it out, and we think it works pretty well. But we only made one blade for this scythe today. Dad, do you think we should make a few more?"

Grandpa Ji put down the scythe, looked at it, and said, "I think this scythe is not difficult to make, it just takes a lot of bamboo strips, but the blade is long, so it will probably cost a lot of money. Moreover, this thing is heavy, and it is not easy for a woman to swing. Let's make another one to try. You and Manqing can use it together. If it works well, we can make a few more next year."

Upon hearing this, Ji Manqing exclaimed happily, "Oh dear, at least I won't have to bend over to harvest wheat anymore. Every year during the month-long wheat harvest, my back feels like it's going to break into several pieces."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he slapped his arm hard and cursed, "During this wheat harvest season, there are so many mosquitoes that they could eat you alive. After going to the fields, I'm covered in bites. Hey, why is my blood so sweet? These mosquitoes just keep chasing after me to bite me."

Ji Yongling also felt an itch on her ankle. Looking down, she saw a large, red, swollen bump from a mosquito bite.

Ji Manchuan sneered at Ji Manqing, "Your blood doesn't smell sweet, it's just that you're too dirty. Did you wash your feet before getting into bed yesterday?"

Ji Manqing looked at his feet: "These feet were washed just now, they're spotless, why did you wash them!" Then, he turned to Ji Yongling and said, "Don't tell your fourth aunt, or I'll have to sleep in the yard tonight."

Ji Manchuan rolled his eyes and mocked, "What a god! Look at the lice on your body. You could grab a handful with just one touch. The lice on your sac alone could fill an old bowl! In times of famine, you wouldn't starve just by shaking off the lice on your body."

Ji Manqing scratched his head nonchalantly and said, "What farmer doesn't have lice? Even the officials and rich old men in the city, I don't believe they don't have lice!"

Ji Yongling glanced at the body hair on Ji Manqing's arm and felt as if there were dark lice crawling around. She quietly moved to the side, trying to stand further away from Ji Manqing.

Ji Manqing scratched his arm where he had just been bitten and asked with dissatisfaction, "Ling'er, what are you doing standing so far away? Do you also dislike your fourth uncle? Sigh—your fourth uncle is miserable. He is disliked by your grandfather, your grandmother, your fourth aunt, and even your father. Now even you are disliking your fourth uncle! What kind of life does your fourth uncle have left? Sigh—" He looked pitiful and miserable as he spoke.

Ji Manchuan said speechlessly, "Looking at your seductive appearance, it would be a waste of talent not to send you to an opera troupe to be a male dan (female impersonator).

Seeing Ji Manqing acting like a drama queen, Ji Yongling found it somewhat amusing and quickly comforted him, "Fourth Uncle, I would never dislike you! The lice-repelling medicine I made last time is ready, you can use it first."

Ji Manqing sighed deeply, feigning sadness, and said, "Hey, you said you didn't mind! You even gave me medicine made with such expensive wine first, what else could it be but disdain?"

Old Master Ji couldn't bear to look at his youngest son, so he shook his head speechlessly, put his hands behind his back, and walked away.

Ji Manchuan glared at him and said, "Look at you, you've made your father angry! Ling'er's lice medicine is expensive, it's a waste of materials to give it to you. Stop squeaking and come over here to make another shovel. Didn't you say you wanted to use it to harvest wheat? Why don't you get it yourself? Why wait for something ready-made!"

Ji Yongling bent down and scratched her ankle, which made it even itchier.

Actually, there are far fewer mosquitoes in Northwest China than in the South. In the South, people either die from the heat or from mosquito bites in the summer.

There were fire ropes burning in the cave dwelling where Old Ji lived, and there were almost no mosquitoes. It was probably because the cave dwelling where they did woodwork was close to the pigsty, which is why there were more mosquitoes.

However, this also reminded Ji Yongling that during the wheat harvest, everyone spends a lot of time in the fields and threshing grounds, and mosquito bites are very common. She could make some peppermint and mugwort ointment for everyone to use.

Especially now that the Dragon Boat Festival is just around the corner, the mugwort is growing perfectly, making it the best time to make mint mugwort paste.

Moreover, this peppermint and mugwort balm can not only repel mosquitoes and insects, but also relieve various pains and inflammations, prevent infections, and soothe nerves, making it a very cost-effective herbal balm.

Just do it.

Ji Yongling carried the cage, preparing to call on the Ji Yongning brothers to help pick mugwort and mint.

But she called out for a long time at the gate of the courtyard, but no one came. Just as she was about to leave, Ji Yongzhou came running from the other side of the village with a pout and a tearful look on his face.

When Ji Yongling saw that his trouser legs were wet, she assumed he had gone to play in the ditch again and didn't pay much attention. But when Ji Yongling saw her on Monday, he burst into tears.

"Sister Ling'er, that wicked brat Yang Jiafa is bullying us!"

Ji Yongling asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Why is Yang Jiafa bullying you?"

Ji Yongzhou wiped the tears from his face with the back of his hand and said, "We were having a peeing contest with Tiedan, Erdan and the others in the pit. Yang Jiafa threw a pea at me, which scared me so much that I trembled and peed all over my pants and feet."

This……

"Pfft," Ji Yongling couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Ji Yongzhou cried even more aggrievedly: "Sister Ling'er, if you're not going to avenge us, why are you laughing so happily? These are new pants, the new pants you gave to me and my brother!"

Ji Yongling suppressed a laugh and asked, "Where's your brother? Did he wet his pants too?"

Ji Yongzhou stopped crying, shook his head, and said, "Only Erdan and I peed our pants. My brother and Tiedan were very steady."