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

Ji Yongling shook his head and smiled.

In this life, no matter how old or wise a person is, they have all made mistakes and gotten into trouble when they were young.

Moreover, even if you make a mistake once, it may be remembered for a lifetime.

With the addition of the scythe, Ji Manchuan and Ji Manqing harvested wheat much faster than those using sickles. In the short time they spoke, the two had already swept across a large field of wheat, leaving only neat stubble behind.

From a distance, Ji Manqing turned and shouted to Yang Shi, "Mother, give me some face in front of the child..."

Ji Manchuan roared back, "What face do you care about? Your face is as tiny as a nit, just pinch it and throw it away..."

Ji Yongling watched Ji Manchuan and Ji Manqing, talking without interrupting the wheat harvest.

They held the sickle handle firmly with their right hand, bent slightly at the waist, exerted force with their legs, and pulled the leather strap of the sickle to the left with their left hand. A large patch of golden wheat lay in the bamboo basket of the sickle. Then, they raised their right hand and tilted the bamboo basket to the side, and the wheat fell onto the ridge.

She couldn't help but admire them. Farmers who have been farming for years are different. As long as it's a farming tool, they can quickly get the hang of it without needing to learn or figure it out.

As the sun gradually rises and the sky is already bright, the farmers facing the yellow earth in the fields are like tireless machines, constantly threshing row after row of wheat onto the ground.

When they got hungry, they would grab some dry food from under the tree and eat a few bites. When they got thirsty, they would pour a bowl of cool boiled water from the jar, gulp it down, and then come back to continue working.

After several hours of work, Jia Ronghua carried the food from home to the fields. Ji Yong'an was tied to her back, and she had a basket on each end of the carrying pole, containing food and a jar of mint water, respectively.

"Dad, Mom, time to eat!" Jia Ronghua put down her carrying pole and called out to the field.

Upon hearing that it was time to eat, Ji Yongning and the others, who had been carrying small steamers and searching for wheat ears in the stubble field, jumped up and ran to the tree, eagerly waiting for Jia Ronghua to lift the steaming cloth covering the steamed buns.

They knew a few days ago that they would be steaming buns and making minced meat during the wheat harvest, so they were even dreaming about eating meat at night.

Jia Ronghua used a gourd ladle to collect some water, washed the children's hands, and then gave each of them a mixed flour bun filled with minced meat.

When the adults arrived, the children were already eating with shining eyes and smacking their lips.

Grandpa Ji took the steamed bun that Jia Ronghua handed him, but before he could eat it, he took a sip of mint water and said, “Manchuan, I think you and Manqing are really fast at harvesting wheat with those scythes. In a day, we can only harvest one mu with sickles, but you two can probably harvest four or five mu by yourselves.”

Ji Manchuan took a big bite of the meat-filled bun, his cheeks bulging, and said, "This stuff is definitely much faster. Let's make a few more next year... Dad, how about you use this shovel to scoop it up, and I'll use the sickle to cut it? This shovel saves you back pain."

Ji Manqing, chewing his steamed bun, mumbled, "That's right, Dad, you should try this shovel too. It takes a bit of effort and requires skill, but it won't hurt your back, so you won't be unable to move your back after harvesting a batch of wheat."

Grandpa Ji nodded in agreement.

Jia Ronghua untied Ji Yong'an and placed him on a pile of bundles of wheat straw, saying, "Mother, you can cook lunch later. I'll stay here and harvest wheat."

Madam Yang shook her head and refused, saying, "You still need to feed Yong'an, so you should take the baby back."

Jia Ronghua looked at Ji Yong'an, who was sleeping on the pile of straw, staring at the tree branches overhead with curious eyes, and said, "Mom, it's okay. I'll put Yong'an here and let Yongru watch over him. I'll come and feed him when he cries."

Ji Yongru's lips were red from eating, and she nodded vigorously, her little braids swinging back and forth as she said, "I want to watch my sister under the tree."

Ji Manchuan also advised, "Mother, you should go home. Don't end up like last year, where you almost couldn't get out of bed after harvesting the wheat."

Yang hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright then. Yongru, you must keep a close eye on your sister, lest the wolf carry her away."

Ji Manqing swallowed the last bite of his steamed bun and said, "Mother, there are no wolves in broad daylight! Besides, wolves are all in the gullies, why would they come to our plateau to eat dirt?"

Seeing that everyone was enjoying their meal, Grandpa Ji hesitated for a moment, just about to speak, when Ji Manchuan said, "Mother, we bought a lot of meat this year, and my eldest brother also gave us some. How about we give some of this sauce to Yongsong and my second brother's family?"

Ji Manqing also took a sip of water and said, "That's right, my eldest brother's family should have meat, but I don't know if my second brother is willing to buy meat this year."

Upon hearing what her two sons said, Madam Yang turned to look at Old Master Ji.

Grandpa Ji nodded and said, "I was just about to ask if all the meat at home had turned to mush. If there's any left, I'll send some over to your eldest brother's wheat harvester and your second brother's family. Ah, harvesting wheat is so exhausting. Every year, people collapse from exhaustion during the harvest. We absolutely cannot afford to collapse here."

Jia Ronghua hurriedly said, "Father, I prepared two small bowls, which are covered in the steamer. I originally wanted to invite Yongsong and the other children to come and eat."

Grandpa Ji shook his head and said, "There are too many people, so don't call them over. Just have Yongning and Yongzhou each take a bowl over."

Actually, not every family is like the Ji family, where someone can cook and deliver food to their doorstep. Families with fewer members pack their own food before setting off in the morning and just eat a few bites haphazardly.

Ji Mantun's family brought their own dry food to the field.

Although Zhao Yunxia and Ji Mantun had a disagreement a couple of days ago, in the face of the important matter of harvesting wheat, no one mentioned that day again, and everyone acted as if nothing had happened. The house returned to its usual state.

Zhao Yunxia took the bowl from Ji Yongfei, gulped it down in one go, wiped her mouth, straightened up, and looked towards the field where Grandpa Ji was.

"Mom, here's a steamed bun for you." Ji Yongfei handed another steamed bun to Zhao Yunxia.

Zhao Yunxia took the steamed bun, plopped down against the tree, took off the wet towel from her head and wiped her face to feel a little cooler. She took a bite of the bun and said, "Yonghua, Yongbai, you two go see how much your grandpa and the others have harvested?"

Ji Yonghua, holding a steamed bun in one hand and a bowl in the other, turned his head sharply upon hearing this, giving Zhao Yunxia the back of his head, and said coldly, "I'm not going! My grandpa and the others are probably eating right now."

Zhao Yunxia chewed on the dry cornbread, choked, and rinsed it down with water.

She glanced at Ji Mantun and continued, "You silly boy, what are you afraid of going to your own grandfather's place? You've been there before! Your uncle sends meat back to your grandfather's house every year during the wheat harvest, you know that."

Ji Yonghua, with his head turned up, stubbornly said, "How old was I in previous years? How old am I this year? You go if you want, I'm not going!"

Zhao Yunxia poked Ji Yonghua on the back of the head with one finger and said through gritted teeth, "You're such a good-for-nothing!"