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

Ji Yongning had no idea what was going on and immediately cried out, "Dad, Dad, don't hit me, don't hit me! What happened? People say that it's not good to hit children during the New Year, why are you hitting me!"

Ji Manqing was so angry that his head was practically steaming. He shouted, "Rules are made by people. Today is the 30th, and I'm going to beat you up! You coward, you still have the nerve to ask me what's going on! Open your eyes and take a good look at the couplets you've pasted up for us!"

You good-for-nothing! I even paid to send you to school, and you've wasted all your education! You can't even put up a couplet properly! You're utterly useless at everything, a complete troublemaker. What a waste of my time raising a kid like you!

As Ji Yongning ran, he stubbornly insisted, "I pasted them up perfectly! The paste is really thick! Look, the couplets on the door are all pasted up straight and straight, not crooked or skewed at all..."

Before he could finish speaking, he glanced back and saw the horizontal inscription on the gate that read "Prosperity of Livestock".

This, this, this... He must have been in such a hurry that he reversed the horizontal inscription on the pigsty and the one on the gate!

Heavens above, earth below, he truly did not do it on purpose.

"Ah, ah!" Ji Manqing's broom bristles slammed down.

Although Ji Manchuan intervened, Ji Yongning only received two blows from the broom handle, but on New Year's Eve, his mood could be described as "snowflakes fluttering and the north wind howling," utterly miserable.

He admitted that the beating wasn't for nothing! But his father said that as punishment, he would confiscate all the money he had given for pacifying the soul on New Year's Eve.

"I can take the beating, but I can't live without money!" Ji Yongning was about to cry his eyes out.

The snow kept falling. In the evening, Ji Mancang and Ji Mantun braved the cold and snow early in the morning, carrying things for the two elderly people to the old courtyard.

This year, all the brothers have found their own jobs and earned some money, so they are being exceptionally generous with the gifts they give to their parents.

After the four brothers kowtowed to Grandpa Ji and Madam Yang, each of them gave the two elders a string of coins to "soothe their souls," much to Madam Yang's delight. Although she complained that she didn't want it, she still stuffed the money into her black cabinet.

Just like last year, the kiln was exceptionally lively that night.

Ji Manchuan and his brothers sat around the mud stove, roasting potatoes and tea leaves, talking about their current situation and plans for next year.

Everyone is doing well this year, and they have some money in their pockets, so Ji Mancang and Ji Mantun plan to build brick houses in Niaoli after the New Year.

However, one of them had to work in the shop and the other had to work in the paper mill, so they would still need to ask Grandpa Ji, Ji Manchuan, and Ji Manqing for help with many tasks.

Old Master Ji had no objections. He and Madam Yang were happiest that their sons were all doing well.

Ji Manchuan and Ji Manqing had no objections. Since the oil mill wouldn't start construction until the fall anyway, they were happy to help their brother oversee the construction while they were free.

The children on the kang (a heated brick bed) were playing and frolicking, eventually piling up in a ball.

Regardless of any past unpleasantness, the women all sat on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed) tonight, chatting and gossiping.

Snow continued to fall outside, and everyone was talking, oblivious to the time. Suddenly, Ji Yong'an, who was on the kang (a heated brick bed), complained of pain in her groin and wanted to get off. Jia Ronghua scolded her, telling her that the floor was cold and she should stay on the kang.

As a result, a burning smell wafted from the kang (a heated brick bed) in no time.

"Light the fire! Light the fire! Light the fire on the kang!" Yang shouted as she smelled the fire.

But it was too late; the kang mat and the mattress underneath had already burned a large, black hole.

As Yang shooed the child off the kang (a heated brick bed), she examined the mat and cursed through gritted teeth, "Who's so kind as to use hard firewood to heat the kang? Wheat straw and corncobs won't burn, so they have to use hard firewood! Look, they're trying to start a fire!"

Ji Manqing, who was watching from the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Mom, today is the 30th of the month, so I was thinking of adding some hard firewood to make the kang warmer and keep it burning longer!"

Just now, Ji Yongling said that the kang (a heated brick bed) didn't seem very warm, so Ji Manqing volunteered to go outside and bring back some firewood to fill the kang, but he ended up adding too much.

This Lunar New Year's Eve is destined to be lively and bustling.

.......

Time flies! In the blink of an eye, another year of spring planting and autumn harvest has arrived.

Ji Yongling hadn't finished setting up her loom yet, but the farming couldn't stop. Right now, her urgent task was to detoxify the potatoes and sweet potatoes.

If potatoes and sweet potatoes are not detoxified, their yield will definitely decrease, which will have a huge impact.

However, since there are no relevant materials on modern tissue culture methods, Ji Yongling can only adopt the simplest and most primitive methods.

For example, she used a hot water treatment method to detoxify potatoes. This method involves heating the seed potatoes in water at 55-60°C for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Then, she rinses them with cold water to remove surface dirt.

This method is simple and easy to implement. Although the detoxification effect may not be ideal, it is more than sufficient for ancient times.

Compared to potatoes, the detoxification process for sweet potatoes is much more complex.

Without a microscope and a sterile environment, the stem tip peeling method for virus removal is completely infeasible. Ji Yongling could only use the hydrogen peroxide detoxification method, which involves soaking sweet potatoes in a 1% to 3% hydrogen peroxide solution for about an hour, then rinsing them with clean water, drying them, and then they can be used for seedling cultivation.

Fortunately, she has a "golden touch," otherwise she wouldn't have been able to detoxify the sweet potatoes.

These past two years of living in ancient times have allowed her to fully integrate into the family and adapt to this agricultural life of working at sunrise and resting at sunset, almost making her forget that she still has a "reserve warehouse".

However, she always kept in mind that she had to rely on herself for everything and could not take something for granted. Therefore, she avoided using the reserve warehouse whenever possible.

She firmly believes that only what is earned through hard work can align with the development of this era and bring benefits to more people. Relying solely on connections and connections is a form of laziness, a form of "labor shame"!