Li Yungui was certainly willing. Everyone was excitedly drawn in by the village chief’s grand plan.
They work tirelessly all year round, yet the harvest is not good. As lifelong farrs with their faces to the soil and backs to the sky, it pains them to see large areas of land lying fallow.
The village chief gathered everyone and ntioned that Wei Kaiyun, who had been assigned to the village, wanted to create a machine that could spray a herbicide to control weeds.
Now, everyone had hope. So when Shang Zhenkun suggested burning the fields, everyone was naturally willing.
No one was dissatisfied. In fact, everyone was very enthusiastic.
Jiang Xinyu brought three children along, carrying a thermos.
After all, this is working for their own family. Even if als aren’t provided, surely they should at least offer water?
So she made brown sugar water, brought two bowls, and ca over with three children. From afar, they could see a large fire.
Actually, burning the straw also fertilizes the land.
The three children stared wide-eyed at the vast fields. "Mom, is all this land ours?"
Jiang Xinyu shook her head. "Probably not all of it, given its size. We’re only responsible for clearing twenty-five acres."
"Mom, why not use tractors? That would save so much effort."
Jiang Xinyu smiled. "I’ve thought about that. Your dad went to the city to inquire about this exact thing. If we can really buy a tractor, that would be great. It would be used for all two hundred fifty acres we have.
Though we don’t know if we can buy one. If we can’t get a tractor, then we’ll have to buy oxen.
Whatever we buy won’t belong to us; it has to be communal, for the village."
Sister-in-law Liu saw the four of them approaching and imdiately inford everyone, welcoming them over.
"Village Chief Li, I brought you water. Thanks for your hard work, everyone."
"No worries, thank you, Teacher Jiang."
Jiang Xinyu smiled. Ever since she beca a teacher in the village, she’s received a lot of respect. Regardless of age, everyone calls her Teacher Jiang when they see her.
Jiang Xinyu felt this title was more pleasant than Vice Factory Director Jiang. It made her content.
"Teacher Jiang, you four should head back now. We’ll finish up here soon; the children are young, and the weeds are tall. It might be dangerous."
Jiang Xinyu cheerfully agreed, calling the two boys who were reluctant to leave back ho.
Along the way, she educated Shi Jing and Jianbin, "You two are still young. While you can’t work now, try not to cause trouble for the adults. When you get ho, go out and play with your friends."
The two agreed. They were simply curious, thinking it was fun to see all the land and fire.
"Listen up, all three of you. What I’m about to say might not make sense to you now, but you must rember it in your heart.
They say water and fire are ruthless. If you encounter these situations, you must find a way to escape.
Of course, to avoid such dangers, stay away from the edges of water and sources of fire, and never let curiosity lead to danger.
Life only happens once, and you should cherish it.
Have you rembered what I said?"
The two boys imdiately nodded. "Mom, we understand what you an. We’ll obey."
Jiang Xinyu nodded in satisfaction. She worried the two children might beco curious about the fire today, leading to unexpected consequences, so she had to remind them.
The four of them strolled back ho. Jiang Xinyu let the three children go out and play since it was a rare day off.
This left her alone at ho. She secretly removed so grain and oil, directly placing them in her room. Only Sister-in-law Liu was aware of the household’s food supplies. Thus, taking them from her room was like hiding them.
In the main room, she prepared dough. Both Master Shang and Sister-in-law Liu had been quite tired, so they decided to have dumplings for dinner. She worked slowly by herself at ho and wasn’t in a hurry.
They were pork and cabbage dumplings, which everyone loved.
Jiang Xinyu intentionally used lard to make them more fragrant.
Although the village chief said they’d be done soon, seeing the large area suggested they might not return for two to three hours.
By the ti she finished making dumplings, only the three children had returned.
Jiang Xinyu had them help peel garlic. She lit the three stoves.
All were boiling water. Given the opportunity today, they decided to bath together as a family.
Jianbin, being older, sat in the main room helping with the fire, as it was difficult for Jiang Xinyu to bend over.
Once the water boiled, sounds ca from the courtyard.
Sister-in-law Liu had already noticed the smoke from the chimney, entering the main room directly. Seeing Jianbin tending the fire, she felt relieved.
"Master Shang, Sister-in-law Liu, you should freshen up quickly. We’ll have dinner soon and then bathe."
"Xiao Jiang, let cook the dumplings. You just rest on the side."
Jiang Xinyu nodded with a smile, not insisting. Her legs and back were indeed sore.
Around nine o’clock, the whole family lay down to rest.
Feifei fell asleep in no ti after lying in bed. But Jiang Xinyu couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning, wondering how Wei Kaiyun was doing.
She figured Old Yang would surely seize this business opportunity. Moreover, she hoped they could buy a tractor, since she understood the principles of a rotary tiller. If it wasn’t available, they’d make it themselves. In any case, manual labor wasn’t suitable, and Wei Kaiyun couldn’t bear it.
At that mont, Wei Kaiyun was discussing the materials for the sprayer with Old Yang.
By tomorrow, they planned to produce a finished product. Although precision was required, they had a thod.
"Xiao Wei, if you can make a contribution, I believe you’ll be vindicated."
"I know, Old Yang. Can we buy a tractor?"
"Yes, but ti is tight. If we bring one from C City, it won’t arrive in ti."
"Should we be able to manage? Corn can be planted a bit later."
"I’ll try calling. Why do you want a tractor?"
"For farming, right? If we really can’t get one, we’ll have to find a way to get an ox. But that would be labor-intensive."
"Can you make a seeder yourself?" Old Yang was curious, never knowing his friend had such skills.
"Almost, though it requires a lot of iron. Can we manage?"
"Sure, whatever you need, we’ll get it for you."
"Actually, it would be best to get help from people at the machinery factory."
"Draw the plans. If possible, you can go directly to the machinery factory, perhaps even drive the tractor back."
"That’s a great idea."
Wei Kaiyun picked up paper and pen, recalling what his wife said the night before.
In less than ten minutes, he sketched out both the rotary tiller and the seeder.
"The dinsions of this need the expertise of professionals to match the tractor’s size."
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