Rebirth in Famine: She Thrives by Lucky Space

Chapter 759: 759 Autumn Harvest

”I’m going. I’ve been eyeing that cotton patch for ages.” Old Li chuckled.

”I have to go to the city tomorrow to handle the pesticide factory paperwork. How can you not keep an eye on things?”

”Yun Qiang will be here.”

Li Yungui really had no way to deal with Old Li, but if he had the time, he would definitely go over to pick cotton too. Looking at the white cotton on the cotton boll, it truly was tempting.

”Yungui, I think this pesticide factory will definitely make money.”

”Isn’t it? I’m still thinking, once we have money, let’s set up a liquor factory. This year, we must try Mr. Lv’s method of brewing. If it works, we can give it a try, considering we have no other work after autumn. It doesn’t have to be a huge scale.”

”That sounds good.” Old Li likes to drink.

”Yungui, I didn’t learn how, can you brew some liquor for me this year?”

”Sure, let’s talk in winter. Mr. Lv said we can put it in the cellar. But for starters, put the jars on the kang, otherwise we might worry about poor fermentation. If not, we can wait until next year when it’s warmer.”

”No way! Such a good year, how can we not have liquor? Let’s go now? I’ll help you.”

”Now?”

”Yes, I still have dozens of pounds of sorghum at home, let’s use them.”

”Alright, but are you sure about using your sorghum? If it fails, it’ll be wasted grain.”

”I’m willing.”

Without hesitation, the two headed directly to Old Li’s place. He has three sons and three daughters; his daughters are married off, and the sons are also married and have their separate households, leaving just the old couple living together.

Old Li’s wife sighed helplessly upon hearing they planned to use sorghum to brew liquor. This year, the old man hadn’t let her touch the sorghum, and now he’s finally got the chance to brew.

Having worked hard all year, since he loves drinking, let him indulge.

Li Yungui instructed Old Li to make preparations and went home to eat.

Qu Xiaoli, upon hearing about brewing in the afternoon, hurriedly carried a sack of sorghum. She had Chaoyang carry the liquor jar to Old Li’s place.

”Sister-in-law, let’s get this done at your place today. I’ll bring over some firewood in a moment.”

”No need, we have firewood at home. Are you also helping Yungui brew liquor?”

”Yes, he’s been working hard all year. This year, we’ll have a good time. He likes a drink, and it’s only sorghum rice, so why not let my husband enjoy a joyful year too?”

”Xiaoli is really considerate.”

Li Yunqiang also heard the news and came over carrying sorghum rice and jars.

Which man in the village doesn’t love liquor? After a hard year, everyone’s looking forward to enjoying a drink when they have free time.

In the afternoon, the trio got busy. The three families completed the entire process by the afternoon’s end.

The four adults in Wei Kaiyun’s family were busy picking cotton. The three older kids stayed at home taking care of the younger two.

They wanted to help in the fields, but their height was a disadvantage—they couldn’t reach the cotton bolls.

This acre of cotton, with four people taking two rows each, filled the snake-skin bags in their hands, which they placed at the edge of the field.

Wei Kaiyun and Jiang Xinyu have worked in the textile factory for so many years. Although Jiang Xinyu never engaged in production, she knows the quality of cotton.

”This cotton is good; I reckon the village will definitely plant it next year.”

”Then we should give the cotton seeds to the village. We’ll just plant one acre every year for our family’s cotton clothes and quilts.”

Wei Kaiyun laughed heartily, ”Our family now is truly self-sufficient and abundantly clothed.”

”True, if we could spin cotton and weave cloth, it’d be perfect.”

Sister-in-law Liu laughed from the side, ”I know how to spin cotton.”

Jiang Xinyu laughed out loud, ”Our whole family is nearly becoming all-rounders.”

When the time came, Jiang Xinyu pushed the eight bags of cotton back home. The two young ones should be waking up.

These two children were quite considerate. When they learned to roll over, it coincided with the farming downtime.

Throughout the afternoon, their family picked the entire acre of burst-opened cotton, totaling sixteen bags. Some cotton bolls hadn’t burst open yet, as some cotton doesn’t burst until winter.

However, Wei Kaiyun said they would only pick three times; the rest would be manually broken open.

Cotton like that turns yellow and lacks elasticity, though it can still be used for making cushions for children.

During dinner, Jiang Xinyu asked Wei Kaiyun to get some canned jars when he has the chance.

”I want to make chili paste. Our red peppers have ripened.

But we’ll have to make the sweet bean paste ourselves.”

”Haha, my wife is truly an all-rounder.”

Jiang Xinyu laughed when Wei Kaiyun teased her. Doesn’t he feel embarrassed praising her like that?

After dinner, the family went back inside to listen to the radio. The kids enjoyed listening to storytelling.

Especially after interacting with friends more, telling stories to them made them feel thrilled.

Jiang Xinyu liked seeing them share. Kids should first learn to narrate.

Little Shi Xian didn’t sleep after having milk, his eyes open, watching his brothers and sisters.

”Mom, look, Shi Xian is too chubby.”

”He’s chubbier than you two were at his age.”

Wei Kaiyun picked up his second son, noticing how his eyes sparkled due to the candlelight.

The little guy was thrilled being held, his little legs kicking around, sending cheerful vibes.

Evening satisfaction was Wei Kaiyun’s, as today happened to be the third time. Were it not for his concern for his wife’s hard work, they wouldn’t have restricted to just once every day.

”You really have no restraint?”

”I’m being very restrained.”

The couple cuddled up and fell asleep. When the little guy awoke in the middle of the night, it was always Wei Kaiyun tending to him; Jiang Xinyu only needed to nurse.

The next day, at six o’clock, Li Yungui rode to the township before returning the bicycle from yesterday.

He agreed with Xing Xiangzhang to take the bus to the city at eight o’clock.

On the way, he noticed corn stalks still standing in other villages, with some ears not yet harvested.

Looking at his own village, wheat was soon to be fully planted. The more he thought about it, the happier he felt.

Just the sweet potatoes remain unharvested, but there’s no rush. It’s too early; the starch content is low.

When he arrived at the township, he parked the bike in the courtyard of the township government, with the gatekeeper instructing him to lock it.

”You’re out for a while; what if someone borrows it? Better lock it.”

Li Yungui and Xing Xiangzhang boarded the car and headed to the city, as the county procedures were done. They needed to personally visit the city for the bank loan paperwork.

”Old Li, has your village’s wheat been planted?”

”It’ll be done the day after tomorrow, then directly to Jin Family Village. I’ve already arranged with Wang Shulin.”

”When will you hand in the grain?”

”In a month or so; sorghum has already dried out, but corn hasn’t been husked yet.”