green grass on the stream

In addition to the wild fruits in the mountains, the rice in the fields has also matured with the seasons. From a distance, it looks like a layer of browned syrup has been poured on the earth.

Aunt Xu, who made clothes in the village, still invited Qi Yanfan and the two of them to help cut rice in the field this autumn.

Qi Yanfan found the sickle at home, borrowed another from Li Xiaogao, polished them on the stone, and set off with Ji Tingyu.

Although there are many varieties of grain grown in Taohua Village, rice must be found wherever there are people.

The fertile fields in the village are very suitable for growing rice, and there are also some lands in the depressions that some people will develop and plant.

Qi Yanfan told Ji Tingyu what was on his mind while walking along the way: "Should we also open some land to grow rice?"

"Not in a hurry," Ji Tingyu said, "Not to mention that there are only two of us, growing rice is no different than other crops, and there are more methods to pay attention to."

"I think so too. Let's go and learn first, and then prepare slowly."

There is a procedure for cutting rice. Qi Yanfan had only cut a few pieces of weeds in his yard before, so I don't know if he can do it smoothly today.

A fellow fellow next to him even laughed at him and said, "Look at your delicate skin and tender flesh, it's definitely not good!"

Qi Yanfan didn't start working right away, he first looked at the other people's appearances for a while, and saw that they were grabbing the stalks with their left hands, and cutting the stalks with the right hand with a sickle, and with a "swish", they neatly cut a handful of rice cut off.

It doesn't look too difficult, Qi Yanfan secretly glanced at his mouth.

When he went down to the paddy field, the water under his feet had long been drained, and the soil was hardened by the sun, and he would not step on a dent again.

Qi Yanfan imitated others, holding the lower end of a handful of rice with one hand, and holding the sickle tightly with the other hand, he cut inwards forcefully, but barely managed to cut off three or four stems of rice.He was a little dumbfounded, and unbelievingly mowed hard several times before he cut off the handful of rice.

Those who were more proficient in cutting rice could only hear the rhythmic sound of "shua, shua, shua", and cut down a large area in a short while, which made the novice Qi Yanfan even more embarrassed.

He held the second one again, swung the sickle high, and gathered enough strength to prepare to raise the knife and drop it.Unexpectedly, his wrist, which had not been lowered, was held by someone. When he looked up, it was Ji Tingyu.

"It's too dangerous for you to do this, you will cut your own feet." Ji Tingyu said, "I'll teach you."

Qi Yanfan followed suit again, but the speed was still very slow, he bitterly said: "How do you learn so fast, I'm going to be slow..."

Ji Tingyu comforted: "It's okay, just take your time."

The harvested rice is tied into small bundles of three to five handfuls, and a dozen small bundles are combined into one large bundle. After drying in the field, it is finally carried to the threshing ground with a pole.In addition to working hard to cut the rice, Qi Yanfan also had to struggle with the tying of the rice bundles.

An old woman next to him who had already cut a ridge and then caught up with Qi Yanfan straightened up and said to him, "Young man, I caught up with you."

Qi Yanfan raised his head and said embarrassingly, "It's my first time harvesting rice, and I'm not very good at it..."

The aunt smiled and said: "The work in the rice field has to be done quickly, hurry up, the rice has to be dried after harvesting, maybe when it will rain, the seeds are afraid that the seeds will rot in the ground."

Qi Yanfan nodded, not daring to focus on speaking.

The other villagers on the side saw it and joked: "Xiao Qi is not worried, his family Li Jianye can do it."

"No, Xiao Qi does half work, and Li Jianye does half work."

"Li Jianye looks very down-to-earth..."

Qi Yanfan peeked into the distance, there were a few men shirtless, their dark wheat-colored backs glistening in the sun.And Ji Tingyu, who has been praised by the aunts all the time, took off only a short jacket, and his exposed arms were also sweaty. He was bending over and wearing a straw hat, and he was waving a sickle quickly.

Such a person is the focus of everyone no matter where he goes, but Qi Yanfan is not jealous at all at this moment, because this person is his own, and what replaces him in his heart is full of pride and full satisfaction.

"Hey, Xiao Qi, you've been in Taohua Village for a while, right?" someone asked.

Qi Yanfan looked away, nodded and replied, "Yes, yes."

"I don't know if Li Jianye has married yet?"

"Ah? No, not yet..." Qi Yanfan replied with a guilty conscience.

"I don't think he's too young anymore, so hurry up, what kind of food does he like?" the man said again.

"I don't know..." He likes himself like this, hehe.Qi Yanfan couldn't hold back the villagers' gossip, and was afraid they would ask too much, so he concentrated on his work after typing a few haha.

The tiring day was soon over, Qi Yanfan returned home with his sore body, lying on the table and not wanting to move at all.

A cool cloth towel covered his face, and Ji Tingyu twisted the kerchief over: "Wipe your face first."

Qi Yanfan wiped it casually a few times, feeling much more refreshed, so he handed the veil back to Ji Tingyu.

Ji Tingyu reached out to pick it up, Qi Yanfan's sharp eyes immediately noticed the small wound on his hand.

He grabbed Ji Tingyu's hand. When cutting the rice, his hand rubbed against the rough stalks countless times, and was stabbed by the sharp leaves from time to time. How painful it must be!He carefully avoided it and grinned for a while, but his Ji Tingyu endured it silently for a whole day.

"Why are you cutting so fast, you don't know how to rest, don't you know that it hurts?" Qi Yanfan took his palms and blew gently. The hands that were only suitable for holding scrolls and wine glasses are now covered with several calluses. .

His heart was hot and painful, and he immediately yelled: "Don't do it, don't do it, sit down!"

"Okay, okay." Ji Tingyu sat down next to him, hugged him into his arms, and gently kneaded his waist.

"I won't go tomorrow!" Qi Yanfan resolutely said.

"Okay, I won't go." Ji Tingyu replied.

"You can't go to threshing!" Threshing and picking rice are both heavy physical labor. Qi Yanfan felt his scalp tingling just thinking about it, and immediately added: "You are not allowed to go picking rice!"

"Okay, I'm not going, I'm not going for anything." Ji Tingyu pinched his angry face and said, "Who is still angry at me because of me?"

"I'm not angry with you, I'm angry with myself," Qi Yanfan said angrily, "I shouldn't say anything about harvesting rice, I shouldn't talk about growing rice, I don't want you to work so hard..."

"I don't think it's hard. It's not hard to do anything with you." Ji Tingyu whispered in his ear, "Besides, this is my first time harvesting rice, so it's really a bit novel."

"Really?" Qi Yanfan asked with a blushing face, "Are your arms and waist sore?"

"It would be even better if Yan Fan could rub it for me."

Qi Yanfan jumped up suddenly, and moved towards the door: "I smell of sweat, I, I'm going to take a shower first."

"After holding the sickle all day, my arm is very sore." Ji Tingyu said behind him.

"..."

"I have been bent for a day, and I can hardly straighten up."

Qi Yanfan who walked to the door hummed like a meowing cat: "I'll pinch it for you later..."

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Alas, the holidays go by so fast...