Grain drying field

Sun Shaoping carefully settled his grandmother on a sun-drenched patch of grass, then picked a few soft red dates and handed them to her.

His grandmother happily ate them, and just then, Jin Junbin and his wife, Wang Caie, slowly approached from a distance, each supporting an old woman.

They settled the two old women together to sunbathe, just as they always did.

The two grandmothers sat close, eating and chatting, enjoying the rare festive moment, while Jin Junbin and Wang Caie, after settling Jin's old mother, also joined the date-picking army.

Shaoping, Jin Bo, and Runsheng, the three classmates, joyfully picked dates while discussing when they would return to school.

"Brother Zhao, how much longer will you be staying in the village?" Shaoping asked Zhao Dongchuan.

"Probably for a while longer, maybe until the end of the month," Zhao Dongchuan replied, his hands still busy.

"That's great! I have so many problems I can't solve; I can come to you for tutoring at night!" Sun Shaoping laughed happily.

Just as everyone was chatting animatedly, Shaoan's mother and He Fengying led Xiulian into the date orchard.

Their appearance instantly drew everyone's attention; people gathered around, curiously looking at the "new bride" and asking a flurry of questions.

Shaoan's mother, at this moment, was like a "press conference" host, answering everyone's various questions in an orderly manner.

"Shaoan is a lucky man to marry such a good wife!" Jin's old mother, leisurely sunbathing and chewing dates, looked at the lively scene in the distance and said with a smile to Shaoan's grandmother.

"That's wonderful!" Although Shaoan's grandmother's hearing wasn't very good, years of unspoken understanding allowed her to roughly grasp what Jin's old mother meant.

Seeing that her eldest grandson was also about to start a family, this old woman, born in the twenty-third year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, felt greatly relieved. She had experienced countless hardships in her life, seen many people perish in turmoil, and now, although her family's circumstances were poor, everyone was well, which was the greatest happiness for her. As for Runye, that could only be a matter of fate.

Xiulian was originally a generous girl, but she couldn't withstand so many people staring at her. Her face flushed and her heart pounded; she wanted to leave but was surrounded and couldn't easily escape. She could only tightly hold Lanxiang's hand, afraid that she might accidentally collapse, which would be utterly mortifying.

Perhaps noticing Xiulian's embarrassment, Sun Yuting shouted, "What are you all doing gathered over there? Hurry up and pick dates, don't waste time!"

Only then did everyone disperse, still chattering.

Zhao Dongchuan played for a while, and as his enthusiasm gradually faded, he stopped, put down his bamboo pole, picked a large red date from the pile, and popped it into his mouth, eating it with relish.

And indeed, these dates were sweet.

Tian Haimin was currently with Secretary Tian Futang, Deputy Secretary Jin Junshan, and others at the Tianjia Gelaoshai threshing ground across the river, where piles of dates collected by villagers were already stacked like small mountains.

The two production team leaders, Sun Shaoan and Jin Junwu, were also there, and several village cadres were gathered, busy weighing the dates, with the brigade accountant, Tian Haimin, occasionally making a record.

After these dates were registered, they would be distributed to each household here, according to the number of people.

By rights, Zhao Dongchuan was no longer considered a resident of Shuangshui Village, but everyone unanimously decided to give him a share anyway. These dates weren't worth much money, and besides, Zhao Dongchuan was a good person, and everyone hoped to return his kindness.

Not to mention the drought relief team incident a while ago, for which the village owed him a favor, but also his usual tutoring for Shaoping, and buying their fruits, vegetables, and surplus grain, which gave the farmers more money to buy needles and thread and such, so they should also give him some dates to eat.

At this time, business was not allowed, and apart from earning work points by farming, farmers could usually only travel half a day to Mijia Town to sell some eggs to earn money. Calculated over a year, they couldn't save much after all living expenses.

Zhao Dongchuan had a large appetite, and the system rice wasn't enough, so he basically bought grain and vegetables from the farmers in Shuangshui Village. Anyway, he had space and wasn't afraid of spoilage, though he didn't dare to buy in large quantities for fear of being discovered by observant people.

With the successful conclusion of the "Date Picking Festival," no more ruby-like dates could be seen on the trees, only a few scattered leaves remained.

Everyone in the village was now at the threshing ground with their large sacks, listening as Tian Haimin called out names, then reported the weight and distributed the piles of red dates per person.

Zhao Dongchuan also received 20 jin of dates.

Picking dates, distributing dates, from early morning until evening, until all the dates were distributed, everyone carried their heavy sacks home, feeling satisfied.

Human satisfaction is that simple; a common event, everyone picking and distributing dates together, participating in collective labor, achieving a harvest, makes them feel very fulfilled. This is also a kind of simple happiness.

After the Date Picking Festival, it was the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month.

By then, Zhao Dongchuan had been in Shuangshui Village for a month.

"I wonder if my parents received the letter I sent home?"

"On festive occasions, one thinks more of one's dear ones!" He suddenly became melancholic.

On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhao Dongchuan declined the invitations from Sun Shaoan and Secretary Tian, and prepared a sumptuous dinner for himself alone at home.

Let good food soothe his sorrow!

...

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhao Dongchuan returned to Huangyuan City; it was time to collect his salary again!

Familiar with the routine, he went to the finance department, and with the enthusiastic care of the finance aunt, Zhao Dongchuan signed for his salary.

Afterward, Zhao Dongchuan went to the office, greeted Jia Bing and other familiar colleagues, and then sat in the office, catching up on an afternoon's work.

"Oh, right, Xiao Zhao, I had a few letters for you yesterday. You weren't here, so I kept them. Here you go!" Just before getting off work, Jia Bing suddenly remembered and quickly took out several envelopes from his drawer, handing them to Zhao Dongchuan.

"Thanks, Teacher Jia, come to my dorm tonight, I'll cook a few dishes, and we can have a drink?" Zhao Dongchuan took the letters and asked with a smile.

"No, no, Shufen is pregnant, I need to hurry home to take care of her. Next time!"

"Oh, congratulations! Congratulations!" Zhao Dongchuan quickly offered his congratulations.

"Hahahaha, thank you, I'm heading off work now!" With that, Jia Bing grabbed his bag and hurried away.

Zhao Dongchuan watched Jia Bing's retreating back with a sigh; it truly was different when one was about to become a father.

After getting off work and returning to his dorm, Zhao Dongchuan cleaned up, took out the system rice and vegetables bought from Shuangshui Village from his space, and started cooking.

By the time he finished cooking, it was already dark.

Zhao Dongchuan pulled the light cord to turn on the electric light and began to eat. For dinner, he had potato stew with pork, stir-fried cabbage, and a plate of spicy tofu.

Pouring a little sauce over his rice, Zhao Dongchuan slowly ate.

"In this hot summer, if only I had a bottle of ice-cold beer, gulped down, and then some skewers, that would be truly refreshing!"