Chapter 37: The Autumn Harvest Begins (Part 2)

In the other corner of the post office hall.

Nie Sihui didn’t send out her letter right away. Instead, she unfolded it again, took out a pen, and added two more sentences at the end.

She had always known that Mu Mian enjoyed writing and drawing. She had even read the two articles Mu Mian published in the youth magazine—they were written very well.

As for the illustrated storybook, she wasn’t entirely sure what the young girl had drawn. She had only caught a few glimpses, but each brushstroke carried a sense of vitality.

To be precise, Mu Mian herself was a girl full of life, making interactions with her particularly pleasant.

During the past few months she had spent in the countryside, the Mu family had taken great care of her.

Bi Qin had mentioned in a previous letter that she was now handling submissions at the publishing house.

Nie Sihui had only ever had Bi Qin as a friend since childhood. Because of Bi Qin, she had some knowledge of how manuscript processing worked in publishing houses.

Sometimes, manuscripts weren’t ignored because they were of poor quality but simply because there were too many submissions, and the publisher never got the chance to see them.

Nie Sihui didn’t know what name Mu Mian had used when sending her submission, but the address would definitely be Hongxing Commune, Qingfeng Brigade.

There wasn’t much she could do, but at least she could mention it to Bi Qin to ensure that the manuscript would be seen. The rest would be up to the girl’s own abilities.

That said, she might be overthinking things. If she remembered correctly, Mu Mian had always had pretty good luck.

Just as Nie Sihui finished writing, Jian Mulan’s voice sounded behind her. “I was wondering why you were taking so long. Why are you still writing?”

Nie Sihui folded the letter back up and placed it inside the package. Smiling, she replied, “I suddenly remembered something I forgot to say, so I added a couple of lines. Where’s Aunt Shuangcui and the others?”

Jian Mulan nodded toward the entrance. “Over there, looking for Mu Mian.”

Meanwhile, Mu Mian had already finished her mailing.

She had no idea that Nie Sihui had added a layer of assurance to her submission. As she stepped out of the post office and saw Nie Sihui still inside, she waved cheerfully. “Sister Sihui, Teacher Jian, , we’re leaving first~”

She was off to celebrate her birthday!

Nie Sihui and Jian Mulan responded at the same time.

The state-run restaurant wasn’t open yet. They would have to wait a little longer.

After leaving the post office, Mu Mian took her grandmother to the public security bureau to pick up her cousin, Liu Tao.

Meanwhile, Liu Shuangcui had taken Mu Fugui to Liu Dongping’s house, intending to invite her along.

Since everyone was in the commune, they might as well have a meal together.

By the time they left the public security bureau and arrived at the state-run restaurant, Liu Shuangcui, her sister, and Mu Fugui were already waiting.

Liu Dongping had even brought a small gift for Mu Mian—a brand-new pencil case.

Mu Mian was overjoyed, her smile filled with genuine happiness. “Thank you, Aunt! I love it!”

It was really pretty. She hadn’t seen this kind at the supply and marketing cooperative.

Liu Dongping chuckled. “I figured you’d like it. I happened to see it when I passed by the county a few days ago, so I picked one up.”

Liu Tao pretended to be jealous. “Aunt, why didn’t you pick one up for me too?”

Liu Dongping raised an eyebrow. “Since when do you like little girls’ things?”

Liu Tao laughed. “Who says I’m not a little girl too? Right, Xiao Mian? Your sister is still young, isn’t she?”

Mu Mian nodded obediently. “Mhm, Sister Taozi is absolutely right!”

Liu Dongping rolled her eyes. “Right, my foot. When your mother was her age, she already had your brother.”

Indeed, elders never missed a chance to bring up marriage.

Mu Mian turned to look at her Sister Taozi, and the two exchanged silent glances before pulling faces at each other, wisely choosing to keep quiet.

Liu Dongping and Liu Shuangcui were already used to their niece’s carefree attitude when it came to finding a husband.

Before long, their conversation shifted to another topic.

Since it was National Day, plenty of people were out eating. The restaurant wasn’t even open yet, but the entrance was already packed.

Mu Mian’s group had six people. Aside from her grandmother, who was older, the rest were all quite competitive.

Even her grandmother was no pushover. Back when they fought the Shi family, she had been fierce.

As soon as the doors opened, the whole family successfully squeezed into the front.

The main dish today was chicken stew with mushrooms, and it was said to be made with an old hen. It was expensive but incredibly delicious. Mu Mian was still savoring the taste even after she got home.

Come to think of it, this was the first time in six months she had eaten chicken.

At home, the old hens were kept for laying eggs, so no one would kill them for meat without a good reason.

Unless everyone was truly exhausted and needed some extra nourishment—like during the autumn harvest.

—

Not long after National Day, the call for the autumn harvest was sounded.

This was undoubtedly the most important event of the year for the entire brigade. After working hard for over half a year, everyone was counting on this grain.

The day before the harvest began, Xu Yongshou took a loudspeaker and held a mobilization meeting, shouting at the top of his lungs.

The theme was simple—

Everyone had to bring forth the spirit of enduring hardship and fatigue to fight this battle of the autumn harvest.

It was the final stretch, the last push.

All schools, from elementary to high school, were given time off for this.

At this time of the year, the slaughterhouse was not particularly busy, as the brigades had yet to deliver their pigs. It would be another two months before that happened.

Every year during the autumn harvest, the slaughterhouse adjusted its workforce, keeping only those whose families did not need to participate in the harvest. Because of this, Comrade Mu Fugui did not have to go to the commune for work during this period.

Of course, that also meant he wouldn’t receive his slaughterhouse wages during this time.

It was only fair—after all, he wasn’t working there.

—

When the autumn harvest officially kicked off—

At the break of dawn, Mu Mian was jolted awake by the sound of gongs. Still half-asleep, she got up and found that her grandmother had already prepared breakfast.

Her parents were up as well. Liu Shuangcui bustled around, giving instructions, “Eat quickly. After breakfast, help your grandmother prepare the ingredients for lunch.”

Even though she had woken up earlier than usual, Mu Mian was still full of energy. “Got it, Mom. Don’t worry about me, just eat more yourself!”

Today, even the children had to go to the fields to pick up fallen grains of rice, earning work points based on the amount they collected.

However, they didn’t need to go too early, since picking grain required one important condition—

The adults had to finish cutting the rice first. Only after that could the children begin picking.

Just as they finished breakfast, the brigade leader struck the gong a second time.

The third round of gongs would signal the official start of work, and no one was allowed to be late.

Shortly after the second gong sounded,Mu Xinglong and Zheng Xialan came here with Xiao Chengzi and the twin sisters.

Since this was such an important time, Zheng Xialan naturally had to join the harvest, which meant the little sisters would have to stay with their grandmother.

Taking care of young children while also preparing meals was no easy task.

Once the adults headed off to work, Mu Mian helped her grandmother prepare the ingredients for lunch before grabbing her small basket and heading to the fields.

By the time she arrived, a bunch of children were already there, all bending over and carefully picking up grains one by one.

But kids being kids, some of them soon lost focus and started playing instead.

Mu Mian, along with Xu Lele and Shi Xiaolian, stuck together. Unlike the rowdy boys, the three girls worked diligently.

After a full day of hard work, they were eager to see their results.

With all their effort, they had each only earned five work points.

Of course, this felt like a small amount only from Mu Mian’s perspective—after all, her parents earned full work points every day.

For the other children, this was actually quite a lot.

Most of them only earned two or three work points. Those restless kids who ran around more than they worked barely managed to earn one.

Even the record keeper was impressed. “You three are really something! You managed to collect four or five work points each. The other kids didn’t get anywhere near that much.”

Xu Lele, being a true child, was especially proud of herself—she had earned four whole points!

Last year, she had only gotten two. Her mother had promised that if she reached three work points, she would get ten cents as a reward after the harvest.

Now she had exceeded that! She was amazing!

The other two, who were mentally more mature, were much calmer.

Shi Xiaolian remained steady and composed. She had done her best, and with no other tasks she could handle, she was quite satisfied with her five points.

Mu Mian, on the other hand, accepted the praise with a bright smile, but her mind was already turning over some thoughts.

Picking up rice grains was delicate work—it wasn’t difficult, but it was time-consuming and inefficient. It didn’t seem like the best fit for her.

So, the next morning—

When it was time to start work again, Mu Mian didn’t grab her small basket. Instead, she picked up a small stool.

Mu Fugui was puzzled. “What’s the stool for?”

Mu Mian answered honestly, “Dad, I’m going to the threshing ground with you today to thresh rice. I don’t want to pick up grains anymore.”

For someone her height, holding the threshing rod up for long periods might make her arms sore, but there was always a solution to a problem—standing on a stool would do the trick.

Liu Shuangcui wasn’t quite convinced. “Are you sure? Threshing all day is exhausting.”

Mu Mian waved her small hand confidently. “If Uncle can do it, I definitely can too!”

She was stronger than her little uncle. The other day when they arm-wrestled, she hadn’t even used her full strength.

She had only gone at about sixty to seventy percent—of course, she hadn’t told her little uncle that.

After all, he was an elder. She had to let him save some face.

Coincidentally, Mu Xinglong, who was carrying his two daughters over, heard this just in time.

He let out a “Heh” and said, “So, you’ve been talking behind my back?”

Mu Mian blinked innocently and smiled. “How could that be? I was just giving an example.”

Just then, the third round of gongs rang.

Liu Shuangcui placed a straw hat on her daughter’s head. “Go if you want, but if you get too tired, just go back to picking grains.”

Mu Mian nodded while tying the strap under her chin. As she stepped outside, she ran into Xu Lele.

The little girl looked full of enthusiasm, walking briskly with her small basket swinging in her hand.

She hadn’t even noticed that Mu Mian was carrying a stool instead of a basket—until Mu Mian spoke up.

“Lele, you go with Shi Xiaolian today. I’m going to the threshing ground with my dad.”

Xu Lele finally reacted and looked down. “Going to the threshing ground? Sister Mianmian, are you going to thresh rice?”

Mu Mian nodded. “Yes, I don’t like picking up scattered grains.”

Xu Lele said, “Alright then, I like picking them up. I already told my mom that I’m going to earn five work points today!”

Mu Mian showed her full support for her little friend without hesitation.

Xu Lele was so encouraged that she felt as if she had been injected with energy.

Mu Mian was also excited. When she arrived at the threshing rack, she stood between her father and her uncle.

Each threshing rack could fit about four people. Mu Xinglong stood next to Mu Xingwang, making their family complete.

At first, some of the men were a little puzzled by the presence of a young girl among them.

But after about fifteen minutes—

The entire threshing ground became so quiet that only the sound of rice being threshed against the wooden rack could be heard.

No one spoke. Some were even too focused to wipe away their sweat.

Only when they changed rice bundles did they secretly glance at the Mu family’s side, each one inwardly amazed.

Seriously…

How could there be such a hardworking girl!

If they didn’t put in more effort, they, as men, would have no pride left!