Chapter 53: Li Lijuan Goes Begging (Part 3)

Li Lijuan thought that since she was going to the county town, she had to dress well. She didn’t want to be called a country bumpkin when she arrived in the county town; that would be too embarrassing.

Zhao Xiulan sneered inwardly, thinking that Li Lijuan’s dressing up wouldn’t help her beg for food at all. Grain was already precious, and since people themselves didn’t have enough to eat, who would give it to others? Even if someone did, it would be out of pity for their pitiful situation.

But Li Lijuan? Dressed like that, she looked like she was going on a blind date. Who would pity her and give her food?

Zhao Xiulan didn’t say what she was thinking. This time, she just wanted Li Lijuan to experience some hardship, so she wouldn’t keep making sarcastic remarks every time she came back from the county town, making it seem like going to the county town was such an easy trip.

Not long after Li Lijuan left, Zhao Xiulan also went to work.

Today, they were tasked with harvesting rice.

It was almost time for the summer harvest.

The production team harvested rice twice a year, once in the summer and once in the autumn, planting two crops of rice each year.

Generally, the summer harvest was in August, and the autumn harvest was in October.

After the summer harvest, they would hand in the public grain and keep the collective grain. The surplus grain would be distributed for the first time. The autumn harvest was similar to the summer harvest, with the surplus grain distributed after handing in the public grain.

With the summer harvest approaching, everyone in the production team was working hard, hoping to finish the work early and distribute their own grain after handing in the public grain.

At this point, most people were almost out of grain. If they didn’t get any more soon, many people would starve.

Moreover, August was the hottest season, and everyone working outside was getting sunburned.

Seeing the members of the production team sweating profusely, Zhao Xiulan also worked harder, helping to harvest rice.

Most of the rice harvesters were women and children, while men were responsible for carrying the harvested rice to the rice field and there were also members who specialised in threshing the rice.

Carrying the rice was heavy work that women couldn’t do, so it was left to the men.

Because the work was heavy, those who did more work would earn more work points. Especially for those who worked hard, they could earn a full day’s worth of work points.

The more work points one earned, the more grain they would receive at the end of the year. Although it was tiring, the men were willing to do it.

Especially for some families with few labourers and many children, they could only earn more work points by working more, so their children would have food to eat.

After working hard for a morning, Zhao Xiulan quickly applied some sunscreen from her space, trying to prevent herself from getting too tanned.

During the lunch break, the production team distributed a steamed bun to each person.

For those who had worked hard all morning and were feeling a bit dizzy from hunger, this was undoubtedly a lifesaver.

After receiving the steamed bun, some took it home to eat and rest, while others sat under the trees by the field, eating steamed buns and chatting.

With few entertainment options nowadays, people liked to chat when they rested.

Zhao Xiulan also found a quiet, shady spot to sit down, but she didn’t eat the steamed bun provided by the production team. Instead, she took something from her space to eat.

After eating some makeshift lunch, drinking a glass of milk, and eating a vegetable bun and an egg, Zhao Xiulan felt full and satisfied. She planned to lie down under the tree shade for a while to rest, so she could regain her strength and do more work in the afternoon.

Before she could lie down, she heard loud cries and commotion. Zhao Xiulan looked in the direction of the noise and saw several children surrounding two others.

(End of Chapter 53)