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Chapter 143
This year’s season for skirt mushrooms was unusually short.
In previous years, they would start appearing in March and last until late May.
But this year, they only began in early April and were gone by mid-May.
The villagers of Shanshui Village felt regretful but understood that there was nothing they could do.
They turned their thoughts to the bamboo mushrooms that would come in June. Unlike April, which was a busy farming season, June had more rainfall and thus more bamboo mushrooms. If they didn’t mind the hard work, they could still gather plenty of mushrooms then.
By the end of May, the busy farming season had ended early, and so had the season for skirt mushrooms, marking the most leisurely time of the year for the villagers.
Shuiqing’s family decided to start harvesting potatoes.
“Dad, Shuiqing’s family has decided to start harvesting potatoes!” Wang Guifen hurried back home to inform her father-in-law.
Upon hearing this, Li Wu, the second eldest, asked eagerly, “Wasn’t it said that we would start in June? Why the early start?”
Shuiqing’s family began plowing their fields in the tenth lunar month and switched to helping plant in the first month, with some planting at the end of the first lunar month and beginning of the second lunar month.
“Yes, it was said that potatoes would be harvested after four months, but even with full calculations, it’s not yet four months. Harvesting a few days early may yield a better harvest,” Li Qiang, the third eldest, said with a frown of concern.
Plowing, planting, weeding, fertilizing… farmers toiled for several months, all for this final harvest moment.
Just a few days later could mean a much better yield, and it pained them to harvest early.
Having just returned from chatting with Shuiqing, Wang Guifen relayed his thoughts, “Ah, they’re just afraid of heavy rains and flooding! Shuiqing said that potatoes can’t be soaked; they’ll either rot or sprout. The Fan family ate sprouted potatoes a few months ago, and you all know how that turned out. So, they decided to harvest early and store them at home, even if the yield is a bit lower.”
The old village chief sat in his recliner, silent for a while.
The three sons and their wives all looked to their father.
Other old people might not know about other families, but their own father was definitely considered a “family treasure.” No matter what happened, he was the backbone of the family!
“Dad, should our family also harvest early? We planted even later than they did,” Li Qiang nervously asked.
Their family had many members who could endure hardship. After helping Fan Jin’s family plant potatoes during the day, they dug in the fields all night. Fortunately, planting potatoes during the day wasn’t physically demanding for them. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to handle the physical labor day and night.
By early February, the whole family went into the field and finished planting before mid-February.
But that was more than ten days later than Shuiqing’s family.
The old village chief frowned, asking his eldest son, “Did you go to the field these days?”
Li Wen hurriedly replied, “Why haven’t you been there? I wish I could see it every day.”
“Have you dug them up?” The old village chief asked again.
Li Wen opened his mouth and looked at this one and that one. He said hesitantly, “I, I dare not! Wouldn’t it be a waste to dig them up before they grow well?”
The old village chief looked at his three sons and instructed, “You three go to the fields and dig up a part of the potatoes for the family; Remember, don’t be lazy, and dig them up as quickly as possible.”
Although the three of them didn’t know what their father meant, they obediently replied and ran to the yard, picking up hoes and bamboo baskets to head to their own potato fields.
An hour later, the three returned to the yard, panting and carrying bamboo baskets.
Wang Guifen and the three other women hurried forward to help.
Seeing the full bamboo baskets, Wang Guifen whispered, “Dad asked each of you to dig up one part of the field. You didn’t dig up three parts by yourself, did you?”
Li Wen grinned and couldn’t hide his joy on his face, “My dear, this is just one part of the field!”
“Big sister-in-law, we really did just dig one part of the field!” Li Qiang’s face was filled with the joy of a bountiful harvest.
The old village chief heard the commotion in the yard and came out leaning on his cane.
He first inspected the size of the potatoes in the baskets, estimated their weight, and then roughly calculated the time.
Then he spoke, “The largest potatoes are slightly smaller than what you exchanged from Jin’s place, so it seems it’s not quite time yet.
Based on your three’s time digging potatoes just now, one person can dig up at most an acre a day, and it also takes time to pick them up and bring them back.
Our family planted fifteen acres, so it will take at least five to ten days to harvest them all.
This basket probably weighs about one hundred and thirty-five catties. If this is the yield, we should be satisfied; there’s no need to risk waiting longer.”
Rain waits for no one; often fields can be flooded overnight.
Hearing that the basket contained over a hundred catties, Wang Guifen, Zhang Hui, and Zhao Lan were stunned.
This was just from one part of the field; wouldn’t one acre yield over a thousand catties?
Their family had only planted fifteen acres; wouldn’t this yield more than the corn harvest from several dozen acres in previous years?
After swallowing their saliva, Zhao Lan muttered to herself regretfully, “We should have worked harder earlier and planted a few more acres!
No, we should have used all the corn fields to plant potatoes. Wouldn’t our harvest be overwhelming?”
Li Qiang joined his wife, “Even if we had planted a few more acres earlier…”
Wang Guifen, as the elder sister-in-law, was much steadier than the others and smiled, “Don’t be greedy. Who could have known at the time?
Let’s bring in what’s in the ground now. Didn’t Shuiqing say so? We can plant another season in September. We’ll plant more then!”
The others below nodded in agreement.
Wang Guifen’s maternal family was also in the village. When they first planted potatoes, her father, mother, and brothers also helped clear and worked at Shuiqing’s home for a few days. Although they didn’t plant much, they managed five acres.
She said to her father, “Dad, I’ll go to my maternal family and tell them that they want to harvest early.”
“Okay,” the old village chief nodded.
The news spread throughout the village that the old village chief and Wang family were going to harvest early.
When they heard the output, those without potatoes were surprised and speechless for half a day.
Returning home, they were filled with regret and sighed incessantly.
Several households growing potatoes also began to worry, regardless of the number of acres.
If they harvest, even if the output is a little less, it’s much more than sorghum!
If they don’t harvest and heavy rain comes, it will all be lost.
After wrestling with it all night, the other households also resolved to harvest potatoes!
The next day, Shuiqing’s family spread the word: they were recruiting people to harvest potatoes, offering copper coins or accepting potatoes in exchange. Anyone interested could sign up.
Upon hearing about the potato yield, the other families who were wondering how to get potatoes immediately became excited.
Sign up!
They must sign up.
Potatoes taste better than buckwheat and corn and yield much more.
In the face of such yields, everything else became secondary.
For a while, the people of Shanshui Village were bustling again.
The families growing potatoes would harvest them, while those who didn’t grow them would help Shuiqing’s family with the harvest.
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