Chapter 12 – Beginning the Autumn Harvest

In the end, she was still coaxed into returning home by her own father. How could she not go back? The autumn harvest was just around the corner—staying would only add to the family’s burden.

When Lei Zhenzhen returned to town, Si Yueyue asked her to help send the written article to the Publication Office through the post office.

That way, the family wouldn’t have to make another trip just for that.

After sending off Lei Zhenzhen’s family, the autumn harvest began.

—

4 a.m.

Zhang Guihua and Zhao Cuilan got up to cook. The family slurped down a few mouthfuls of thin porridge and then carried the youngest, Lei Qingyun and Lei Qingyao, into Si Yueyue’s room.

Lei Yu and Lei Qingshan headed straight to the fields with the others.

Dong dong dong…

Just as Lei Qingshan was pulling on a patched-up coat with frayed edges, he heard the sound of gongs from the brigade.

“Ready yet? Time to gather.” the family elder, Brother Dashu, shouted from under the eaves toward the house.

“Ready, ready!” Zhao Cuilan and Zhang Guihua rushed out from inside.

Brother Dashu nodded as he looked at the gathered group. “Let’s go, don’t be late.”

The whole family headed straight for the assembly point at the grain-drying yard. Along the way, they ran into other team members heading the same way.

“Uncle, Auntie, Brother Jun… morning!”

Zhao Cuilan turned to the young man. “Maizi, why are you alone? Where are your parents?”

“They’re behind me. I’m young and strong, so I walk faster…”

The brigade leader stood at the front. Seeing that everyone had arrived, he began assigning tasks for the day’s harvest.

Men and women, young and old, all had their roles. Each group of four was responsible for one plot of land.

The men harvested, the women bundled the stalks, and the children picked up the ears of wheat left on the ground.

“Labor is most honorable; the autumn harvest brings the greatest joy.”

“We’ve nurtured these crops with months of hard work and sweat. Today, we begin the harvest. I hope everyone works together and greets the harvest as one.”

“Harvest… harvest…” the team members raised their hands and shouted excitedly.

The brigade leader motioned with his hands for them to settle down, then continued.

“If anyone slacks off and causes delays, I’ll deduct all their work points. Don’t blame me for being heartless if you go hungry next year.”

The people below looked at each other—there were always a few slackers in every brigade.

Lei Guohua, thinking of those few rats, responded excitedly: “Deduct their work points… make them clean the cowshed…”

“Yes! Deduct work points… make them clean the cowshed…”

“Good. I believe everyone here wants their grain sacks full and their stomachs satisfied, so no one will dare slack off.

“As for the disobedient ones… every team member must watch each other. Anyone caught slacking will be punished double.”

“Yes…”

Those standing close to the known slackers even unconsciously stepped closer to them.

If anyone dared ruin their chances of filling their grain sacks, they’d beat them so bad their parents wouldn’t recognize them.

Hmph!

“Start working!”

With the brigade leader’s command, team members quickly grabbed their tools and rushed off to their assigned plots to begin harvesting.

—

Back at Si Yueyue’s place.

After the rest of the family left the house, she didn’t go back to sleep. Instead, she entered the space to check if it could really replenish supplies.

She opened the fridge and stared excitedly at the spot that had been empty before. Sure enough, the bottle of milk that had been taken earlier had been replenished.

Now, the milk in the fridge was just like when she had first put it in—completely full, not a single bottle missing.

“This is great! Now I don’t have to worry about An An and Lele running out of formula.”

With such good news, Si Yueyue was overjoyed.

Now she could raise the two children properly and occasionally give the family a treat too—there was still plenty of meat in the fridge.

However, it wouldn’t be easy to explain if she took the food out now. But if she didn’t take it, she’d miss the automatic restock each day—what a waste. She had to come up with a plan.

A moment later, Si Yueyue shook her head. She really couldn’t think of a good solution.

“Forget it, forget it. I’ll leave it for now and figure it out after my postpartum confinement. Otherwise, if the family finds out, I’ll never be able to explain it.”

After mumbling to herself, Si Yueyue exited the space.

“Whoa—”

The moment she came out, she found herself face-to-face with her eldest son’s big round eyes.

“You scared me to death, baby.” Si Yueyue said, patting her wildly thumping heart.

“Ah-woo…”

Si Yueyue scooped him up. “Hungry, huh? Let’s eat quickly. I still have to feed your little brother when he wakes up.”

The little one opened his toothless mouth and began sucking eagerly.

“From now on, you’d better be filial to your mom, understand? If you ever dare to be unfilial, I’ll spank your butt until it breaks.”

An An reached out his tiny hand and grasped his mother’s finger, his big eyes staring at her without blinking. Whether he truly understood or not was unclear.

The moment Si Yueyue felt her son’s little fingers wrap around hers, something in her heart was struck deeply.

“Mm… Second Aunt.” Lei Qingyao rubbed her eyes and looked at Si Yueyue, who was leaning against the edge of the kang.

“You’re awake, Yaoyao!”

“Mm~ Second Aunt, is my little brother drinking milk?”

“Yes.”

“Why is he either sleeping or drinking milk?”

“He’s still very little. Babies need to sleep and eat a lot so they can grow well. Once he gets a bit older, he won’t sleep so much anymore, and he’ll eat like you.”

“Alright, go wash your face and have breakfast. It’s being kept warm in the pot. Be careful when you ladle it out.”

“Okay~”

As Lei Qingyao slid off the kang, Lei Qingyun, who had been sleeping nearby, slowly woke up as well.

He squirmed on the kang, struggled for a bit, and finally sat up, a shiny tear crust still clinging to the corner of his eye.

He looked around in a daze, as if unsure of where he was.

“Second Aunt.”

“Here I am.”

Seeing her little brother looking so confused, Lei Qingyao walked over and gave him a little pat. “Xiaoyun, hurry up and get up. Come wash your face with your sister. We’re going to the grain-drying yard today.”

“Sister…” Lei Qingyun called out softly, his eyes still half-closed.

Looking at her sleepy little brother, Lei Qingyao let out a sigh far too mature for her age. “Xiaoyun, if you don’t wake up now, I’ll eat your candy.”

“No! You can’t eat Xiaoyun’s candy!”

That threat shattered the fog in Lei Qingyun’s brain. He instantly became clear-headed, opened his big eyes, and climbed out of bed to look at his sister by the kang.

“Then get up quick, wash your face, eat breakfast, and come to the grain-drying yard with me.”

“I’m getting up right now!”

“Mm, let’s go. Come wash your face and eat breakfast with me.”

Lei Qingyun obediently held his sister’s hand as they walked to the kitchen. Si Yueyue watched the two siblings interact and couldn’t help but chuckle.

But she didn’t have time to fuss over them now. After giving them a few instructions, she quickly picked up the wailing second child.

“There, there… Mommy’s feeding you now.”

“Waaah—”

Lele let out a loud cry before his mother popped a mouthful of milk into his mouth. Immediately, he had no time to cry and began sucking eagerly.

Si Yueyue tapped Lele’s little forehead and said: “Your voice is so loud.”

But Lele had no time to care about what his mom was saying—he was starving.

After feeding for a bit, Lele started fussing again when the milk ran out. Si Yueyue quickly picked up her older son as well and slipped into the space.

Once inside, she placed the two boys on the couch and surrounded them with cushions. Then, she hurried to grab the warm water she had prepared earlier to make milk for both of them.

As she fed the boys, she kept an ear out for any sounds coming from outside the space.

Slurp… slurp…

The smacking sound of little mouths drew her attention back to Lele.

“You! Why aren’t you drinking properly?”

Lele spat out the bottle. “Ah-woo…”

“Ah…” An An’s tiny hand smacked his little brother’s face.

“Ah… ah-woo…”

The two brothers seemed to be having a conversation of their own—one saying “ah.” the other replying with “woo.”

“Hahaha… You two are too funny! Is this what twin telepathy looks like?”

“You little rascal, are you full now? Want more? If not, Mommy’s taking it away.”

“Ah…”

“Fine, if you don’t want it, you can drink more when you’re hungry again…”

Once both boys were fed, Si Yueyue quickly served herself some porridge she had made in the rice cooker earlier and filled her stomach.

After breakfast, she carried the two boys out of the space. By then, the sibling pair, Lei Qingyao and Lei Qingyun, had also finished eating.

“Second Aunt, I brought you breakfast.”

“Great, bring it in.”

Xiaoyun opened the door for his sister so she could carry the breakfast inside for their aunt.

After placing the breakfast on the kang, Lei Qingyao said: “Second Aunt, Xiaoyun and I are heading to the grain-drying yard now.”

“Alright, don’t forget to close the door.”

“Got it, Second Aunt.”

Si Yueyue watched the two siblings walk out the door, then took the thin porridge, brought it into the space, strained the water, and ate the millet at the bottom.

She had no choice. Right now, it was inconvenient for her to leave the house to use the toilet, so it was better to drink less liquid.

On days when no one was around, she could sneak into the space to go to the bathroom, but if her family was home, she couldn’t enter the space—it would be too suspicious. She’d end up holding it in until she burst.

Since there wasn’t much going on at the moment, Si Yueyue wrote a few more articles about the autumn harvest. When it came time to deliver the grain tax, she would ask her family to help mail them out.