Chapter 15: The Great Autumn Harvest

“Is he pushing a cart full of grain? How come he’s pushing a loaded cart faster than others push empty ones?”

“Goodness gracious! He’s a real wild man from the mountains. His strength is beyond what we can compare to.”

“Before, they said he was a wild man, and I didn’t believe it. Today, I’ve finally seen it with my own eyes.”

When everyone confirmed that Wang Jianguo was effortlessly pushing a cart of several hundred jin of grain, they couldn’t help but sigh that a wild man was a wild man; ordinary people simply couldn’t do this.

They didn’t reject this powerful wild man. After all, he could do the work of five or six ordinary people. In the past, five or six people were needed to handle the team’s grain transport, but this year, Wang Jianguo alone couldn’t be kept busy enough.

Basically, as soon as the grain was piled at the edge of the field, Wang Jianguo would carry it away and transport it to the threshing ground, preventing any accumulation.

“What are you all looking at? Get back to work! If you don’t work hard, your work points will be deducted!” Team Leader Fan Ming came to inspect and saw several people watching Wang Jianguo work instead of harvesting grain. He caught them red-handed.

Those villagers quickly lowered their heads and worked diligently. Although Wang Jianguo’s work was impressive, nothing was as precious as earning work points. Losing work points would be heartbreaking and utterly unfair.

The autumn harvest was the most important production activity of the production team throughout the year. They couldn’t fail at a critical moment. It was a matter of collective honor – one for all, and all for one.

Everyone quickly bent down, picked up their sickles, and continued harvesting grain.

Because of the lack of machinery and the remote mountainous region, large machinery couldn’t access the fields, so the harvest relied almost entirely on manual labor, making the work incredibly arduous.

After the autumn harvest, everyone was exhausted. Some people had lost a significant amount of weight, their hands were covered in blisters, and backaches, leg cramps, and sore backs were commonplace.

Huang Yuelan didn’t have to do the hard labor, but knowing Wang Jianguo was working hard, she cooked a meal at home and specially delivered it to him.

After working hard all morning, everyone was exhausted. When it was time, the team leader blew his whistle, signaling the end of work. The villagers put down their tools and found places to rest.

If asked who worked the hardest and most diligently that morning, everyone would unanimously choose Wang Jianguo.

He pushed grain cart after cart, without taking a single break. Many people would take a toilet break or drink some water to slack off, but he worked the entire morning without a moment of rest, and everyone saw it.

Strangely, while others were exhausted and nearly collapsed, Wang Jianguo still seemed full of energy.

Although the team leader was a village official, he also had to work. He supervised and helped with the harvest all day. He saw Wang Jianguo’s dedication, and there was no one else in the production team who could compare. To not give him a perfect score would be a disservice to his hard work.

Work points in the production team were scored out of ten. Getting six points was considered very good, and most people would be satisfied. Such work was usually dirty and tiring, with most people earning four or five points. Even teenagers earned work points, typically two or three.

In comparison, Wang Jianguo’s work in a day equaled several days’ work for others.

“Jianguo, come over here and rest for a while.” Huang Yuelan came with a basket containing the lunch she had brought – stir-fried vegetables and soup.

Knowing the grain harvest was hard work, Huang Yuelan had specifically bought some meat from the supply and marketing cooperative, making braised pork and green bean soup, fearing he might suffer from heatstroke.

Seeing his wife, Wang Jianguo immediately dropped his cart by the roadside, ignoring its precarious position, and went to her, a simple smile on his face.

“Wife, you came.” Wang Jianguo was moved by his wife’s thoughtful gesture, feeling incredibly happy.

Huang Yuelan handed him a towel to wipe his sweat and a water gourd to wash his hands. “Eat something and rest for a while. Don’t you see everyone else resting in the shade? Why don’t you come and rest?”

“I don’t feel tired. Why rest? I just want to finish early so our team’s grain can be stored sooner.” Wang Jianguo, being new to the production team, wasn’t familiar with the rules.

“Remember this: when the team leader blows his whistle to signal the end of work, stop working and rest with everyone else. Otherwise, even if you’re as strong as an ox, you’ll eventually collapse from exhaustion.” Huang Yuelan knew that even robots needed occasional maintenance, let alone humans. Rest and work balance were essential.

Wang Jianguo understood his wife’s concern. “Okay, I’ll remember that. I’ll follow your advice next time.”

When Huang Yuelan arrived, she saw that everyone else was resting, except for Wang Jianguo. The villagers looked at him as if he were a fool, even suggesting that a fool was smarter than him because even a fool knew to rest.

Huang Yuelan served the food to Wang Jianguo. It was still warm, showing she had prepared it quickly. “Wife, you eat too.”

 “Don’t worry about me, you eat first.” Huang Yuelan thought she could eat later at home. She felt a little uncomfortable eating in front of so many people.

Wang Jianguo knew the food would get cold at home, so he said, “Wife, will you eat with me? I can eat more if you eat with me.”

“Okay, I’ll eat with you.” Huang Yuelan took out another bamboo bowl to eat with Wang Jianguo on the field ridge.

Seeing his wife eating with him, Wang Jianguo’s appetite increased, and he ate heartily.

Those nearby, seeing Huang Yuelan delivering the meal, felt envious, especially the men, whose eyes almost popped out.

“Look at Huang Yuelan, her skin is so good, fair and rosy. She’s stolen the hearts of all the men in our team.”

“That’s right. She doesn’t have to work. I heard that the wild man treats her well, buying her snow cream from the supply and marketing cooperative. Her skin wouldn’t be so good otherwise.”

“No wonder. Unlike us, we not only don’t have snow cream, but we also have to work in the fields, toiling from dawn till dusk. Our skin couldn’t possibly be good.”

Huang Yuelan was a beauty in the Red Flag(Hongqi) Commune, pretty since childhood.

After some care, she looked even more beautiful. Even if she were introduced as an unmarried girl, no one would disbelieve it.

The villagers resting nearby envied her beauty, who wouldn’t want such a face?

“What good is a pretty face? She’s a hen that can’t lay eggs. She was jilted by Sun Gousheng.”

“That’s true. The most important thing for a woman is to work, earn work points for her in-laws, and bear children. She doesn’t meet any of these criteria. I believe that besides the wild man, no one else in our Red Flag Commune would want her.”

Although Huang Yuelan was now more beautiful and radiant, attracting attention wherever she went, the thought that she had been jilted for her infertility brought some solace to those who envied her.

In their production team, when choosing a daughter-in-law, they didn’t look at beauty or education, but at the ability to work, earn work points, and bear children.

The ideal daughter-in-law was tall and strong, able to work hard in the fields and help with housework and childcare, bearing children one after another – essentially a money-making and child-bearing machine.

Those who married such a daughter-in-law were considered very fortunate.

Someone like Huang Yuelan, who didn’t work, couldn’t earn work points, and spent money lavishly, would be a misfortune for whoever married her.

But seeing that Wang Jianguo didn’t seem to mind and treated her like a treasure, everyone thought he was a fool.

After more than half a month of hard work, the production team finally completed the grain harvest, and everyone could rest for a while.

The next step was to hand over the public grain. After that, the remaining grain would be distributed to each household according to the number of people.

Given this year’s harvest, handing over the public grain wouldn’t be a problem, and the villagers finally breathed a sigh of relief, knowing their hard work had paid off.

Yueqiang’s two brothers also worked hard. Hearing their sister say they would start school in September, they worked hard to earn work points.

These children carried baskets or containers to pick up fallen rice ears from the fields where the adults had harvested.

They could collect a considerable amount in a day. The two brothers earned their first work points through their labor, and they were overjoyed.

“I think working to earn money is much better than loafing around in the village.”

“Me too. We can’t be like before, doing nothing but eating and causing trouble, worrying our sister. We should help her more and share her burdens.”

“Right!”

Seeing her younger brothers becoming more sensible, Huang Yuelan felt happier than anything.

Their parents were dead, leaving only the three siblings. She didn’t want her brothers to become unruly or develop bad habits that could lead them astray.

The consequences were severe. Going astray wasn’t just about imprisonment; it could be fatal. Regret would only come in the next life.

“Yueqiang, both of you come here. Sister made you new clothes. Come and try them on.”

Hearing that their sister had made new clothes, the two immediately dropped their work and ran to their sister.

“Sister, are our new clothes ready?”

“Here, one set each, and a schoolbag.” Huang Yuelan made schoolbags from leftover fabric, matching the clothes in color, making them look quite nice.

Seeing the new clothes and schoolbags, the two brothers were overjoyed.

They immediately took off their old clothes made from burlap sacks and put on the new ones, then slung on their new schoolbags, feeling much more confident.

The two brothers weren’t unattractive; their previous clothes were just too shabby. In their new clothes, they looked much more handsome.

Although the two brothers couldn’t see themselves, seeing each other was like seeing themselves.

“Sister’s craftsmanship is really good. The clothes you made for us are beautiful.”

“The schoolbags are beautiful too.”