Tobacco leaves are generally harvested in the morning and afternoon, and green tobacco leaves are harvested at noon unless it is rainy. Otherwise, the picked tobacco leaves wilt and stick to the sticky hands, and it is very easy to damage the intrinsic quality of the leaves, and the grade of flue-cured tobacco with good color will not be baked. Tobacco farmers have worked hard to plant flue-cured tobacco successfully, and they will never make any mistakes or flaws in the harvesting process.

Coming out of the flue-cured tobacco room of his own production team, all the way are people who transport and harvest green tobacco leaves back and forth. The big village of Qiguanying is divided into seven production teams, and there is more than one production team that collects flue-cured tobacco today, and the road is lively. Halfway there, I met my father coming back with a load of green tobacco leaves, and when he saw his son, Qi Zhengming didn't stop, and said with a smile as he walked: "There is still more than a load in the field, you go and help your mother pick it up, and I will pick the rest when I come back." ”

"Dad, you don't have to come again, I'll just pick it up. Qi Jingtao smiled and spoke, staggered past his father, and quickened his pace and hurried towards his own cigarette field.

When I arrived at my tobacco field, the sun had already set, and my mother, Chen Huifen, was loading the harvested green tobacco leaves. In the tobacco field, the flue-cured tobacco stands in rows in the ground, and there are five or six, seven or eight tobacco leaves on the tobacco plant, which are not yet ripe, and most of them are still green. One or two patches in the lower layer are slightly yellowed and almost ripe. The green tobacco leaves that have been harvested are ripe for roasting and are green or yellowish white in color.

Flue-cured tobacco generally retains 18 to 23 leaves, and the number of leaves to be retained depends on the growth degree of each plantation. Then the flue-cured tobacco is capped and forked before it is about to bloom to cultivate the maturity of the tobacco leaves. Depending on the maturity of the leaves, the harvest starts in multiple batches from the root part until the harvest is complete. Watching the maturity of tobacco leaves is also a technical job, and the color is not correct when harvested late, and it cannot be high-graded. The harvest is early, and the internal texture of the tobacco leaves is still tender and the roasted color cannot be baked, and the cyan color belongs to the inferior grade.

Harvesting green tobacco leaves seems simple, but in fact, it is a test of the experience and observation of tobacco farmers. Qi Jingtao has never harvested green tobacco leaves in person, one is his lack of experience, and the other is that his parents are not worried about him harvesting. After all, he had limited time to go home to help out, and he didn't have any experience. The appearance of green tobacco leaves from the root to the top of the tobacco leaves is not consistent, and he has not experienced the whole process of green tobacco harvesting, where can he be considered experience? That is the main source of income for the whole family, and he is not allowed to accumulate experience. In the past, when green tobacco was harvested, the most he did was to pick up the tobacco leaves.

Qi Jingtao saw that his mother had packed one load and was about to load another, so he hurriedly said, "Mom, put it all together, and I'll take it back." ”

Chen Huifen looked up at her son who came to the ground, stood up straight and said with a smile: "Are you back?" I heard Linlin say that your computer system is going to be used before collecting flue-cured tobacco, and it's almost busy, right?"

"Mom, it's almost, it's already in use. Qi Jingtao's eyes were slightly sour, and he came to his mother's side, and put all the tobacco leaves into a piece and made them into a load. Pick it up and try the bearing capacity of the flat shoulder, it's okay, it's only more than 100 kilograms, and he doesn't feel heavy on his shoulders.

"Hey, Xiaotao, don't be reckless, give me some, and pick a little less. Chen Huifen was anxious and shouted for her son who was about to walk. She was supposed to divide these tobacco leaves into two loads, and her wife had to come back to pick them once.

"Mom, it's not heavy, I can pick it up as soon as I carry it, it's getting dark, let's leave quickly while it's dawn!" Qi Jingtao smiled, and easily made a chic shoulder change in front of his mother.

"Be careful, don't get into the tobacco in the field. Chen Huifen looked at the tall and handsome son in front of her, smiled and picked up another flat pole, as well as two woven bags and self-made pockets, and followed her son home.

The wisdom of the peasants is endless, and in the past, tobacco leaves were harvested using large bamboo baskets woven of bamboo. A pair of large bamboo baskets weighed almost a dozen kilograms. In recent years, fertilizer packaging bags are woven bags, which are very light and strong. In the village, the fertilizer bags were dismantled, several pieces were sewn together to form a complete piece, and the four corners were tied with two ropes of suitable length, so that they became tools for picking tobacco leaves. Lightweight and durable, it can contain more or less tobacco leaves, and can also protect the tobacco leaves from damage. When others saw it, they naturally followed it, and the use of good things did not need to be promoted, and it soon became popular. However, those who make a living by weaving bamboo baskets are miserable, and their business is missing a large chunk.

It was at the beginning of the lunar month, and the mother and son were halfway there, and it was already dark, Qi Jingtao slowed down and let his mother walk slowly behind him.

Chen Huifen's right eye was inflamed when Qi Jingtao was in junior high school, and after the inflammation was treated, her vision was still affected, and the vision in her right eye was very weak.

"Xiao Tao, is it heavy?" Chen Huifen was still concerned about the son who was carrying the burden in front.

"Mom, it's not heavy, let's walk slowly, you can watch the road well. ”

"Hey, there's a lot of smoke today. This is the best tobacco crop of the year, and it has to be picked all at once, and your dad has made four trips. ”

"Hehe, I don't know about smoking today. I went to pick up Su Min after work, and I came out after eating in the city, and I was late. ”

"Su Min is also here? Hehe, she is a city girl, will she laugh at us rural people?"

"No, Linlin is teaching her to weave tobacco leaves, the work in the countryside is like this, she has to get used to it if she wants to be the daughter-in-law of the countryside. ”

"What nonsense, Su Min is good, it's good to settle down. Xiao Tao, Linlin is going to go to college in the capital in a few days, is she used to living life over there? Watching TV, the winter over there is much colder than ours in central Yunnan, can she stand it?"

"Mom, don't worry. There is heating in the house in winter. Hehe, it's cold outside, and when I go back to the house, the heating is turned on, and it's comfortable. ”

"Really?...... Hehe, that's right, it's all places where big leaders are, and of course these conditions are better. However, northerners eat a lot of pasta, Linlin is used to eating rice, she goes to the capital, is she used to eating pasta?"

"Hehe, Mom, where did you know that northerners eat pasta?"

"Why don't I know? Do you remember your second grandfather, who lived in the northeast? That year, he went home to visit his family and told him a lot about their life in the north. ”

"Hehe, did you say that he was originally a soldier in the 60th Army of the Yunnan Army, and later rebelled in the Northeast, and also participated in the Second Grandfather to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea? I haven't seen him, he should be retired, right?"

"I'm gone. This year, the eldest of his family came back and said that he lived in the Northeast after his retirement, which seems to be the provincial capital of Heilongjiang, where is it?"

"Harbin, hehe, live far enough. Mom, the second grandfather doesn't want to go back to Caiyun to live?"

"Your uncle Yunlong said that he wanted to come back, but your second grandmother is a local in Harbin, and she is reluctant to come over there and doesn't want to come. Hehe, a large family is in the Northeast, and it is inconvenient for him to come alone. ”

"It's been decades, and my second grandfather has also become accustomed to living in the Northeast. Mom, this time Linlin will go to the capital, will you go over and have a look together?"

"There are so many jobs at home that you can't leave, you just send her over. ”

"Mom, what a chance. Linlin is also going for the first time, anyway, I want to send her over, so let's just go as a family, and it is very fast to go by plane, and it will be there in two hours. ”

"Hehe, I think, of course I want to go and see where Linlin is studying. But how can I do so much farm work? Also, how much does it cost, don't go, don't go. Hehe, Xiaotao, Linlin's school is not far from Tian'anmen? ”

"Not far, just around the corner. Hehe, Mom, I haven't been to the capital either, either I'll go and see it together, or a few days. You can ask Uncle Zhenglin to help with the farm work at home, and the rice is also ripe, so just ask a few more people to help harvest it tomorrow. Our family went over early on the 20th to play for a few days, and Linlin just started school. ”

"How much does that cost?"

"Mom, I have money. Linlin told you, I made hundreds of thousands of dollars by speculating in stocks. Money, you don't have to worry. While grandma is still in good health, why don't even grandma go with her? The whole family goes together, there are many people, and they can take care of it. ”

"Hey, Linlin told us. You also told us, Xiaotao, you should be careful when you speculate on that stock, of course it is good to make money, I heard that there are more losses. ”

"Mom, I'll be careful. I took out most of the money I earned, and now I only have a part of the money in it. ”

"That's good, that's good. ……”