To the east of the creek, the early morning sun illuminates the village. There have never been any real scholars in Hedong Village, so much so that the river does not have any serious name. It's just that the river is on the west side of the village, and the villagers call it the 'West River'.

At the beginning of September, the grain on both sides of the West River had been harvested, and the empty land looked deserted. At the end of a hard year, everyone can finally breathe a sigh of relief and rest. The quiet of the morning turned into a quiet morning, and a small fleet of flattened canopy boats sailed upstream, finally breaking the silence of the village.

The boats were rowed by young men or men in the prime of life, and the boats stopped at the head of the village. The young people jumped out of the boat and began to carry bags of grain downward. The last to come ashore was a rack car. At this time, some of the young people who got off the boat first had already tried to carry sacks into the village, and they gave up after only walking more than 20 meters. When the cart was quickly assembled, the young people put the sacks on the cart and pulled up the cart and went to the village.

These people put down food in front of their homes, knocked on their doors, and woke up the peaceful village one by one. The family came out to greet their relatives, the father and mother called the son, and the children pounced on them, calling them father, uncle, and brother. The whole family rejoiced. Seeing a few hundred catties of grain again, everyone was even happier.

The young people were idle, and they didn't have a few words before they went out to help carry the grain. There are not many rack cars, but there are thousands of catties of grain on the ship here. You can't ship it all at once.

Gradually, the whole village came alive. Those who have family members who go to the farm bring back not only grain, but also agricultural and sideline products from the farm. A few bottles of wine were taken out, peanuts were taken out of a large bag, and saltwater ducks were taken out of four or five. Dessert hearts take out more than a dozen packs. Seeing these tooth-beating things, the relatives all smiled.

The entire canvas is wrapped in linen cloth on the outside, and when you open it, you can immediately see the glossy surface. It caused the women of the family to smile. Those families whose families have no one working on the big farm can't help but look a little sneering. This is the second time I have seen such a scene this year, and the last time those boys brought not much food, it was fifty catties of flour. Jiangnan doesn't eat much flour and lacks experience in making pasta. In the end, only two ways to eat gnocchi soup and noodles were developed. Compared to last time, this time the sack was opened, and it was full of fresh rice.

The elders couldn't help but be criticized, why didn't they bring back the millet, they could be put for a longer time.

"You still have to give money to the Duan family for rice, what's wrong with eating rice directly." The young man replied cheerfully.

"It's hard to eat rice every day?" The elders' eyebrows stood up, and the young people's attitude of not knowing how to live made them very unhappy, "Some of them rushed and didn't have to knock on the rice bucket." ”

"It's not about eating rice every day." The young man smiled: "It's not cool to eat rice, you have to eat some white flour steamed buns." ”

The hostess of the house saw that the bastard boys were becoming more and more confrontational in their speech, and immediately shouted: "Lift the table and set the dishes and chopsticks." Say what you say at the dinner table. ”

The saltwater duck cut one, and no matter how much the young man muttered his objections, the other ducks hung in the shade of the eaves. Only two bottles of wine were served, and the others were put away as well.

It was a lively meal, and women couldn't serve it. The men at the dinner table toast according to the rules first, and let the eldest male elder in the family move the chopsticks first. Later generations began to eat. Everyone abides by this most basic rule, but as soon as they start eating, the meat and vegetables are swept away. At this time, some people can't help but glance at the saltwater ducks hanging under the eaves.

The elders were not moved at all, they picked up the bowl full of white rice, and ate happily on the green vegetables on the table. Those who stayed at home also ate a heavy meal. The young men who had returned from the farm could not eat after just a few bites, and when they finished the rice in their bowls, they stopped their chopsticks and began to speak.

There is nothing to talk about in Hedong Village, that is, how the harvest is. This year's weather was good, and the bugs didn't make much trouble. But when it came to the harvest, the people in the village were not happy. Because of the increase in rent, the income is less.

Hearing this, pride appeared on the faces of the young people who went to the big farm. "This year's farm harvest is very average, one person has divided 400 catties of rice, and there is still some money."

"Four hundred pounds, but it's not much." Said those relatives in their thirties.

"You have to leave food for the farm."

"Does the farm really take care of the food?" Relatives who stayed at home were still a little skeptical.

"I have to pay some money, but it's not much. I have enough to eat for ten wen a day. ”

"How much can you earn in that month?"

……

After the banquet, three young people left in a huff. The elders of the family are also extremely angry, and these boys eat and spend money like water every day. can earn two times a month, and they dare to spend it themselves.

Two of the three had their daughters-in-law, and the other had not yet married, and sat on the boat as depressed as a dog. The young man rowed all the way back, talking about his anger at home. Speaking of which, there is a consensus among the three, and that is 'I! Not! Wrong! ’

Their daughter-in-law didn't intervene, and they didn't care so much if the husband was right or wrong. The farm where they can eat rice and white noodles all day long, and the cafeteria where they can eat meat every day, are beyond their imagination. Leaning next to their husbands, the women have longing and anxiety in their hearts.

In addition to these three, the remaining ten or so families are either more humble or more tolerant. There was no conflict over the treatment on the farm. When it was time for dinner, the family asked the young people how long they were at home. The young man told his family that he would stay for a maximum of three days.

"What's the hurry?" The family was strange. At this time of the year, the village begins to enter the stage of rest. Most of the land belongs to the Duan family, and no one wants to take care of the land before the lease for next year is confirmed. The family felt that the big farm should be the same.

"The farm grows winter wheat, so we have to start preparing for planting now. We're going to go back and plough the ground and pick the seeds soon. ”

"Isn't that tiring?" The young man who stayed in the village couldn't help but say sympathetically when he thought of the manpower cultivated in the village.

"Our farm is ploughed with oxen, and we only plough the plow."

"How are the cows over there?"

"Probably one person can get one end."

"Aren't you rich?" The boys' eyes sparkled. There are several families in the village who have cattle, and it is very majestic to look at the ploughing with oxen.

Hearing this, the farm youth could only smile. Their job is a rotation. Many people are completely unfit to the job of caring for livestock. Taking care of many cows by yourself is like a nightmare to think about it.

"When you've finished planting wheat, won't you rest?"

"We have to dig ditches. There must be a canal to draw water in the field. ”

The farm youths talk about their arrangements. For a newly built farm, there's a lot of work to be done. It's simply impossible to have leisure. That's why they only have a salary of two dollars a month.

On the same day, eight of the remaining ten families came to visit the Duan family. The Duan family greeted earnestly: "XX, the money owed should be repaid." ”

The expectant eyes of the family fell on the young people on the farm who came home. The young people could only reach into their pockets and pull out the money to pay off their debts. Fortunately, their family is poor enough, even if they owe money, they can't owe much, most of them are more than a dozen. It's just a few bucks. However, for these families, a dozen yuan is already a sum that they simply cannot come up with.

The feeling that the Duan family came to collect debts This is probably their happiest debt collection, except for the other party's ugly face, they don't beg, they don't default, they just pay back the money. There is no need for the Duan family to use all kinds of debt collection methods.

After the creditors left, the joy of the farm youth's return home was consumed. They left home because of poverty and went to work as tenants for the government on farms that they did not know the future. In the legend of his father's generation, the government was tyrannical and misbehaving, and he was simply not human. It's just that in the past ten years, I haven't been to the township to collect taxes. If it weren't for the persecution of the Duan Yuan's foreign family in front of them, if it weren't for the fact that there was no land to rent, they wouldn't have gone to the government. Before they went, many people in the village were even worried that the farm youths would not make it back alive.

Now they are back home with food, gifts, and money, and in an instant they have been squeezed away. At this time, although there was joy in helping the family get rid of the shackles of debt, I also felt the anxiety of returning to poverty. Especially when they heard that their parents asked them to give some more money to their relatives who remained in the village, the young people found that they had nothing left under the family's arrangement.

The next day, the five youths returned by boat. Two of them took their wives, and the other three guys who didn't have wives squatted on the boat like dogs, and they couldn't help complaining, "I have empty pockets now, but I still have to be coldly told by my sister-in-law that I don't take care of my father and mother, and I don't fulfill my filial piety." I also paid the debts of the family, and they didn't see it? ”

"They probably feel that the debt is owed by their parents, and they are the ones who take care of their parents." The indignant said that he was already married.

"These people just think we're easy to bully." A single Youyou said: "At that time, the retired soldiers in the village asked my eldest brother to go, but my sister-in-law did not agree. There was no choice but to let me go. Now that I'm going, I hear them mean that I have taken a big advantage and owe it to my eldest brother. ”

"What's the solution, who made him your big brother."

With a boatload of complaints, the young man headed for the farm.

The three-day vacation period ended quickly. The last five young men pulled the cart with their sleeves in the breeze to leave. When I got to the river, I finally said what I wanted to say.

"This car is good to use, can you keep it?"

"You said before that you still have 300 catties of rice on the farm, so you shouldn't be busy on New Year's Day. Bring it back and don't spoil it on the farm. ”

"Your second brother wants to marry a daughter-in-law, and the other party wants a lot of dowry."

These young people were and still are.