Chapter 75: Great Harvest

Chapter 75: Great Harvest

"Xiaohua, what about you? How did you do on the exam?" Deng Shirong looked at his fourth son and asked.

Deng Yunhua didn't even dare to raise his head, staring at his toes as he said, "Dad, I may not have done well on the exam."

Deng Shirong didn't scold him but instead encouraged him: "You're only in the fourth grade. It's okay if your grades are a little lower now. As long as you're willing to work hard, you'll naturally improve over time. Anyway, if you can't bear the hardship of studying now, you'll have to bear the hardship of life later. For example, your eldest brother has to go to the tile factory at dawn and doesn't come back until sunset. That's the result of not studying hard back then. You brothers should learn from this."

Deng Yunhua nodded and said, "I understand, Dad!"

Deng Shirong didn't know if his words had sunk in, but he wasn't a psychologist or an educator. The fact that he could say such things was the result of reading countless motivational quotes on the internet in his previous life.

In any case, it would be ideal if his sons could get into college. If they didn't, it wouldn't matter. With him as their father, their lives in this lifetime would definitely not be bad. The only question was how high they could climb.

…

Two days later, the midterm exam results were announced.

As expected, Deng Yunsong and Deng Yunhua's average scores were below 90, while only Deng Yunheng met the standard with an average score of 92.

Deng Shirong kept his promise and took out seven yuan, handing it to his youngest son, saying, "Xiaoheng, this is your reward. You must continue to work hard and strive to earn more rewards from me in the final exam."

"Dad, I understand. I'll keep working hard," Deng Yunheng said, holding the hefty sum of seven yuan with a wide grin that showed his two big front teeth. This was the largest amount of money he had ever received in his life. Even the red envelopes he got during the Chinese New Year were far less than this. He had truly struck it rich!

Deng Yunhua, standing nearby, was green with envy. Fortunately, he had been clever enough to strike a deal with his younger brother using his slingshot. Otherwise, he would have had to watch his younger brother run to the brigade's supply and marketing cooperative every day, buying whatever snacks he wanted.

Not only Deng Yunhua, but even Deng Yunsong, who was already 12 years old, was envious of the seven yuan in his younger brother's hand.

Even though Deng Shirong now had over 5,000 yuan in cash, he had made it clear to his sons that he wouldn't give them pocket money for no reason. If they wanted money, they had to earn it through their grades. As long as they worked hard and achieved good grades, they would naturally have endless pocket money.

…

After the midterm exams, the entire Help and Correct Brigade began harvesting rice one after another, and the students welcomed their busy farming season holiday.

Students in this era didn't have as many holidays as in later generations. For example, there were no holidays for traditional festivals like Qingming Festival and Dragon Boat Festival. Even the March 3rd festival in Guangxi, which was envied by people across the country in later generations, didn't have a holiday. However, students in rural areas did have a special holiday: the busy farming season holiday.

As the name suggests, this holiday was given to students during the summer and autumn harvest seasons so they could return home and help with the work.

Therefore, the busy farming season holiday wasn't on a fixed date but was determined by the local harvesting schedule. For example, this year, due to the impact of the production team's distribution of land to households, the rice harvest was later than in previous years, so the busy farming season holiday was also postponed.

Seeing that everyone was busy harvesting rice, Deng Shirong gave the seven laborers who were cultivating the orchard and their relatives in the village a holiday.

As for Zhang Jiefang and the other carpenters, since the date for the housewarming of Deng Shirong's new house had already been set, they couldn't take a holiday to go back and help with the rice harvest. They had to finish their tasks within the specified time, so their families had to harvest the rice slowly on their own.

…

There were many fields in Thatchfield Village, of which included the fields of Deng Changping's family.

It was already noon. Deng Changping, his wife Chen Xiaohua, and his parents were harvesting rice together. Although the October sun wasn't as scorching as in June and July, working under the blazing sun was still very uncomfortable.

But as the saying goes, people are in high spirits when good things happen. Seeing that their family had a bumper harvest this year, even though they were sweating profusely under the sun, Deng Changping and his wife always had smiles on their faces.

Similarly, Changping's father and mother were also filled with joy.

Although their four sons had separated and each had their own family, as parents, they hoped all their sons could live well.

They didn't have to worry about the eldest and second sons. When the family was divided, there wasn't enough space in the old house, so they had helped the eldest and second sons build new houses and move out first.

The third and fourth sons were left to live with them in the old house. Their living conditions were indeed much worse, but there was nothing they could do about it. At the time, the family property was divided among the four sons, and the couple had limited means. They had already done their best to help the eldest and second sons build new houses, and there was no way they could help the third and fourth sons build new houses in a short time.

Of course, this wasn't because they favored the eldest and second sons. When they helped them build new houses, the two elders had made it clear in front of their four sons and daughters-in-law that they would continue to help the third and fourth sons until they could build their own houses and move out.

So, when it was time to harvest the crops, Changping's father and mother didn't go to help the eldest and second families but came directly to help the third family. After that, they would help the fourth family.

"Dad, Mom, it's getting late. Let's take a break and have lunch first!" Deng Changping said, wiping the sweat off his face with the towel around his neck.

Changping's father nodded and said, "Alright, I'm hungry too. Let's eat first."

Changping's mother and Chen Xiaohua also put down their sickles upon hearing this.

The four of them washed their hands in the nearby ditch and then began to eat the lunch they had brought on the edge of the field.

In this era, during the busy farming season, people would bring their lunch with them when harvesting fields that were a bit farther away. This way, they wouldn't have to go back home to eat, saving a lot of time.

Lunch consisted of rice with fried eggs and pork belly stewed with pickled vegetables. This simple meal was a rare delicacy in Deng Changping's family. They could only afford to eat it because harvesting rice was hard work.

After finishing her meal and taking a short rest, Chen Xiaohua said goodbye to her parents-in-law and husband, then hurried home carrying a load of wheat. She needed to go back to prepare meals for the two older children and feed the younger one.

Deng Changping and his parents went back to the fields to continue harvesting rice. After all the rice was harvested, they carried it home in loads.

It wasn't just Deng Changping's family operating this way; other families were doing the same. Everyone was busy harvesting rice. Before the land was distributed to households, some members had slacked off during the harvest. Now that the land was theirs, everyone's enthusiasm had been ignited.

In the autumn of 1980, the entire Help and Correct Brigade was filled with the joy of harvest.

(End of this chapter)