When Chen Ling rushed over, Wang Lixian's family had already started harvesting. They had already driven their son-in-law's ox cart to their house four or five times. They actually picked some back last evening. However, there are still some melons in the melon field.

There are more than five acres of watermelons that have not been picked yet.

Seeing Chen Ling driving the bullock cart to help, Wang Lixian nodded and said nothing more, but Liu Yuzhi and Da Nier looked very happy, with deep gratitude in their eyes. Seeing that it was going to rain heavily, if

Without anyone to help, the watermelon will definitely be soaked in the ground by the rain.

Compared with wheat, there is actually no need to rush to harvest watermelons, but I am afraid that it will rain non-stop before the wheat harvest.

If there is too much water at that time, the watermelon will easily collapse and crack. If it rains heavily for several days in a row, it will rot in the ground. Wang Lixian's place is also on a slope, low-lying and difficult to drain, so the watermelon will not be sweet by then.

If it tastes bad, the price will not be high, and you will definitely lose money.

Watermelons pay attention to seven days of sunshine and three days of rain. There should not be too much rain. Originally, the weather in the mountains has a large temperature difference. The melons will be very sweet and can be sold at a good price. However, if they are soaked by the heavy rain before the wheat harvest, the watermelons will absorb enough water.

The sweetness dropped immediately.

The sky was cloudy and there was a faint thunder.

No one dared to delay, so the five adults of Chen Ling and Wang Lixian's family, plus Liu Nier, a little kid, started to work. Wang Lixian had a weak back, but he was not slow at all in his work, and Chen Ling

Along with Er Nier's son-in-law, the bullock cart was filled up in no time.

At this time, it was too late to transport it home, so I took it directly to the wheat field outside the village. I just had to cover it with plastic sheet. Anyway, the wheat in the village had not been confiscated at this time. The place was very big, and there was more than enough space for a few acres of watermelons.

.

After returning from transporting one cart, Liu Yuzhi took Da Nier and Er Nier's two daughters to fill the second cart.

They also worked very hard.

In rural areas, women are a labor force that cannot be ignored. When it is their turn to contribute, women are no worse than men.

After a while, Wang Jusheng got the news from somewhere and drove his father's donkey cart over to help.

Rural people are sometimes very simple. You know who has a lover in your heart. When you are in trouble, you don’t have to go to your door to find someone. Someone will come to help you spontaneously. Especially when it comes to weddings and funerals, basically everyone

Everyone will lend a helping hand, the east family will provide a few plates and dishes, the west family will provide a few tables, chairs and benches, and everything for entertaining the guests will be ready.

In this way, two ox carts and a donkey cart, driving slowly and hurriedly, finally finished harvesting watermelons from five acres of land before the heavy rain came down.

However, as soon as the last two carts of watermelon were brought to the wheat field and they had not even had time to cover them with plastic sheets, it started to rain. Along with bursts of lightning and thunder, the heavy rain before the wheat was ripe came as expected.

Several people covered the watermelon, then pressed the plastic sheet over with bricks and stones, and then went to Wang Lixian's house together. Originally, Chen Ling and Wang Jusheng were reluctant to go when they saw the heavy rain, but they were dragged away by Wang Lixian.

passed.

The two of them worked hard today, and Wang Lixian would definitely feel sorry for him if he didn't treat him well. In desperation, the two of them could no longer refuse, so they came wearing the raincoats they had prepared in advance or holding umbrellas.

Arrive at Wang Lixian's house.

La la la la, the rain is getting heavier and heavier, and the rain is getting faster and faster.

Standing under the eaves of Wang Lixian's house and looking out, all he could see was a vast expanse of white, with strings of blisters splashing on the ground.

Wang Jusheng picked up a large bowl of tea and drank it. He wiped the rain off his face. When he saw Chen Ling standing outside the door watching the rain, he couldn't help but smile and joked: "I really didn't see it. You are so rich."

You are very strong. You are the fastest in picking watermelons. Today, of the five acres of land, you picked at least two acres of melons. You are still not blushing and out of breath. You are just like Yang Gangdan back then.

There’s a fight.”

"Well, Fugui is really strong. Two days ago, when we were running sheep, Fugui overturned our big ram with one hand. He pinched the sheep's head with his legs and couldn't move it. Yang Gangdan

I guess that’s what happened when I was young.”

Wang Lixian also spoke up.

When Chen Ling heard this, he was immediately confused. If you are strong, you should be strong. How can you compare it with Yang Gangdan? Besides, who is this person? He has never heard of it.

Wang Lixian smiled: "Speaking of Yang Gangdan, he is a legendary figure. If you haven't heard of him, it's because you haven't told you his story, for fear of teaching you bad things."

Who is Yang Gangdan?

Twenty years ago, he was a famous fierce man in Changle Township and even Lingyun. He was tall, strong and powerful.

This man is from Yangtou Gou. Back then, Yangtou Gou was short of large livestock such as cattle and horses. There was a widow with a few children who was left alone without a backbone. The men in the village were afraid of gossip and no one dared to help. When it was time to harvest wheat or sow seeds,

During the season, I always worry about plowing the fields. At this time, I asked Yang Gangdan to come over and help.

In that era when there was not enough food to eat, there was no need to pay much. All you had to do was steam a large pot of mixed noodles, there were about thirty of them, and Yang Gangdan could eat it in one meal.

Then one person holding a sickle can harvest six or seven acres of wheat in just one day.

When it came time to plow the land, it was faster. This guy tied the rake himself and asked the widow to help the plow. He could plow four acres of land in half a day. He was really more like an animal than an animal.

But that's not what made him famous. It was that this guy was not only strong and strong, but also had a pair of golden waists. I don't know who spread the news. Anyway, at that time, as long as the young wives from all over the country couldn't give birth to a baby,

They all went to find Yang Gangdan. As long as the mother-in-law is not in bad health, she can get pregnant no more than twice. From then on, Yang Gangdan no longer has to go to the fields, and he can live a very nourishing life just by being a stallion.

Yang Gangdan's nickname came from this, but the good times did not last long. Within two years, he was reported by jealous people and was taken to the city and executed for the crime of pomegranate. Although Yang Gangdan died, his story spread

It's quite common, but now even younger people don't know about it. The elders in the family don't tell them, for fear of teaching their children bad things and leading them into evil ways.

After listening to Wang Lixian's speech, Chen Ling was a little bit dumbfounded. Good guy, he even compared himself with a big stallion. How dare he compare with such a thing? Great strength comes from strength, and he came from a good citizen.

"Then will Liu Tiedan in our class be like Yang Gangdan and be able to pull a plow when he grows up?"

At this time, Liu Nier poked her little head out from the side and asked curiously.

The scene suddenly fell silent.

Originally, they were the men who were talking outside. Liu Yuzhi took her two daughters to the kitchen to prepare meals, so she didn't pay much attention to the conversation. Unexpectedly, she forgot that Liu Ni'er was listening beside her.

Good guy, Wang Lixian might have felt ashamed and flustered if he asked him such a cold question.

No, she had already started to take off her shoes with a serious face. Seeing this, Er Nier's husband hurriedly stopped his father-in-law, turned around and said to Liu Nier: "You are not allowed to listen to what you are saying. Go back to the house and do your homework."

"I'm on wheat holiday, and the teacher gave me some work to do at home, but I didn't leave any homework."

Liu Nier had already gained experience from being beaten. Seeing that her father looked wrong, she hurriedly hid behind Chen Ling and replied in a muffled voice.

As soon as these words came out, Wang Lixian's face became even darker, but with Chen Ling protecting Liu Nier, he couldn't do anything, so he made a mental note.

Afterwards, the conversation of several people obviously became more restrained, but it was raining really hard today, and before we could even talk a few words, the southeast wind accompanied by the rain poured down the eaves.

I had no choice but to hide inside and gather around the table, drinking tea and chatting, waiting for the meal to be served.

The house of Wang Lixian's family is more than 20 years old. The walls are covered with yellowing newspapers and faded New Year pictures. There is no furniture in the house except for an Eight Immortals table, a heavy black lacquered wooden cabinet and a five-pack

The cupboard is in the back room on the east side, and the bed is in the back room on the east side, separated from this side by a floral curtain.

If you look closely, you can see that the four corners of the large black-lacquered wooden cabinet are covered with iron armor, and there are rows of round nails nailed on the surface. There is also a porcelain ink painting inlaid on the two cabinet doors, with a painting of Songs and Cranes Prolonging the Year.

, there are red-crowned cranes, red suns, mountains and rivers, and immortal pines.

There are calendar cards on the chest of drawers, and a huge portrait of a great man hangs on the wall behind. The old man is waving his hands with a kind smile. Against the background of the red sun and auspicious clouds, the people are working hard to move forward.

Chen Ling raised his head and took a look at the furnishings in the house. He felt that it was much more tasteful than his own. His house was a new house. Although he had been married for two years, everything still looked too new. The furniture was all made by Chen Sangui, and they were all the same.

Wherever I go, it may be because these two paintings are missing.

A few people drank tea and chatted.

After a while, Liu Yuzhi, mother and daughter brought the food to the table. Two wide-mouthed coarse porcelain bowls were filled with fried pickled rabbit meat and stewed pheasant soup, and then several porcelain basins filled with fried leeks.

Eggs, braised tofu with pheasant blood, stir-fried April melon, and a bowl of boiled melon white.

Originally, Liu Yuzhi wanted to make a few more dishes, but it was raining too hard to go out and buy them. Chen Ling and Wang Jusheng must have been in a hurry to go home after eating, so they had to make these first and serve them.

After starting to eat and drink, although the taste of several dishes was very good, Chen Ling, who usually did not make mistakes in eating and drinking, obviously felt that there was too little oil in the dishes, but this was just his first reaction.

He is no slower than anyone else when it comes to using chopsticks.

The wine he drank was the small sorghum wine brought by Wang Lixian's second son-in-law. It had a lot of stamina. Wang Jusheng was already drunk after just two glasses. However, when he first came to Wang Lixian's house, he refused to give in and ended up waiting for the wine and dinner.

After he was full, it was Chen Ling who sent him back.

However, after eating and drinking happily, I slept well that night. When I woke up in the morning, the rain had lightened and there were puddles everywhere in the yard. Chen Ling held up an umbrella to look at the fish in the lotus pond. However, they were not washed away by the heavy rain. Maybe it was the first time.

When it rained for the second time, several little rabbits were very excited. They followed Chen Ling and splashed in the puddles in the yard, making them all wet. Then when they returned to the house, they rubbed against Chen Ling again and drove away.

I couldn't drive him away several times.

The shoes and trouser legs were covered with mud and water. Chen Ling was so angry that he grabbed their ears and put them in an empty water tank under the eaves, so that they could not climb up.

After breakfast, the rain finally stopped, but the sky was still gloomy. I could only hear the sound of frogs croaking everywhere outside. In the distance, I could see that the village was shrouded in a layer of mist, which blended with the morning smoke.

Together, hazy and beautiful, it makes people's hearts slowly calm down.

Chen Ling looked up at the misty sky and listened to the crisp chirping of birds in the mountains after the rain.
Chapter completed!