The Sweet Litte Fulang (SLF)

Chapter 121 - Attending a Wedding

Cutting wheat is no easy task, and threshing it is even more demanding. Each day left faces covered in ash and sweat, and the grime stuck to the skin, making it itchy and uncomfortable.

The old cow pulled the stone mill back and forth across the wheat as Shen Xuanqing guided it along. Shen Yaoqing and Lu Gu used long forks to turn the wheat, ensuring all the grains were loosened and separated.

After turning the wheat over again, Lu Gu straightened up, stretching his back. The task of turning the wheat wasn't as hard as cutting it, but after long hours, his lower back ached.

He had wrapped a cloth towel around his head to keep the dust out of his hair, and his mouth and nose were covered with another cloth to avoid breathing in too much of the dust.

Lately, the weather had been perfect—clear skies, lots of sun, and no sign of rain. It was the peak time for threshing, and no one dared hope for rain, as wet wheat would quickly germinate, spoiling months of hard work.

Shen Xuanqing and Shen Yaoqing stayed at the new house at night, watching the wheat day and night. They even brought their meals with them. The silver lining was that they didn't have to sleep in the fields; they had a proper room at the new house.

"It's been a good year," Wei Lanxiang said, wiping the sweat from her face as she leaned on a wooden fork. "I remember when I was a girl; it rained for one year while we were threshing. My grandmother was hugging the wheat stubble in the field, crying. That year's harvest wasn't good, and we had to tighten our belts to survive."

"We'll be fine this year," Shen Yaoqing reassured her.

Shen Xuanqing brought the old cow around again as he spoke to pull the stone mill over the wheat. The mill rolled back and forth, raising more dust into the air.

—

Crushing and threshing the wheat took several days, and the workers were exhausted. But the work didn't end there. Instead of bringing the threshed wheat home, they spread it out in their yard to dry. After picking the remaining straw, they left the wheat in the sun.

The 13 mu (acres) of land had yielded more grain than in previous years. Wei Lanxiang's favorite thing to do was head to the new house, squat down in the wheat piles, grab a handful of warm wheat kernels, and let them slip through her fingers. She'd stand under the sun, squinting at the grains in her hand, her nose full of wheat's dusty, earthy smell.

During the day, they spread the wheat out flat, pushing the piles around to make sure it dried evenly. At night, they gathered it and stored it under the roof of the main room to protect it from the weather.

If they left the wheat out overnight and it rained, the grains would start to sprout or overheat if piled too thickly. You could feel the heat radiating from the wheat when you stuck your hand in the pile, and if you weren't careful, it could go bad quickly.

It was hard work, requiring constant attention and care. Only once the grains were thoroughly dried could they be stored properly.

After the wheat had fully dried, it was only two days before Shen Yuping's wedding. Some buyers came to the village to purchase the new grain. The price was good, as the market price for grain often fluctuated. Shen Xuanqing took the lead in selling, keeping enough wheat for the family to eat while selling the rest.

Since they had rice and wheat, they didn't need to keep all the wheat. After all the grain was processed, their cool, shaded storeroom was filled with new wheat. There were six or seven large sacks on the raised mud platform and seven tall, wide-mouthed urns on the ground. These urns were sealed with wheat straw and yellow mud, ensuring the grain could be stored long-term. When the sacks were emptied, they would scoop out wheat from the urns to grind into flour.