The brigade leader patted Lin Zhen’s shoulder with approving praise.
“You really have a knack for this.”
With three tractors, they transported even more watermelons in the afternoon.
Over the next few days, everyone was busy harvesting watermelons.
But with only ten acres of sandy land, and so many people working with three tractors making trips back and forth morning, noon, and afternoon, the harvest was quickly completed.
After selling the watermelons, everyone would receive a sizable share of the earnings this year, fueling their motivation.
As the watermelons were gradually sold off, the rush harvest season approached.
The first crop to be harvested was the soybeans.
Under the scorching sun, everyone took up sickles to cut the soybean stalks.
After harvesting the soybeans, it was time to gather the corn, wheat, rice, sweet potatoes…
From the youngest to the oldest, no one in the brigade was idle.
Even schoolteachers had to temporarily suspend classes so students could join the rush harvest.
Children helped by sun-drying the wheat and rice, or even just shooing away birds trying to steal a meal.
By the end of the day, even the strongest individuals were exhausted enough to fall asleep instantly.
However, this year was noticeably easier than the last.
The benefits of having a tractor in the brigade were now evident.
Lin Zhen was the one driving the tractor.
Initially, he had been reluctant—Song Wei could also operate it, and he wanted her to take on the lighter task.
But he was no match for her strength. In the end, the 1.9-meter-tall man was firmly pressed into the tractor driver’s seat, unable to move.
“Your leg isn’t fully healed, so behave yourself. I don’t want to marry a limping man.”
That settled it—Lin Zhen obediently stayed put.
Still, driving the tractor was only marginally easier than other tasks.
He still had to load and unload goods, and he was constantly shuttling back and forth without respite.
The entire brigade endured nearly a month of rush harvest, leaving everyone utterly drained.
A bountiful harvest was a blessing, but the exhaustion was undeniable.
Even Song Wei felt a dull ache in her lower back.
Yet, after a day’s rest following the harvest, some light stretching left her feeling refreshed and energetic again.
After a month of this, Lin Zhen’s skin had noticeably darkened.
Song Wei’s complexion, which didn’t tan easily, had instead peeled from the sun exposure.
Standing side by side, her skin appeared even fairer and more delicate by contrast.
It wasn’t just Lin Zhen—almost everyone in the brigade seemed to have acquired a new layer of skin.
“Finally, it’s over.”
Stretching lazily, Song Wei felt reinvigorated—her vitality truly was remarkable.
She even felt a growing itch to venture into the mountains again.
“How much more rice do you think we harvested this year compared to last?”
Lin Zhen replied, “The brigade leader had someone calculate it earlier while we were harvesting. They sampled five mu of land, taking into account paddy fields of different qualities. The high-yield fields produced around 600 kilograms per mu, while the poorer ones yielded about 500 kilograms per mu. That’s a full two times more than before.”
When speaking about the rice harvest, Lin Zhen’s eyes shone with excitement.
Grain is the lifelong foundation for farmers. With this year’s harvest doubling, how could anyone not be overjoyed?
Song Wei smiled. “That’s good. Rice yields will keep increasing in the future.”
Lin Zhen looked at her, wanting to ask how she could be so certain.
Song Wei blinked back at him playfully—I’m just not going to tell you, heh!
After resting for two days, Lin Zhen turned his attention to building the house and prepared to buy blue bricks.
This time, the house needed to be larger, requiring significantly more blue bricks and tiles.
Meanwhile, Song Wei headed into the mountains.
She hadn’t been up there during the rush harvest and hadn’t hunted in a while.
Wolf One and Wolf Two had gone as usual, but they only brought back small prey, which wasn’t enough to feed so many mouths at home.
The yak jerky and wolf meat jerky were almost finished.
She needed to catch some fresh meat to properly replenish their supplies.
If she could encounter a wild boar herd, it would be best to drive them out of the deep mountains like last year.
The five wolf pups had grown a bit and were relatively obedient.
They hadn’t been allowed to go into the mountains with Wolf One and Wolf Two earlier because they were too small.
But now, they could follow along to practice hunting.
With a basket on her back and a machete in hand, Song Wei called out, and the five wolf pups immediately trotted after her, yipping excitedly.
The mountains were a great place to run free, and the pups, cooped up at home for nearly two months, initially disobeyed by darting around wildly.
Eventually, Song Wei caught them and gave them a stern lesson. After being confined for a while, they finally settled down.
This season, wild pheasants and rabbits were plentiful.
The young ones born in spring had grown up, making them perfect for training the wolf pups to hunt.
First, they located rabbit burrows, then flushed the rabbits out. After that, the two adult wolves began their hunting lessons.
The fox also joined in, chasing a rabbit with its propane tank-like body, huffing and puffing, but ultimately losing the rabbit.
Song Wei frowned.
“That fox—if it doesn’t catch any prey today, it won’t get any dinner!”
Fox: …………
Was it just because it was a bit chubby? Why single it out? Whimper~
Rabbits and pheasants were small prey. With the five wolf pups and the portly fox causing chaos and holding them back, they only managed to catch two in the end.
But Song Wei’s target wasn’t just pheasants or rabbits.
They continued deeper into the mountains.
Once inside, they indeed found traces of wild boar activity.
Song Wei’s eyes lit up.
However, it seemed to be a solitary boar, and the spot was rather well-hidden.
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