Chapter 139: The Busy Autumn Harvest

Blinking into August, the harvest was bound to be busy, and the Qi family naturally felt a bit anxious. Thus, on the very next day after consulting with Jiaoniang, the Qi family went out to the fields and gathered all the remaining melons. Afterward, the men went to harvest the fields while the women stayed at home, multitasking between cooking and processing those melons, trying their best to extract all the melon seeds as quickly as possible.

With the autumn harvest fast approaching, every household had grown busy. The Gu family still had more than forty mu of land that they tended themselves, and their autumn harvest was now underway as well. Generally, during the busy farming season, the village school gave the children a farming break, so Wentao and the others no longer needed to go to school; instead, they stayed home to help with the harvest.

Every day, Gu Chengyong led his sons out to work in the fields. Although Wentao and the others were still young and unable to do heavy labor, they could at least help gather and transport the grain. The women of the household were not left idle either; besides cooking and doing household chores, they also helped bring the grain back home.

Amidst such a busy time, Jiaoyan naturally had no time to visit the Miao family, and over at the Qi family, there was no spare time to make the spiced melon seeds. Jiaoyan had already agreed with the Qi family that once the autumn harvest was mostly done in a few days, she would go over to help make the spiced melon seeds. This timing worked out perfectly, as the Qi family also needed to clear up some free time to get all those melons processed first.

Normally, during the autumn harvest, since Gu Chengyong led the children to work in the fields, they should have eaten meals together with the rest of the Gu family. However, Lady Li held a grudge because Gu Chengyong refused to look after the family, so she stubbornly refused to extend the invitation. Since Lady Li would not speak, Gu Chengyong did not force the issue either, so they continued to return to their own home for meals every day after finishing their work.

Of course, Gu Chengyong also forbade Madam Feng from going over to help with the cooking. It made no sense that while the whole family was busy gathering grain for themselves, they would not even be willing to let Gu Chengyong's family share a meal together. What kind of logic was that?

After three or four days of this, Old Master Gu finally could hold back no longer. That evening, when work wrapped up, the old master called out to Gu Chengyong, "Second Son, have dinner over here tonight. Tell your mother and the others to cook a bit more. We're all one family after all; how can we possibly have you working your fingers to the bone and not even let you eat?"

Gu Chengyong shook his head. "Father, there's no need. The children's mother has surely already prepared the food. It's fine for us to eat at home, and the children aren't used to the food here anyway. It's completely fine." Gu Chengyong knew that if they gave in to the old master's words and stayed for dinner, they would only be met with Lady Li's cold stares. That food would hardly sit comfortably in their stomachs.

Seeing this, Old Master Gu could not help but sigh. "Ah, your mother simply has that kind of temperament; don't hold it against her. After all these years, it's hard for me to say anything more either."

Gu Chengyong said nothing further and led his children straight back to their own home. Madam Feng and Jiaoyan had long since prepared the meals properly. At that moment, piping hot dishes were just being taken off the stove, and they could wash their hands and sit down to eat right away.

Meanwhile, in the main rooms of the East Courtyard, the meal was only just being put into the pot. During the autumn harvest, Lady Li suspended the rule of having her daughters-in-law take turns cooking; instead, everyone had to pitch in together. Seizing this opportunity, Madam Xu slipped away once again to wander around. Coincidentally, Madam Zhao was probably a bit overtired and feeling unwell, leaving only Madam Wu to cook alone, which made the preparations much slower.

When Lady Li stepped into the kitchen and saw this, she flew into a rage, bursting outside with a stream of scolding. Resting in her room and hearing her mother-in-law curse like that, Madam Zhao naturally could not sit still and got up, wanting to go help out. The moment she stood up, however, wave after wave of dizziness washed over her. Fortunately, Wenfang noticed something was wrong and rushed forward to steady her, preventing her from collapsing.

"Mother, you rest at home. My second sister and I will go over and lend a hand. With First Aunt and Fourth Aunt over there, it shouldn't be that they can't even manage to cook a meal properly." While speaking, Wenfang helped her mother lie back down on the kang, and then the two sisters hurriedly rushed over to help.

Upon seeing Wenfang, Lady Li instantly dropped her face into a scowl. "Where is your mother? At such a terribly busy time, is she still lying on the kang playing dead?"

Hearing this, Wenfei felt her anger flare up instantly. Recently, with the family so busy, no one had any time to prepare special nourishing food for Madam Zhao, and during the family meals, Lady Li remained as harsh as ever. Madam Zhao's pregnancy had been difficult, and after days of being worn down, her body simply could not take it anymore. Now, just because she was resting for a brief moment, it drew such harsh words from Lady Li.

"Grandmother, my mother is carrying a younger brother. During meals, you don't let her eat her fill, and when there's work to be done, you don't allow her to be spared even the slightest bit. Do you take my mother's body for cast iron? She's been dizzy since early this morning, and if my sister hadn't caught her just now, she would have collapsed right to the ground. Grandma, First Aunt and Fourth Aunt are both at home, and now my sister and I have come over too—do you really have to curse and yell like someone wished us dead?"

Lady Li's eyes bulged in an instant. "You dead little wench, I merely said a single sentence, and you just go on and on endlessly. I see that because I haven't disciplined you lot these past few days, you're looking to turn the heavens upside down! Just you wait, see if I don't beat you to death." With those words, Lady Li started looking around for a stick to hit Wenfei with.

"Old woman, do you still have any proper matters to attend to? The rest of us are so hungry our chests are sticking to our backs, and instead of hurrying up to cook, you're bickering with a child? Go cook right now and stop messing around with all that useless nonsense," the old master shouted loudly from inside the room.

Lady Li instantly lost her nerve. Of all things, food was paramount. Especially during this busy farming season, everyone had worked hard all day and was quite hungry; they certainly lacked the patience to wait around. "Why aren't you hurrying up to cook? What are you waiting for?" She glared fiercely at Wenfei a few times, but no longer mentioned beating anyone.

Wenfei glanced at Lady Li, let out a huff, and then followed Wenfang into the kitchen to work. "Huh? Where's Fourth Aunt? First Aunt, didn't Fourth Aunt cook with you?" Wenfei suddenly noticed that only Madam Wu was in the kitchen.

"I haven't even laid eyes on your Fourth Aunt. Otherwise, how could dinner be this late?" Madam Wu sighed.

Wenfang hurriedly reached out to help, chopping vegetables and working the wok. While working, Wenfei asked in a loud voice, "Grandma, where is Fourth Aunt? What did Fourth Aunt go off to do? At such a terribly busy time, she's still out roaming the streets, and you aren't going to say a word to her?" In the past, it was always Madam Xu who whispered malicious things behind Wenfei's back; this time, Wenfei was also prepared to stir up some trouble.

Sure enough, Lady Li's scolding voice rang out from outside, "A good-for-nothing hussy who only knows how to gallivant all over the place! Just you wait until you get back; I'll definitely break your legs."

Hearing this, Wenfei giggled stealthily while continuing her work. Wenfang scolded her younger sister quietly, "You, it's always this mouth of yours that stirs up trouble. Why on earth do you provoke them when you have nothing better to do? If anything goes wrong, you'll end up getting beaten again." Wenfang was deeply worried.

"Hmph, does she dare hit me? The moment she lays even a single finger on me, I'll lie down on the kang and refuse to budge. At a time like this, even Jiaoniang isn't taking it easy; if I refuse to work, let's see what she does then!" Wenfei said, looking thoroughly unyielding.

Wenfang shook her head. "You, I really don't know what to say to you."

Just as Lady Li was cursing in the courtyard, she saw Madam Xu walking in from outside. Furious, and still holding a stick in her hand, Lady Li rushed forward to rain blows down on Madam Xu's head and face.

"Mother, Mother, don't hit me yet! I went out on important business. Listen to me, I've actually found a great way to make money," Madam Xu pleaded hastily.

"What way to make money? Right now the autumn harvest is the most important thing, and the men are working themselves to death in the fields. You had the leisure to wander all over the place, and you can make money? If you can make money, even a sow could climb a tree!" Though she said this, Lady Li lowered her stick.

Seeing that Lady Li had stopped, Madam Xu hurried forward and whispered a few words into her ear.

"Are you telling the truth?" Lady Li asked, looking somewhat skeptical.

"How could it be fake? Didn't I just go and check? They're all still lying right there in the fields. Mother, there are several families over there, and I've already talked it over with them. We'll have them process everything directly, and when the time comes, we can just go collect it," Madam Xu whispered to Lady Li, her face beaming with excitement.

Lady Li nodded. "If that's the case, we could indeed earn a bit of money. Fine, you handled this matter rather well. Alright, hurry up and go cook; everyone is starving. Eat quickly so we can rest."

Not daring to dawdle, Madam Xu hurried into the kitchen and joined Madam Wu and the others in rushing to prepare the meal.

The autumn harvest season was the busiest time of all. However, seeing the immense amount of grain harvested by the family managed to wash away that fatigue, leaving only a sense of joy and happiness. The Gu family had quite a bit of land; harvesting the crops alone took some ten days. At long last, all the crops from the fields were gathered back home, and looking around, piles of grain could be seen stacked everywhere inside and outside the courtyard.

Golden ears of corn, purplish-red sorghum tassels, glittering yellow millet and foxtail millet—variety after variety was piled up in every corner of the courtyard, filling anyone who looked at them with joy from the bottom of their heart. Wentao had never witnessed such a scene before, and gazing at this sight now, he could not help cracking a wide grin.

"Second Brother, stop smiling like a fool. Take a good bath tonight, and tomorrow you're heading back to school to study. The teacher gave you all a ten-day break, and it's time to go back," Jiaoyan teased him when she saw his expression.

Wentao hadn't felt it until Jiaoyan pointed it out, but once she said it, he began to feel an itch all over his body. During these days of harvesting, they had worked right along with the others, resulting in a layer of grime all over themselves. Things like the fuzz from soybean pods or tiny fragments from other crops clung to their clothes and hair, making it truly uncomfortable.

Wentao could not help scratching himself, which Madam Feng noticed with a smile. "Alright, stop scratching. I'll boil some hot water tonight, and all three of you can wash up properly and change into clean clothes. Look neat and tidy when you go to school tomorrow. In a few days, it will be the Mid-Autumn Festival; remember to remind me again beforehand so we can send some holiday gifts to your teacher."

In those days, it was customary to send holiday gifts to teachers during traditional festivals. Madam Feng herself was a very meticulous person, so she naturally would not neglect such matters of etiquette.

Wentao nodded. "Understood, Mother."

Just then, all the dishes were brought to the table, and the family had their meal. Afterward, Madam Feng boiled hot water so Wentao, Wenping, and Wenzhi could all take a bath before finally heading off to sleep.