The Sweetness of the Seventies-Chapter 61 - Precautionary Measure_1
Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Precautionary Measure_1
Chapter 61 -61: Precautionary Measure_1
Ye Xiaofan picked up a wooden shovel and went to turn over the grains to dry them, paying no heed to Lin Xiaoru.
He Tiantian seemed unfazed by Lin Xiaoru’s provocation, smiling as she said, “Xiao Yan went to find Village Chief Qi, probably for some matters!
We have work to do, why follow along?
If you have something to attend to, you can go find him too!”
Having said this, she didn’t even glance at Lin Xiaoru’s displeased expression.
Lin Xiaoru was not good at farm work, which everyone saw; she would avoid Village Chief Qi if she could, let alone dare to approach him!
He Tiantian, that wretched girl, was just a smiling tiger, cunning at heart!
When Qi Xiaoyan approached Village Chief Qi, seeing his daughter coming to him meant there must be something she needed, so he handed his wooden shovel to someone else.
“Xiao Yan, aren’t you busy in the canteen?
What brings you here?” Village Chief Qi wiped the sweat from his neck with a towel and asked his daughter.
Qi Xiaoyan pursed her lips and after much hesitation, finally resolved to say, “Dad, I saw ants marching from low to high grounds at the big canteen, a sign of rain.
The grains are not yet fully harvested, and if it rains, they’ll be ruined.
That would make life tough for our Qijia Village.”
Village Chief Qi was taken aback and looked up at the sky, puzzled, “There’s not a single dark cloud in the sky, where would the rain come from?”
Seeing her father respond this way, Qi Xiaoyan became anxious, “Dad, it’s in our biology books, and those educated youths saw it too.
They say there’s the same saying in their hometowns.
Moreover, that Zhang Qingshan mentioned that when there are many bubbles on the surface of the lotus pond, it will rain.
I just came from there, and indeed, there are bubbles in the pond.
If it doesn’t rain, at most we waste a bit of effort; but if it does, we are saving our entire village’s food supply!”
Village Chief Qi suddenly realized, yes, his daughter was right, farmers never lack strength.
If they could prevent the worst-case scenario and protect the grains, what did a bit of effort matter!
“Alright, I got it, you go back.
I’ll arrange for people to gather the grains together, just in case it rains, so we can cover them quickly with plastic sheets,” said Village Chief Qi.
This year, the commune had distributed several large plastic sheets to every village, specifically for preventing rain damage.
Qi Xiaoyan felt relieved as her father heeded her advice and left.
On her way out, she greeted He Tiantian and Ye Xiaofan.
As for Lin Xiaoru and Huang Jingli, who were resting on the side, Qi Xiaoyan wasn’t close to them and couldn’t be bothered to speak with them.
In fact, Qi Xiaoyan had no other intention, but in Lin Xiaoru’s eyes, it was as if Qi Xiaoyan looked down on her.
Seeing Qi Xiaoyan ignore them, Lin Xiaoru also sneered behind her back.
What’s so great about her?
It’s just that her father is the village Party Secretary!
Now that someone had reported against Qi Dazhu, his good days were probably coming to an end—maybe he’d be removed from his position one of these days!
Shortly after his daughter left, Village Chief Qi began to organize people to pile up the rice that hadn’t been threshed yet.
The grains that had been harvested were spread out on the ground for drying.
In case of rain, they could quickly pile them up and cover them with plastic sheets.
Although some people muttered, thinking Village Chief Qi was making a fuss about nothing, at that moment, no one dared to challenge the authority of the Party Secretary; at least there were no objections on the surface.
Seeing the educated youths work so vigorously, the villagers felt obliged to join in.
It took a little over an hour to pile all of the rice into several large heaps.
He Tiantian observed the clouds in the sky carefully, staying alert to any changes in the weather.
“The dark clouds are coming!” Lord Snake reminded the timid Little Ghost outside, sighing that this frightened woman wanted to help the villagers but was also worried about her own situation—a contradictory woman!
He Tiantian was startled, looked towards the horizon carefully, and indeed there was a swathe of dark clouds approaching.
She shouted loudly, “There are dark clouds over there, quickly pile up the grains!”
He Tiantian grabbed a wooden shovel and started to pile the grain in the center, moving very swiftly and quickly.
Ye Xiaofan, who had overheard everyone’s conversation during the meal, followed her lead without the time to look up at the dark clouds on the horizon.
However, Lin Xiaoru and Huang Jingli took a careful look and indeed spotted a streak of black cloud, which turned their faces pale with fright.
If the grain was washed away or got wet, it would be their mistake.
Being criticized was a minor issue, but not getting any grain and going hungry was a major one.
“What are you standing there for, come and help pile the grain!” He Tiantian yelled, usually, those two were lazy, but now that they had seen the bad weather, they didn’t come over to help.
Were their feet glued to the ground?
At that moment, Lin Xiaoru no longer cared about He Tiantian’s attitude and hurriedly took up a wooden shovel to work.
With the help of Lin Xiaoru and Huang Jingli, the pace of their work increased a bit.
Village Chief Qi, upon seeing the dark clouds in the sky, felt no panic, as he had already made arrangements.
All that was needed was to cover the rice with plastic sheets and then arrange for people to come and help with piling the grain and so on.
Although everyone was busy, everything was orderly as they all picked up brooms, wooden shovels, and other tools.
By the time the black clouds had reached overhead, everything had already been piled up and covered with plastic sheets!
Large raindrops splattered down, leaving big wet marks on the ground.
Some people donned makeshift raincoats woven from straw, while others took shelter from the rain in the wooden huts at the edge of the threshing ground, waiting for the villagers to deliver raincoats.
Those who previously had doubted Village Chief Qi’s arrangements now didn’t dare utter a word.
The rain came quickly and urgently, and without Village Chief Qi’s prior arrangements, most of this year’s grain would have been lost, leaving the people of Qijia Village hungry.
Zhao Dajiao chuckled and asked, “Village Chief Qi, how did you know it was going to rain?”
Although she had complied with Village Chief Qi’s arrangements on the surface, in her heart she had thought them unnecessary.
Unexpectedly, Village Chief Qi’s precaution turned out to be right, and it really did rain, saving everyone’s food supply.
Hehe,” laughed Village Chief Qi proudly, “It’s nothing much.
I just saw the ants moving in groups towards higher ground and figured it would rain.
So, just to be on the safe side, I had everyone get things in order ahead of time.
We have enough hands, so we’re not afraid of wasting some effort, but we absolutely can’t let the grain get wet!”
“What Village Chief Qi said is right!” Everyone agreed wholeheartedly.
They could rest if tired, but spoiled grain meant the loss of half a year’s hard work.
Not only would they be unable to deliver the communal grain, but they also wouldn’t have anything to eat, and would have to resort to wild vegetables and tree bark again.
For a while, the prestige of Village Chief Qi in the hearts of the villagers soared even higher.
These days, as long as they had enough to eat, everyone supported him.
Village Chief Qi was not at ease about the rice under the plastic sheet, so he went to check.
Seeing no water had gotten in, he was relieved.
Village Chief Qi arranged for people to stay and watch over it to prevent the wind from lifting up the plastic sheet and told the women and educated youth to head back to the village.
Since the village had just sent a lot of raincoats, everyone could go home in groups.
Not fully reassured, Village Chief Qi personally led people to watch over the threshing ground for the entire night.
The rain continued until four o’clock the next morning before it finally stopped.
Seeing that the rain had stopped, Village Chief Qi quickly lit a torch, directing everyone to uncover the plastic sheeting to prevent steam from building up inside, which could spoil everything.
After lifting the plastic sheets, Village Chief Qi reached in to check.
Inside it was a bit warm, but still dry and not a major problem.
When daylight broke and the sun came out, a bit of sun would do the job.
