After more than a month of intensive autumn harvest labor, despite the assistance of various harvesters and multi-functional agricultural tractors, which did significantly reduce everyone's workload, they were still quite exhausted.
The autumn harvest had been ongoing for quite a long time, starting in early August and continuing non-stop until now, a period of almost two full months.
Especially for the students who had been following Chen Lan to collect mountain goods and work in the fields since late July or early August, they were truly worn out.
As soon as the corn was stored, and their spirits finally relaxed, the students slumped around, looking listless and dejected, leaning against the walls of the granary.
The elder mother patted each of their shoulders and said with a smile, "Children! If you ask me! It's because you usually lack exercise. You'll get better if you work in the fields more often! Now that our valley has the conditions, with various machines helping everyone plow, sow, and harvest, all you have to do is the easy tasks. You are truly living in a honey pot now, enjoying yourselves to the fullest!"
Seeing the students remain silent and listless, the elder mother continued, "I'm telling you, don't be resentful. You're not little anymore; you're young men. Think about your parents and grandparents in your hometowns, how they farmed. Then think about how we work here in the valley now. Think about what we eat and wear now. What did you eat and wear back in your hometowns? Don't you feel incredibly fortunate? Don't you feel like you're living in a honey pot?"
Chen Lan couldn't help but chuckle as she listened to the elder mother. Chen Lan thought that the elder mother and Mingzhe were indeed mother and son; even their catchphrases were the same!
However, Chen Lan strongly agreed with the elder mother's approach. As the saying goes, "A loud drum needs a strong beat." They should be reminded from time to time that their current good life also requires their continuous effort! Only by constantly pushing, tempering, and training them can they become more outstanding in the future and go further.
But then again, since the beginning of the autumn harvest, nearly two months of high-intensity labor. Whether it was Teacher Zhou and Xiangdong rushing to finish building houses, or Xiao Xigua rushing to repair the granary, or Uncle De and Grandpa Xu building winter greenhouses, and the women's team members who participated in the autumn harvest rush with her, everyone had been working very hard during this period! It was as if the string of the autumn harvest had been tightly pulled in everyone's heart.
To alleviate everyone's long-term fatigue and stress, Chen Lan decided to reward everyone for their hard work. After much thought, Chen Lan finally decided to use good food to comfort everyone's stomachs and have some wine to help them relax.
In the end, a big meal resolved all these unpleasant matters! Because only food cannot be let down!
After everyone had their fill, the autumn harvest continued. The next crop to be harvested was the sugar beet from the fields. As it was the first year of trial planting, everyone lacked experience and didn't know when the sugar beets were ripe.
On this day, everyone gathered in the sugar beet field. No matter how they looked at it, it seemed like a carrot. The elder mother eagerly went down to the field and pulled one out. She turned it over and over in her hands but couldn't see any difference between it and a carrot.
So, she walked over to Chen Lan and whispered, "Xiao Lan, look at this sugar beet. No matter how I look at it, it's just a carrot. Were you and your father-in-law deceived by someone?"
Saying this, she handed the sugar beet she was holding to Chen Lan.
Chen Lan took it and looked at it for a long time. She couldn't find any difference between this sugar beet and the carrots from her previous life. For a moment, she was stumped. She thought, this is a disaster. Planting ten mu of carrots, and their yield is so high. What a problem! In winter, when they stay indoors, everyone gnawing on carrots, wouldn't the flatulence from the carrots fumigate them to death?
Just as Chen Lan was wondering what to do, Uncle De, the savior, finally spoke. Uncle De said, "I don't think this is a carrot. Look at the leaves of this sugar beet. Its leaves are oval-shaped, and its petioles are relatively long."
He then pointed to the sugar beet leaf in his hand and continued, "The leaves of the carrots we planted are round with big heads and many small leaves on the sides."
At this moment, Grandpa Li, standing next to Uncle De, said, "If it really doesn't work, we can just taste it and find out."
This woke everyone up. They all said in unison, "Yes! That's right! What are we hesitating about? We'll know once we taste it."
Just then, Chen Daxing, who was responsible for watering this patch of sugar beet, came over with a watering hose. Chen Daxing smiled and first handed the hose to the elder mother, saying, "Aunt, please use it first."
Chen Daxing was Xu Mingxuan's comrade-in-arms from E Province. Chen Dasao from E Province was his wife. They had a seven-year-old son, Xiao Gouzi, and a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Xiao Lingjiao. This time, their parents also came to the valley with the couple, because Chen Dasao was an only child and had to take care of her own parents.
The elder mother took the hose and smiled at Chen Daxing, saying, "Daxing! You and Sixi have taken good care of the sugar beets. Thank you for your hard work!"
Chen Daxing, with his uninjured hand, honestly touched his forehead. His smile became even brighter, and he waved his hand somewhat shyly, saying, "Aunt, you're too kind. This is what we should do!"
Everyone busied themselves washing the sugar beets clean. Chen Lan also dug one from the field, washed it with water, and eagerly took a bite. It was sweet and refreshing. It tasted quite good, different from carrots. Carrots had a lighter flavor than sugar beets, with only a hint of sweetness, and most of them had a pungent taste, especially near the skin.
Also, the flesh of a carrot is white, while the flesh of a sugar beet is red! This indicates that sugar beets have a higher content of anthocyanins.
With this, Chen Lan's worried heart finally settled. Fortunately, they hadn't planted the wrong thing. It wasn't a carrot, but a sugar beet.