CH 181

Seeing this, the militia company of the Shanshui Commune would be managed by Han Qingsong in the future.

Director Qin saw that Han Qingsong’s attitude was slightly warm and inviting, so he asked him to sit down for tea. He also planned to talk with him to nurture a good relationship between them.

It was a pity that Han Qingsong was not good at words, so he couldn’t provide many responses with his stoic and businesslike facial expressions.

Director Qin didn’t mind either. The troops in the army were all like that, curt and straight to the point, so he understood.

Han Qingsong, “Director Qin, I have to return home and make some adequate arrangements before I come here to take on the job.”

“Right, it would be good to make some preparations,” Director Qin was going to get up to see him off.

Han Qingsong, “Director Qin, please remain seated.”

However, Director Qin still sent him out very kindly. He also mentioned that should there come a time where Han Qingsong was facing any form of trouble or had difficulty understanding things, he was always welcome to seek guidance from him.

…

Autumn was now cooling and crisp. The clouds were light and the wind was cool, so autumn was generally considered good weather. However, the autumn wind and autumn rain were often accompanied by a layer of mist and dampness, which made the people deeply feel the power brought by the continuous rainfall. Although it was not tyrannical, it could not be underestimated.

For example, when the autumn rains continued, there wouldn’t be any form of sunlight. With the temperature dropping, the food that they had just collected would be in danger.

It might rot!

Lin Lan’s house was small and there was no room for grains and beans, so she had to pile  them on the kang. Besides, she needed to pay attention to the humidity and the sensitivity of the grains to make sure that it wouldn’t rot or mould.

Since it was raining, it was impossible to go to work, so everyone remained at home to thresh the grains.

In this era, threshing was done by hand. The kang mat was lifted directly and the shovel was placed on the kang with the blade facing upward.

Just like this, the rice could be pressed out by hand and then pressed further with a roller.

After threshing, the rice could already be boiled and eaten, but most people were reluctant to eat it in its original sizes. Basically, it would usually be grounded finely into powder, and kept for making steamed cornbread or cooking porridge. No one could bear to eat such a precious commodity, such as rice, on its own as well. Hence, it was often mixed with bean noodles, sweet potato noodles, etc.

Lin Lan encouraged the children, “The threshing is done. Later, I will make you a plain serving of white noodles for a meal.”

The children were still full of energy, so they went ahead and listened to the radio that was in the room.

Erwang couldn’t hear the sound clearly and he thought that it would be a waste of electricity, so he turned the radio off.

Xiaowang also brought the puppy into the house, “Wangwang, if you lie here, remember to go down there if you want to pee.”

Maisui, “Why did you name the dog Wangwang? Do you want it to become our little brother or something?”

Sanwang grinned, “Wangwang is a girl, not a brother.”

Dawang raised his eyebrows silently as he continued to thresh the grains, not saying a single word.

Lin Lan was very satisfied that Dawang had chosen to stay home and help her with the work. The child was definitely more nimble with his handiwork compared to her skills.

Besides having a personality that struggled to obey orders and also being too silent, Dawang was still a child after all. However, he just had to wear the same dull expression like his father. It was that same expression that made others around him feel rather intimidated.