North and South groceries

The corn Luo used was planted a few days earlier than Hou Lin's, but the harvest time was about the same. It should be because the temperature in Lishi is lower than that in Chang'an City.

Before the corn from Luo's family matured, Luo Yong would often go to the slopes to steal tender corn cobs, which were obviously the grain of his own field, but he still had to act like a thief.

It's really helpless, the villagers are very careful, they all said that there have been so many disputes about the sowing of corn last time, and they must not go on business trips when harvesting, and they must respectfully break off corn one by one , calculate the yield carefully, and then ask Hao Cishi to help them pass the news back to Chang'an City. In addition, they also need to hand over some corn, so that His Majesty the Emperor can have a look at the corn they produce in Lishi. Although it is planted on the slopes, it grows very well. No worse than those in the good fields.

In this case, Luo Yong can still eat tender corn openly and aboveboard?

So I can only go sneakily, and have to change places every time. The half-bucket of corn was sowed by them for nearly four acres of land. In the four acres of land, the few corn cobs are missing, and it should not be noticeable. .

"Yaoshou! Who stole the corn from Sanlang's house!" As a result, he had only been peeling the corn for two days before being discovered by a careful villager.

"Could it be someone's little baby is greedy?" Immediately, someone pointed the finger at the brats in the village.

"No, no, I broke the corn." Luo Yong hastily stood up and confessed, otherwise those brats in the village would have to suffer.

"The corn isn't ripe yet, what are you doing breaking it?" Hearing that Luo Sanlang broke the corn by himself, the attitude of the villagers eased a lot, but the voice of whoever yelled just now has already scared many people in the village. Called.

"I'll try to see if the raw corn on the cob is edible." Luo Yong said with a smile.

"Why are you so careless, you want to try this. Let's try as much as we want next year and the next year. At this point, don't bother these corns again." There was an old man in the village. He said right away that this was a major matter related to corn production, and he was afraid of being caught by the pigtails, and those black-hearted people in Chang'an City would make a fuss about this matter again.

"The tender corn on the cob is delicious. It can be eaten steamed or boiled. It will be a credit for us to report this matter when the time comes." Luo Yong said.

"Don't talk about it, let's eat whatever other people eat, and don't get the limelight." Several old people in the village waved their hands quickly. When dealing with the sixth valley, they think that other things can be ignored. First of all, a respectful and cautious attitude must be To put in place.

"Then let's not talk about it." Luo Sanlang followed suit.

"I don't know if there will be wild boars coming down these two days. Everyone should be vigilant these days. It is best to arrange a few people to come here often to see." Tamura also spoke at this time.

"Exactly, don't let anything go wrong at this juncture." The villagers also felt that this remark made sense.

"..." Luo Yong listened from the side, and felt that these people's defense against wild boars was secondary, and the main purpose was to defend themselves.

Well, there is no corn on the cob to eat, and the two of them, Liu Lang and Qiniang, are probably going to be disappointed.

The tender corn cobs that have just been broken back from the ground, sprinkled with a few grains of salt, and slowly boiled in a pottery pot until the corn kernels are broken, and it is sticky and sweet when bitten into the mouth. Don’t forget the taste. How wonderful, the children in their family can drink all the corn soup.

After a few more days, the long beards on the corncobs in the field began to turn yellow, and the villagers said that they could harvest them, so they went to the officials of the county's agricultural staff to see them, and the officials went to their Xipo village. I walked around for a while, and after reading it, I said, wait for another seven or eight days, and wait until the corn stalks are dry and yellow, and then collect them.

After waiting like this for another ten days, when the stems and leaves of the corn planted in the four mu of land began to dry and yellow, and the silk of the corn turned yellow, only then did Xipo Village select a few people with the most experience in farm work. Farmer, help Luo Sanlang go to the field to collect corn.

Luo Yong stood at the head of the field, watching the villagers bring out a lot of corn cobs from the field. He wanted to reach out to pick them up, but all the people said to him: "Don't do it, we will do it. .”

Luo Yong: ...Is it because he is afraid that he will eat these corn cobs raw?

After breaking off all the corn cobs, everyone went to collect the corn stalks. Luo Yong picked one from there and fed it to the five pairs. The corn stalk was chewed clean.

At this time, there were other donkeys in the village around here, and they were all brought out by children from different families. When they were not working, they all played with the children in the village, and they went wherever the children went.

Seeing the five pairs chewing the corn stalks, the donkeys became greedy for the smell, and moved all the way to this side. Luo Yong took a bunch of corn stalks to the grassy slope next to them and asked them to chew by themselves.

The donkeys gnawed corn stalks on the slope, and Luo Sanlang also squatted on the slope to gnaw corn stalks, and found one for each of the children, telling them to gnaw too.

The corn stalks are so sweet that the children in the village like them. After eating one, Luo Sanlang waved his hand and asked them to pick it out. There are corn stalks all over the ground, which one they want to eat. root.

"That's a child." Several villagers who were working looked at them and said with a smile.

"I don't know what to say about him." He is a child, sometimes he has more ideas than adults like them, and he is an adult...

After all the corn stalks were pulled out, Luo Yong asked the villagers to tie up some corn stalks and feed them to the livestock. It was these villagers who helped him.

There are only four acres of land in total, and the planting is relatively sparse. With so many people, it will be over in a few moments. At this time, each of them can get another bundle of corn stalks to go back, and everyone is very happy.

In fact, helping Luo Sanlang's family grow corn this year was not just to help him. They were also curious in their hearts, what is this sixth valley, how to plant it, and what it looks like when it grows. Over the past few months, I have gained a lot of knowledge.

This corn stalk is not only liked by children and the donkey at home, but adults also like to pick up one or two of them and eat them when they are free.

In the days that followed, eating corn stalks while going to Luo Sanlang's house to watch them dry corn became the favorite leisure activity of all men, women and children in the village.

At the end of summer, the weather is dry and the sun is quite strong. These corns are dried out in a few days, and after threshing, they are weighed, and there are as many as 26 tons.

If it is calculated according to the yield per mu, there are six and a half dans of land per mu. This is because they planted relatively sparsely, and the fields used are only the most common slope land. In the past, there was no irrigation system in their village. These lands on the slopes are also relatively dry and not very suitable for growing crops.

I heard that in some places in the south, the harvest of this corn can reach nearly ten tons per mu. The villagers used to think it was incredible, but after Luo Sanlang took back the corn, they all believed it.

The sloping land like Luo Sanlang's family is so sparsely planted that one mu of land can produce six and a half tans. If it is replaced by a high-quality field and the planting is properly dense, it is not difficult to imagine a yield of ten tans per mu.

The villagers were very envious of the corn from Luo Sanlang's house, and wanted to buy some from him to make seeds, but after hearing the price of the corn from the gentlemen in Xu's guest house, they all backed down.

Although they have earned some money in the past two years, such a high price is still unaffordable.

"If we can open this mouth with Saburo, he should be able to borrow some seeds from us." A villager said.

"How can I say this? Saburo owes so much debt now. He will definitely exchange the corn this year to pay off the debt." Another villager waved his hand.

"If all 26 loads of corn are sown in the field, how much corn can be harvested in the coming year!" Someone sighed.

"It has to be valued by saints. Ordinary people can get corn seeds anywhere."

"I don't know if Saburo has negotiated with someone, and what is the price."

"There are so many big men and young men living in Xu's guest house, and they spend all day learning arithmetic with Luo Sanlang. It's not difficult to find a buyer for him."

"In my opinion, they don't need to find buyers for this matter. As long as Sanlang spreads the word that he wants to sell corn, many merchants will definitely come to buy it."

"I heard that Saburo is going to show it for the last time today."

"That's right, after drying this time, the corn will be put into storage this year."

"I'll go over and have a look."

"Success, let's go and have a look together, if you miss this time, I'm afraid you will have to wait for the next year.

So the few of them planned to take another look at the golden corn kernels, in memory of their reluctance to ask for it.

As a result, when they arrived at Luo's yard, they saw Luo Sanlang driving their big donkey named Wu Dui, grinding cornmeal, and saw those yellow and orange corn kernels scattered on the grinding plate in handfuls. Rolling into the stone mill, amidst the clicking sound...

The villagers felt that their hearts were being ground into cornmeal along with those corn kernels.