After the Mid-Autumn Festival, under the cold sky, the vast fields after the busy farming are silent, leaving behind a scene of decay, desolation and solemnity.

Looking through the withered woods on both sides of the road, the fields are full of bare rice stubble, and rice bales and haystacks are not visible.

In the harvested fields, the animals were walking back and forth with dejected expressions, and the birds and magpies flew around in panic.

From time to time, swarms of sparrows rose up from the rice fields and quickly scattered on the wires beside the fields, depicting irregular quadratic spectrums.

After the autumn harvest, it turns from heat to cool, from tender green to golden, from busy to relax, from lush to wither. There are the bleak autumn wind, the sound of rain; there are the lofty light clouds, the low smoke of cooking; there are the joy of harvest, the persistence of success; there are many satisfied, down-to-earth, proud hearts...

After the busy farming season, every household will cut a few kilograms of meat to replenish their bodies and celebrate the harvest.

As usual, adults still have to work hard, wandering around the fields, pulling weeds, fertilizing, loosening the soil, digging ditches, carrying pond mud, and fertilizing pig manure. There are always endless things to do throughout the year. Children can relax for a few days.

After Sun Gang had a good rest at home for a few days, he was taken to help a neighbor in the village.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Sun Gang asked in confusion as he looked at his father.

"Your Uncle Gen's house is building a house. Anyway, you have nothing to do at home. Go and help for two days."

"Oh, okay." In the countryside, everything is usually done after the busy farming season, such as building a house, getting married, etc.

Zhou Laogen, Sun Gang's childhood playmate Zhou Hui and Zhou Qiang's father. His family is not in good condition and he doesn't have a good labor force.

Sun Gang couldn't help but come to Zhou Laogen's gate. The outside of the yard was piled with yellow and gray limestone, neatly arranged red bricks, the stacks covered with rain cloth were cement, and bundles of steel bars and other building materials.

"Gangwoo, thank you for helping..." Zhou Laogen and Sun's father were about the same age, but they looked much older than Sun's father. The years of hard work left scratches on his face. The wind and frost created by spring and autumn were embedded on his head.

"Uncle, what are you saying? They are all your own family." Sun Gang had a lot of meals at his house when he was a child, "Yes, uncle, now build a house?"

"Hehe, the eldest child will bring his wife back to get married during the twelfth lunar month." Zhou Laogen smiled.

"Wow, Zhou Hui is ready to get married..." Sun Gang didn't know about this.

"Yeah, are you not planning to settle this year?"

"Maybe it's next year." Sun Gang wasn't sure, it should be settled next year.

It's still early this time. Sun Gang's meals at home are usually earlier than those of other families, and the others who come to help and the construction team have not arrived yet.

Sun Gang looked at the Zhou family's house in the yard, and three tiled houses facing north and south. The tiled houses are a bit old and look a little old. They are like an old man who is staggering. The big locust tree behind the house is like a crutch that never leaves it.

The eaves that had been spending a long and lonely time became lively again. Rows of long pointed red peppers, golden and plump corn cobs, thick braided garlic, and seeds like lentils, cowpeas, squeezed and occupied the outermost pole under the eaves.

This scenery on the pole is not just for satisfying people's vision for appreciation. Their practical value is far greater than their appearance. From the day they hung up, they began to play an important role in every day of rural life, from autumn to winter, and then from winter to spring.

Under the eaves, there are bundles of peanuts and corn in sacks, which are full of piles.

To the east are two kitchens and utility rooms, and to the west are two houses. They are his cow houses, which were used to tie cows. These two houses should have been decades. The lower half of the wall is a mud wall and the upper half is made of adobe bricks.

Due to the age of time, the soil foundation has loosened and large cracks appear on the walls. Whenever it rains heavily and thunders, the soil foundation is often shaken down, which makes people worried. The roof leaks very hard. Many fine weeds like mountain grass grow on the tile ditch.

Zhou Hui's grandfather lived in this house when he was young. The old man is over 80 years old this year. Although he has no living in it now, he has been reluctant to leave it.

There is nothing I can do now. This is a dilapidated house, so it may not collapse one day. Besides, the grandson is going to make a wife, and his family has no extra homestead. Another piece is left for the younger one.

In a corner of the shady wall in the yard, Sun Gang saw a cart. It tasted the wind, sun and rain, and the wooden rack was loose. It was like an old man in his twilight age. It was gradually forgotten by people.

Rack trucks were once one of the main means of transportation for farmers here. There were many in every village. Just like the tractors and three-wheeled farm trucks today, farmers have a special liking for it.

The racks are made of wooden, including elm, willow, poplar, acacia, timber, pine, and the best are timber and pine. The wood is solid in porcelain, and the pine wood is extremely delicate.

When making racks, you will use ready-made trees on the mountain, cut down a few trees, saw them open and dried, and the two DC and solid trees are used as trucks to dry them. The carpenters in the village jingled, chiseled a few eyes, sawed a few boards, and installed two carriages to fix the two wheels with axles that can boost the car. Even if the racks are made, they will be made.

Spring plowing, summer harvesting, autumn planting, winter repairing, and daily life are closely related to the cart. Pulling manure, transporting grain, building roads, and building dams are inseparable from it. Using it can save a lot of effort.

The cart, carrying the sweat and hope of generations of farmers, slowly walked slowly. The heavy or cheerful chants are rarely used by rural people now, otherwise they would not slowly decay in the corner.

The Zhou Laogen family was in good condition, and the tile house was built twenty years ago. Later, after his youngest son Zhou Qiang fell into a lime pit, the family changed drastically. In order to treat his son's injuries, they spent all their savings and owed a lot of debts. After the injury healed, they took him to the province and sued the city. They spent a lot of money, but they did not get a penny of compensation.

In order to repay the debt, Zhou Laogen had to farm desperately. His family had thirty or forty acres of land, and only two people worked in the family. The two children dropped out of school early to go out to work. The old man was old and could only do some things within his ability. For example, cooking and feeding pigs. There was nothing he could do in the field.

The conditions are a little better in recent years and the debts have been paid off. Zhou Hui and Zhou Qiang, the two brothers, can get 10,000 or 20,000 yuan a year when working outside.

Sun Gang wandered around the yard for a while, and the people who helped the village arrived one after another.

"Uncle Haisheng, here we come." "Uncle Zhenghai...",...Sun Gang quickly stepped forward to say hello one by one. These are the elders in the village.

"I came here very early."

"I've just arrived for a while, too."

Several people smoked a cigarette, and the construction team they invited came, so they started to do their work.

First, I set off a hang of firecrackers to drive away evil spirits. I have a good start and a good start.

For a moment, the deafening sound of firecrackers sounded, which indicates that the construction ceremony was over and the construction period began to enter.

The masters of the construction team began to drive piles and lift the foundation. They had already drawn horizontal and vertical white lines with lime, and everyone would dig down the white lines and dig out the flat foundation.

These are pure physical work, and there is no skill. As long as the foundation is dug along the line hung by the masters, you will not dig in a crooked way.

Sun Gang held the punishment and wore a straw hat and dipped it open. Zhou Laogen took the iron shovel from behind and shoveled out the soil.

The heavy scoundrels covered the crabs and large pieces of soil were dug up. Then they were shoveled away by iron shovels and threw them outside the foundation.

Although it was autumn and the sun was no longer vicious, Sun Gang quickly felt hot when he started working. He quickly took off his shirt and dug it in the ditch with his bare shirt.

Listening to the rhythmic shouting in his ears and feeling a stream of heat coming out of his body, Sun Gang felt more and more energetic and liked this kind of hot work scene.

Sun Gang rushed forward like a little tiger, and soon Zhou Laogen could not keep up with Sun Gang's speed. A lot of dug floating soil was piled up behind him, so Sun Gang had to take a shovel and help shovel the soil outside.

Although digging a foundation seems like a rough job, the technical content is actually not low. The most critical factor for a house is the foundation. Unstable foundation means that the house is not reliable. Once there is a little wind and rain, it is easy to cause quality accidents such as tilting, cracking of the walls.

When digging the foundation, you can't always lower your head and dig, and you have to follow the line. Never dig it in a crooked way.

Sun Gang, who was able to work hard in the crowd, had a little sore hands and a little hot palm, but he liked this lively scene in his heart.

After working for a long time, my sweat broke out. Sun Gang picked up the herbal tea and poured it all over his stomach. His stomach felt shaking while working.

Looking back, I looked at the flat and uniform foundation ditches, and the earth and stone piled up next to them like small hills. Sun Gang was really scared.

In addition, after the foundation trench is almost dug, you have to slowly flatten some edges and corners with a small shovel, so that the foundation will be more firm and stable.

The foundation of three bungalows was dug by more than ten people, and it could be completed in less than a day.

During the process of digging the foundation, neither antiques nor mine bombs were dug out during the Anti-Japanese War.

At night, everyone was tired for a day. In order to express their gratitude, Zhou Laogen left all the villagers who helped and made a special meal to entertain everyone.

The construction team usually only cares about a meal at noon. They have money to get. Villagers like Sun Gang who are helping are just here to help, and it is impossible to get the money.

Zhou Laogen prepared the usual farm dishes. The meat they cut, the fish and vegetables they bought were all from his own vegetable garden, and the fish were bought from Sun Gang. The original ordinary farm dishes had a different fragrance, but when Aunt Zhou brought the braised fish, the atmosphere at the wine table was extremely lively.

"Sister-in-law, you are not good at your skills. The restaurants on the street are not as delicious as you do." Zhou Haisheng, whose face turned purple and red, raised his thumbs at Aunt Zhou and praised him. Zhou Haisheng is Zhou Laogen's cousin by seniority.

Everyone nodded frequently. First, they were short-speakable. If they didn't praise the owner, they would feel sorry for each other. Second, Zhou Laogen's craftsmanship really allowed everyone to taste the wonderful taste that was very different from home-cooked dishes.

In fact, it is the fish from Sun Gang's family. After being nourished by the water in the space, there is no earthy smell like other fish, and there are almost no small burrs on the body.

"You have been awarded. If you like it, come often in the future. Don't be polite to me." Zhou Laogen also drank a few glasses of wine.

Everyone kept drinking and drinking, it was very lively. The wine was a low-quality liquor that cost more than ten yuan a bottle. It tasted spicy and pungent, and it was very easy to get on. It lacked a soft and rich taste, but it was very popular among the villagers. The reason was nothing else, it was cheap.

There are wine and food, and everyone is enjoying it. When the wine is hot, everyone opens their voices and chats with family members, and some people say enviously: "Laogen, you have been over, and you two are about to hold your grandson."

Zhou Laogen was also full of joy, smiling so hard that he couldn't see his eyes, and said with a humility: "Everything is good."

Thinking of the family experience in the past few years, Zhou Laogen was really moved. After the youngest son had an accident, his family almost lost their smile. Later, he was busy working and making money all year round. Now his eldest son is getting married, and he has finally completed a task. When the youngest son's task is completed, the old couple can truly breathe a sigh of relief.

Everyone drank from the sunset to the moon rising to the willows, and Sun Gang returned home with a slight drunkenness.

Now there is no noise in the summer night, and the chirping of insects and frogs gradually fade away.

Just after the fifteenth day of August, the vast sky was hung with the moon that was about to round. The bright moonlight shone through the thick clouds wrapped around the body, and it shone with attractive light. Around the moon, clusters of clouds of different shapes slowly floated by clusters of clouds of different shapes. Under the reflection of the moonlight, layers of orange-yellow halos formed beautiful circles.

The moonlight shines softly on the trees, leaving behind jagged and mottled black shadows.

A gust of wind blows by, the trees are waving, the shadows are moving, and the wind and waves are rustling.

The wind was slightly chilling, and Sun Gang tightened his shirt and walked slowly home along the village road. With the moonlight.

"Gangwoo, let's drink this cup of tea and sober up." Sun Gang returned home, but his parents were not asleep yet, waiting for him to come back.

Sun Gang took the tea from his mother's hand, drank it in one sip, wiped his mouth, and said, "Mom, it's okay, I haven't drunk much."

"Are you still tired of working?" said Dad Sun.

"good……"

"Just help him for another day tomorrow."

This is the case in rural areas. Helping is usually done for a day or two, and it is impossible to help all the time.

"Wash and go to bed. It's getting late." Sun's mother said to her son.

Sun Gang returned to the orchard alone and worked hard for a day. After getting a little drunk, he happened to go to bed.

When she woke up in the morning, half an hour later than usual, Sun Gang felt hoarseness and a slight headache. It seemed that it was because of drinking. After drinking a glass of honey water from the space, she felt much better.

It was already dawn outside, and Sun Gang was moving his body at the door. He felt much more comfortable, and the discomfort after the hangover had disappeared.

The air in the morning was very fresh, and Sun Gang breathed greedily, with a unique fragrance in the air, which was the fragrance from the wild chrysanthemums on the hillside.

Today, Sun Gang helped Zhou Laogen's house to do a day of work, mainly doing some small work, lime cement, and moving bricks. He was not too tired. He couldn't do any work such as building walls and wouldn't do it.
To be continued...