Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 119 - 61 - s Fieldwork_3

"Second Aunt, whether you powder your face or not is none of my business, but who knows what Liulang and the others really think of you. And another thing, my mother has never offended you, so there’s no need for you to spread false rumors about her. We don’t welcome you here."

Lian Manman grabbed a broom and began to sweep the kang.

"Sister-in-law, aren’t you going to control Manman..." Lady He had no choice but to stand up, yet she was unwilling to leave it at that.

"Second Aunt, I would certainly love to know how much that Hangzhou powder cost you; my mother must be very curious as well." Lian Manman said indifferently.

Lady He immediately lost her momentum, huffing and puffing as she pulled Liulang away with her.

"Manman, with that temper of yours... you really offended her," Lady Zhang said.

"If we’re afraid of offending her, we might as well not live at all. She brought this upon herself. If we want to avoid offending her, it’s easy—just cut off our own flesh for her to eat. I’m just afraid that after she’s done, she’ll wipe her mouth and still complain about the taste of our meat," Lian Manman said.

"Mother, I think people like Second Aunt should be dealt with just like how Manman does," Lian Zhizhi expressed her support for Lian Manman.

"Right, you can’t indulge her temper," Wu Lang said.

"From now on, let us handle such matters, Mother, you needn’t worry about it anymore," Lian Manman said.

...

The weather was clear and brisk, the sorghum, millet, and peanuts that the Lian Family had brought in were all dry, and Old Master Lian had decided to start threshing. After consulting with the people of the village, it was agreed to use the threshing ground at the edge of the village. This threshing ground was a communal property of the people in Thirty Mile Camp, and everyone took turns using it.

They began with the sorghum; it was transported to the threshing ground cart by cart, untied, and evenly spread out. Then, they would use a stone roller to crush back and forth over it, causing the grains to fall from the head while also removing the husk. The stone roller came in different weights: two hundred pounds, one hundred pounds, and the lightest being fifty pounds. The heavier the roller, the larger the area covered in a single pass. Those who had cattle or horses would use them to pull the rollers around in circles, others had to rely on manpower.

The Lian Family used manpower, which was definitely hard labor, tackled in teams.

This was the threshing process, and the next step was called winnowing.

After threshing, the sorghum grains were mixed with the husks and could not be picked apart one by one. They relied on the wind to separate the lighter husks from the heavier grains.

The winnowing tool was a wooden shovel, and in contrast to threshing, winnowing required skill.

The best at winnowing for the Lian Family were Old Master Lian and Lian Shouxin. As a result, Shouxin didn’t have to pull a roller; he just winnowed with Old Master. Shouxin, with a wooden shovel in hand, would scoop up the sorghum grains and toss them high into the wind, aiming to spread them into a thin fan shape. Then the wind would separate the husks, dust, and other debris from the grains. As they fell to the ground, it would create two distinct piles.

This job was very dirty because the slightest carelessness or a sudden change in wind direction would blow husks and dust all over one’s face and body. To perform this task, Shouxin wore a cap made of coarse cloth sewn by Lady Zhang, called a wind cap. The cap not only covered the head but also featured a bib-like extension that wrapped tightly around the neck where it resembled a child’s bib, protecting both the neck and hair from husks, dust, and debris from getting into the shirt through the collar.

Lian Manman, Lian Zhizhi, and Wu Lang helped alongside, responsible for collecting the grains with an iron shovel into hemp bags.

Several other families were also working on the threshing ground. During a break, sisters Chun Yan and Chun Ni came over to talk to Lian Manman.

"Manman, is your family making wine from wild grapes?" Chun Yan asked Lian Manman.

In the countryside, there were no secrets or privacy.

"Yeah," Lian Manman promptly admitted.

"Can you really make wine out of them?" Chun Ni asked.

"Should be able to," Lian Manman said ambiguously, though she was actually quite certain in her heart. In her previous life, her family would buy lots of grapes for wine-making each autumn, almost never failing.

"He Laoliu’s family over in West Village somehow got their hands on a lot of wild grapes; they’re saying they’re going to make wine," Chun Yan said mysteriously.

"Isn’t that Liulang’s uncle’s family?" Lian Zhizhi exclaimed in surprise.

"They also said they learned winemaking from your family," Chun Ni added.

"That’s nonsense; it definitely must be Second Aunt and Si Lang who sneakily learned from us and taught her uncle," Wu Lang angrily said, "I’ll tell grandfather about it."

"Brother, don’t go," Lian Manman stopped Wu Lang.

"Manman, why won’t you let me go?" Wu Lang asked.

"There’s no use going; can grandfather confiscate other people’s stuff?" Lian Manman said.

Even if they decided to report to Old Master right now, it wouldn’t change the fact that He Laoliu’s family had the grapes. Besides, she was sure that they didn’t know about the crucial step of adding sugar, and without that step, the wine wouldn’t only taste bad but also couldn’t be preserved for long.

"I can’t accept this," Wu Lang said.

"Brother, just wait and see, their winemaking will not only fail to make them money, but it will also help us earn a big sum," Lian Manman whispered to Wu Lang.

Wu Lang was taken aback.

Lian Manman just chuckled and refused to elaborate further.

"There’s a horse cart entering the village!" Chun Ni suddenly shouted.

Lian Manman looked up and indeed saw two horse carts heading towards the village entrance.

"It looks like your sister Lian Huahua is coming back."(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian [qidian.com] to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)