The wheat in the field has matured, and as far as the eye can see, it's a golden yellow. The farmers are all joyfully welcoming the harvest.

  The school gave a week's holiday to let the children go home and help with the harvest, euphemistically called "wheat holiday". In addition, each student was arranged to work part-time to pick up wheat grains in the field during the harvest, and had to hand in a basket of wheat grains after the holiday.

  The children were excited and shouted with joy when they heard that they would have a week's holiday, Zhou Xiaoyun was also infected by the atmosphere and cheered up.

  It was still comfortable at school, with very little homework and basically no exams for a semester. Even the wheat harvest holiday lasted for a week. How could it be as tiring as being a student later on? With daily homework and monthly exams, children became nearsighted early on, and learning became a heavy burden.

  Fang Wenchao instructed Zhou Xiaoyun to practice the harmonica more at home, and estimated that it would not be easy for her to master the accordion in a short period of time. The harmonica is simpler and easier to practice, so just get familiar with the tune before Children's Day on June 1st.

  Zhou Xiaoyun agreed, and at this time she also knew that Fang Wenchao had intentionally let her participate in the county's Children's Day event. She was quite interested in the competition, and previously mediocre her never had such an opportunity.

  Now that there is such an opportunity, Zhou Xiaoyun is also very happy. Zhou Xiaoyun feels that it's not necessarily necessary to win the prize, participating in such activities is a rare life experience for her, and it seems that she needs to practice well in the next period of time.

  Zhou Xiaoyun's family has five or six mu of land, and if Zhou Guoqiang and Zhao Yujuan are busy cutting wheat in the fields, it will take at least five or six days to finish cutting all of it.

  But Zhou Guoqiang's pork business was still booming, and he really didn't want to stop. The couple discussed it and decided that Zhou Guoqiang would go to the market alone, while Zhao Yuzhen would work in the fields. After the market closed, Zhou Guoqiang would then go to the fields to work, so as not to delay making money.

  It's a good idea, but when can we finish cutting so much wheat? Zhao Yu Zhen asked her younger brother to come and help.

  Zhou Xiaoyun's uncle Zhao Gang had arranged a blind date at home and didn't go out to work this year. The wheat in their house was harvested last week. Hearing that Zhao Yuzhen asked him to come and help, he rode his bicycle early in the morning without saying a word.

  The sister and brother were very affectionate when they met. They were close in age and had a good relationship, so while doing things and chatting, they didn't feel tired at all.

  At that time, wheat was harvested with a wooden-handled sickle. The curved blade of the sickle was very sharp and required one to bend over and follow the base of the wheat stalks to cut them. After a day's work, people would feel sore waists and backs.

  Every household has children playing by the fields, saying they are helping but actually can't do much. The sickle is so sharp that no one dares to let the kids handle it, in case they cut their legs and make things worse. However, helping to carry the wheat bundles is still something they can do. At that time, harvesting wheat was done by cutting the whole plant, including the straw, which would be kept at home for burning firewood and cooking.

  Dabao picked up a bundle of wheat straw from the ground and quickly sent it to the flatbed cart at the edge of the field, running back and forth with joy. Xiaobao carried much less, and Er Ya even held only a few stalks, saying that doing chores was no better than playing around.

  Zhou Xiaoyun's task was to take care of the logistics, and she had to look after the house and feed the chickens, ducks, and pigs. When the sun was high in the sky, Zhou Xiaoyun boiled some hot water at home, poured it into a large and sturdy green military canteen, and handed it over to her father at the edge of the field to quench his thirst.

  Zhou Xiaoyun took Xiao Bao and Er Ya back home with her when she returned, as they were tired from messing around in the fields. As for Da Bao, he was already as strong as a 13 or 14-year-old boy and could still help out with some work in the fields, so Zhou Xiaoyun thought it would be better to leave him there.

  By noon, Zhou Guoqiang returned with his tricycle. He asked Zhou Xiaoyun to cook the remaining two kilograms of pork for her busy brother-in-law's lunch, and then hurriedly went to the field to harvest wheat.

  Zhou Xiaoyun's kitchen had a self-built stove with two large iron pots. Zhou Xiaoyun cooked half a pot of rice in one of the pots, and when it was done, she went to cut pork to stir-fry.

  Zhou Xiaoyun found the knife at home a bit hard to handle, it was heavy and her right arm couldn't support it for more than a few minutes before it started to ache. With great effort, she managed to cut the pork into four square big blocks. Since Dabao wasn't home and no one was cooking, Zhou Xiaoyun used straw to ignite a few branches, and in less than a moment, flames burst forth.

  The oil in the pot crackled and sizzled, Zhou Xiaoyun quickly stir-fried the pork a few times until it changed color, then added some soy sauce to give it color. After that, she added scallions, ginger, sugar, salt, and vinegar, her movements smooth and practiced without any hesitation. If there were adults around, Zhou Xiaoyun wouldn't have dared to show off like this.

  Especially in front of Zhao Yu Zhen, Zhou Xiao Yun deliberately made some clumsy moves. She had to hide a bit, if she was too capable it wouldn't be like a child at all.

  Overall, Zhou Xiaoyun's concealment and low-key approach were quite successful. Zhao Yujuan only thought that her daughter was clever and helpful, and didn't suspect anything.

  The aroma of braised pork and radish in the pot wafted through the air, enticing Xiao Bao and Er Ya to come over.

  Er Ya pulled at the busy Zhou Xiao Yun's hem, her childish voice was very cute and pleasant to hear: "Sister, I'm hungry."

  Zhou Xiaoyun's heart warmed as she looked at Er Ya's coquettish appearance, and perhaps due to transference, she unconsciously treated Er Ya with the same affection she had for Niu Niu: "Alright, Er Ya, let me serve you some food first, don't rush."

  Xiao Bao didn't want to show weakness either and squeezed over: "Sister, I also want to eat."

  "Alright, alright, you two eat together."

  Zhou Xiaoyun served a bowl of rice for each of Xiao Bao and Er Ya, and then used the large bowl to serve a full bowl of meat and radish.

  This is the best time to eat radish, and Zhou Xiaoyun's family has planted two points of land with radish in front of their small vegetable garden. The raw radish is sweet and crispy, with plenty of water, and when cooked with meat, it is very flavorful and fragrant. Xiao Bao ate a big bowl of rice and half a bowl of radish and meat before stopping.

  At that time, the rice bowls were large white ceramic bowls, not beautiful but sturdy and cheap. However, as people's living conditions improved, they gradually became obsolete, replaced by lightweight, small, and beautifully patterned small bowls.

  Xiao Bao can eat such a big bowl of rice, which surprises Zhou Xiaoyun. Her little face is red and puffy, starting to have some flesh on it. It seems that appetite and stomach capacity can be cultivated after all!