It's really hard to just farm peacefully.

Chapter 331

After seeing Jiang Ying and his group off, Dongshan Village became lively again in the afternoon.

Jiang Qi and Jiang Shun assembled the wood they had brought into a frame, and were surrounded by onlookers.

Everyone was busy with their work, and there were all sorts of baskets at their feet. Jiang Qi looked around but couldn't find anyone, so he simply shouted, "Jiang Yan, Jiang Yan, have you brought the things?"

When there was no response, the villagers who were watching the fun also helped to call out.

After shouting several times, I finally heard Jiang Yan's voice vaguely.

Jiang Yan came running with two baskets in hand, and carefully squeezed through the obstacles in front of him.

"Grandpa said to try this basket of wheat first. If the wheat works, then crushing the cliff fruit will definitely work."

Knowing that the oil in the kernel of the cliff fruit can be forced out to make valuable lamp oil, all the villagers of Dongshan Village went out this year to search all the mature or half-ripe forests. The cliff fruits they carried back in batches were piled up in three large piles in the Dongshan Village warehouse.

After peeling the shells, drying them and frying them, the final usable cliff nut kernels amount to more than 300 kilograms.

Three hundred kilograms of oil would take ages to make, if Jiang Yan used a small mortar and slowly pounded it like before. He would then have to send it to Manager Hao San, no matter how many times he sent it, because it would be freezing outside.

Jiang Yan tentatively asked if the task was assigned to the villagers, but many grandparents waved their hands and said they dared not get involved in the delicate work, and just asked them to do some rough work such as working in the fields, collecting firewood or making fire.

But it’s just crushing something, just like grinding ordinary flour, how can it be considered a delicate job?

Jiang Yan couldn't figure it out, so he simply went to find two old men, Jiang Shun and Jiang Qi, to help him make the foot-operated stone mortar that he had wanted to make for a long time.

Thinking back to when she had just recovered from a serious illness, she volunteered to take back some of the heavy burdens. However, she was exhausted after just a few hits with the heavy wooden pestle, and the millstone didn't move at all.

The villagers were worried that Jiang Yan would be hurt by this, so they specially got her a small wooden mortar and a small millstone to help her "support herself".

Although she could later hold the wooden pestle and smash it for a long time, and push the stone mill many times in one breath, she still felt resentful towards them, and wanted to find a good way to reduce everyone's burden.

Since it was impossible to buy animals to pull the mill right away, they first modified the wooden pestle.

The large stone mill and mortar in the center of Dongshan Village have been passed down for generations. Apart from wear and tear, they are well maintained and look like new.

Villagers use it almost every day.

If the farm tools Jiang Yan had proposed earlier had not been truly useful, the elders would not have dared to let her use the mortar. If something went wrong, what would happen to everyone's food supply?

Jiang Yan poured the wheat grains into the mortar and took two steps back. Jiang Shun gently stepped on the pedal, and the wooden pestle in front was lifted up and then fell down.

The pedal was pressed again and again, and the wooden pestle quickly hit the wheat grains in the mortar.

Estimating the time, Jiang Shun stopped, Jiang Qi grabbed a handful of broken grains in the mortar to check, and the others also gathered around curiously.

"It's a small piece."

"You didn't even see how many times Jiang Shun hit him. It would have worked if he had hit him so many times."

"But it's definitely easier to do it with your feet than with your hands. If I could finish it in one go like him, I wouldn't have to go out to the fields tomorrow."

Everyone murmured for a while, then said to Jiang Shun, who was leaning on the wooden frame to rest, "Jiang Shun, come down and let me step on it."

All the elders present, unless they had any mobility problems, took turns trying it out and crushed the wheat grains brought by Jiang Yan and the two loads of wheat grains brought from who knows where in the house into powder.

The kernels of the cliff fruit are not allowed to be added because the stone mortar will inevitably be stained with oil after being crushed. If it is not cleaned thoroughly, the oily food will easily go bad.

But who would be willing to take some time off to clean the mortar?

Jiang Yan could only silently put the cliff fruit kernels back into the warehouse, and then follow everyone else's example to pick out enough food for half a month.

She will be requisitioning this mortar next, so she has to break it into pieces as soon as possible.

……

Compared with the elders of Dongshan Village, the younger Jiang Ning and his companions were even more excited. They went straight to Jiang Yan and took over the work of crushing the cliff fruit kernels.

In the next few days, Jiang Yan waited for them to jump up and down tirelessly like playing on a seesaw, and then took the crumbs and poured them into the big pot to boil.

While the people of Dongshan Village were busy extracting cliff fruit oil and preparing for the winter, the men sent by Fu Yi had already entered the Tiankeng Mountain Cave from a remote path, and were building and repairing secret rooms and compartments in the cave day and night.

The master had impulsively ordered the relocation, completely ignoring the fact that even though the mountain was secluded, the conditions were lacking. Moreover, many of his subordinates were women, who had lived with them for a long time without any relatives or friends. Their families would probably come to him every day to demand an explanation.

In this way, everyone was busy up and down the mountain, until one day Jiang Hu and Jiang Fu came to look for Jiang Yan: "There are suddenly many more pheasants and rabbits in the back mountain. Let's take this opportunity to catch some. We haven't tasted meat for a long time."

Jiang Yan straightened her back and handed the stirring stick in her hand to Jiang Ning beside her: "You take your uncle and brothers and sisters to continue working. Be careful not to burn yourself. I will go find some meat for you."

"Don't worry, aunt." Jiang Ning watched Jiang Yan quickly leave the kitchen, and his heart began to look forward to it.

When will I be able to master the throwing skills like Aunt Xiaoyan, who can hit the target nine times out of ten?

Jiang Yan followed her up the mountain, carrying her belongings. "Uncle Huzi, those pheasants and rabbits in the back mountain must have escaped from the deep mountains... Could it be wolves, bears, or tigers coming down the mountain?"

"That... I don't know." Jiang Hu frowned after hearing this. He had only learned some basic hunting techniques. "Then let's go back early today."

Jiang Yan had sharp eyes and had already seen the hare scratching the grass in the distance. He made a gesture to keep quiet and then quietly approached it.

One step, two steps, three steps... Very good, no running away in fright.

Jiang Yan estimated the distance, took out a piece of hardwood with a stone arrowhead tied to it from his backpack, took aim, and threw it.

Hit it with one hit.

The hare staggered and tried to run away, but Jiang Yan and the other two quickly rushed over, pinned it down, tied it up, and threw it into the backpack.

Jiang Yan picked up the "javelin" and walked happily.

The yellow mud bricks she had used before were fragile, and she had to spend a lot of time rubbing them by hand after they were broken. The big knife she got was not suitable for frequent use outside as a throwing knife.

Grandpa Jiang Qi couldn't bear it, so he made a new weapon just for her.

It had been a while since she'd thrown wild animals, and she hadn't had enough time to get used to her new weapon. She hadn't expected it to still feel this good...

Speaking of which, the old man got her a small bow last time. How about trying it later?

After walking for about two or three quarters of an hour, Jiang Yan and the other two found a family of pheasants strolling out.

The three of them took turns attacking their respective targets. After successfully taking down two of them, Jiang Yan no longer wanted to go home early.

"Uncle Huzi, Uncle Xiaofu, why don't we wait and see what the situation is before deciding whether to return early or not? If there are any wild animals nearby, these little guys can't just wander around like fools..."