I have a wildlife zoo-Chapter 615 - 614 Harvesting Rice

Father Tang said, "The use of water is orderly, today it's your family's turn, tomorrow mine, and the day after, someone else's."

"During the hot and dry summer days, even when it's your turn to use water, you still have to watch out for others stealthily diverting it to their own fields in the middle of the night. People wouldn't sleep, staying in the fields with the adults to guard against water theft. We call this guarding the water."

"Just imagine, it's pitch dark at night, with only the faint moonlight, and if you get sleepy in the wee hours, you'd lie down on the ridge, letting the clumpy soil press against your back, cushioned only by a few handfuls of straw, surrounded by the buzzing of mosquitoes, mixed with the croaking of frogs."

Just by listening to Father Tang's description, Tang Xiaoxin could imagine how hard it was: "Wow, stealing water is kind of bad."

Father Tang said, "It's not exactly bad, seeing the rice seedlings wilted, everyone gets anxious. You see, it's what we rely on for food."

At this moment, Fang Ye came over to the edge of the rice paddy and whistled.

The call to gather sounded, and Xiaoxin hopped off the waterwheel, saying excitedly, "Dad, I'm going to harvest rice!"

Father Tang also came down from the waterwheel, smiling, "Go ahead, go ahead!"

Mother Tang was on the side, taking several photos of the waterwheel, the pond, and the rice paddy!

She exclaimed, "Having lived in the city for so long, experiencing this kind of rural environment is really nice."

Instead of the noise of traffic and the hustle and bustle, the air was filled with the sounds of insects and birds; breathing in the fresh air, she felt considerably more relaxed.

...

As soon as Zoo Director Fang arrived, the children swarmed around him!

He clapped his hands, beaming, "Everyone form a line, okay? Let me count the number of people. If we're all here, we can start harvesting rice earlier, and after that, we can cook and eat the rice."

A chubby kid with bright eyes raised his hand and shouted loudly, "I want to eat scorched rice!"

The children next to him were amused by his impatience and burst into laughter; the parents couldn't help but chuckle too!

The chubby kid's father, feeling helpless, covered his face. This child was so enthusiastic about eating; if only he was as eager when answering questions in class.

Though Zoo Director Fang usually didn't cook, he still knew some culinary basics. He thought for a moment and said, "Scorched rice usually requires cold rice to make, right? I'm not sure we can make it today. Later, I'll ask the chef. If we can't do it today, you can come next time to eat or I'll give you some rice to take home and cook."

The chubby kid gratefully bowed, "Thank you, Brother Fang!"

He really had the air of a wanderer about him.

Everyone was very enthusiastic about planting the rice, not to mention harvesting it. Counting heads, they found everyone was there.

With the experience from the previous times, things were much smoother this round.

After distributing the equipment for going into the fields, they didn't rush to harvest the rice but listened to Zoo Director Fang's speech first.

"Be careful when using the sickle. Stay focused, pay attention to safety, and be steady. The sickle is very dangerous; don't swing it around recklessly, and only use it to cut the rice. Don't accidentally hurt someone or run around in the fields and bump into others. Pay attention to your surroundings while harvesting!"

"Today, we're harvesting rice and we should all be happy, without any mishaps. Parents, please keep an eye out as well!"

The children and their parents all nodded earnestly!

Zoo Director Fang first reiterated a number of safety points before explaining the key points of rice harvesting and then stepped down into the field to demonstrate.

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Grabbing a handful of rice stalks in one hand and the sickle in the other, he said, "First, gather the rice stalks you're about to harvest, then place the sickle close to the base and cut swiftly and forcefully like this, then stack them neatly to one side.

When harvesting, tilt the blade of the sickle downward so you won't cut your hand.

Remember how you sowed the seeds—follow the order and cut down the line.

Do you understand? Okay, now everyone try it out for yourselves."

Harvesting rice is relatively simple after all!

The sickle is not like the huge scythes often seen in video games, which are carried on the back; wielding such large sickles, a regular person would run out of energy after a couple of swings.

It was like a jungle knife in League of Legends, small and lightweight, so even a child could easily hold it in their hand.

The blade had sharp serrations, and the body of the knife was curved, making it more efficient to cut with.

Tang Xiaoxin rolled up her pants and, barefoot, stepped into the field with Qian Keke.

They arrived at the place where they had planted the rice!

Qian Keke looked at the golden rice she had grown, held it in her hands, and took a blissful breath, smelling the fragrance of the grain, "This is awesome!"

Although she had only participated in a few steps in the middle and most of the management was done by the zoo, she still felt a great sense of accomplishment!

Tang Xiaoxin smiled and said, "Time to harvest!"

They were so happy!

Squatting down, they grabbed a handful.

A bit afraid of hurting themselves, they carefully recalled the tutorial Fang Ye had demonstrated before starting to cut the rice properly.

At first, they were very cautious, but after cutting for a while, they quickly got the hang of it and joyfully continued the task.

It seemed a bit easier than when they were planting!

The only annoyance was the rice leaves swaying back and forth, hitting their faces.

Mother Tang was also on the edge of the paddy field, taking photos of her and cheering her on with a smile, "Come on! You can do it!"

Fang Ye walked along the edge of the field, watching the children cutting the rice and chatting with the enthusiastic parents.

"Director Fang, this rice planting activity is really meaningful! My child used to be picky, loving snacks and high-calorie foods like fried chicken and fries from KFC or McDonald's, not so much rice.

He'd only eat a little from a bowl and then just pour the rest away.

After planting rice that day, he came back and ate two big bowls of rice."

Fang Ye laughed and said, "Really?"

"Of course, it's true! I told him about saving food, but he didn't have that concept. Life is too good now.

We can't just let him starve if he doesn't eat, what if he gets faint from hunger at school? There was nothing we could do until participating in this planting activity; he truly realized how hard-won every grain of rice is."

A mother in a white shirt joined the conversation with a laugh, "My child used to be so spoiled, but now he's started doing some chores at home, like washing dishes and mopping the floor!

By the way, Director Fang, are you seeing anyone? Would you like me to introduce you to a few pretty girls from our class?"

"Ah, I'm already taken!"

Fang Ye quickly declined, wondering how a simple conversation had suddenly turned into a matchmaking session.

Hey, maybe it was because he was just too handsome.

The children quickly cut down quite a lot of rice!

Father Tang, seeing the neatly gathered sheaves of rice in the field, was reminded of his own farming days and couldn't help feeling the itch to join in, becoming quite animated.

He called out, "Xiaoxin, bring me a couple of sheaves of rice."

Tang Xiaoxin did as asked and curiously inquired, "What do you need them for?"

Father Tang pointed at a square container nearby, which he had noticed earlier, "I'm going to play with threshing some rice!"

Once the rice was harvested, the next step was to separate the grain from the stalks.

This container was a traditional "threshing basket," used to separate the grains by beating them.