I have a wildlife zoo-Chapter 616 - 615: In the Rice Flower’s Fragrance, Talking of a Bountiful Year, Listening to the Unending Chorus of Frogs

The winnowing basket, also known as a thresher, is enclosed by wooden boards on four sides, with an opening at the top.

Father Tang rubbed his hands together with eagerness, "Let's see how my technique is holding up, whether I've gotten rusty over the years!"

He picked up a bunch of rice stalks, held them high above his shoulders until the ears of rice draped down his back.

Then, like swinging a knife, he chopped down forcefully!

The rice ears swung forward from behind him and hit the threshing board with a "snap," which emitted a light buzzing vibration. Following that, grains of golden rice leapt into the winnowing basket.

Father Tang shook and rustled the rice stalks, and the leaves made a "whirring" sound as they rubbed together; then, lifting them up, he gave the threshing board another "snap."

He thrashed with a rhythmic finesse several times!

Many curious parents and tourists, who weren't participating in the farming activity and were just there to watch, gathered around, "What's this for?"

Father Tang explained with a smile, "This is threshing! We beat the rice out of the stalks, then we dry it and hull it to get the rice we eat."

Someone nearby gave him a thumbs-up in admiration, "You can tell he's an expert! After you're done, I'd like to give it a try."

Some of the parents had come from the countryside and had done farm work as children, at least having seen their elders do it.

The children, who mostly grew up in cities, were finding it all very novel!

This time, they came to fully understand how the rice they ate made its way onto the dining table.

Father Tang shook the rice stalks, then picked them up to inspect, "Hmm, this bunch is clean now."

He placed the rice stalks on the harvested rice stacks in the adjacent field and rotated his arms, lamenting, "I really need more exercise these days; sitting in front of the computer every day has left my arms sore after just a bit of threshing rice! Your turn, brother!"

The enthusiastic parent who had been eagerly watching immediately took his place, calling his child to bring over a bunch of rice, "Haha, let me have a go at this!"

Threshing the rice was much more tiring than harvesting, being both physically demanding and a skillful task!

If the posture is incorrect, or if one uses too much force, one might start feeling sore in their back and waist after a while.

Experienced farmworkers could control the rhythm and force of their threshing so that they wouldn't tire too quickly.

These days, rice is usually threshed with machines or fully automatic harvesters, which save time and effort; only a few areas still use this traditional way of threshing rice. Setting up the winnowing basket here was intended to give the kids a full experience of farming.

However, before the kids had a chance to try, the parents were already having a great time with it!

Lining up to thresh the rice, they worked zealously, the grains hitting the board with a continuous "bang, snap, crack," and more rice filled the container below.

Now it was the children's turn to cheer on their parents, a nice break to rest a bit after getting somewhat tired from cutting the rice.

They placed the sickles on the ridge of the field and took a few sips of water!

Qian Keke suddenly exclaimed with delight, "Huh, a frog!"

In the field, a frog, seemingly disturbed, hopped along and jumped across her muddy feet.

Hearing this, the nearby children quickly gathered around, watching with curiosity!

Being frequent visitors to the zoo, they were quite fond of various animals and weren't startled by small creatures or insects; they even had a certain tolerance for snakes.

Fang Ye also walked over, "Come on, where's the frog? Let's all have a look! But don't get too close and scare it, let's keep a bit of distance!"

He beckoned everyone to come over for a look and enthusiastically explained, "Now our fields are attracting frogs, which is really great.

In fact, there is also a very complex ecosystem within the rice paddies!

First and foremost, of course, is the rice itself, which serves as the producer in the paddy, continually absorbing nutrients from the soil beneath, synthesizing organic matter with the help of sunlight, and ultimately transferring nutrients into the grains.

They act as energy factories within the paddy, providing both a food source and a habitat for other animals to hide and dwell.

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Many insects feed on rice, such as locusts, rice planthoppers, and stem borers, which can affect the harvest of the paddies!"

The children all gathered around, listening intently!

Fang Ye said, "However, in a healthy ecosystem of a paddie, there's no need to worry too much, because there are many beneficial organisms in the field that can control the population of these 'pests'.

The most common are various species of frogs!

They lay clutches of eggs in the water, and the hatching tadpoles grow up into frogs right there in the water. There are quite a few frogs, and they eat a lot, serving as a main force in preying on harmful insects! They can be called guardians of the fields.

Prosperity is spoken amidst the fragrance of rice flowers, with a chorus of frog croaks!

But now, due to the extensive use of pesticides and fertilizers, many fields no longer see frogs, nor hear their chorus of croaks on summer evenings.

The appearance of frogs in our rice paddies indicates that the ecology is slowly recovering."

Some parents standing on the ridges of the fields couldn't help but be startled when they heard this!

In the city, one cannot help but miss the countryside, with summer wheat swaying in the breeze, the Milky Way shining at night, the fragrance of wet earth after the rain, and the elders chatting and playing cards under the big willow trees...

Having taken the children back to the countryside a few times, trying to relive childhood, something always seemed missing.

Gazing at the stars at night no longer seemed as bright, the earth no longer as fragrant. Now come to think of it, it indeed seems like the frog calls are missing!

At first, I thought it was because I had been in the city too long, restless, unable to settle down.

But after hearing what Fang Ye said, I vaguely felt that the countryside of today is indeed different from that of my childhood.

Compared to the wistful adults, the children were in high spirits.

This rice was planted by their own hands, after all!

Looking at the frogs in the paddies, sitting docilely due to Fang Ye's soothing skill, they couldn't help but smile, feeling a secret thrill as if looking at their favorite treasure.

Visiting zoos and learning from many a storybook, they understood that the current state of many animals isn't so wonderful, even precarious.

Sometimes they felt disheartened, wanting to do something, but overwhelmed by a sense of powerlessness.

Every day we talk about protecting the environment, protecting animals, but why are endangered animals becoming more numerous? In ten years, twenty years, a hundred years, will Blue Planet still be habitable?

Will it come to the point where, by the time they have children, the environment has deteriorated beyond repair, and scientists officially announce the imminent extinction of mankind?

Other environmental protection cases are all too remote, but the appearance of frogs in the rice paddies they planted is happening right before their eyes, a firsthand witness to an improving environment.

Suddenly, they were filled with a longing and aspiration for a better future.

Fang Ye smiled and continued, "Of course, frogs have their own natural predators, which attract snakes to the area!

Aside from preying on frogs, snakes are also adept at hunting mice, so having snakes around means there's no worry about rats overrunning the place and devouring the rice crops to nothing.

And frogs and snakes in turn attract herons; they too are regulars in the rice fields. Herons and Chinese pond herons like to visit during the day, while the black-crowned night-heron holds court at night!

You see, these creatures in the paddy naturally form a food chain."