Rebirth in Famine: She Thrives by Lucky Space-Chapter 856: Cotton Carding

"Then I’ll go tomorrow; I’ve already found out where to fluff the cotton. By the time Feifei and the others return, they’ll be able to wear new cotton clothes," Du Fengying said excitedly.

"Okay, I’ll stay home with the kids tomorrow while you go to fluff the cotton."

"Xiao Jiang, is it okay for you to keep taking leave like this?" Du Fengying was worried that Jiang Xinyu might lose her teaching job.

"It’s fine; these days are just right for the two teachers to get to know the kids."

"I’ve seen the two teachers from afar; they seem pretty decent."

Jiang Xinyu laughed inwardly, thinking, what can you tell about a teacher just from their looks?

They hadn’t had dinner yet when Li Yungui came over.

"Teacher Jiang, all the adobe bricks are ready. Once the exams are over, we can start construction. It will be quick."

"That’s great, by the way, I need to find Village Chief Li."

"For what?" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"I need to take another day off tomorrow. I’ll be going to fluff cotton, and we can’t leave the house unattended."

"Fluff cotton? I’ll have your sister-in-law go with you; I’m afraid you won’t manage alone."

"My sister-in-law has a lot of work; Sister Du should be able to handle it alone."

"But it’s too busy, and you’ll need a strong laborer tomorrow. Trust me, you won’t go wrong."

"Thank you, Village Chief Li."

"No problem, Xiao Jiang. I’ll take these cottonseeds directly to the warehouse. We’ll plant cotton next year too."

"Alright, it’s all for the village. Before Old Wei left, he mentioned he’d bring new cottonseed varieties."

"That’s great, next year we’ll plant a hundred acres of cotton, so everyone can earn more."

Jiang Xinyu just smiled; now Li Yungui was all about money, thinking of ways for everyone to earn more.

After seeing off Li Yungui, the two closed the door and finally had dinner.

Tonight, they had handmade noodles with green onion and cabbage stir-fried, which tasted amazingly good.

The next morning, just after breakfast, Qu Xiaoli came over.

"Sis, we have sweet potato porridge at home; do you want some more?"

"No need, I already ate. In a bit, Brother Cunshan will come with the cart, and we’ll load the cotton first."

Qu Xiaoli saw the cotton still sunning on the ground and quickly asked Du Fengying to find bags, and they hurriedly packed them.

Shi Xian had just eaten and wasn’t fussy, so Jiang Xinyu also helped.

"Teacher Jiang, your cotton bolls are great, much better than what we used to grow."

"These are new varieties from elsewhere. It’s exactly an acre’s worth; we’ll know the yield per acre once it’s fluffed."

"Great, snow-white cotton. Teacher Jiang, could you sell me a few pounds of the fluffed cotton? My niece-in-law is about to give birth, and I want to make some cotton clothes for the baby and some swaddling blankets."

"Sure, no problem. Is ten pounds enough?"

"That’s enough, thank you. I just think the cotton looks so good."

The three of them worked quickly, but they hadn’t finished loading by the time Li Cunshan arrived.

With four people working, the speed increased considerably.

The ox cart was filled after three layers. Like Qu Xiaoli, Li Cunshan was full of praise for the cotton.

"Sis, you probably won’t be back by noon, right?"

"Yes, it will take all day. I wouldn’t feel secure not watching over this."

"Yeah, I’m afraid others might sneak away with our cottonseeds." Li Cunshan put down all his work for this reason. He couldn’t bear to lose any cottonseeds.

"I haven’t prepared any food; here’s a couple of pounds of peach pastry for you to take along. Don’t go hungry at noon."

Du Fengying busily went inside to pack up two bags of peach pastries. They were from the last photo trip; the two of them usually didn’t eat snacks, so they had saved them.

Li Cunshan drove the cart while Du Fengying and Qu Xiaoli sat on the cotton bags. The three set off with the ox cart.

At home, only Jiang Xinyu and the two children were left. Seeing her mother sitting beside her, Shi Xian became even more active, flailing his limbs energetically.

"Alright, are you not planning to sleep? You little rascal."

Turning on the radio, it happened to be playing music, which did the trick—Shi Xian’s attention was captured.

Jiang Xinyu took out some fabric to make new clothes for the two children. They had to wear new clothes for the New Year, following that tradition.

With such a rare, peaceful moment, Jiang Xinyu worked quickly, cutting out and then sewing while sitting to the side.

Tingting fell asleep listening to the music. But Shi Xian was still full of energy, his big eyes wide open with no hint of sleepiness.

"You like to revel by yourself, why won’t you sleep? Kids need lots of sleep to grow smart."

The little one kept playing by himself without any response.

Jiang Xinyu ignored him, continuing to make clothes while thinking of finding the cloaks that Shi Jing and Feifei wore as children, stored in the space, which must be very warm.

She couldn’t make hats, or else she would have made them one each—there were plenty of furs.

Once the first smock was done, Shi Xian finally fell asleep.

This child just needed someone with him. He might not pay attention to you, but someone had to be there. Quietly getting off the ground, she saw the room was filled with sunlight. It was decided to light the stove in the afternoon, otherwise, it would be unbearably hot by noon.

She took a stroll outside and then returned to make more clothes. With just herself at home, she wouldn’t bother cooking lunch—just eat something simple.

Meanwhile, Li Cunshan drove the cart to the commune. The workshop there was state-owned, belonging to Sun Family Village.

As they unloaded the cotton, everyone gathered around.

"Li Cunshan, you have such good cotton? Give me some seeds."

"No way; our village needs them. I’m here today to keep an eye on the seeds."

He was telling them to give up.

Yesterday, Yungui told him to have Da Jun drive the cart to fluff the cotton, but he disagreed. How could Da Jun keep an eye on them? Such good cottonseeds would be envied by many.

The village planned to plant more cotton next year, and the seeds were barely enough.

So he came personally to ensure that not a single seed was lost.

"Li Cunshan, you are too stingy."

"I’ve never been openhanded; hurry up and get out of the way, don’t delay our business."

The crowd that gathered dispersed a bit. Li Cunshan instructed Qu Xiaoli and Du Fengying to keep a vigilant watch.

Busy non-stop, they had no time for water or snacks, working until two in the afternoon. By then, all the cotton had been fluffed.

Ten full bags of cotton and the unripe yellow cotton bolls filled their load. The fluffed cotton could also be rated as second-class here.

Beside Li Cunshan’s feet were three bags of cottonseeds, reserved for next year’s planting. As for the second-grade seeds, they would deal with those later. Yun Gui said that Xiao Wei would bring back new cotton varieties this time.

That’s why they planned to set some aside, being careful not to affect next year’s yield. Good seeds are essential for good seedlings, which lead to quality cotton bolls and higher production.