Chapter 403 Under the Scorching Sun

Time gradually passed the lunch time, and the few clouds in the sky were a bit dull. The scorching sun shone through the pale white, as if it was like a needle pricking people's eyes.

We were in such a hurry that no one had eaten lunch yet. Fortunately, Cai Naizi had bread and some snacks in her backpack. She shared the food with everyone on the way, so she was not hungry at all.

It didn't take long. In less than twenty minutes, we arrived at the pepper garden of the little girl Yang Juan's house.

Yi Yang looked at the oily pepper garden and couldn't help feeling a little emotional. He recalled a similar scene when he was just reborn. He helped pick pepper at his second uncle's house...

At this time, Jiang Lili and Cai Naizi were both excited.

"Did the pepper tree look like this?"

"It doesn't look very tall..."

“Was it hard to pick this?”

Yi Yang took a sunhat from his bag, walked up behind Jiang Lili, and put it directly on her head.

"Well?"

Jiang Lili turned around, and Yi Yang continued to press the button fondly, saying, "Don't be brave later, don't take off your hat, it's easy to get tanned."

Jiang Lili stretched out her hand to straighten her hat and said, "I'm not here to enjoy happiness."

Cai Naizi pretended to rub her arms and said with an exaggerated expression: "Be careful, be careful! It's such a hot day, but you can see the goosebumps on my hands."

Jiang Lili responded to her with a smile: "Then you should also find a boyfriend."

"cut……"

Seeing Yi Yang's operation, Lu Hao hesitated, took off his peaked cap, and walked over...

As if she noticed it, Cai Naizi suddenly turned around and said to Lu Hao: "Don't come here, I don't want your hat."

"okay!"

Lu Hao simply put on his hat and walked away.

Yi Yang and Jiang Lili burst into laughter.

At this time, three people were busy in the pepper field, two old people and a middle-aged man. Seeing so many people coming, they all showed puzzled expressions and squinted at them under the scorching sun. The middle-aged man came over and Yang Juan His mother came up to him and said something beside him. Then the man frowned and looked at the people who came over. Finally he sighed, waved his hand, and went back to work.

Yang Juan's mother walked up to a few people and said, "I discussed it with my man, and he said that although you are here for Yang Juan's sake, you can't do this work in vain. If you help pick it, we will still press it." I'll give you the price. For us, it's 5 yuan per basket." As she spoke, she showed a perplexed and determined expression.

Zhou Huazhang rushed forward and said: "Mother Yang, although my words are not polite, do you think we are here for the money? As long as you are willing to let Yang Juan finish the last week of class with peace of mind, we think it is worth it." Got it!"

When Yang Juan's mother heard this, she lowered her head slightly, did not answer, and said, "Just go pick the trees over there." She pointed to the tree where the sun was shining.

Then Yang Juan’s mother briefly taught them how to pick peppercorns, and the group of people who came over didn’t waste any time and got busy happily.

Yi Yang quickly got into working mode. He worked very carefully, grabbing the branches with one hand and holding apart the sharp thorns with the other hand while grabbing handfuls of peppercorns. This peppercorn grew extremely tough. It's not that easy to pull. It's said to be picking peppercorns, but it's actually pinching and pulling.

The sharp thorns are everywhere, hidden among the branches of the tree. When pinching and pulling, you must use both hands to work together, and the space for use is very small. Although Yang Juan's mother is equipped with a few scissors, but in the operation You will find that using scissors is not as convenient as using your hands.

The scissors are too big, and it is not easy to avoid some sharp thorns when reaching out to operate them among the branches of the Zanthoxylum bungeanum tree.

The peppercorns on the outside of the branches are easy to handle, but the ones on the inside are more difficult. When you pull, you have to pull the branches apart. Sometimes they are not cut off at once, or the force is too strong, and the hands are thrown out, or the branches are not broken due to elasticity. If you hit it, the spikes on it will prick your hand mercilessly.

Yi Yang had been pricked several times in pursuit of efficiency. The oil on the peppercorns was sticky and all over his hands. It seeped into the pricked area, making it itchy and painful. He did it silently, under the scorching sun. , sweat left on his forehead and got into his eyes, but he didn't dare to wipe it off with his hands... His hands were full of pepper oil.

And Yi Yang also heard other people's voices soon after.

"Oh! I got pricked again!"

"It hurts……"

"This is really difficult..."

“Why does this Sichuan peppercorn have so much oil!”

Yi Yang glanced over there, and as expected, it was the sister duo of Jiang Lili and Cai Naizi. He had never expected them to harvest much. They were mainly girls from rich families who occasionally came to experience the hardships of the people. Pretty good too.

Jiang Lili and Cai Naizi picked the same tree. Their efficiency was extremely low, but they had already boasted about Haikou aggressively just now. Of course, they could not give in at this time and could only endure it and pick it bit by bit. , I picked it very carefully. Fortunately, I didn’t wear makeup today, so I didn’t have to worry about my makeup being stained by sweat.

After all, for them, experience is the main thing, and their mentality is different from that of real farmers who work hard for their livelihood. Although it is a bit painful and there is someone to accompany them, it is not as difficult as imagined. After picking for a while, the two actually looked at each other. The other person laughed.

"Is it still a competition?"

"No more competition, no more competition, let's try to finish picking this tree together..."

The tree Lu Hao picked was next to the Huangshanshan fir. At this time, he started to really work, and then he realized that picking peppercorns was not as easy as he thought, especially with his proud physical strength. It's of no use. Fortunately, as a sports student, I have endured hardships and can still persevere. But at this time, I feel a little sorry for Sister Cai over there... I glanced over there, but I saw... Huang Shanshan was immediately surprised.

I saw that there was already half a basket in Huangshanshan's basket.

She stared intently at the movements of her hands, sweat hanging on her forehead that had not yet dripped down, refracting the sunlight into a beautiful golden color.

Lu Hao couldn't help but said: "Shan Shan, you are very skilled!"

Huang Shanshan was stunned for a moment, tilted his head and smiled: "I often did this job when I was a kid."

Seeing this, Lu Hao felt an inexplicable desire to win, and his movements sped up. He was stabbed hard by a sharp thorn, and he screamed immediately.

Huang Shanshan was stunned, "Are you okay?"

At this time, many people looked at him. Lu Hao looked a little confused and shook his head: "It's okay, it's okay..." Then he looked down at his hand and saw that his thumb was already bleeding. He sighed slightly. He was not injured even if he was not in the line of fire. What should I do if my blood gets on someone else’s pepper? I had to slow down the pace.

Huang Shanshan smiled at the side and said, "I'll help you after I finish picking this tree."

Lu Hao could only laugh twice.

Huang Shanshan's movements became more agile.

Of course, I will not look down on or laugh at Lu Hao because of this. Their family conditions are excellent. It is already very admirable to be able to put down your body and do this kind of thing. Whether you do it well or not is just a matter of proficiency, and The attitude of the family...

Huang Shanshan just glanced at Yi Yang secretly, but showed a confused look.

Yi Yang said nothing and did this very skillfully. The Zanthoxylum bungeanum tree was very short and there was no shade to hide from. The sun was shining directly on his face, shining a golden luster on his face.

At his feet was a basket of peppercorns that was almost full.

Huang Shanshan was stunned for a moment and looked down at his own basket. Yi Yang's basket was half as big as hers, and his mood suddenly became weird.

what happened……

In her imagination, Yi Yang should be similar to Lu Hao. At first, he acted like I can do it and I understand it very well, but then when he started to do it, he immediately discovered that there were actually some things that he was proud of. It's actually useless in this situation. He did it clumsily and screamed when he was stabbed... Of course, Yi Yang may not be able to scream. After all, it doesn't match his personality, so he can only bear it with stubbornness. …

However, at this moment, it was clear that Yi Yang was more skilled than he looked!

When she was distracted, she didn't pay attention to the movements of her hand, and a long thorn pricked her finger hard, causing her to scream in pain.

Yi Yang happened to pick a basket full at this time and was about to carry it over. He walked to the Huangshan fir and said, "Are you okay?"

Huang Shanshan showed an embarrassed expression: "It's okay, it's okay..."

Yi Yang smiled: "I'll finish picking it and come over to help you later."

Hearing these familiar words, Huang Shanshan had a complicated expression for a moment. When he looked back at Lu Hao, he couldn't help laughing.

After Yi Yang left, Huang Shanshan sighed quietly.

Yi Yang is extremely focused when doing things. Once he is immersed in it, he will not pay attention to external things. Except for him, everyone else basically picks pepper and chats at the same time.

Liu Jia looked around and saw Cai Naizi and Jiang Lili together, so he went over to chat, "Is this your first time picking pepper?"

"Yes." Cai Naizi gave Liu Jia a strange look.

Liu Jia began to talk casually about some things around this area, about the water, land and people's customs. It's not like he stayed here in vain, and he was quite familiar with Banshan Township.

Cai Naizi wiped the sweat with the back of her hand and said, "Teacher Liu, have you finished picking it?"

Liu Jia was stunned for a moment, then laughed dryly: "Oh, this... because I injured my wrist a few days ago..."

"Oh, Teacher Liu is really working hard."

"Haha, it's nothing... nothing. When I was helping my father in his factory, I often sprained my wrist and got injured all the time."

Jiang Lili said nothing and concentrated on picking pepper.

Compared to Jiang Lili, Cai Naizi has much more experience in interacting with boys. For people like Liu Jia, she can tell what the other person is thinking at a glance.

Of course, she will not belittle the other person just because she strikes up a conversation. In a sense, this is a kind of self-confidence, and it is understandable to vaguely and deliberately reveal that the family conditions are superior. This in itself is capital to attract the opposite sex. Unfortunately, she has never Other than that, Liu Jia doesn't have any bright spots. He looks ordinary, can't chat well, and he doesn't seem to have a good relationship with his colleagues... so he instinctively wants to stay away from him.

Besides, there is Lu Hao next to him, and he is a serious second-generation rich man!

Cai Naizi seemed to suddenly think of something and shouted to Lu Hao over there: "Lu Hao, come here!"

Liu Jia was slightly startled. He had noticed that there were no talented people around the two girls. If there was one more person, it would be difficult to say something.

As soon as Lu Hao heard the call, he immediately put down the basket and ran over.

"What's wrong, Sister Cai?"

Cai Naizi smiled and suddenly said: "I suddenly thought of an idea."

"What idea?"

Cai Naizi said: "Didn't you say that your sister wants to open a hot pot restaurant?"

Lu Hao nodded: "My father wanted to let my sister know how difficult it is to start a business, so he gave her millions to struggle with... but he is still hesitating whether to open a hot pot restaurant or a Chinese restaurant."

After hearing this, Liu Jia's expression suddenly changed slightly.

millions? Just tossing around?

Cai Naizi said: "Whether it's a hotpot restaurant or a Chinese food, you need Sichuan peppercorns, right? I think you should recommend it to your sister and buy all the Sichuan peppercorns here!"

Lu Hao thought for a while, "Well...it's not impossible, but with the shipping cost, it may not be cheaper than buying it from the dealer. I'll give it a try."

Cai Naizi seemed to have remembered something at this time and looked at Liu Jia beside her: "By the way, Teacher Liu, what did you just say?"

Liu Jia's expression was a little unnatural, "I... Hey, I also forgot what I was going to say just now. What was I going to say? Oh, yes, I want to say that it is really not easy for the children here..."

Lu Hao nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes... Speaking of which, Yi Yang is also very good. I just looked around, but I didn't expect that he can even pick peppers so skillfully."

Cai Naizi said with a smile: "After all, he is a person who can invest and make tens of millions in profits during his freshman year at our school. Such people are generally very perseverant!"

Liu Jia's expression changed again.

Lu Haoda smiled meaningfully, "Yes, yes, I want to learn more from Yi Yang."

Cai Naizi was stunned and snorted softly.

Jiang Lili heard that there was something in the conversation between the two of them, coughed slightly, did not talk to him, and simply went to see Liu Jia. Seeing that he was in a daze, she asked, "Teacher Liu, what's wrong with you?"

Liu Jiaqian laughed twice: "Oh... that, it's nothing, nothing..."

Everyone was busy until the sun almost set in the afternoon, and finally completed the task.

After placing more than a dozen baskets full of peppercorns in front of Yang Juan's parents, Zhou Huazhang felt proud and said, "You have nothing to say now, right?"

Looking at the pepper in front of him, Yang Juan's father had a complicated expression and remained silent for a long time.

Seeing this, Zhou Huazhang frowned, "What's wrong?"

Yang Juan's mother sighed and said, "Teacher Zhou, actually...well, let me tell you the truth, we don't want our children to take the exam."

Zhou Huazhang was suddenly stunned and couldn't help shouting: "Why!"

Yang Juan's mother lowered her head, not knowing what to say.

Yang Juan's father took a deep breath and said: "Let me tell you, Teacher Zhou, you are a good teacher, including everyone! But you don't know the situation of our family. We...we really have no money. …”

Zhou Huazhang suddenly became excited and said, "Didn't I say that if she can pass the exam in the town, her tuition and miscellaneous fees will be waived!"

Yang Juan's father raised his head: "But...there are still living expenses, right?"

Yang Juan's mother also shed tears: "And... that's just junior high school. There will be high school and university later. We... can't afford it."

Zhou Huazhang: "The current national policy is very good, as long as the results are good..."

"But what about bad grades?" Yang Juan's father shook his head: "Teacher Zhou, we actually know that even if my child's grades are good in Banshan Township, what does it matter to the town or the county? We The family... just grows some land, and the peppercorns can only be sold for a few thousand yuan. She also has a younger brother... who will marry a wife in the future..."

After hearing these words, Zhou Huazhang opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

The wind rippled in the pepper garden, and a bird chirped in the distance.

At this moment, Jiang Lili said, "Let's do this. If my little sister can pass the exam, I will support her to go to school. I will support her to whatever stage she reaches."

Everyone turned their attention to Jiang Lili.

Yi Yang stood beside her and squeezed her hand.

Jiang Lili looked at Yi Yang and smiled.

The sun was about to set, and half of the setting sun shone on her face, making her look extremely warm.