Shocking! My Rugged Husband is the Hidden Tycoon in the 70s Novel-Chapter 253: The Thresher Returns

Overnight, the rumor that Xu Qinghuan had an illegitimate child was dispelled.

And the news that Xu Manman, the educated youth, was a rich and beautiful girl spread quickly. She even had a courtyard house in Yan City, and once this news came out, everyone’s gaze towards her changed.

That kind of envy mixed with jealousy, and even disdain ended up showing signs of flattery, making Xu Manman feel very comfortable.

With Hu Hai’s encouragement, Dong Youfu seemed to have forgotten about Xu Manman’s previous scandal with Jiang Xingye and pursued her vigorously.

"Think about it, if you marry Xu Manman, you’d be the brother-in-law of Wild Bro. What does Wild Bro get to ride when he goes to Yan City, huh? An airplane, have you seen one?"

Dong Youfu was so intoxicated, he seemed ready to marry Xu Manman right then.

Four days later, when Jiang Xingye brought back spare parts for the threshing machine from the county, several massive parcels were also returned with him. The whole Jiang Family had gifts just like during New Year’s—clothes, shoes, specialties from Yan City that they’d never heard of—made Dong Youfu want to marry Xu Manman on the spot.

Everyone in the production team came to watch the spectacle; while looking at the threshing machine, they were also looking at the gifts Xu Qinghuan and Jiang Xingye brought for the Jiang Family.

Every child received a set of clothes, Tian Jinhua got a silk scarf, Jiang Xingmei got a Bulaji with a red base and white dots, Zhou Guizhi also got a top, and Jiang Baohua and his four sons each got a piece of fabric to make clothes.

At the time, Xu Qinghuan had lots of fabric tickets she had collected from the Jiang Family, and since these were Yan City tickets, she decided to spend them.

The "Eight Treasures" of Yan City, the blessings and longevity pastry set, Tai Shi pastry, pepper-salt pastry, date flower cake, and saci ma, when brought out, made the spectators’ eyes wide open.

Zhou Guizhi, of course, wasn’t so generous; she took them directly to her room and locked them in the cabinet.

Xu Qinghuan also bought clothes for the two elderly members. The old man’s outfit was a Zhongshan suit, and the old lady’s was a Lenin suit; while they commented on the wasteful spending, their hands trembled with joy as they took the clothes, almost incoherent from happiness.

No elder dislikes the reverence and care from their children and grandchildren.

The Huo Family also prepared plenty of gifts, each elder receiving a set of clothes, three large pieces of fabric—each about seven or eight feet, enough to make clothing for an adult male.

The rest were various food items.

In these times, food and clothing were rare commodities. The gifts from the Huo Family were undeniably substantial, but everyone knew they were for the Jiang Family elders, as Zhou Guizhi brought the bundle over to them directly.

"Why bring this? What do your father and I need these for? Share them with you and Xiao Wu." The old lady waved her hand, expressing they didn’t need them.

"With Huanhuan and Xiao Wu buying us so much, why would we need yours? These fabrics look nice; after the autumn harvest, let Meizi sew you and father a few outfits for outings."

In the past, the old man and lady seldom went out, staying in bed most of the time, not concerned much with appearances. Now they could stroll around the village both mornings and evenings, needing decent clothes.

"We’ve got enough; Huanhuan already got us some. Make something for the kids; the oldest is still in school and shouldn’t be dressed in rags all the time," said the old lady.

Zhou Guizhi handed a piece of small floral fabric to Tian Jinhua, "This piece is about seven or eight feet. Use it to make clothes for the oldest and the second girl."

Tian Jinhua quickly waved her hand, "Mom, just make clothes for the oldest, not the second one. Once the oldest outgrows them, they can be handed down to the second one."

This was common practice at the time; new clothes were made for the oldest, who would pass them down to the younger ones, sometimes even reaching the third or fourth child.

The eldest was delighted upon hearing this, while the younger one, still too young to understand, just knew her sister had new clothes and she would get them later.

She was even happy for her sister.

Zhou Guizhi said, "The family isn’t so poor we can’t put food on the table. Your husband is working as a laborer in the city, getting tickets every month; they’ll accumulate easily. We’re not short of this fabric. These two girls should each have an outfit suitable for going out."

After placing the fabric down, Zhou Guizhi left. Tian Jinhua’s hand caressed the floral fabric, thinking she might have been mistaken about something all these years.

Outside, the tractor started up again, a large crowd followed to the threshing ground, and more than ten sturdy laborers helped unload the threshing machine’s spare parts.

"I need a few people to follow me and learn this; once you’ve mastered it, you can join the assembly line for the threshing machine later," Jiang Xingye called.

A bunch of people followed him as he set the spare parts in their respective positions, showing a preliminary shape, then began connecting them piece by piece.

After about three hours, he installed the power unit and connected the electricity. Jiang Xingye then gestured, "Bring a bundle of rice over."

"Got it!"

Hu Hai rushed over, carrying a bundle of rice, as Jiang Xingye pressed the switch, and the machine began to roar—not loudly, but enough to stir one’s spirit.

Jiang Xingye placed the straw along the conveyor, which moved, delivering the straw into the machine. Chaff was sent out one side, while golden grains, blown clean, fell into the hopper.

Even the dirtiest and most exhausting process of winnowing was omitted.

Below, Jiang Xingye kicked a basket in, and grains poured into it with a hiss.

The crowd cheered aloud.

Hu Hai and others scrambled to bundle the straws onto the conveyor, while at the chaff exit, Auntie Li and others forked hay, and a few young wives tied bundles on the side.

At the grain exit, several strong men directly bagged the grains; once full, they moved the bags elsewhere.

The entire assembly line work was incredibly efficient; after only two hours, even the smallest pile of rice was nearly gone.

If using the old methods, it would take ten people a day to finish the workload.

When Jiang Baohua hurried over, there were already dozens of sacks of grains piled up, and he smiled widely, "Is this all threshed by the machine?"

Lin Yonggui wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Indeed, in such a short while, it’s clean!"

He grabbed a handful of grains from the nearby basket to show Jiang Baohua, "Saves so much effort; if we could get a machine for corn threshing, it would be even better."

"It’s too fast; we need a few people stationed here, can’t have the machine idling!" Auntie Li laughed heartily.

After watching for a while, Jiang Baohua noted the true speed; if the production team had a few of these machines, within days all the grains could be harvested.

Jiang Xingye stepped aside, as Jiang Baohua approached, "Xiao Wu, this threshing machine can’t thresh corn, can it?"

Jiang Xingye nodded, "Right, corn needs another machine; I’ll ask Huanhuan about it, see if we can get it done. Corn hasn’t been harvested yet, so we still have time."

Once the corn is harvested, it needs to be dried. Traditionally, it was all hand-threshed; the entire village, men and women alike, would rub with hands, often forming calluses that required peeling away over layers.