Lifting the bone shovel filled with husked grains high, the golden sand-like grains scattered in the air, falling in long streaks.
This was the subtlety of the threshing ground, called 'scattering in a line, not in a large area.'
The long streaks of grains dispersed in the air made it easier for the wind to blow away any impurities mixed within them. Moreover, after falling to the ground, the surface impurities could easily be swept away with a broom.
In the Green Sparrow Tribe, when it came to threshing, Qi Qiu, who often did it, was considered the best, but no one dared to claim the top spot.
However, as the supposed top expert looked at the grains being scattered and falling back down, he couldn't help but frown.
In the past, after scattering , the grains that fell wouldn't have any impurities, but now, there was a lot of bran mixed in.
It wasn't that his skills had deteriorated; it was just that the weather wasn't cooperating today. There was no hint of wind after only half of the threshing.
Setting down the bone shovel, he gently used a broom to sweep away the bran on top.
After sweeping the bran aside, he felt a little relieved.
Looking at the motionless leaves, he became dejected again. He didn't know when the threshing would be completed...
Without wind, there was nothing the expert could do; he could only wait for the wind to come and start threshing.
However, they had to wait until the next day.
The weather wasn't perfect the next day; the sun hung in the sky, baking everything beneath it.
All the grains harvested by the Green Sparrow Tribe had been threshed, and the grain stalks were stacked at the edge of the ground.
Except for the last half pile of grain that hadn't been threshed, the rest had already been dried and stored in the house.
At this time, some people were busy bringing the grains drying in the courtyard back into the house, worried that it might rain today and ruin what they had worked so hard to harvest.
"Qi Qiu, don't wait any longer. Bring the grains back and wait for the right time to thresh again..."
Qi Qiu looked at the sky and then at the pile of grains mixed with a lot of bran, feeling unwilling to wait any longer. After waiting for a while, he reluctantly agreed with reality.
He fetched a scoop with a polished animal hide cover and started loading the grains mixed with bran to carry back into the house.
This kind of scoop with an open mouth and handle was much more useful for carrying things than clay pots, except for carrying water.
Previously, these scoops couldn't carry small grains like seeds and grains because they would spill out from the gaps.
Later, Han Cheng solved this problem by using old animal hides that couldn't retain heat to cover the scoops.
"Qi Qiu, wait, use this."
Qi Qiu stopped when he saw the Divine Child holding a large, strange object coming towards him.
What Han Cheng held in his hand was a winnowing basket recently made by Lame.
The primary use of this object was to clean dirty grains, regardless of whether there was wind or not, and secondarily, it could be used to transport grains.
The primary materials used for the winnowing basket were flexible branches, ropes, and tree bark.
Han Cheng had seen winnowing baskets mostly made of unpeeled hemp in later generations.
Although Han Cheng had discovered traces of hemp before, he hadn't brought back a few plants, so he could only use rattan instead.
Making winnowing baskets with rattan was more difficult than using hemp stalks, but they were stronger.
At the large opening of the winnowing basket, it was wrapped in tough tree bark.
This part was often used for shoveling things and was prone to wear and tear, so wrapping it in tough bark could give it the maximum protection it needed.
Qi Qiu's eyes widened in rare surprise, squeezed by the excess fat on his face, as he looked at the winnowing basket in Han Cheng's hand, filled with curiosity.
"This strange thing can clean grains? How does it work? Do you shovel the grains like with the bone shovel and then toss them up? But this head is too big. How can it toss so much grain?"
The winnowing basket Han Cheng held wasn't small; its opening was over seventy centimeters wide, with a length of sixty centimeters front to back and a height of twenty-five centimeters.
This basket could hold more than twenty catties of grain when full, so it was impossible to toss it.
Seeing Qi Qiu's reaction, Han Cheng knew he didn't understand how to use it, so he didn't say much more. Instead, he walked to the pile of grains that hadn't been cleaned properly, bent down, and used the winnowing basket to shovel some.
Then, he walked to a place where it wouldn't cause any obstruction, held the winnowing basket in both hands and winnowed.
The grains inside the basket were lifted about ten centimeters high before falling back into the basket without stopping, only to be lifted again.
During this back-and-forth, dust, and bran were expelled from the mouth of the winnowing basket and fell to the ground.
As for the heavier grains, except for a few restless ones, the rest stayed well inside the basket.
Apart from being a bit dusty, there was nothing wrong with using a winnowing basket to clean grains.
With his eyes squeezed by the fat on his face, Qi Qiu widened them again, full of surprise.
"Divine Child, let me do it."
After pouring the cleaned grains into the animal-hide-lined scoop, Qi Qiu filled with excitement, rubbed his hands together and said to Han Cheng, full of anticipation.
This winnowing basket was originally intended for Qi Qiu's use, so Han Cheng didn't intend to spend too long on it. Seeing that Qi Qiu already understood how to use it, he handed it over and became a technical advisor.
Farming activities weren't tricky; watching was enough to learn, as long as one was willing to work hard and not be lazy.
The winnowing basket had just arrived in Qi Qiu's hands, and he was still unfamiliar with it. After winnowing it a few times, he became familiar with it. He even surpassed Han Cheng, who made the winnowing basket in the first place.
It wasn't that Han Cheng was too dumb, but he didn't use the winnowing basket much and didn't have the advantage in height and strength.
"Swish, swish, swish..."
The sound of grains colliding with the winnowing basket continued, and grains were continuously cleaned.
At this time, the weather was getting hotter and hotter, and the moon-like sun in the sky had disappeared, replaced by large patches of clouds.
A heavy rain was about to fall.
The people of the Green Sparrow Tribe had already brought back all the dried grains, and now some were busy covering the grain stacks that had been threshed once with thatched grass and then pressing them down with stones.
At this time, wooden forks were used for threshing. Unlike rapeseed, not all grains would be beaten down in one go. It required a second or even third or fourth threshing.
The harvest would plummet, but it was always good as long as there was a harvest.
Humans didn't just feel the impending rain; other creatures also felt it. Deer, sheep, chickens, and others seemed a bit restless.
With his face full of fat shaking even more vigorously, Qi Qiu worked harder, winnowing continuously. Finally, just before the heavy rain fell, he cleaned out the last bit of dirty grain.
Carrying the winnowing basket and half of the scoop of grains, he ran back to the house, panting heavily, watching the bean-sized raindrops fall. Qi Qiu let out a sigh of relief, showing a relaxed and victorious expression.
Then his gaze fell on the winnowing basket in his hand. Without it, they wouldn't have been able to clean all these grains. Because until now, there hadn't been any wind outside.
Such a good thing was too rare; the tribe needed more of them.
He decided that when he had some free time later, he would ask the Divine Child and Lame for more guidance on making winnowing baskets.