Here you can see a bit better the bundles of rice stalks they had taken out thus far. We falangs all agreed that in transplanting, the conventional wisdom we had learned was that you wanted as much soil as possible to transplant, such that you would not have roots open to the air. Well, in transplanting rice, it seems best to get all the earth, mud, water, etc. and whatever else might be stuck to the roots off, but good. And it seems the best way to do so is to grab the bundle of rice stalks and beat them against your bare feet, your feet being bare, of course, because you are in about 8 inches of muddy water. It was quite something to watch.