Bianshanhan [farming]

The movement of the hail was so loud that everyone was awakened. Looking at the egg-sized ice egg outside the door, each of them could not help but gasp.

If it was daytime and everyone was working outside, they would not be able to escape if they were hit and bleeding.

Regardless of looking carefully, all ran into the field in the rain, and saw that the unrecovered crops were smashed to the ground, and the bean pods and tassels were stuck in the mud soup, and my heart hurt more than a knife.

Digging the ground, flattening the ground, smashing the soil, cultivating, weeding, wading the ground... I don’t know how much sweat I have sweated in the past six months, but in the end it turned into this, men and women squatting in the rain, crying bitterly.

Li Maoxian and Li Benshan were also in the field. The ice blast was so powerful that most of the thick sorghum was broken, and the soybeans and hail were unbearable, and the bean pods and ears of wheat fell all over the ground.

What makes people even more uncomfortable is that most of these crops are not yet ripe, and now they can't even rush to harvest them, so they can only grit their teeth and stand by.

Li Qingwen's family still has dozens of acres of sweet sorghum in the field, which is ripe, but also smashed, and it can't be harvested when it rains, so we can only wait for the rain to stop.

Everyone went to the field and lifted up the crops one by one, but it was useless. As soon as people walked by, the crops fell down again, and they could only pick up the ears.

Li Qingwen didn't go to the fields, his elder brother and younger fourth brother took the four puppies to see the chicken coop and stables, and comfort the frightened mules and horses.

The newly built stables were not leaked by the ice cannon, the troughs were facing the inside, the horses' heads and front legs were inside the shed, and the horses' hind legs were close to the outside of the shed. On the contrary, they collided with their companions, and more than a dozen horses were injured, so they were not serious anymore.

The chickens were miserable. On such a hot day, they slept outside, and more than 60 of them were killed by an ice cannon.

Chen Shi and Jiang Shi boiled water with red eyes, ready to clean up the chickens.

When tidying up the house, Li Qingwen could hear a lot of crying through the rain. This time the disaster was huge, and the following days will be sad.

Lin Tan and Zhou Fengnian also brought people to the field. The originally neat crops were scattered, but now that the rain has stopped, only about [-]-[-]% of the crops are left.

There are still dozens of days to mature, and such a sudden incident at this juncture really makes people's blood rush to their heads.

Lin Tan's face was a little gloomy.

Li Qingwen, Mrs. Fang, Lao Sun and others came to the rice field, and less than half of the rice survived. They braved the rain to pick out the smashed ones.

The fields of medicinal materials suffered the most losses. Li Qingrui led people to dig holes in the fields to release the rainwater inside.Li Qingwen and the children helped up the smashed sapling. This thing is tougher than crops, and it can survive if it is smashed.

After the rain stopped, Li Qingwen marinated the chicken that his mother and sister-in-law had prepared. Li Qingfeng and Li Qingyong heated up the two clay kilns in the camp.

The number is quite a lot, and if one is given to Lao Sun and the others, Zhou Yao, the kitchen, uncle's family, sister's family, and other relatives in the village, there are only a few left in Li Qingwen's family.

Many of these chickens are not big, and the meat is very tender, but they have suffered a lot, and no matter how delicious they are, they can't chew.

After the rain stopped, the rations of the exiles were immediately reduced. All the people went up the mountain to pick up the ears of crops that had been smashed for a day, and then they were ordered to continue building the city wall to the north.

When the water in the fields and yards was almost dry, the people outside the camp quickly took back the remaining early-maturing sorghum, and each household only got [-] to [-] percent of the grain per mu of land.

Not counting wheat and medicinal materials, Li Qingwen's family lost more than 1 catties of sorghum because of the hailstorm.

Distressed but also bearable, Li Maoxian and Li Qingrui helped other people in the village harvest crops.

Thinking of the miserable situation in the field, and thinking about the half a year of hard work, Li Qingwen couldn't sleep well for several nights, no matter whether he opened his eyes or closed them, the fields were full of mess.

A burst of hail can shatter so many of them' year-long expectations. After the severe drought, Li Qingwen once again saw the ruthlessness of wind and rain.

But compared with that year, all the warehouses and granaries of his family are full now, and the chickens, ducks, horses, mules, and sheep are all in good condition. Apart from feeling sorry for the lost grain, this disaster has no impact on his family at all.

But other people's homes are different from those in the camp...

In any case, the city wall to the north was raised at the end of August and the beginning of September. As long as the bricks were laid, the heavy work would be over. At this moment, a sudden wind and frost froze the crops in the field, It also froze everyone's hearts into ice cubes.

When the wind blows at midnight, people are woken up from the cold, and when they realize that something is wrong, they are not dressed properly, and everyone lights up torches and runs into the world.

When we rushed to the field, the leaves of the surviving crops were still green, cold to the touch, and most of them began to dry and hard. When we broke the ears, many people burst into tears.

I can't even cry.

Li Qingwen ran to the river first, and the four followed him silently. Old Sun and the others were one step ahead of him. Mrs. Fang held a torch and was inspecting the fields.

Thanks to the fact that they flooded the rice fields with water the day before yesterday, otherwise the frost would have killed the rice.

When the wind and frost came down, the crops that escaped the hailstorm were also killed by the frost one after another.

It cannot be said that the grains are not harvested, and there are some cooked tassels in them. Excluding the grains, the size of an acre of land is about half a bag.

Those who had hoped for the remaining crops were now completely hopeless.

On the contrary, the people who planted the early-maturing sorghum secretly rejoiced. Fortunately, they were obedient at the time, otherwise this year would really be in vain.

These people who fled famine to the border town have always looked forward to Yangshu Village. Even though they have never heard of any cold days, they have suffered from the previous severe drought and have lingering fears. As everyone planted early-maturing sorghum, it is just that some acres are more and others are less.

The quick ones harvested the sorghum long before the hailstorm, and basically did not suffer any damage. The slow ones got back a few acres, and it would not be as miserable as the land planted by the officers, soldiers and exiles in the camp.

The frost was getting heavier day by day. Although there was no snow, it was still colder than when it snowed in previous years. The cold day that Liu He said was still coming.

Li Maoxian and the villagers went out to discuss matters. Li Qingwen went to the rice fields early in the morning. The riverside was smoky, and the smoke was blowing along with the wind.

When I got closer, I saw Lao Sun and Fang Shi setting fires around the rice fields, and there were a few piles of burnt ashes beside them. It seemed that they had burned the fire all night last night.

Bundles of sorghum stalks stood here and there in the field, and these stalks were piled up to form small sheds to keep the rice inside warm. When he pulled apart the stalks and looked inside, Qingwen sighed slightly, and many of them died.

The frozen rice was pulled out, and more than half of the several mu of land was wiped out. Occasionally, a piece of rice was still alive, and the daily number continued to decrease.

They were busy, but General Lin Tan came, with four officers and soldiers behind him. He had already put on a thick cotton coat, and he was frowning, looking extremely annoyed.

This year's harvest was far beyond Lin Tan's expectations. He ordered people to count the remaining forage and food overnight. After careful calculation, he found that even if no food was given to the exiles, the cattle, horses and people would survive until this time next year on what they had so far. difficult.

Especially the fodder for cattle and horses, because of the previous hail, a lot of straw and beans were destroyed, both of which are important food for cattle and horses.

There has to be a way to do it.

Li Qingwen seldom dealt with this General Lin, and when he saw Li, he was about to leave, but Lin Tan stopped him, "You told Master Zhou about the silage?"

I didn't understand why he asked the question, but Li Qingwen responded quickly, and replied, "It was my brother, Jiang Cong, who taught me."

The corners of Lin Tan's mouth twitched, revealing an expression of inexplicable meaning. He was in charge of everything inside and outside the camp, and someone reported all matters to him. Naturally, he knew that Li Qingwen and the others tried their best to save Jiang Cong, and wished to give Jiang Cong all the credit Cong body.

These were all small tricks, and he didn't bother to expose them. Although he didn't know what method they used, the household department was willing to buy it. He had a deal with Jiang Cong and he wouldn't stop it.

"Can these frozen stalks be made into silage?" Lin Tan asked, looking at the fields in the distance.

Li Qingwen subconsciously wanted to nod, but suddenly he heard Zhou Fengnian's voice coming from behind, "General Lin, you've just started experimenting with silage, so it's not advisable to rush in. Please think twice about this matter."

Li Qingwen looked up, and saw Zhou Fengnian wink at him, and hurriedly said: "I'm not sure about returning to the general."

Lin Tan cast him a cold look, and Li Qingwen immediately lowered his head and stood aside.

At this time, he began to think that if the frozen straw was made into silage, then the cattle and horses would have some fodder, but many people were counting on the straw to keep warm. If they were all fed to the livestock, many people might freeze to death in the silage. this winter.

Thinking of this, Li Qingwen couldn't help breaking out in a layer of cold sweat. If Zhou Fengnian hadn't interrupted just now, if he had nodded, General Lin Tan would collect all the straw, and if someone died because of it, wouldn't he be an accomplice to the murder?

It's a pity that even if it wasn't made into silage, Lin Tan still ordered the exiles to hand over all the output in the field, whether it was grain or straw, and then the officers and soldiers and all the exiles went out to cut grass immediately.

According to the law, exiles must hand over a certain amount of grain and fodder every year to use the farm tools and cattle in the camp.This year's disaster, both of which are far from the amount that should be handed in. The exiles have been busy farming or building the city for more than half a year, but in the end there is nothing left, and they still owe a lot, so they can only go out to cut off their money hungry. Grass.

Li Qingwen stayed by the river every day, so he had to sleep with his arms around the remaining rice. Now there are only six piles of rice left alive, each of which is a treasure.

More than [-] people surrounded these pitiful piles of rice all day long, and finally boiled them until they were ripe, and connected them with bags, cutting the tassels into it one by one, for fear that one grain would fall to the ground.

In the end, only a dozen kilograms of rice grains were produced in a few acres of rice fields, but these fruits that survived this year's severe frost are different from those that died of freezing, and they are more resistant to cold.

This early drop in temperature has caused great damage, but these ten kilograms of seeds are a glimmer of hope in the cold weather.

After the rice was harvested, Li Qingwen finally slept at home, but he was not at ease.

In the middle of the night, he heard the sound of the door, and then the sound of his father coughing. No need to look, Li Qingwen knew that his father would go out every night to check on the animals in the house because he was afraid of a sudden cold.

After a while, he heard the elder brother's voice again, and several other uncles' reply. The elder brother didn't fall asleep at night.

Unable to sleep left and right, Li Qingwen simply got up and went outside.

It was dark outside, with only a few remnants of stars, and it was cold, and sneezing sounded from time to time.

Others couldn't see Li Qingwen clearly, but the three cubs rushed towards him, and Li Qingwen combed their fur with a brush.

Outside the camp, many people sleeping next to the window sills were injured by the hailstones, and he and his fourth brother almost suffered as well, thanks to the four of them reminding them.

While taking care of the dog, Li Qingwen listened to his father discussing with the elders. The things in the field were almost settled, so we went outside to collect some things. People in the village didn't know how to hunt. Fishing, picking some mushrooms and fruits would also be good.

Twenty or thirty men squatted or leaned against the stables, talking in low voices, trying to get more food to eat before the winter.

When it was almost dawn, when everyone was preparing to go back to their respective homes with a night of wind and frost, horses neighing and the crisp sound of bells came from afar.

These movements came from the south. It stands to reason that the people in the camp haven't gone out at this time, so who came back from outside?

Knowing that the border town is not stable now, Li Maoxian and others ran to the gate of the camp with alert expressions and informed the guards.