Bianshanhan [farming]

During his tenure as the magistrate of Liushan County, not only did he pay a few extra taxes out of thin air, but he was about to leave, and he had to squeeze the poor people again.

The people in the various villages under the jurisdiction of Liushan County were very angry. Some people tried to complain about the difficulty of life after the disaster, but they were stopped by the officials.

For a time, public grievances arose everywhere.

Officers and soldiers were guarding the area around the yamen, each of them with a big knife shining brightly in their waists, so that idlers could not approach.

There are no animals, and most of the farming depends on people. There are many young and strong laborers. This time, Yangshu Village sends out people to build roads, and there will be insufficient manpower for that kind of land.

The villages were not willing to do so, but as the deadline for the conscription approached, some officers and soldiers began to enter the villages to count the number of people. Those who were not enough were listed in the household registration book.

This is the first time Li Maoxian has seen a young man who has not fought but has no scruples. The county magistrate of Liushan County is really daring.

The behavior of the officers and soldiers was too arrogant. When they kidnapped people, they clashed with the common people. An elderly woman wanted to ask for mercy, but the officers and soldiers bumped into the hard corner of the stove and hit her head. Out of breath.

The officers and soldiers disregarded their lives in broad daylight, and the already anxious villagers surrounded them angrily.

There were only a few officers and soldiers, so naturally they couldn't resist the red-eyed villagers. They drew their weapons and tried to drive everyone away, but they accidentally scratched someone.

Blood flowed out, and the angry people couldn't bear it anymore, they rushed up and beat them to death.

This happened in a large village in the south, almost everyone in that village had the same surname, and the people were united. Later, the government sent officers and soldiers into the village, trying to arrest all the unruly people.

In addition to these frightening things, from October last year to April and May this year, there has been no rain in Bingzhou for more than half a year.

When a shovel is dug, the soil is dry. Even if it is planted, the seeds will not germinate.

Many places began to pray for rain, and countless men, women and children knelt in front of the small Dragon King Temple.

In some places, living virgins were even sacrificed to pray for rain. In just one month, many tragic things happened.

The sky is dry and the night wind blows, the wind blows during the day, and continues to blow at night. The old people say that this year will definitely be a severe drought.

Seeing that the spring plowing was about to pass, and it hadn't rained yet, the yamen and officers and soldiers were arresting people everywhere, and every household in Yangshu Village finally contributed a lot of labor.

In the border town at this time, the soil had already thawed, and the cattle and horses went down to the ground in groups, vigorously, and began to plow the ground.

There was no room for it in the house, except for rice, Li Qingwen raised seedlings outside.

For the convenience of watering, he reclaimed ten acres of land not far from the river, soaked the seeds he had accumulated last year and took them out of the squirrel holes, and stuffed them into the soil one by one.

This is a meticulous job, and Li Maoyu and his mother helped to do it, and Li Qingwen really saved a lot of work.

The weather is warmer, the snow is melting, the ground is green, the river is flowing, the birds are singing louder and louder... Everything is beautiful, except that there is no hunting or fishing.

Fish need to lay eggs and wild animals need to multiply. At this time, bows, arrows and nets have to be hidden.

Although Li Qingfeng felt regretful in his heart, he couldn't care less about it at this time. He followed the crowd to open up wasteland every day, his face was ashamed, and he was so tired that he couldn't open his eyes.

Jiang Cong and Jiang Liping got orders from Lin Tan and Zhou Fengnian that the people of Yangshu Village could plant land here, but they couldn't reclaim land as Li Qingwen and the others did before. There was a fixed place, and there was no limit to the number of acres.

It is said that many people will reclaim land casually, and many people will plant many acres, and when they burn wasteland, they will burn a large area.

Li Maoqun persuaded them that farming is not just about spreading the seeds, and then weeding, digging, and harvesting. If one person plants too much and can't clean it up, he must die of exhaustion.

In addition to the horses and cattle in the camp, the Yakut horses that had been raised for half a winter and recovered from their bodies also came in handy at this time.

These horses had never done this kind of work before, so they didn't dare to use it hard at first, so they worked for a while and rested for a while, and gradually let them get used to it.

At this time, the wealthy refugees began to hire people again, and the people in Yangshu Village also knew how Guo Daquan and the others made money, but they didn’t make this money. original intention.

Of course, they have the confidence not to earn this wage, and it is also because Li Qingwen said that the Ganoderma lucidum and everything else they picked belonged to them, and if they took it back and sold it for money, it was also theirs.

People in Yangcun Village are already very content with earning this extra money, and now they just want to buy more land.

In his free time, Li Maoyu carried the basins to the river, unpacked and washed their quilts, and after washing, many quilts and sheets were hung in the camp, fluttering in the wind with the smell of green grass, adding a little breath of life.

Liu Yuehao and June Lai brothers finished picking up the sorghum stubble in the field, and followed the big guys to open up wasteland.

Although there is already a lot of firewood saved, everyone is still reluctant to burn any that can be picked up in the field. This winter is so long, the more firewood you save, the more secure you will be.

When Li Qingwen was busy raising seedlings, he received a painting of spring plowing and busy farming from Ma Yongjiang. It was very suitable for the occasion. Li Qingwen happily accepted it and asked the girl what she wanted.

Ma Yongjiang said that there was enough food, and he wanted Zhou Yao to see a doctor for her grandfather.

Li Qingwen said, just go to Zhou Yao directly.

Ma Yongjiang said: "Zhou Yao said that she wants two jars of sauce fish made by you."

After Zhou Yao finished eating the distiller's lees fish, she set her sights on Li Qingwen's new sauced fish.

Li Qingwen nodded again and again, telling him to go get it, as long as Zhou Yao's mouth is satisfied, it's very easy to talk.

When planting this year, Li Qingwen deliberately took out the sorghum seeds that matured last year. Although the yield was low, it was a reassurance that they could harvest early.

Although there are more people in the field this time, there are more fields. In order to rush to plant, not to mention Li Qingwen, Li Maoyu and his mother also went to the field.

Li Maoyu and the two girls are quick and accurate in making ideas, better than ordinary men.

Li Maoqun said that when she was at home, she was also good at doing farm work. She hasn't been in the field for so many years, and she still hasn't fallen behind.

Li Qingwen, Li Qingfeng and Ma Yongjiang are still mopping the floor and rolling this year.

But Jiang Cong was here, and after he finished planting the land, he would come over to lead the animals for Li Qingwen. Li Qingwen dragged him to the field to rest, and the big guys were very happy to see the two of them tearing up.

The rain in the border town is a bit late this year, but there is snow in the ground, enough to germinate, and I am not afraid of a later rain.

Tired and paralyzed every day, they have to dry the blanks after eating. Naturally, the houses of so many people have to be prepared earlier.

There are many small puddles by the river, some of which were dug out on purpose. The water in the puddles is hot during the day, but when you put your feet in it at night, the water is still warm and it is very comfortable to soak in.

Li Qingwen likes to soak his feet like this. He not only soaks his feet, but also drags Li Qingfeng and Li Qinghong. The two of them don't know what's so fun about it, so they leave after getting their feet wet. Only Jiang Cong will always be with him.

With him around, Li Qingwen was very satisfied.

Lying on the ground with his feet dangling in the water, he will settle down soon. It was Li Qingwen who fell asleep with his face pressed against the weeds.

Jiang Cong put on his shoes, carried him back from the puddle, and smelled the familiar smell. Li Qingwen didn't struggle, and fell asleep before he got on the kang.

At this time, the people outside were still working, planting their own land, building their own houses, and the big guys were very energetic.

Compared with the raging spring plowing here in the border town, panic is everywhere in Bingzhou.

It's April and May, not a single drop of rain falls, and the wind is getting drier.

Not only is it not raining, but the water level in the well has also dropped significantly. In the past, it was clear and bright water, but now the well water shaken up is slightly turbid.

Bingzhou has suffered a severe drought this year.

Originally, last year’s harvest was poor and there was not enough food. I tightened my belt and wanted to survive until this year. If I can’t cultivate this year, then there will be no harvest. The whole family and the whole village will starve to death.

At this time, the price of rice and grain in the county had doubled or tripled. Even so, every household took out everyone's money and queued up to buy grain.

While buying grain, they sell pigs, chickens and other valuables in the seller. If they can raise more money, they can buy more grain, and the family's hope of survival will be a little bit higher.

The more people buy grain, the faster the price of grain will change. Maybe the people in the front just leave, and the price will increase a lot when the people behind buy again.

The people were desperate, and the elders and chiefs of the villages gathered together to ask the county government for disaster relief.

The county government does not have a grain of grain, so it has to report to the higher authorities, but the report will affect the county magistrate's performance, and the county magistrate of Liushan County is very reluctant.

This group of poor ghosts, not only have nothing to squeeze, but also drag him back, they really deserve to die.

Li Qingrui and the others hadn't returned from repairing the road. Li Maoxian wrote a few letters, made a special trip to Fanyang City, and asked someone to send them to several places.

When he was in Fanyang City, he saw many arrest orders posted on the notice, and thieves appeared everywhere, and the government was chasing them.

If there is no food, they will starve to death. Those who do not want to die will pick up knives and sticks when they are in a hurry. The unarmed people will suffer first.

Sure enough, when he returned from Fanyang City, he heard several tragic cases of thieves robbing money, wounding people and killing people.

On the way back, I saw many beggars.

From the time Li Maoxian remembers to the present age, after many years of disasters, he knows that this disaster has only just begun, and the more terrifying ones are yet to come.

When I returned to Yangshu Village, it was late May, the end of spring plowing had passed, and there was no rain in sight.

Many places began to flee famine, some from the same clan, and some from the whole village with their families.

People in the village also gathered together and asked if they wanted to go to the border town. They didn't know where to go to other places.

Just as we were talking about something, someone from the Chen family in Laoniuwan came. Their village is famous for having a lot of land and surplus grain. The night before yesterday, a group of people sneaked into the last house and stole the grain. , killing more than a dozen members of the whole family.

That family was an outsider, and the neighbors next to them heard some movement, but they dared not go out to take a look, for fear of causing disaster.

I thought it was just stealing things, but I didn't expect that there would be a tragedy of destroying the family.

The bloody case, the bottomless rice vat, the fear of hunger... All kinds of things are mixed together, and the panic of the people has accumulated to the extreme.