Chapter 254 The vicious female partner escapes to farm (4)
There are many villagers who come to draw water from the river.
The water level where only one or two stepping stones used to be exposed can now be reached by stretching out one's hand to reach the small fish and shrimps at the bottom.
The villagers who came to fetch water caught some fish and shrimp, but their faces were not very happy.
It hasn’t rained, and the rice fields have dried up. If this continues, this year's harvest will probably be worse than last year's.
"Damn it, God! Last year it rained endlessly, causing a bad harvest. This year there won't be a drop of rain, and we are going to starve to death!" A village woman cursed and howled.
Three sisters tightened their grip on Xu Yin's clothes, looking a little scared at the scene.
“Don’t be afraid.” Xu Yin touched her head.
“Sister-in-law, the chief is here too.” Erlang tugged on her sleeve.
Xu Yin raised her eyes and saw that the old man with a white beard and a frown on his face was responsible for the length of this area?
Thinking for a moment, she put down the bucket and walked over.
“Li Chang, do you always think it will rain in the near future?”
"Who are you…"
“She is the elder man’s wife.” The village woman who recognized Xu Yin laughed heartily, “She is a shrewd little lady!”
“Oh, it’s the elder man’s wife.”
The head of the village also heard about Xu Yin's behavior at noon. Although he didn't like her disrespectful attitude towards her elders, after careful analysis, it was indeed the fault of Mr. Li and his family.
Therefore, I was not happy and I still expressed my own opinions on Xu Yin’s inquiry:
“It doesn’t look like it’s going to rain today. I’m afraid this year…”
Li Chang sighed and shook his head, the future will not be good.
Xu Yin said: "I once heard from a traveling businessman that the drier the place, the easier it is to attract locust plagues."
"Locust plague?" Hearing this, the village leader paled instantly and murmured something, "Yes! Our ancestors experienced a locust plague in their generation. The locust plague passed through the territory and there was no harvest! What should we do? What should we do? It’s good…”
Young people don’t understand: “What is a locust plague? How can there be no harvest?”
Older people have heard their parents and grandparents mention it, so their expressions became very bad.
"Li Chief, if there is a locust plague, our village will probably suffer the most." Xu Yin reminded them, "Our village is located in a mountainous area, surrounded by mountains on three sides. I heard from that person that locusts like to lay their eggs in uneven highlands in mountainous areas. Once this happens, When a locust plague occurs, our village will bear the brunt."
As soon as these words came out, the color drained from everyone’s faces.
“What should I do?”
“Are we in Lijia Village going to be like the people in Beiguan, fleeing everywhere without being able to return home?” A village woman squatted on the ground, covering her face and sobbing.
Someone took the lead, and many women wiped away tears.
“Dalang’s wife, I think you know a lot, do you have any good ideas?” the head of the village asked Xu Yin.
Xu Yin mused: "I can't think of a better way at the moment, but if it doesn't rain and the drought disaster is avoided, subsequent locust plagues are very likely to occur. Instead of waiting until the last grain is harvested, it is better to harvest the millet as early as possible Find a place to take shelter.”
It’s not very likely, but it will definitely happen.
But she knew the plot, the villagers did not.
Some people stared at her with disapproval: "What? Harvest now? A lot of them are still green millet, and there is no harvest if they are not full? Are you not well-intentioned?"
Xu Yin ignored his last sentence and sincerely advised: "Even if the harvest is small, it is better than no harvest at all."
The head of the village was silent for a long time, and then sighed: "That's it! Everyone go back and discuss it with your family, and make your own decision!"
Although most villagers are worried about drought and locust plague, they are not willing to harvest rice now.
It is only the beginning of May, and it is still half a month away from maturity. One side of the millet is yellow, but the other side is still green, and it is not yet full. All it takes is a heavy rain to have a good harvest. Collect it now, who would be willing to give it up!
When Aunt Li learned that it was Xu Yin’s idea, she ran to her door and yelled:
As soon as Xu Yin's courtyard door is closed, she sings an opera.
That’s all she said anyway. Everyone can listen if they want to. If they don't want to listen, she can't force their heads.
Like Aunt Li, there are many people who feel that Xu Yin has bad intentions, and whisper in private:
“Her family has no land, so she is probably jealous of us who have land, and wishes our harvest would not be good!”
“How could there be such a vicious person?”
“No wonder her brother-in-law wants to marry her off without any gift. I wouldn’t be able to bear it if she were my sister-in-law.”
“Poor Dalang…”
Although these words were carried behind Xu Yin’s back, they were not carried behind the children of each family.
So, when these children were playing, they laughed at Erlang and Sanmei: "Your sister-in-law is a vicious woman! She came to your house. You two fools will be killed by her sooner or later!"
Erlang spat at the speaker: "You are a fool! My sister-in-law is a good person!"
"Yes! Sister-in-law is so good to us!" Third sister touched her little crotch, looked down at the cuffs embroidered with green bamboo, and nodded vigorously, "Yes! Sister-in-law is the best!"
The child who was spit on refused to give up and jumped on Erlang, and the two of them got into a ball.
Erlang was young and not very strong, so he was quickly beaten on the ground by the older children.
Xu Yin heard from her neighbor next door that Erlang was being bullied, so she hurried over and pulled the child away.
“No fighting! If you have something to say, please speak it up!”
“Poisonous woman! Bah!”
The child made a face at her and ran away with the others.
Three sisters were so frightened that they cried, squatting next to Erlang and choking, "Sister-in-law, second brother's face is broken, wuwu..."
Erlang’s cheek was scratched by the child.
But he didn’t cry, and even bared his teeth and said, “I bit him, it’s not a loss!”
Xu Yin took them home, wiped his face with a clean towel, and then disinfected him.
“Sister-in-law, is this wine?” Erlang smelled the smell of alcohol and asked curiously, “Do we still have wine at home?”
“Well, my sister-in-law’s dowry.”
When she came here, she brought a package. Actually, she only had two sets of clothes for each change. But anyway, she was the only one who knew what was in the package.
The two children were young and had no suspicion at all.
“It smells so good! My dad loves drinking the most!” Erlang sniffed, trying his best to smell the unique aroma of alcohol.
Xu Yin couldn't help but laugh when she saw his expression. She didn't even feel the sting when disinfecting him. The child was probably starving.
“My sister-in-law will cook egg noodles for you tonight. Do you want to eat them?”
"think!"
“Do we have a meal at home?”
"Yes, my sister-in-law exchanged it with someone else, but she is not allowed to tell anyone."
"Know."
After this incident, Xu Yin, who was raising a baby independently for the first time, felt that it was even more necessary to move.
It is reasonable for Mencius' mother to move three times.
For children to become talented, the living environment accounts for half of it.
Although she has no ambition to raise a top scholar, she also doesn’t want her two sons to spend their childhood fighting with others all day long.
Coupled with the approaching famine, since there is no way to change the status quo, we should escape to fight for a chance of survival.
(End of this chapter)