Liu Mansion.
"Why is there pepper in the dish? Don't you see that the master is getting angry these days?"
Mrs. Liu is from Sichuan and loves spicy food. She cannot do without peppercorns. The servants in the family are used to it and default to her taste.
But in the past few days, Liu Hong had been angry about the spring plowing and drought, which made Mrs. Liu anxious. She couldn't help but get angry when she saw pepper in the dinner dishes.
"Go and tell the cook to make a light soup again." Mrs. Liu ordered.
The girl on the side took the dishes down.
"The master is back."
The girl raised the curtain and Liu Hong strode in.
"Quickly, bring me my warm chrysanthemum fire-reducing tea."
Mrs. Liu personally removed Liu Hong's outer robe and felt quite distressed when she saw the blisters at the corners of his mouth.
Liu Hong took a sip of tea and relaxed his brows.
"Master, don't worry, you can't decide whether it will rain or not." Mrs. Liu said.
Unexpectedly, Liu Hong smiled and said, "The villagers of Shenshu Village have done me a big favor?"
"Oh?" Mrs. Liu raised her eyebrows. What help can a bunch of mud-legged people do? They can't pray for rain.
Liu Hongyi was happy and had the desire to talk.
"Thanks to Xiao Yuanbao for this."
As soon as Mrs. Liu heard about Xiao Yuan Bao, her unhappiness about being forced to apologize during the Lotus Festival last year came to mind.
For a country girl, it's possible that it's a goddess who makes it rain.
Her master will not be deceived.
"Madam, what's that look in your eyes... Let me tell you, the eldest son of the Lao Bai family has grown drought-tolerant millet, and their family is willing to donate the seeds. If it doesn't rain, even if there is no harvest of other grains, every family can rely on Yan and millet can also survive this wave of drought. Do you think this is a great good thing for me?" Liu Hong had excitement on his face.
"What does this have to do with Xiao Yuanbao?"
"Because Xiao Fuyuan gathered the seeds on the mountain and gave them to her elder brother to plant. It's not her who takes the credit. Don't tell me, you can't accept some people's luck. Did you know that General Meng Zhexu How much effort has been spent cultivating swallows and millet at the border, but it has not been successful?"
Mrs. Liu felt uncomfortable. If someone else could solve the drought in Yangfeng County, she would like to offer incense sticks, but for Xiao Fuyuan, she would...
"Master, please don't praise her too much. Even without her, if there was a drought in Yangfeng County, wouldn't we still be able to survive if we still have relief food?" Mrs. Liu said.
Liu Hong looked at his wife. She came from a family of officials for generations, but she was still so confused.
"What do you know? The most difficult thing about the world's drought is not to provide relief food, but to appease people's hearts. The government's release of food is not as good as the food in the fields. The swallow and millet seeds donated by the Bai family have the effect of calming people's hearts, so naturally I want to gratitude."
Liu Hong looked at his wife, slightly disappointed.
"Master, don't be too happy too early. We still don't know how useful these seeds will be. Anyway, we haven't heard of any large-scale planting success in Daxia."
Mrs. Liu poured cold water on her.
"Dad, when are you going to Shenshu Village? I'll go with you. I haven't seen Xiao Yuanbao for a long time." Liu Shu heard his father mention Xiao Fuyuan's name after school and rushed over happily.
"Read your book carefully."
Liu Hong made a serious face.
"And I don't want you to play with Xiao Yuanbao."
Liu Hong warned, Liu Shu curled his lips aggrievedly.
Mrs. Liu was disdainful, either because her silly son liked that little girl, or because she didn't want the little girl's blessing to flow to other people's families.
She didn't bother to think about that girl.
…
Village Chief Zhao sounded the gongs and drums for village discussions again.
The villagers of Shenshu Village complained one after another that they still had time to discuss matters after what time of day it was.
Now every household is busy grabbing water to irrigate the fields, and the water in the backflow river is almost exhausted.
After wasting half a day on deliberation, the water in the river might have been scooped out by the upstream.
Complaints are complaints, but every household still put down their hoes from the fields and went to private schools.
As soon as the private school ended, Xiao Fuyuan and the others mingled among the adults.
"What's going on this year? If it doesn't rain, the wheat will wither." Xia Qingpi said sadly to Bai Dazhuang, "Dazhuang, the third child in your family is still making a living, and the second child is also receiving rice every month. If my family doesn't have any income, , there is no way to make a living, Qing is waiting to beg for food."
Xia Qingpi's words conveyed the panic in other villagers' hearts.
In recent years, the weather has been good and the grain harvest has been bumper. No one in the village likes to save grain anymore, and all the grain harvested during the season is sold except for rations.
Nowadays, every household does not have much food. According to the past, there will be a wheat harvest in two months, and the new food is just in time.
But I didn't expect that there would be a drought this year. I'm afraid that if the old grains are used up, there won't be a good harvest.
Even if you have a few taels of silver at home, you can't help it, not to mention that the price of food will definitely rise if there is a severe drought.
"Qingpi, don't panic. The village chief asked us to come. Maybe he has some ideas." Bai Dazhuang patted Qingpi on the shoulder. He didn't reveal anything about Yanmi.
"Oh, Qingpi is right, Da Zhuang, don't panic. Your family is living a good life now." Aunt Hu said.
"Aunt Bai still thinks too far. No matter how the family is doing, the barn is always full of food." The village chief's wife sighed.
She followed the Bai family's example. There was enough food at home, but she felt upset when she thought that this year's food might be in vain.
Who knows how many years the drought will last? If it can be withstood in one year, what if it lasts three years?
"Auntie, why did the village chief ask you to go mining in the mountains? Didn't you say after spring plowing?" You Qingya asked.
The village chief's daughter-in-law, Lao Shen, glanced at Bai Dazhuang and said, "What else could it be? Let's talk about drought relief."
Village Chief Zhao stood in front with small steps and waved his hand to suppress the discussion below.
"Village chief, if we are asked to go mining in the mountains now, we should distribute food first." Someone said loudly.
Village Chief Zhao ignored the voice and said in a deep voice: "We will discuss the mining matter later. We are summoned today to discuss drought relief."
Drought relief is the most urgent matter at present. As soon as the village chief said this, the people below him stopped talking.
Even children like Xiao Fuyuan, who had just finished school, realized that the matter was serious and stopped playing and joking.
"There hasn't been a drop of rain for several months. It's sunny every day and I don't know when it will rain again. I'm afraid this season's crops won't bear ears." Village Chief Zhao said, his eyes falling on Bai Dazhuang, "Okay In Dazhuang, Yan millet was planted in his own land, and he was willing to share the seeds with everyone. Yan millet is the most drought-tolerant."
Yan millet?
Everyone looked at the village chief and then at Bai Dazhuang.
They have only occasionally seen wild swallows and millet on the mountain. Although the ears are similar to millet, they are very rough.
No one thought about using that thing as food.
"The village chief wants us to plant swallows and millet?" someone asked.
Is that thing edible?
Can such thick seeds be digested?
If you eat it, you will either starve to death or be choked to death.
(End of chapter)
