The wind is the vanguard of the rain, and the rain is fierce with the wind.
As soon as Xia Chengcan received the letter, a south wind blew, making everyone's clothes rustle and dark clouds in the sky. His face was darker than the clouds in the sky.
"Your Highness, come back. It's going to rain!" Tang Su came closer and bowed to report.
Xia Muyang shook his head slightly and looked around: the wind was getting stronger and the sky was getting dark, but no one walked out among the fields. These people work outside all year round and naturally know that a sudden change in the weather is a sign of a coming storm. This place is very remote and medicinal materials are scarce. Even the ordinary wind and cold may kill people. However, none of them dared to leave.
"Mom and Dad, it's so dark and it's raining. Let's go back!" A little girl of six or seven years old stood on the ridge of the field and called to a young couple who were threshing grain.
The woman glanced at the girl with her peripheral vision and ignored her. Then he bent down, grabbed the rice handle that had just been tied on the ground, raised it above his head, and slapped it hard on the threshing trough over and over again, causing the grains to fall into the trough after being hit. After she had finished removing the grains from the rice handle in her hand, she walked quickly to the girl and whispered: "Nanny, can you go back by yourself first? My parents have to harvest the millet, so I can't accompany you. Hurry up. Come on, the rain is coming!" Although her voice was soft, there was obvious urgency in her words and eyes. As he spoke, he pushed the girl away.
"Mom and dad, please go home with me, I don't dare to go back alone." Nvzi walked a dozen steps and then turned back, sobbing. Big raindrops fell, soaking her hair and clothes.
A short and thin man dropped the finished straw in his hand and came over angrily, scolding: "You little bastard, go back quickly, don't delay your parents' work!" The little girl was scolded and squatted down. On the ground, he was sobbing with his little mouth flat, looking pitiful and aggrieved.
Seeing her husband scolding her daughter, the woman persuaded her softly: "Dad, what can we do if God does evil? Just try harder to get some back. Why bother with my daughter!" She said, but her hands were Not a little sluggish, but the expressions on his face are extremely complicated: pity, anger, hatred, guilt, pain...
After listening to his wife's words, the short man looked ashamed and leaned down to pick up the leftover grains on the ground. When he stood up, he suddenly kicked the threshing trough and cursed to the sky: "You thief! You bastard!" Dirty evil spirit! Don’t you have any eyes?” These words were filled with grief and anger, but in the end they were shouted out in tears. Seeing that there was water in the field and no more grain could be harvested, he rushed to the squatting girl, bent down, picked her up and hugged her tightly, and walked out to the field ridge. The woman reluctantly put down the straw in her hand and followed quickly.
The storm had come, but Xia Muyang, Xia Chengxuan and the twenty dozen riders behind them did not go back. Instead, they stood in the rain and watched the most ordinary scene in the world.
In this scene, they saw the bitterness of the world, the limitations of human power, the ruthlessness of heaven and earth, and the warmth of blood...
The heavy rain floats like beads, hitting people's faces with a faint pain. In less than half a moment, there was more than an inch of water on the ground.
"Your Majesty, there are some caves over there, and the villagers have gone there to take shelter from the rain." Kong Yu Hexing came up to report. Before it rained, he left everyone in advance and went to explore the resting place. Although he had already detected a cave not far away, he should have come to report it, but just now Xia Muyang was motionless and looking at the accident in the fields with a solemn expression. He did not dare to disturb it, so he kept waiting aside. At this time, the family of three also went to that place to take shelter from the rain, and he came up to report.
Xia Muyang ignored what he said and followed the family of three.
In northern China, karst caves are extremely rare, and many people have never seen them in their lives. However, in the boundaries of Binan County, such caves formed by stalactite invasion are not rare. There are several within a radius of more than ten miles.
"There are a lot of people taking shelter from the rain inside. Don't scare them for a while!" Less than twenty feet away from the cave, Xia Muyang said sternly to the people behind him.
After receiving the order, the personal guards replied in a low voice: "Yes, Master Xia!" It was a tacit understanding they had formed over the years to call Xia Muyang "Master Xia" at certain times.
When the villagers saw this group of about twenty people approaching, they stayed away from them, leaving a large space for them to settle down. Although Xia Muyang and his party were also soaked in the heavy rain, they were all dressed in beautiful clothes, and they were obviously either rich or noble. Although this group of villagers had low vision, they were not stupid. They naturally knew that they could not afford to offend but could afford to hide.
The caves are naturally formed, and there are many small stone caves connected with each other. This cave must be a relatively wide one among many, with a width of three to four acres. Fifty or sixty villagers gathered here to take shelter from the rain. There were many stone benches and tables placed in the cave, which were obviously made by the nearby village. They were originally used by the villagers to sit on. Seeing Xia Muyang and his party coming, they all stepped aside and put away the three stone tables and twelve stone benches. All gave way.
The people fear officials as much as rats fear cats. This trend has been around for a long time and everyone takes it for granted.
When Xia Muyang walked into the cave, the first thing he saw was the family of three he had just seen in the fields. The three of them were sitting close together on the rocks in the corner, and the little girl was timidly looking over.
She had just met Xia Muyang and saw him standing in the rain looking straight at her. When she met him again, she couldn't help but secretly mutter in her heart: "Who is this uncle? He is so majestic! Where did you see me just now?"
Xia Muyang did not sit on the stone bench, but walked slowly towards the villagers, and asked with a smile: "My surname is Xia. I am a military attache sent by the imperial court to control the mutinous soldiers at the outpost. Can I sit with you?"
The villagers started talking loudly, "Oh, he is indeed a great official! I didn't expect him to be so down-to-earth!", "Are they the bandit soldiers he wiped out? He can be regarded as eliminating a harm to the people. !"...
"Why not? If Mr. Xia doesn't mind, um...this...please just sit down as you please!" An older man walked out of the crowd and bowed. This place was rough and rough, making it difficult to welcome guests. The old man looked embarrassed.
"So, I'm sorry for bothering you." Xia Muyang didn't mind, and returned the greeting with a smile.
He paused, then walked towards the little girl, sat down on the stone opposite the short man, and asked with a smile: "Brother, how are you doing this year?"
Seeing Xia Muyang sitting down opposite, the man was a little restrained. Hearing his question, he couldn't help but chatter: "Oh, this year is really a rare good year. The ears in the fields are long and solid. It's golden. The sun is good these days, and I wanted to let the rice ears dry out again. I just started harvesting today, but I didn't expect it, but it rained so heavily. The five members of the family only count on the harvest of the eight acres of land. I got up early and have been so busy that I have only harvested less than an acre. The wind blew down the plants, and I don’t know how much food will be wasted..."
