Ordinary happy life

Chapter 140 Severe Drought

"The weather has been getting hotter and hotter recently. I was woken up by stuffiness before dawn in the morning. After the sun came out, I didn't dare to stay outside for a long time and burned my feet. If I hadn't had nothing to do at home. Even if I do it, I don't even want to come out." Brother Yi sighed after sitting down. Now that he is a month old, neither Brother Mi nor his men are willing to let him do housework, so he asks his man to clean the yard and other things. As for the clothes, Brother Mi does the washing. Thinking about the life now and the life in the last marriage, Brother Yi didn't want to say anything.

Lin Qin waited for Zhang Qiong'an to finish eating, wiped his mouth and asked him to take Brother Mi to play in the house. Then he put Zhang Jingcheng on the ground and started to clean up the house. As a result, Zhang Jingcheng ran away with Zhang Qiong'an as soon as he landed. Lin Qin didn't care about him when he saw this. Both Zhang Qiong'an and Brother Mi were sensible and would look after Zhang Jingcheng.

"Who says it's not the case? The weather started to get hot in April this year, and in June it was so hot that it could kill people. This year, my family's land, Dayongge, poured more than twice the water as in previous years, and the harvest was just like this. It's not as good as in previous years, and the difference per acre of land is at least more than 100 kilograms." Thinking of this year's slightly sparse harvest, Lin Qin felt heartbroken. More than five hundred kilograms of grain is enough to feed their family of four for more than half a year.

"Yes, it's the same in our family. Our land was originally only three acres. After paying the tax, it was only enough for the family to eat, but now there is not much left after paying the tax. The head of my family has said that he will not plant the next crop. If you have rice or wheat, plant some potatoes and corn, otherwise the food rations for the next half year will be a problem." Yi Gezi said with a sigh.

"The weather is really hot and not normal. You won't get into trouble again. This day has just gotten better. I just hope God can leave us a way to survive." Lin Qin didn't know why but there was an ominous feeling in his heart. premonition.

This kind of conversation not only appeared in the conversation between Yi Gezi and Lin Qin, many of the older people had sad faces, and even the younger ones noticed that the weather was abnormal.

"Father, the weather is getting hotter and hotter. I just checked and the river has dried up a lot. Isn't it really going to be a drought?" Li Teng replied worriedly after checking the river outside the village. He said to Village Chief Li when he got home.

Things have happened one after another over the years. After five years of hard work, I thought I could finally live a peaceful life. Who knows, a suspected drought has appeared again. Village Chief Li's originally dark hair has turned gray. It's obvious that Mr. Li was very worried.

"I'm not sure. You should pay more attention. I'll go find some clan elders to discuss it. Whether it's drought or not, the weather is always abnormal. There must be a solution." Village Chief Li stood up and trembled. He walked out majestically, his back looking much older.

"The village chief is here. We have guessed your purpose. We were just talking about it. The weather is getting hotter and hotter. I just went to check the fields and found that they were completely dry. When planting the second crop of rice and wheat It must be impossible to plant anymore. We can only plant some potatoes and sweet potatoes that don't require much water. We must save everyone's food rations for the second half of the year." When Village Chief Li arrived at the eldest clan's home, he found that other clan elders Everyone is here, even the elders of the Lin family and the Song family are here. Judging from the solemn expressions on everyone's faces, it was obvious that they had been discussing for a long time.

After Village Chief Li took his seat, he pondered for a while and said, "Growing potatoes and sweet potatoes is indeed a way, but I am worried that some villagers will not agree. After all, potatoes and sweet potatoes are not as valuable as millet and wheat." "If

that happens, they will bear the consequences themselves, and the river water will decrease. , the flowers, plants and trees are beginning to dry up, and even the fields are dry and cracked. Each and every one of them tells us that the drought is coming soon. If they are unwilling to plant potatoes and sweet potatoes, then tell them to wait until they run out of food. We will not help them. Whether they live or die is their own business." It's not that the clan elders are cruel, but that if the drought really comes, they themselves may not be able to protect themselves and their families. How can they have the energy? Go and help other villagers.

On one side, Village Chief Li and the clan elders discussed the outcome, but on the other side, Zhang Dayong was not having an easy time.

After going up the mountain this time, Zhang Dayong obviously felt that there were many fewer animals in the mountains, and the temperature in the mountains had also risen a lot. Although it was still much cooler than outside, it felt refreshing at most but not cold.

Zhang Dayong looked at the thick coat that Lin Qin packed for him, thinking that he might not be able to put it on, so he simply packed up the clothes, took out the meat buns, heated them up, and dealt with them briefly, and then brought his bow, arrows and sword. Prepare to walk further in to see if you can find anything.

Zhang Dayong stayed in the mountains for a total of five days before going down. He originally planned to stay in the mountains for three days before going down. However, he shot a few pheasants after three days, so he stayed for another two days and shot a bison. I happily carried the bison down the mountain.

"Didn't you say you were only going for three days? Why did you come back after five days? You scared me to death. Do you know? If you don't come back, I will go up the mountain to find you." Lin Qin couldn't stand it when he saw Zhang Dayong coming back. , said with hazy eyes.

Seeing that Lin Qin was really scared, Zhang Dayong hurriedly abandoned the bison and stepped forward to comfort him and said, "I'm sorry, I haven't caught any prey in the past few days, and I wasn't willing to go into the mountains and hunt just a few pheasants, so I stayed for two more days."

"Brother Dayong, don't scare me like this next time. We promised to come back in three days but ended up coming back in five days. I've been waiting from day to night for the past two days because I was afraid of waiting for news of your accident." Lin Qin hugged Zhang Dayong tightly. He said with a choked voice. Lin Qin couldn't imagine what he would do if he lost Zhang Dayong. Lin Qin felt that he wouldn't be able to survive either.

"I'm sorry." Zhang Dayong now regretted why he had to stay for two more days. Wasn't it because he didn't catch any big prey? He could just go into the mountains next time. Besides, it is common for hunters to return empty-handed from hunting. thing.

"Father, you are back. Dad has been crying these past few days. My brother and I are so scared." Zhang Qiong'an ran out with Zhang Jingcheng when he heard the noise. When he saw Zhang Dayong, he rushed towards him and hugged his thigh.

Zhang Dayong looked down and saw panic on the faces of the two younger children, and his heart was suddenly filled with self-blame.

"Don't be afraid, little Douzi and little Pinecone. Father is back and he will not leave you and your father behind." Zhang Dayong let go of Lin Qin and picked up the two children one by one, comforting him softly.

Lin Qin also knew that he had been too worried these days and Zhang Dayong had neglected the two children. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and apologized to the two children, "I'm sorry, Dad didn't take good care of you these two days."

"It's okay, Dad. I'm old enough to take care of myself and my brother. I know Dad is worried about Dad." Zhang Qiong'an said obediently.

Zhang Qiong'an's face, which was obviously still immature, showed a maturity that was not in line with his age. Lin Qin and Zhang Dayong looked at each other and saw the relief and guilt in each other's eyes. In the end, they were the fathers and fathers. qualified.

Zhang Dayong finally returned, and Lin Qin was finally able to relax and happily cooked a large table of dishes, and the family of four had a delicious dinner. At night, Zhang Qiong'an hugged her own little pillow and crawled onto Zhang Dayong and Lin Qin's bed and said she wanted to sleep with her parents. The couple was feeling guilty about the children and naturally they would not disagree. The family of four, with their big heads next to their little heads, closed their eyes happily and slept until dawn.

The weather was hot now and the meat couldn't be kept for long, so early the next morning Zhang Dayong drove the ox cart to the town to sell the bison. As a result, when Zhang Dayong drove the bullock cart back to the village, he saw several official servants riding horses towards their village. Zhang Dayong wondered what the official servants were doing in their village. He suddenly thought of the abnormal weather and felt vaguely in his heart. guess.

How could Zhang Dayong's bullock cart keep up with the horses of the officials? So although they left the town at the same time, when Zhang Dayong returned to Zhuangyuan Village, he happened to catch the officials leaving on horseback.

After Zhang Dayong entered the village, the villagers stood under the tree and talked a lot. He saw Lin Qin among the crowd at a glance, and shouted loudly, "Brother Qin." Lin Qin looked up when he heard the voice, and saw

that it was Zhang Dayong, and hurriedly A child ran towards Zhang Dayong in each hand.

"Brother Dayong, you are back." Lin Qin said happily.

After Zhang Dayong parked the bullock cart, he jumped off the edge of the cart. He glanced at the villagers who were still talking and asked, "What happened? I just saw the official leaving our village." "I don't know if it

's a good thing. It's still a bad thing." Lin Qin thought about the message just delivered by the official and sighed.

"How to say???" Zhang Dayong replied.

"Isn't the weather getting hotter and hotter recently? In fact, some people have long speculated whether there is going to be a severe drought, but everyone can't believe it. The official who just came here is to convey the order of the county magistrate, saying that we will be exempted from this year's tax, which means we don't have to pay taxes this year," Lin Qin said.

Zhang Dayong's eyes darkened a bit when he heard this. It seemed that he had guessed it right. "It's because of the weather??? It's just that although the weather is very hot now, it shouldn't have reached the level of a severe drought." "

We are here . It's not here yet, but it is said that the water sources in several surrounding counties and even larger cities have dried up, and many people have died of thirst. And you haven't been at home these past few days and you don't know, but the river outside our village is almost dry as well. Now we don't dare to wash our clothes and keep everyone eating and drinking." Zhang Dayong just came back yesterday, Lin Qin was too excited, so he didn't tell him that the river was about to dry up. Today Zhang Dayong went out early in the morning again. Naturally, I don't know anything.

Zhang Dayong frowned slightly when he heard this. When he came back just now, he really didn't notice whether the river had dried up.

"No matter what, it's always a good thing not to have to pay taxes. Otherwise, many people will lose their food rations in the second half of the year." Zhang Dayong sighed.

"Who says otherwise? A few days ago, Uncle Li actually suggested that everyone should plant potatoes and sweet potatoes in the next crop, which are heat-resistant and can be stored without too much water. But these days, the fields have been completely dry and there is no way to plant them. Unless you water it and plow it properly, there is no water for you to water the ground now. Brother Yi complained to me yesterday that there is no way to plant the fields now, and the harvest last season was not good. After paying the tax, He doesn't know what to eat, but now he can feel a little relieved." Lin Qin couldn't help but sigh in his heart, why is it so difficult to live a peaceful and peaceful life.