Chapter 8: Locusts cross the border and no grass grows
Chapter 8 Locusts pass through the border and no grass grows
When several families in Jiangjia Village began to collect grain, many families were waiting and watching.
Maybe he was inspired by this atmosphere, or maybe he was really afraid of something happening, so he joined several families who collected grain in advance the next day.
Several men from the Jiang family were responsible for cutting rice in the fields. Jiang Zhiyue followed Mrs. Jiang, Zhang and Sun to carry the cut rice to the threshing floor for shelling and drying.
When Jiang Zhiyue was holding the rice, she put a lot of it into the space when no one was paying attention, and waited until she got to the threshing floor to take it out without anyone noticing.
The Jiang family discovered Jiang Zhiyue's little tricks and helped her cover it up.
Jiang Zhiyue snickered in her heart, feeling that it was a wise decision to reveal a little bit of information about the space, and it really made things much easier.
At noon on the third day, the scorching sun was still hanging high in the sky. Soon, dark clouds came from the sky and blocked the scorching sun.
People who were drying grain in the threshing floor hurriedly pulled the grain home, fearing that the heavy rain would wet the grain they finally recovered.
In just a quarter of an hour, heavy rain poured down.
Some people were lucky to have harvested the grain, otherwise the rice would have sprouted on the ears after the heavy rain.
The people who had confiscated the grain were panicking, but they couldn't save their face and could only be stubborn and said: "It won't rain for a while. If the rice is full of water, it can produce a few more kilograms of grain. If you collect the grain in advance, you will regret it later.
Bar."
The heavy rain did not last long, and it gradually stopped in the middle of the afternoon, but the sky was still gray, which made people feel a little heavy.
Before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, the sky became darker and there was a buzzing sound.
Jiang Zhiyue stood in the yard and looked up, seeing large numbers of flying insects flying in from a distance.
She reacted and reminded loudly: "The locusts are coming. Close the door quickly and seal the cellar entrance tightly!"
Jiang Yuqing took Dalang and Erlang to the cellar, covered it with a lid, covered it with several layers of oilcloth, and covered it with a layer of soil.
The rest of the people hurried back to their respective houses and closed the doors. When they saw any locusts flying in, they quickly swatted them away and then gathered in the main room.
Mr. Jiang stood by the window with his pipe in his hand and sighed: "Hey, how can this person who has confiscated food live?"
He had tried to persuade everyone who needed to be persuaded, but in the past two days, he had seen that the number of households collecting grain was less than one-third of the households in Jiangjia Village.
"It's not your turn to worry about what happens. I told you in advance that when the time comes, you will want to help anyone who comes to borrow food." Old Mrs. Jiang reminded.
"I know it well." Mr. Jiang frowned, took a puff of cigarette, and said in a serious tone.
How could he not know this? There are hundreds of households in Jiangjia Village, big and small. If one borrows money from one house, he will come to the next one. How can he borrow so much food at that time?
If he lends this food to others, then the boys in his family will be hungry. Although he is kind-hearted, he is not unable to carry it. It is precisely because he can see clearly that he feels uncomfortable.
The fields in Jiangjiacun were in chaos at the moment, with cries and cries accompanied by the sound of locusts flapping their wings.
After the locusts attached themselves to the rice stalks, they began to gnaw at extremely fast speeds. The people who confiscated the crops wanted to snatch the grains from the locusts' mouths, but the fields that had just rained would sink when they stepped on them, and they had no time to harvest.
.
There were all kinds of cries in the field. At the end of Jiang Hengrong's field, he slapped his mother-in-law on the face.
"It's all because of you. If you only collect half of the grain, now it's better, not at all."
Jiang Hengrong's mother-in-law was slapped to the ground. She looked at the man who hit her in shock and yelled in a broken voice: "It's not all what you said. We were afraid that there would be no locust plague and we would lose all the food harvest. That's why we only harvested the land."
Half of the food in the house is now blamed on me, which was not something you agreed to in the first place."
Jiang Hengrong's face turned green and white, and he kicked his mother-in-law who was sitting on the ground. His mother-in-law also stood up and started fighting with him.
The same situation also happened to other people. Seeing Hengrong and his mother-in-law fighting each other, they seemed to have found an outlet to vent and a reason to evade responsibility, and they all shirk responsibility to their relatives around them.
The people who had collected the food and wanted to come out to take a look at the situation were dumbfounded when they saw the miserable situation outside!
At this time, if you don't grab a few more bundles of food and go home, why don't you start a fight with your own people?
People who could have harvested food for a few days missed the opportunity because of this. The locusts ate up everything here and moved to the next place.
The rioters looked at the empty fields and began to sit on the ground and cry.
Some people began to feel lucky that they had listened to the advice and harvested the grain in advance.
Jiangjia Village was not the only place that suffered from the locust plague. Half of the entire fiefdom of King Changding was affected by the locust plague. The people were crying and howling, and the gates of the county government were closed tightly. They did not dare to show up until they received instructions from above.
——
Jiang family——
Jiang Yulai explained what happened outside just now, and everyone was a little silent.
Seeing everyone's silence, Jiang Zhiyue understood their mood, but she also knew that there was not much time left for them to feel sad.
She said: "Tomorrow morning, my third uncle and I will go to the county to inquire about the situation. Others should not go up the mountain and exercise at home. If anyone wants to come to ask for food, just call them out!"
Listening to Jiang Zhiyue's serious voice, everyone nodded heavily.
Although there was a locust plague just today, and every household would not be out of food rations, there was no guarantee that someone would not be evil and blame them for the confiscation of food.
After saying the things, they dispersed, but I don't know how many people can sleep peacefully tonight.
Early the next morning, after a simple breakfast, Jiang Yulai drove the ox cart and set off from home.
There was no notice from the school in town, so Jiang Yuchao and the eldest son of the Jiang family, Erlang, were still going, so they just happened to hitchhike.
This was Jiang Zhiyue's first visit to the county town. The lively scene on the streets made people unable to imagine that there was a locust plague yesterday. The impact of this disaster has not spread here yet.
"Third uncle, let's go to the county government office." Jiang Zhiyue said sitting in the back.
"good."
At this time, many people who came from the villages and towns below had gathered in front of the county government office. However, the gate of the county government office was closed tightly, and no one opened the door no matter how many people outside shouted.
More and more people gathered outside, and some people began to incite the crowd to work together to break open the gate of the county government office.
"We have suffered a disaster, but the county magistrate is hiding inside without seeing anyone. He may still be enjoying spicy food. Let's break the door open and ask him to give us an explanation." Someone stood in the middle of the crowd and shouted.
"Yes, yes, yes, open the door and ask the county magistrate to open the warehouse to release grain." More and more people responded and began to push forward excitedly.
The door was overwhelmed and began to make banging noises.
Suddenly, the door was opened from the inside, and several government officials with long guns stood at the door to block the people who wanted to squeeze in.
"Quiet, everyone, listen to what I have to say." A voice came from behind the Yamen servant. Jiang Zhiyue stood on the bullock cart and looked inside. It was the round-bellied county magistrate wearing a black gauze hat.
Seeing the county magistrate coming out, the people were still subconsciously afraid. The resentment they had just aroused also dissipated a little, and the crowd gradually became quiet.
"I know that the crops in the fields were plagued by locusts yesterday, but it's only the second day. I have to report to the capital before I can have food distributed to you." The Fat Belly County Magistrate said in a casual tone: "If anyone is here
If you cause trouble before, be careful and I will put you in jail!"
"Master Qingtian, you have to save us. We are going to be without food in half a month." A gray-haired woman knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the county magistrate.
Intermittently, some people knelt down and kept begging.
The county magistrate looked out impatiently from behind the crowd and said loudly: "I understand, everyone, please step aside."
The door slowly closed amidst the crowd's pleas. Jiang Zhiyue glanced at the people kneeling on the ground, feeling helpless but unable to bear it.
She has the ability to come up with the food to solve this crisis, but that will only expose her and put her in danger.
After finally being able to do it again, she wanted to live in peace and stability with the Jiang family. She could not be willful until she had enough ability to protect herself and the Jiang family.
She couldn't bear to turn her head and told Jiang Yulai to leave.
Not getting any useful information in the county seat, Jiang Zhiyue and Jiang Yulai had no choice but to go back.
However, she had a vague hunch in her heart that the imperial court would not open a granary to stock food.
Just as she thought, the current court has become a mess.
——
The Imperial Palace of Wu Dynasty——
"My beloveds, if nothing happens, please retreat from the court." The emperor sitting on the dragon throne said.
"Your Majesty, I would like to ask your Majesty to appoint a crown prince." An old minister stood up and said in a deep voice.
"Yes, Your Majesty, in order to stabilize the country and society, it would be better to establish a prince as early as possible."
"The eldest prince is the eldest son and is honest and good-natured. I believe that the eldest prince should be made the crown prince."
"The difference mentioned is that although the eldest prince is the eldest son, it is not orthodox. The eleventh prince is the direct descendant of the queen. I believe that the eleventh prince should be made the crown prince."
"But the eleventh prince is too young to be responsible for the country and the country. Since the emperor has many sons, it is natural to choose the most capable prince as the crown prince."
Suddenly there was chaos in the court. Now there are thirteen surviving princes of the emperor. Except for the two youngest princes, most of the other princes are standing in line, but there are also some who are silent and waiting for the opportunity.
.
Several princes stood in the front row of courtiers with different expressions. Some showed no trace of excitement, as if the matter had nothing to do with them, but some quietly raised their heads to observe the emperor's expression.
"Bastard!" The person sitting on the dragon chair above yelled angrily, and threw a piece of paper in his hand on the head of the first minister below who asked for the crown prince.
The minister's legs went weak and he knelt down in the main hall. Several people who had just spoken also knelt down in fear.
"Your Majesty, calm down." All the ministers lowered their heads.
"I want to establish a prince before I die. Are you cursing me or do you want to change my master?" the emperor asked angrily.
"I am loyal to Your Majesty and will never dare to have second thoughts!" As soon as the ministers responded, they quickly expressed their loyalty and did not dare to mention the matter of establishing a prince again.
The emperor was so angry that he took a few deep breaths. The eunuch manager next to him bent forward with a wink and handed over the exquisite ivory box in his hand.
"Your Majesty, elixir." The eunuch's high-pitched voice echoed in the hall.
The emperor put the elixir into his mouth and swallowed it. The next moment, his body felt refreshed, his face became rosy, and his mood improved a little.
With this magical elixir, he can live forever, and this world will be his for generations to come. A bunch of bastards want to establish a prince all day long!
He stood up, flicked his sleeves, and said loudly: "The matter of establishing a prince is not allowed to be discussed again. I have my own plan to withdraw from the court!"
Besides, Jiang Zhiyue wasn't too disappointed even though she couldn't get any real news.
After an hour, the two finally returned to Jiangjia Village, and at this time, the front door of Jiangjia was extremely lively.
"No matter where she marries Jiang Xiaoqing, she will always be the daughter who crawled out of my belly. How can she not recognize me as my mother, so why don't she help her brother with some food?" Du Mudan in the crowd shouted confidently.
There was also a middle-aged couple standing next to her, namely Du Mudan's old son Jiang Xiaoming and his daughter-in-law Yu He.
On the other side of the Jiang family, Mrs. Sun, who had a slap mark on her face, was protected by Jiang Yuqing. The three brothers Erlang, Sanlang and Silang also stood in front of her and stared at Du Mudan fiercely, preventing Du Mudan from coming up to hit her again.
"Bah, why should I give you my family's food?" Mrs. Jiang, as the first combatant, was scolding Du Mudan.
The persimmons had to be pinched softly, so Du Mudan just scolded Mrs. Sun: "If you let me starve, you won't be afraid of choking to death when you eat."
Mrs. Sun has been married to the Jiang family for so many years, and her backbone has long been hardened. She walked out from behind the crowd and said:
"Why didn't I tell you in advance when we collected the grain? Our family gave you the grain so we could eat whatever we wanted. You got so much money from selling your daughter that you went to town to buy grain yourself."
"You damn girl, you still dare to talk back. It's really against you."
Du Mudan yelled and ran over to tear Sun's hair, but Sun refused to show weakness and fought back.
Mrs. Jiang and Mrs. Zhang hurried forward to stop her. After all, Du Mudan had taken over Sun's nominal mother. If a fight really broke out, it would not be good for her reputation, and it would also affect the marriage plans of several boys in the family.
"Xiaoming, Yuhe, come and help me." Du Mudan's hair was torn and she couldn't straighten her waist, so she could only shout at the top of her lungs.
Jiang Xiaoming looked at the men of the Jiang family who were looking at her eagerly, and pushed Yu He hard, "I didn't see my mother being beaten, what are you doing here?"
Jiang Zhiyue squeezed into the crowd and stood next to the Jiang family. She noticed that Jiang Yuchao and Dalang Erlang, who were supposed to be in town, were also at home, but now was not the time to ask.
Jiang Xiaoming noticed Jiang Zhiyue walking in, his eyes lit up, and he looked at her up and down with a squinting look.
Jiang Zhiyue noticed an uncomfortable gaze, looked up and saw Jiang Xiaoming's obscene look.
She glared at him with sharp eyes, but Jiang Xiaoming seemed unaware and continued to stare at her with squinting eyes.
Jiang Zhiyue's expression turned cold, and her mental strength rushed towards him. Jiang Dalang and Jiang Erlang also noticed the situation here, and walked over in two or two steps and punched him.
Jiang Xiaoming suddenly felt a sharp pain in his mind, leaving him with no chance to react. He could only lie down and let the beating take place.
After they had exhausted their anger, Mrs. Jiang and the others walked back to the door. The three people lying on the ground looked miserable.
