Every single member of the Li family fled.
Jia'an and Jiaxi ran wildly around the yard with their hands raised, while the rest of them rushed to the fields.
For the past two months, their shoulders have been worn raw by the carrying poles, but they have barely managed to keep the crops from dying of drought.
At that moment, a timely rain fell from the sky.
The parched land was nourished, and all the cracks, like wide-open mouths, eagerly drank in the rainwater and tried to regain their vitality.
"There's hope! There's hope!"
"No need to carry water anymore!"
"The crops are saved!"
The old men next door, who were originally tending to their crops, simply knelt down in the fields waiting for the rain.
At this point, they cried even harder.
Originally, it was a good thing for them to give the land to the Li family to cultivate, hoping that the Li family would grow more and produce more grain, so that it wouldn't be a waste to leave so much land empty.
They will have someone to rely on in their old age, making their lives easier.
Little did they expect that spring would bring a severe drought.
If there's no harvest, the Li family will have to support them for nothing. Wouldn't that mean they're the ones getting the better deal?
Therefore, they hope the drought will end soon more than anyone else.
Now that it's rained, the crops have been saved, and no one is happier than them!
Grandma Li held her granddaughter and wiped away tears under the eaves.
Jiayin was still a little groggy from sleep, yawning slightly, and turned her head to look at the cheerful, pouring rain.
Her first thought was that the price of vegetables was going to drop.
However, the vegetable garden in the small courtyard will also be completely harvested.
It's time to stop now.
The heavy rain lasted for half the night, only stopping when the long-parched land was completely relieved of its thirst.
Each household disregarded the mud and hurriedly tidied up their gardens.
Let's replant the vegetables first; once they grow, we won't have to go hungry anymore.
The mischievous boys from all the families rushed to the riverbank, and soon they all rushed back.
"There's water in the river!"
"There's water in the river now! We can catch fish!"
The villagers couldn't help but laugh and scold, "Of course there's water, it's all rainwater from the mountains! In a few days, when the water from the south comes down, it will probably be even more."
The woman grabbed her son's ear and muttered, "Stay away from the river! If the river floods and sweeps you away, who will save you!"
"Okay, Mom."
The mischievous boy agreed verbally, but he still couldn't resist running to the river again and again.
By this time, it was already the end of June, and replanting crops was out of the question.
Even in the fields, only cabbage and radishes can be grown; sweet potatoes won't work.
Because the growing season is too long, the crops freeze before they can be harvested.
Humans are always like this; their desires are insatiable.
They had been hoping for rain, because if it rained, they could replant some cabbages and radishes.
They would be satisfied as long as their family didn't starve.
But now that they've planted cabbages and radishes, they've started to envy and be jealous of the Li family.
It had only rained for three days, and the crops in the Li family's fields were already growing like crazy.
As far as the eye can see, everything is lush and green.
They really wished they could harvest these crops and plant them in their own fields.
However, this is just something I think about.
Leaving aside the fact that the Li family did the work of dividing the waterway, just look at the machetes and sickles in the hands of the Li family's children and grandchildren...
Regardless of whether it was true or not, everyone greeted the Li family with smiles.
Early that morning, Li Lao Er drove his cart to the city to deliver vegetables.
This is the last truckload; once it's sold out, we can settle accounts with Manager Zhou.
Just as Jia Yin predicted, vegetable prices dropped the day after the rain.
Li Lao Er couldn't bear to part with it, so he insisted on selling several more cartloads.
Today was the last time Old Lady Li made the decision, and he brought the account books into the city.
Both Li Laosan and Li Laosi's families were going to the fields.
The timely rain relieved the thirst of the crops, and the wild grasses also benefited.
In just a few days, it has already grown taller than the crops.
If they are not removed at this time, they will steal nutrients from the crops.
Old Mrs. Li stopped her son and daughter-in-law and said...
"I've been thinking about something these past few days, you should listen to it."
Li Laosan and Li Laosi both sat down.
"Mother, what's wrong?"
Jiayin insisted on getting down, so Grandma Li put her granddaughter down.
Let her hold onto her knees and slowly practice walking around the chair.
She then said, "The whole village has been hit by disaster, and the crops have all been destroyed. Now only our thirty mu are still standing, and they're growing better and better these past few days. It's really too conspicuous."
As time goes on, I worry that some people will become envious. It wouldn't be good if something bad happened.”
Li Laosi's eyes widened immediately.
"Mom, don't worry, I go to the fields every day. If anyone dares to have any bad intentions, I'll beat them to death!"
Li Laosan also said, "Mother, we will definitely go to the fields often."
Old Mrs. Li shook her head, "There's no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days. If someone really wants to do something bad, you can't stop them from doing it."
Jiayin grabbed the chair armrest and nodded in agreement.
Grandma Li found it amusing and continued.
“Our family has thirty mu of land, which is quite a lot. This year, the grain tax has been waived, so whatever we harvest is ours. Fifteen mu is enough for our family’s food needs, and we will sell the remaining fifteen mu after the autumn harvest.”
These past few days, we've made quite a bit of money selling vegetables. We don't need the money from selling grain, so why don't we spread the word now and lend our grain to the villagers in the fall?"
Li Laosan and Li Laosi exchanged a glance.
When Li Laosi's mind cleared up a bit, he asked...
"Does Mother want to force the whole village to watch over the crops with our family?"
Grandma Li laughed, thinking that her son wasn't completely out of touch.
“Yes, everyone is jealous of our family’s grain these days. If we share it with everyone to get through this difficult time, then the crops in this field will belong to the whole village. But we won’t have to worry about people harming us, and there will be dozens more people to take care of them together.”
"Mother, you are so smart."
"Yes, that's a good idea."
Li Laosan and Zhao Yuru both agreed, but Tao Hongying spoke up.
"Mother, borrowing grain is a good thing. But shouldn't everyone write a written agreement and put their fingerprints on it?"
Grandma Li nodded, "When the second son comes back, we'll invite the village chief over. We'll write a document, and whoever borrows it will sign and put their fingerprint on it."
The matter was settled, and everyone went about their business.
As the sun began to set, Li Lao Er returned in his mule cart, reeking of alcohol, clearly having had quite a bit to drink.
"Mother, I treated Steward Zhou and Chief Escort Liu to lunch at the tavern."
Grandma Li didn't blame her son, but asked him.
"Have you settled accounts with Steward Zhou?"
"Yes, Mother, I gave him all the money for today's groceries. But that wasn't enough, so I added another eight taels."
Li Lao Er felt a little heartache, but considering that his family had received more, he let it go.
"Go sober up, you have something important to do later."
Old Lady Li chased away Jia An and Jia Xi to invite the village chief.
The village chief has been extremely busy lately, having to replant crops, guard against wild animals coming down from the mountains, urge the villagers not to slack off, and also move out of the few families who were staying there.
Hearing that the Li family had invited him, he rushed over.
"Hey girl, has someone sabotaged your crops? Tell me, which bastard is jealous? I'll kick him to death!"
His words were always in defense of the Li family, which made everyone in the Li family happy.
Li Lao Er quickly helped him sit down, and Tao Hongying brought him tea.
The village chief was completely bewildered, not understanding what was going on with the Li family.
It doesn't seem like they were bullied.
Li Lao Er took out a piece of paper, half of which was filled with writing, while the other half was blank.
"Uncle, there's something I need to tell you. Let me read this contract to you."
The village chief was even more confused, but Li Lao Er had only read a few sentences when he suddenly stood up.
Tea spilled all over my clothes, and I didn't even have time to wipe it off.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com