Everyone temporarily put aside their sadness and started to compete with the locusts to harvest.
The final victory is indescribable.
The crops were harvested, but compared to what was lost, it was a drop in the bucket. Only a pitiful one-fifth of what was harvested was recovered.
A sense of sadness permeated the entire northern Xinjiang region. The barbecue business was declining day by day. Ordinary families no longer dared to spend money on such food, and wealthy families would not buy it every day. After all, they would tire of it and change their taste.
Fortunately, several people discussed and decided to stop this business.
Over the past few months, apart from the rainy days and the occasional people who came to steal their business, they had earned a little over two hundred silver coins. My family was already very content.
Adding the share of the kang and the income from the embroidery, all the family assets amounted to about 300 taels of silver. Of course, this did not include the silver in the coffin.
Wen Xi asked her master for leave again and came back. The family harvested all the vegetables they could from the vegetable garden.
Compared to the vegetables exposed outside, those with roots underground were preserved.
So every household that grows radishes can actually get a small harvest.
Since the arrival of autumn, Wen Xi has been chopping and storing a lot of cabbage. Of course, she's also mentioned it to her neighbors and the villagers, saying her cabbage is infested with insects. She's worried it might be a common vegetable disease, and reminding them to harvest it quickly if they haven't been infested.
Of course, some people might listen to her, but some people wouldn't believe what a child says.
Wen Xi also tried to get everyone to harvest the crops in the fields early, but was almost hit by a stick.
In short, Wen Xi has tried his best to minimize the damage.
Life goes on, and with the harvest so poor, people have no choice but to turn their attention to the mountains. To get through to the next harvest, hunters and novices alike are flocking to the mountains daily.
Mao and his family also went in there several times.
Those who were able to hunted, while those who were less able dug wild vegetables and brought them back to dry in the sun. Perhaps because the trees in the mountains provided shade, the locusts had not affected the crops as severely.
Of course, the wild vegetables in autumn are a bit old and bitter, but no one dislikes them at this time.
Many people die of starvation in northern Xinjiang every year, so everyone knows about storage.
Those who don't understand are probably the newcomers, such as the Gu family.
Except for Mao and Fang, who knew how to be frugal and find work outside, the others all adhered to the virtues of women and stayed idle at home all day. At most, they would embroider some handkerchiefs, but they were also intermittent.
As for food, I wouldn’t say I have meat every meal, but if I can eat white flour, I definitely won’t eat cornmeal.
Even when they saw the villagers suddenly panic, they didn't care. Mao went to remind them several times, but they were only harmed again and again and gained nothing.
Wen Xi also shared her dream with her family after the locust attack.
Everyone felt only deep confusion.
But a mother's strength was her calling. Mao always found her purpose in times like these. Her only thought was to protect her children from the famine. To survive a famine that even Wen Xi hadn't been confident they could overcome.
As villagers went into the mountains to seek livelihoods, they also went to the county to buy grain. Mao followed the crowd and came to buy grain. However, the price of grain had doubled.
No matter how much people complained, the grain store owner could only reply:
"Don't think it's too expensive. This is today's price. We don't know what it will be like tomorrow! There's nothing I can do."
Many people are reluctant to spend twice as much money, so they choose to wait and see. It is not certain that food prices will drop in a few days!
There were many people who had this idea, including Mrs. Du and Fang Qiang who came with them. In fact, they didn't have to buy this time, because Wen Xi had coaxed them into buying a lot at the beginning of autumn.
I came here this time because I was worried about food and drink next year.
Mao quickly pulled them over and whispered:
"If you believe me, buy it. Buy it as soon as you can afford it."
The two men still trusted Mao very much and used all their money to buy grain. After all, grain was a good thing and would not spoil easily. The only regret was that they spent too much money.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
