Chapter 2565 Drought Resistance II
The two tried to take the flat road back. Four-fifths of the water was still there. They were very happy and quickly picked up the buckets and poured the water into the field...
The two men carried water all day long. Zhou Dalang rakes the field twice to mix the water and mud in the field and make it more even.
Bai Shan brought down a bucket of water and saw Man Bao standing in the field, washing her feet with the water she had just poured. She called her, "Come here quickly, the water here is cleaner."
Manbao immediately stepped forward and stood on a clump of grass in the field. Bai Shan tilted the wooden barrel slightly, and water flowed down slowly. Manbao washed his feet and the soiled trouser legs with the water.
I put it down after washing it clean, and then sat on the edge of the field to dry my feet.
After Lord Wei finished planting a field, he came over covered in mud and walked to the Zhou family's field, signaling Bai Shan to continue pouring water.
Bai Shan then got him a new bucket of water to wash his hands and feet.
"How many plots of land do you have at home?"
Wei Zhi sighed and said, "There are only these two in the Yongzhou area."
But his hometown also suffered from drought this year.
Seeing his worried face, Manbao comforted him, "Sir, my mother said that farmers depend on the weather for their livelihood. Droughts and floods are common. For us, it's just a temporary problem. I'm afraid that there will be a long period of time with neither floods nor droughts, and the weather will be good for several years, but the family still won't have enough food to eat."
Wei Zhi was stunned for a moment and asked, "Why can't we save any grain even though the weather has been good for several years?"
"Since there are no natural disasters, it must be man-made disasters." Seeing Wei Zhi's surprise, Man Bao hurriedly explained, "The man-made disasters I'm referring to aren't just about the officialdom. They also include the prodigal son in the family or someone getting sick. My mother said that if there's no food to be stored even with good weather for several years, it's better to have a little drought and a little flood every year."
"Why is that?" Wei Zhi was puzzled. "Even if we can't store food, it would be better if the weather is good and the harvest is good."
Manbao shook his head. "My mother said that the heavens are watching everything. The world is so big, and if you have good weather and good harvests here, then other places must be suffering from disasters. Good fortune should also come in turns."
"We've had good weather and good harvests for several years in a row, and we've been blessed with so much good fortune. But there's bound to be a great disaster in the future," she said. "For example, when the Yizhou flood hit, our village had enjoyed good weather and good harvests for several years before, but that year, torrential rain suddenly hit, and combined with human misfortune, the levee collapsed."
Wei Zhi thought about it carefully and found that it was true. There had been a drought in the capital area a few years ago, and it was quite serious. However, because there was plenty of grain in the capital area and grain was transported from all over the country, it did not cause a major disaster. At most, the national treasury was a little poorer, and the officials like them were a little more tired.
After the drought, the Gyeonggi area had good weather for two years, except for the snowstorm last winter and the drought at the beginning of this spring. However, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory said that the situation was not very serious and it should rain after a while.
Wei Zhi sighed, "Your mother is very insightful."
No wonder someone like Zhou Man was born.
Manbao nodded in agreement.
Bai Shan brought another bucket of water and called Man Bao, "Come and help me."
Manbao walked barefoot on the grass and jumped over to pour water for him to wash his hands and feet.
Wei Zhi looked at them and asked, "It's been two days, why haven't Master Zhou, Master Bai and Master Hei come back?"
Manbao said complacently: "We pay close attention to sun protection. You see, we wear straw hats, and when the sun is strong during the day, we cover our faces with gauze, leaving only our eyes exposed."
Lord Wei: "Not bored?"
"It's a bit boring, but we won't be black," Manbao said. "Otherwise, when we return to the court in half a month, we will be as black as charcoal. How can we meet His Majesty and his colleagues?"
Lord Wei was puzzled, "Why can't I see him?"
Man Bao said, "He is so handsome, so we should also be elegant. How can we be in such a mess?"
Lord Wei said nothing, but smiled and said, "Okay, then the grand court meeting will be held in half a month, no, twelve days."
Absolute sun protection is impossible, and the two of them are so unrestrained and freedom-loving that they threw away the gauze within two days. When they really went to the fields to plant rice, they even found the straw hats a hindrance, so they just threw away the straw hats in the morning and afternoon when the sun was not so strong.
Then they fluttered around in the fields happily.
After planting the fields, they had to plant beans. They were not in water, so they felt the heat. They put on their straw hats obediently, but still felt sunburned.
Besides, it was too late to put them back on now, and both of them got tanned.
Not to mention them themselves, Old Zhou was also distressed. While muttering to them to hurry up when planting, he said: "We can do this kind of work ourselves. It would be better for you to become officials directly and ask for leave to work in the fields..."
Manbao straightened up, patted his waist and said, "Dad, how many more days do we have left to plant?"
Old Zhou looked around and estimated, "We'll be done planting here in two days. I wonder how your fifth brother and his family are doing on the other plot of land."
Old Zhou gave Manbao two plots of land as a dowry. They were responsible for cultivating one plot, and Zhou Wulang and his nephews who also had a farm leave were cultivating the other plot.
Even Zhou Lixin (Daya) and Guan Yong came and spent seven or eight days working in the fields.
There was no other way. Due to the lack of water, all the fields where rice seedlings were to be planted had to be irrigated. The work that could have been completed in three or four days was extended to seven or eight days.
Moreover, it is difficult to recruit both short-term and long-term workers now. It is really difficult to find people even if you offer money.
I heard that Huangzhuang was recruiting a large number of workers. Not only were the salaries generous, but the food was also good, so many people went there.
Then there were some wealthy and powerful men from wealthy families who had to hire people to transport water because of the drought.
Otherwise, why would the emperor grant you a farm holiday early and add three days? It was just to help you fight the drought.
Just after Manbao and the others had planted the seeds, the rain that the Imperial Astronomical Observatory had been saying was coming finally came. It was a very fine, drizzling rain. Manbao and Baishan didn't even notice it was raining, after all, they were wearing straw hats.
Zhou Dalang still felt hot, so he took off his straw hat and wiped the sweat off his face. He felt the drizzle falling on his face. He was stunned for a moment and then shouted, "Dad, it's raining."
Old Zhou, who was planting beans with his head down, was startled. He took off his hat, reached out to catch it, and said happily, "It really is raining! Hurry up, hurry up, plant the seeds quickly."
Manbao and the others were all cheered up and quickened their pace.
Wei Zhi, who had come to inspect his rice seedlings to see if they were alive or dead, saw this and rolled up his sleeves to help. After they finished planting the last two rows of land, they happily went home together. Man Bao even invited Master Wei, "It's too late for you to return to the capital now. Why don't you stay at my farm for a night?"
Wei Zhi agreed with a smile.
Went to the village of Putian with Zhou Man.
The group sat on the oxcart, drenched in rain all the way back, but they were very happy. Especially since the spring rain was getting heavier, Manbao breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It would be best if it was wet enough to reach two fingers into the ground."
"That depends on whether we can make it down to night."
At this time, the emperor was also standing in the Taiji Hall watching the rain. Seeing that the rain was getting heavier and heavier, he finally became happy and laughed heartily and ordered Gu Zhong, "Go, tell the queen that I want to eat hotpot tonight. Ask the imperial kitchen to kill an extra chicken."
Gu Zhong agreed with a smile.
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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