Jiang Yushu arrived at Liu Village in the scorching heat of summer. She toiled for months, sweating profusely, and carefully tended to her 67 acres of land. When the harvest was about to begin, her potatoes were eaten by a dozen wild boars!
This matter concerns her blood and she is extremely anxious. She wishes she could fly away and kick them away!
Watching the wild boars on the low slope digging and scratching the soil with their tails, stirring up dead leaves, debris and dust, everyone felt extremely distressed and rushed towards the mountain with hoes, sickles and other tools.
This is intolerable, what is not intolerable!
Everyone's faces were dark, and they cursed at once:
"The bold beast has gone down the mountain and gone wild again!"
"Go back to the mountains!"
"Alas, most of the young hunters in the village have fled, and with no one hunting, the wild boars are running rampant."
…
However, when everyone climbed up the hillside panting, more than a dozen wild boars had already escaped into the woods, leaving behind a mess, which made people stare blankly and curse in anger.
Jiang Yushu was extremely worried. She rushed over anxiously and looked around carefully.
The northwest corner of the slope was ruined, with seedlings and leaves scattered all over the place, potatoes pushed out, large and small ones scattered around, and some were gnawed by wild boars and then thrown away.
"Damn it, this is so damned!" Cuimei stamped her feet in agony. She squatted down to clean up the food and angrily said, "Eat half and throw away the other half. You're wasting food! God bless you!"
Jiang Yushu had just stood firm, and before she could recover from her shock, she saw a middle-aged couple running up hurriedly, crying and wailing with mournful faces:
"That's my family's cornfield, two acres in size, and it's all been ruined!"
"We worked hard all year, but the corn was burned by wild boars in the summer. We were so scared that we planted it on the slopes, but it was dug up by wild boars again." The peasant woman slumped down, beating her chest in despair, and cried, "Oh my God, God has given us no way to survive. How are we going to survive the winter?"
Jiang Yushu wiped the sweat off her forehead and looked up distractedly, only to find that the crops on the higher ground had been tragically "destroyed": almost all the corn stalks were knocked over, the ground was covered with deep and shallow pits, and the corn cobs filled with corn pulp were scattered everywhere in a mess.
"What a bad luck, poor thing."
"It's all in vain." The villagers sympathized and tried to comfort him: "It's come to this, there's no point crying, hurry up and clean up, pick up as many corn cobs as you can, after all it's a harvest." @Infinite good articles, all in Jinjiang Literature City
Zou Gui looked up, then down, and whispered, "If there weren't crops blocking the way up there, the potatoes would be in trouble. They would have eaten a lot of them! Fortunately, the wild boar tripped over the corn."
"That's right." Hu Gang nodded in agreement.
Jiang Yushu turned her head quickly, only to hear Zhou Yan scolding her, "Other families are suffering from a disaster, and you two are ignorant. Keep quiet!"
"Oh, yes." Zou Gui and Hu Gang shut up awkwardly. They were not gloating, but just felt relieved subconsciously.
Jiang Yushu took a quick look, then steeled herself and walked towards the village headman, saying solemnly, "Wild boars have discovered this patch of food and will probably come back again. We can't guard against them. There's only ten acres of sloping land. Should we be able to harvest it all today?"
"It should be possible." Liu Sanping nodded, picking up potatoes non-stop, and said in frustration, "Alas, there are few hunters in the village, and ordinary people can't fight against the thick-skinned wild boars. They are very strong. There is no choice but to rush to harvest the potatoes."
Chief Clerk Zhuang Song inspected the area for a moment, frowning as he urged, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and start collecting the grain. If you don't, we'll just feed it to the wild boars."
"Fellow villagers, get to work, get to work!" Liu Sanping shouted, calling back the villagers who had run to the edge of the woods to discuss the wild boar's whereabouts. "We must harvest at least ten acres today! Let's harvest this slope first. We've worked so hard, we must not let the wild animal get away with it."
The villagers had no time to chase the wild boar, so they had to return to the potato fields, working in groups of three or five. Some were wielding hoes, some were digging the soil, and some were picking potatoes...all busy in an orderly manner.
Gradually, rows of ridges were dug up, revealing the potatoes. After picking, they were all put into baskets stuffed with hay, neatly stacked on the side, and then carried down the slope one after another, loaded onto carts and transported back to the village.
The villagers' eyes sparkled with joy and delight. They worked diligently, eagerly discussing the harvest: "Oh, what a good harvest!"
"Haha, actually this thing is pretty good. It produces a lot of fruit and is not difficult to take care of."
"I figured it was worth more than growing corn and wheat!"
“I just don’t know how it tastes?”
"Tsk, these days, as long as it fills your stomach, it's fine. As long as it's not poisonous, it doesn't matter what it tastes like! We're not picky in our family."
"My family isn't picky either."
…
As she busied herself, Jiang Yushu, after repeatedly estimating the harvest, felt relieved. She thought to herself: "We've rushed the planting, like we're forcing a duck onto a shelf. The yield is bound to be low." But fortunately, it wasn't embarrassingly low, just enough to meet the standard.
She bent down to sort the hay in the basket and warned, "Be careful, and try not to damage it. If nothing goes wrong, this harvest should be all grain. Keep trying next spring until you have enough."
The village head's wife, filled with anticipation, immediately approached and asked, "With dozens of acres of land, we're sure we'll be able to harvest quite a bit! I wonder what the government's plans are for next year? Since it's new grain, can some be distributed to the villagers? My family has learned how to manage it, and we'll take good care of it when the time comes!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the nearby villagers came closer, vying with each other, patting their chests to express that they had also learned it, and requested the government to distribute grain seeds.
Jiang Yushu was surrounded and raised her hands repeatedly to stop them. She apologized, "I'm sorry, I can't make the decision on this matter. Everyone, don't worry. Once we're done, the village chief will report it to the higher-ups. Everything must be done according to the government's arrangements."
"That's right." Zhuang Song, hands behind his back, paced back and forth between the ridges of the field, saying sternly, "Hurry up and harvest. Only after you've harvested can I weigh and report to the county. Let's see what Lord Pan and the others think. I'll let you know when we have confirmation."
"Oh, yes!"
"Since we've already achieved success in Liujia Village, why don't we continue our efforts to avoid the government having to move elsewhere and start over? That would be very troublesome."
"That's right! We've already learned how to plant it ourselves next spring without the government having to worry about it."
…
"Hahaha." Zhuang Song sighed with emotion and chuckled, "Look, when we first asked them to help and learn at the same time, they were all reluctant. Now that they see the harvest, they know to ask the government for help!"
Jiang Yushu heaved a long sigh and said, "Thank goodness we have some harvest, otherwise I really don't know how I would report to Lord Pan."
"Heaven rewards hard work." Zhuang Song, having passed the imperial examination and secured the position of chief clerk, was young and self-important, often displaying airs and flaunting his authority, but he was inherently upright. He held his head high, speaking slowly and condescendingly, "The Guo family is diligently cultivating the land. I've seen it all, and I'll report it to the magistrate. Farming requires favorable weather and good harvests. Even if the harvest is poor, it's not entirely your fault."
Jiang Yushu said gratefully: "Thank you for your tolerance and understanding!"
The group worked from early morning until dark and quickly harvested 15 acres of land. The potatoes were temporarily placed in the yard of the village headman's house.
Zhuang Song led the officials, holding lanterns and keeping an eye on the scales, carefully recording the harvest. He wanted to send people to guard the crops, but the villagers were afraid of being attacked by the enemy in the dark, so no one dared to do it, and they had to give up.
Nighttime. Stable
A lantern was hung on a pillar, and thirteen sheep, three males and ten females, were bleating and eating grass.
Jiang Yushu rolled up her sleeves, covered in dust and sweat, and fiddled with the sheep. Without looking up, she said, "It's been hard work today, but we still have to work for at least four or five days before we can rest after the autumn harvest."
"Yes." Madam Pan tied the sheep's rope tighter and whispered, "You've been busy all day. The hot water is ready. Go wash up quickly and don't get too tired."
Guo Hongzhe was very interested. He led the servant to dig fresh grass and urged, "Second sister-in-law, take a rest. I'll feed the sheep!"
Jiang Yushu stood up, pounded her aching lower back with her backhand, and said with a tired smile, "Okay, they're full. Tomorrow morning, we'll take them to the fields and let them graze on their own. When we have time, we'll try to build a sheep pen."
"Why do you suddenly want to raise sheep?" After being exiled for half a year, Guo Hongzhe was no longer afraid of getting dirty. He bent down and rubbed the sheep curiously.
Jiang Yushu explained, "It wasn't a sudden impulse. I had already made the decision, but I was forced to do so. I had to persuade the government to agree. These sheep were sent by County Magistrate Liu, and we will raise them from now on."
"I heard from the village head that it will start snowing around the beginning of next month. What should we do then?" Guo Hongzhe was worried.
Jiang Yushu was exhausted and walked slowly back to the house. "It's okay. I can just feed the sheep with hay. Starting tomorrow, I should start preparing fodder."
"Okay!" Zhou Yan said, frowning as he was bolting the gate. "The grass is easy, but I'm afraid the sheep will be hard to care for. After all, no one has ever raised one before."
Don't worry, I've raised them before. Jiang Yushu smiled and said calmly, "Nothing is difficult in the world if you put your mind to it. If we explore carefully, we'll understand it sooner or later!" After a pause, she said seriously, "There are vast grasslands in Xicang, and it is said that there are even vast grasslands in Yongzhou, which are naturally suitable for raising cattle and sheep. The winter at the border is long, and we prisoners who are farming here can't just sit back and relax. Instead of letting the government assign us tasks, we should think about it ourselves."
Wouldn't it be a headache if I was assigned a completely unfamiliar task? So I decided to raise sheep, something I'm familiar with.
Guo Hongzhe was well-read, but knew nothing about farming. He patted the sheep's back, thought for a moment, but couldn't come up with a clear idea. He said, "Second sister-in-law, you make sense. I'll listen to you."
After closing the courtyard gate, a group of people filed into the house.
"Alas," Zhou Yan complained, unable to bear it any longer. "Lord Liu sent the sheep, but he still hasn't mentioned our rations. It seems he's completely forgotten about them. I wanted to ask, but on second thought, I didn't dare."
Jiang Yushu knew it all and warned, "They haven't forgotten. Don't ask again. I've already asked."
"oh?"
Jiang Yushu whispered, "County Magistrate Liu said that Heqin has been plagued by frequent wars and harvest failures year after year. The surplus grain from the imperial court and the prefectural capital is being used to support the border troops, so they have no time to attend to the county government. Lord Pan has been running around for months, but still hasn't gotten any grain, and they're even short of seeds."
"But, are we supposed to keep buying rations secretly?" Zhou Yan sighed, feeling at a loss for words. "Alas! Ever since we settled in this village, the Guo family has been farming despite being accused of being exiles, yet we haven't received a single ration!"
Jiang Yushu pounded her lower back and said helplessly, "The county won't give it to us, and there's no point in urging us. We can only wait."
"Perhaps the county government guessed that the Guo family still had some money and deliberately saved some money?"
Jiang Yushu couldn't help laughing, and said with a smile: "It's possible. We are probably the prisoners that the government has least to worry about in all of Xicang!"
Guo Hongzhe listened for a while and then whispered, "Changping is different. The rations there are distributed monthly. Although they are rough, they can fill your stomach."
"Heqin is in chaos and the people are living in poverty. Naturally, it cannot compare to other counties." After saying this, Jiang Yushu went back to her room to take a shower. She fell asleep with her hair half dry, almost falling into a coma.
The next morning
The Guo family was in a panic and worked together to drive the sheep to the field, where they met Zhuang Song and his group.
"Hey? Are you herding sheep?" Zhuang Song looked very happy and walked with his head held high.
"Hahahaha!" The village head was driving a cart with his wife and children on it, both grinning from ear to ear. He shoved the whip into his wife's hand, jumped off the cart, and jogged over, eagerly asking, "Do you know how many potatoes we harvested from our fifteen mu of land yesterday?"
Jiang Yushu knew the answer and asked with a smile, "How much?"
"To my surprise, there are over 27,000 kilograms!" The village head rubbed his hands vigorously, very excited, and said excitedly: "After seeing this, the villagers all want to plant some next spring."
The potato yield per mu is less than 2,000 kilograms, which is actually very low... but compared with corn and wheat, it is indeed high.
I will continue to try next spring. I will not plant in a hurry, but choose the right time and spend more time on it. I should be able to increase the yield!
Jiang Yushu was inevitably disappointed, overwhelmed with mixed feelings, secretly ashamed, and unable to feel happy at all. She casually drove the sheep and told the truth: "Yesterday there were ten acres of sloping land. According to my estimation, the yield on sloping land is higher than that on flat land."
"It's indeed higher. Dig out the rest as soon as possible. I'll report it to the county magistrate once I'm done." Zhuang Song was immersed in joy and said with satisfaction, "Not bad. With this yield, we can harvest twice a year, which is enough for food."
Jiang Yushu suggested: "Actually, potatoes are not bad either." Unfortunately, there are only low-yield local varieties in the Gan Dynasty now, unlike the previous life, there were many high-yield varieties for people to choose from.
"Xicang potatoes only mature once a year and are difficult to grow. They are not as good as corn or wheat." Liu Sanping shook his head repeatedly.
Jiang Yushu seemed to be thinking, "I'll try planting some next year."
Soon after, the enthusiastic crowd rushed to the field excitedly, and saw from afar the wild boar eating potatoes again!
A quick glance revealed a dozen or so, old and young, busily digging for food. Perhaps it was the same family from yesterday.
"How can this be possible!"
"What rascally, arrogant creatures! Do they think this is their granary?" Zhuang Song flew into a rage. He drew his sword and bolted, shouting, "Hurry, follow me and kill a few of them to scare the monkeys!"
"Let's go!" There were nearly fifty strong men traveling with him. They were not afraid at all and followed angrily.
"Give them a good lesson!" Cuimei clapped her hands and cheered.
The women of each family stopped and shouted for support. Jiang Yushu, holding the water bag, was so angry that she lost her temper and stared at the battle:
Wild boars have short legs and are short and fat. They look clumsy, but they are agile and can run fast on both flat and sloped ground. When they see people approaching, they grunt, turn around, swiftly run up the slope and escape to the woods.
But one of them was greedy and a little slow. Before it could go up the hill, it was hooked by several hoes and rolled to the flat ground. As soon as it got up, it started biting people ferociously.
"Ah—" Zhuang Song's calf was almost bitten, and he was furious. He picked up his knife and chopped it. His companions tried their best to help and surrounded the prey and beat it. @Infinite good articles, all in Jinjiang Literature City
Oh, how much have we lost today? Potato seeds are precious, please don't let them come back again.
Jiang Yushu was having a headache when she suddenly heard a wild boar, surrounded by people, let out a long, trembling, miserable howl. A moment later, a response came from the woods on the slope, and the howling continued.
Immediately, an angry roar erupted from a height. Everyone looked up and saw the fleeing pigs rushing down the mountain!
"Oops!"
"The wild boar is going crazy, run!"
"What should we do?" The women were horrified. Those with children held their children, while those without turned around and ran. The place was in chaos in an instant.
The women were panicked, and the men were also frightened and instinctively shrank back.
Zhuang Song swallowed his saliva and shouted nervously, "What are you afraid of? There are hundreds of us, why should we be afraid of a dozen beasts? Hold on tight, let's give them a good beating!"
"Hurry, let's get out of the way!" The women of the Guo family supported each other. In the chaos and the crowd, the Guo family was squeezed apart. Jiang Yushu was caught off guard and almost knocked over a child.
"Dad? Dad?" The boy, only eight years old, started running and then turning around, panicking and crying out in fear, "Dad! Let's run too!"
Jiang Yushu was startled and hurriedly grabbed the child who was running back, saying loudly: "They are busy, you follow me -"
"No!" The boy struggled hard, "I want to go find my dad, let go!"
With a glance, I saw the wild boar rushing down the mountain with great momentum, and in the blink of an eye it pounced on the men blocking the way.
Jiang Yushu's scalp suddenly went numb. She gritted her teeth and picked up the boy. After running a few steps, he bit her arm. She staggered in pain and accidentally fell into the ditch beside her.
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