With the wildfire situation changing, Xiaoman and Errui stopped digging rabbit holes and started digging kudzu roots instead.
Jiang Zhi and Xiao Man's grandfather converted the topmost plot of land in the terraced fields into a long irrigation canal to facilitate future irrigation of the terraced fields.
When it comes to farming, Jiang Zhi is definitely no match for someone who has spent their whole life doing farm work.
Even though the original owner was a skilled worker, she couldn't compare to Master Xiaoman's extensive experience.
For example, the terraced fields she built can only be used for dry land and cannot store water.
Terraced fields are beautiful, but the shallow soil and lack of water are fatal flaws.
Without water, we'll have to carry water to irrigate future crops, which will be a lot of hard work.
Grandpa Xiaoman is an experienced worker, so he has his own methods.
He first built a ridge around the highest terraced fields with large stones, and then filled the gaps between the stones with wet yellow mud.
Each layer of yellow mud was tamped down with a hoe, and each layer of soil had to be tamped down until the entire field embankment was tamped down to a width of more than a foot, forming a thick and solid wall. In this way, a water channel was built on the slope.
Then dig several drainage ditches around the mountainside, so that when it rains, the rainwater on the slope can be diverted from the drainage ditches into the canals for storage.
Jiang Zhi, knowing that she would soon have fertile land that would guarantee a good harvest regardless of drought or flood, asked Xiao Man's grandfather if he also wanted to reclaim wasteland for farming and build terraced fields before the spring rains.
In fact, there is very little flat land on the mountain suitable for farming. The terraced fields that Jiang Zhi has created are less than one mu (approximately 0.16 acres) in size, which is clearly not enough to grow enough food.
Grandpa Xiaoman doesn't want to build terraced fields.
There wasn't enough manpower in the family, and the cost of building farmland was too high. Besides himself, the only person who could do farm work was fifteen-year-old Xiaoman.
Since the harvest from the fields wasn't enough, he planned to plant seeds directly on the burnt barren slope next to the fields.
Fire is both a killer that takes lives and a source of life.
Although slash-and-burn agriculture is too primitive and yields low output, it covers a large area, so extensive planting with low yields is a viable method.
Besides grains, Xiaoman also planted many beans, melons and vegetables in the cracks of rocks everywhere.
Fruits and vegetables are enough for half a year's food, and with the food he can find in the mountains to fill his stomach, he feels he can survive.
Xiaomanye's idea is very practical and makes sense.
Depending on local conditions, the soil on the hillsides burned by the wildfire is indeed fertile, so at least this year there will be a good harvest.
The concept of "slash-and-burn agriculture" first appeared in the "Biography of Yan Zhen" in the Old Book of Tang: "In March, Emperor Dezong arrived in Liangzhou. The land south of the mountains was poor and food was hard to come by. The prime minister proposed to go to Chengdu Prefecture. ... The discussion was very serious. In Liang and Han, people practiced slash-and-burn agriculture and made a living by gathering barley. Although the fifteen prefectures were inspected, the tax revenue was less than that of three or four counties in the Central Plains."
"稆" means wild rice. In the past, people in southern Sichuan relied on wild plants for food, so it is not surprising that famine-stricken people in Sichuan frequently revolted.
Although the original book mentions crops such as corn and sweet potatoes, it lacks chemical fertilizers and improved seeds, suggesting that the harvest is poor and that the country is prone to rebellion whenever a natural disaster strikes.
Speaking of the mutinous soldiers, two days have passed since the incident at Zhao Li's house down the mountain, and both families are deliberately avoiding the topic in the village.
But when he thought of his former neighbors and acquaintances who died not far from him and whose bodies were left unclaimed, Xiaoman was clearly in a bad mood. Even while working, he would occasionally glance down the mountain.
As Jiang Zhi dug the irrigation canal, she looked up at the sky. She couldn't care less about the corpses; all she could think about now was how to improve her own life.
Whether it's kudzu root, oak powder, or dried meat from wild rabbits and pheasants, none of these are what she wants to eat, let alone eat for a year or two.
She wanted to eat fragrant white rice, white flour, tender and fatty poultry and livestock, fried peanuts, and chili oil, but all of these things needed to be grown artificially.
Since the wildfires started a few days ago, thick smoke mixed with ash has made the already gloomy sky even darker, as if it were about to press down on people's heads.
It's raining! When will it rain again?
As she was thinking this, Jiang Zhi suddenly felt a cool sensation on the tip of her nose. She wiped it away casually. In front of her, Grandpa Xiaoman was still swinging his hoe, smashing the wet mud on the ridge. It was probably a splash of mud.
But then another drop of water landed on the back of her hand. This time Jiang Zhi saw it clearly; it was water, just covered in ash, like a light ink stain.
Jiang Zhi was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed, "It's raining! It's raining!"
Grandpa Xiaoman also felt the raindrops, raised his hand to catch them, and said happily, "Oh, it's finally raining! It's been so dry these past few days, it should have rained by now!"
"Burning the dragon's back," Jiang Zhi heard the familiar words once again.
This wildfire has an impact on the weather.
In the real world, my grandfather told me that in the past, when science was underdeveloped and there was no artificial rainmaking technology, whenever there was a drought, farmers would spontaneously organize a rain-seeking ceremony involving tens of thousands of people, carrying firewood to burn on the mountain ridge as "burning the dragon's back".
Feng shui masters believe that mountain ranges form "dragon veins," and mountain ridges are the "dragon's back." They believe that simply lighting a fire on the mountain ridge can awaken the sleeping earth dragon, thus causing rain.
Such activities, while not guaranteed to be 100% accurate, always have a success rate of 50% to 60%.
At that time, little Jiang Zhi believed it without a doubt, and every time she went up the mountain to collect herbs, she felt awe for the dragon's back under her feet.
When she grows up and understands the scientific principles behind the "burning dragon's back" superstition, she will appreciate the wisdom of the ancients.
The principle behind fires causing rain is that the combustion produces hot air, which in turn carries a large amount of floating smoke and dust upwards.
When hot air encounters cold air at high altitudes, water vapor condenses and adheres to the "condensation nuclei" formed by dust particles, turning into raindrops that fall down.
Modern artificial rainfall methods often involve spreading dry ice or silver iodide to increase condensation nuclei and thus increase rainfall.
Since ancient people did not have condensers, all they could use was a large amount of hot air.
As for the idea in movies and TV dramas that piling up a pyre and burning a living person can bring rain, that's a joke.
Modern artificial rainmaking is not 100% successful.
Similarly, for rain to fall from a forest fire, several conditions need to be met. First, there needs to be cold air containing moisture in the surrounding area.
The wildfires burned for two days without rain, probably because the rainfall wasn't moist enough.
When God wants to destroy people, there's really nothing you can do. Fortunately, it's finally raining now.
The rain started off sparsely, but gradually became heavier, so Jiang Zhi and Xiaoman quickly finished their work.
These raindrops, carrying black ash, left a black stain on your body and face when they landed.
Moreover, the rainwater is cold, and it would be troublesome if you got caught in the rain and caught a chill.
The useful herbs haven't even grown yet!
While the rain was still light, Jiang Zhi finished work and went to collect some burnt firewood.
Qiaoyun was also busy bringing the ground oak powder back into the house and herding the chickens back to their coop. The two of them were running around in circles.
In the mountains, Xiaoman and Xu Errui were still climbing the cliff face, pulling up kudzu vines.
They have already dug up a rootstock weighing several tens of kilograms and are now preparing to dig up a second one.
Xiaoman grabbed a vine and braced herself against the cliff. She swung her machete to cut the vine roots when she suddenly felt water droplets on her face, followed by a few more.
He looked up at Xu Errui above him and shouted, "Brother Errui, did you pee?"
He knew that Xu Errui often got up at night to urinate, and he would urinate several times a night. He also had a lot of bowel movements and urination during the day. Could it be that he was about to urinate now that he was hanging in mid-air?
Xu Errui, who was hanging on the rattan net, was baffled: "What nonsense are you talking about? Even if I wanted to pee, I wouldn't pee on your head."
"It wasn't you who peed, so where did this water come from?" Xiaoman raised her hand, which was wet, and quickly shook it off.
Xu Errui was too busy cutting vines to chat with Xiaoman.
Yesterday, my mother dug up two hundred catties of kudzu root. If I didn't dig up enough, I'd definitely get scolded when I got home.
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