Perhaps the atmosphere of sorrow in the village was too strong, so the children didn't dare to run to the fields.
They were afraid of being scolded by adults if they were not careful, as if the field would be ruined if they stepped into it.
Nowadays, no matter what time of year, you can always see a group of people staying in the fields.
"Uncle Li, has this happened before?"
Xia Manni sat on the edge of the field next to Li.
Not to mention'Li' this time he didn't chase Xia Manni away, but turned his head that was looking at the sky towards Xia Manni.
He shook his head at Xia Manni.
It has never happened before?
Let's not talk about "Li". He is over 50 years old and is considered an old man in the village. Although there is a 70-year-old ancestor, the ancestor is already a little confused and it is difficult to get clear information if you ask him.
This hasn't happened in nearly sixty years?
"There has never been no rain? There has never been such a drought?"
Xia Manni asked questions one after another, and her voice couldn't help but get a little louder.
"Oh, no." Uncle Li picked up a piece of soil from the field, which was already curled up.
Not to mention that "Li" has always been a good farmer, but now he has been so anxious about this situation that he has not slept for several days.
It turns out that what made the villagers of Shizai Village increasingly restless was the drought that occurred here.
Xia Manni wasn't sure what level of drought this was. She only knew that since the heavy snowfall before the New Year, there hadn't been a drop of rain until April now.
The last irrigation has almost used up all the water in the river and the bay.
Moreover, the last time Xia Manni took her four children to fish, the nets were almost dry.
"Uncle Li, what if it keeps going like this?"
After listening to this, Li's usually dark and serious face showed a confused expression for the first time.
Xia Manni couldn't bear to ask any further.
This is what farmers do, their faces facing the earth and their backs to the sky, and they make their living by the will of God.
If this continues, they probably won't survive.
“Knock, knock, knock…”
The sound of gongs came from the village entrance not far away.
Xia Manni knew without hesitation that the "rain-bringing Taoist priest" invited by the village chief must have come again.
This is the sixth time this month.
At the beginning, the villagers were very active in burning incense and worshiping, but until now, the gongs and drums have been sounding for a long time, and the people in the fields have not moved.
Later, the children from each family came to the fields and called the adults back.
Taoist priests not only came to Shizai Village, but also to other villages. Even so, the village chief had to queue up to invite them.
There was no rain in the entire county, and the Taoist priests in the Taoist temple were very busy during this period.
I don’t know if it was an order from above or the village heads’ persistence, but in any case, the only person in the village who still maintained enthusiasm for this matter was the village head.
When most of the villagers have arrived, ask Taoist Yu to start cooking.
He discovered that this time, Shizai Village had not even prepared any offerings.
The Taoist who prayed for rain must have been irritated, as he actually said that there were demon boys and girls in Shizai Village who were disrupting the rain-praying process.
The village chief asked sincerely, "Excuse me, Taoist priest, how can I break this?"
The Taoist priest glanced at the crowd and said, "Still breaking it? No, we can't. We have to capture the person and sacrifice him to the gods."
The villagers were shocked when they heard this. What did this mean?
Seeing the frightened expressions on the faces of the villagers, the Taoist priest felt that the anger in his heart had dissipated a little.
"Village chief, go and arrest that boy."
Everyone looked in the direction the Taoist priest's hand was pointing, and it turned out that he was pointing at the eldest son of the Xia family.
The Taoist priest chose the eldest child because that child looked different from the other children.
Although he was dressed simply, he had the aura of a scholar.
It is good to be a scholar, and he must have a certain influence in the village.
As long as he catches him and scares them, he can get away with it.
The village chief looked hesitant. Should he capture Da Wa and sacrifice him to the gods?
"I see your village doesn't want to pray for rain anymore. Once I tell the Dragon King, he'll specifically bypass your village when it rains."
The Taoist's words were still somewhat intimidating, and the villagers began to talk about it.
"Village chief, if that doesn't work, arrest Da Wa first."
"Yeah, catch it in case it rains."
"But the Taoist priest said he wanted to offer sacrifices to the heavens."
"Then... can't you just catch him and release him?"
"We can't offend the Dragon King."
"Hey, why doesn't the village chief say anything?"
…
"Let's see who dares." Xia Manni took the machete that Erwa gave him and stood in front of Dawa.
This dog Taoist priest is really crazy.
"Who are you?"
"Who do you care who I am? I've chopped people and killed wild boars before. If you dare to touch a hair on my child today, I'll kill you."
The soldier was shaking with anger. He pointed at Xia Manni and cursed, "Where did this bitch come from? Someone bring her down!"
Unexpectedly, after the Taoist priest finished speaking, no one moved.
Even the village chief kept frowning and said nothing.
"Okay, okay, I think you ten in the village really don't want to live anymore. Where's the village chief?"
"Master, capturing children and offering them to the heavens..."
He always felt that this matter was a little unreliable. Although he was a little greedy, he still didn't dare to do anything that involved other people's lives.
Besides, Xia Dawa is the most promising child among the ten in the village. The Taoist priest could have chosen anyone else but him.
"Why, you really don't want it to rain?"
"Don't keep saying it's raining. It's going to rain if you put the child up there?"
Xia Manni held up a machete, walked up to the Taoist priest and asked him.
The Taoist priest looked at the machete in Xia Manni's hand and felt a little timid.
"And you, how could you trust a stranger? If anyone believes him again, I'll tie up your children too. He's prayed for rain many times, but has he ever been successful? And..."
She turned around and asked the Taoist priest, "Since you say our child is a demon child, what is your evidence? Can you tell me his birthday?"
"Yes, tell me why you chose this child?"
"yes."
The villagers felt that what Xia Manni said made sense. They couldn't just point at a child and call him a demon.
"That's the Dragon King's order. I don't know the reason. Believe it or not, but when it does, it won't rain in your village. Don't regret it."
After saying this, the Taoist priest actually wanted to run away.
Xia Manni was quick-witted and hit his calf with a machete. The Taoist priest immediately knelt down in pain.
"You curse us when things don't go well? Well, if it doesn't rain in the entire county, then that's just nonsense, you stinky Taoist priest!"
Seeing that it was unlikely to rain, the Taoist priest decided to curse their village.
"Fellow villagers, I went to the city recently and heard that it's not just here that it's not raining, it's not raining in the entire county and the entire prefecture. So, this isn't a problem with our Shizai Village, it's a problem with the heavens."
"Oh, yes."
"Fortunately, I didn't listen to that Taoist priest."
"That's right, Da Wa is such a good kid."
…
"Hey, hey, hey, you're still running..."
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