Chapter 212 The Village Chief Announces the Good News of the Autumn Harvest
At the border in autumn, the sky is high and clear, as blue as the water. Occasionally, a few white clouds float leisurely, like a flock of nomadic sheep, free and unfettered.
The autumn sun shines obliquely on the ancient village, and the adobe walls are mottled, recording the vicissitudes of time and the weight of history.
Just as the smoke from the village kitchen rose, the village chief Jinniu beat drums and gongs and shouted as he walked.
"Attention all villagers, attention all villagers, please gather under the poplar tree at the entrance of the village when you hear the notice, each family can send one person."
Jinniu went back and forth from the beginning to the end of the village several times and finally notified everyone in the village.
Today, the Wan family and the Zhao family no longer live at the top of the village. Instead, they bought a large residential plot and built a new courtyard. The two families are still neighbors. It is more convenient to go in and out here, and water is also close, which makes Old Mrs. Wan very satisfied. The Wan family spent five taels of silver to buy this residential plot.
Originally, the Wan family wanted to dig a well in their own yard so that they would have convenient access to water. However, they heard from the old people in the village that the water source in Shizi Village was hard to find and it was difficult to get water. Several families in the village had tried it, but none of them got water, so Old Mrs. Wan gave up the idea.
The Wan family also hired the poor old gentleman in the village as a teacher, paying him one or two taels of silver as salary every month. This was already a very generous reward for the old gentleman. For this reason, the Wan family built a small classroom in their home.
Today, the Wan family can truly be considered a wealthy family in Shizi Village.
When the Wan family heard Jinniu's gong sound, they found it strange, for this was the first time they had attended a collective meeting since they came to the village.
Old Lady Wan sent Old Master Wan and Old Second Master Wan to attend this meeting.
Soon, everyone in the village sent representatives, both men and women, mostly men.
Taurus stood on a large stone mill under a poplar tree, looking at the faces of men, women, young and old, the excitement on his face was self-evident.
He waved his hands excitedly and started today's meeting.
"The elders in Shizi Village all know that the border is dry nine out of ten years ago, and there has never been a good weather. This year, God has shown mercy, and we have had wind and rain. Now the crops in the fields are ripe. I declare that tomorrow will officially begin the autumn harvest."
As soon as Jinniu finished speaking, there was thunderous cheers from the audience. Everyone had been eagerly looking forward to this day. It was already autumn and there were no wild vegetables to eat. Everyone was waiting to harvest the food and plant another crop of autumn vegetables. Winter comes earlier at the border than inside the border. When the cold winter comes, if God has eyes, maybe they can harvest another crop of autumn vegetables, so that no one will starve to death this winter.
"It's great that we can finally harvest in autumn. The earthenware jars in my house are all empty. If we don't harvest food, we will go hungry. There are no wild vegetables outside, not even roots. Oh, it's so difficult."
"What about the wild vegetable roots? As soon as the wild vegetables sprouted, they were picked by others. How could it be your turn? Don't sigh. This bumper harvest year is a once-in-a-century event for us. This is a happy thing. Don't cry. If God knows, he will think you are unhappy."
"I went to the fields the day before yesterday and saw that the ears of corn were heavier than in previous years. The stalks were bent under the weight. How could this happen in previous years? This time, I think the harvest may double."
The discussions in the crowd were getting louder and louder, everyone's faces were filled with smiles of happiness and longing, some elderly people were so excited that they shed tears, and crystal tears flowed from their cloudy eyes, which seemed particularly precious in this situation.
Land and food are life for people living on the border.
The Wan family has been at the border for eight or nine months, and this is their first time to participate in the autumn harvest. During this period, Wan Laoer has been in the fields almost every day tending to his dozens of acres of land. He knows the harvest of crops better than anyone else. The bumper harvest in everyone's eyes is not much different from the annual harvest in the interior of the country in Wan Laoer's eyes. In fact, when the weather in the interior of the country is good, the harvest is much higher than here.
This is why the fertility of the land has such a great impact on everyone's food security.
But despite this, Wan Laoer was also very happy. He cultivated dozens of acres of land and was considered a wealthy family in the whole village. Before his family, the largest land in the village was owned by the head of the Jin family, which had more than 20 acres.
At this time, everyone looked at Wan Lao Er and Wan Lao Da with envy.
Changsheng, who had a good relationship with Wan Laoer, nudged Wan Laoer with his elbow with a simple smile on his face. Due to years of farm work, the faces of the people at the border were all dark and red, making them look very simple.
"Jinzhu, your family is very prosperous this year. You have cultivated so much wasteland at once. The weather has been good this year. Your family came at a good time. God bless you."
Wan Lao Er responded, "That's right, we just happened to be in the right time, thanks to God and your blessing."
But in fact, Wan Laoer knew that the good weather this year was inseparable from their little Fubao.
Ever since little Fubao’s life story was revealed last time, Wan Xingmo investigated a lot about the miracles that little Fubao had experienced in the past, and only then did he realize that their little Fubao was indeed a lucky star.
Good weather, peace and prosperity for the country and the people are all just around the corner.
The meeting was over and people were going home in twos and threes. At this time, Wan Laoer heard a woman passing by him and chatting.
"Have you heard? Jin Bao's wife, Zheng, was found in a dilapidated temple not far from our village. Her body was rotten beyond recognition and covered with straw. There was nothing on her body. From the clothes found at the scene, it was discovered that it was Zheng's. Jin Bao is such a jerk. His wife has been missing for several months, but he didn't even look for her. I heard that Zheng's family came to make trouble once and insisted that Jin Bao's family pay compensation."
"Such a big thing, who told you this? How did Zheng die? It couldn't be..."
"Yes, she was raped and murdered. How pitiful! She came naked and left naked. Alas."
The second Wan Lao rolled his eyes slightly and glanced at the first Wan Lao who was walking beside him. The two of them understood each other tacitly. It seemed that Zheng could finally rest in peace.
After this little episode, Wan Laoer didn't take it seriously. But soon after they got home, they heard the neighbors shouting, "Come on, grab your weapons! People from Yongxi Village are here to cause trouble. Hurry up and bring your weapons."
Wan Laoer had heard of Yongxi Village before. The people in this village were very united. If any family in the village was unhappy, the entire village would go out to find fault in other villages. This village was well-known within a hundred miles. Many families did not want to have anything to do with this village for fear of retaliation.
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