"It's just the beginning of winter, do you have to be so anxious?"
Hui Niang said with some hesitation.
"Mom, by the time you think it's time to buy food, everyone will have gone to buy food, and the price of food will definitely go up by then."
Lian Yi explained immediately.
"Lianyi is right. Fortunately, after paying the taxes on the grain we harvested this year, we didn't sell the rest. But even so, it's only enough to last until summer. In previous years, we still had wild vegetables to fill our stomachs. I can also do odd jobs in town to earn some money, so we should have no problem making it until the autumn harvest. But I can't say for sure what will happen next year."
Song Dachuan's brows were tightly furrowed, with a big "川" character formed between his eyebrows, showing that he was really worried.
Hui Niang was silent now. She knew that what her husband said was true. After all, they had only been living separately for more than three years, and their foundation was still too thin. In addition, Hu Zi was recuperating, so they really didn't save much money. It was normal for them to worry.
The family reached an agreement, and Song Dachuan started to take action the next day. He still went to the town under the pretext of doing odd jobs, but when he came back, he would bring one or two kilograms of food in his backpack, including rice, noodles, brown rice, buckwheat flour and so on. He stored them home bit by bit like an ant moving.
At the same time, Hui Niang also took Lian Yi back to her parents' home. Fortunately, they were in the same village and arrived there in just fifteen minutes.
Hui Niang told her parents about buying and storing food, the main purpose of which was to remind them to be prepared for years of disaster.
"Your father has been worrying about this recently. If it doesn't snow today, we will be worried that the winter wheat we planted in the field will not be harvested. Some time ago, I saw your father covering the field with straw mats, so he asked your four younger brothers to follow suit, hoping that we can see some harvest in the spring."
Old Mrs. Zhang sat cross-legged on the kang and also sighed.
"Dad, Mom, Sister, it's not the New Year yet. Maybe it will snow after the New Year."
Zhang Shi scratched his head and said.
His wife got pregnant during the autumn harvest, and now she is in the first trimester and is pregnant. If the harvest next year is really bad, it will have a big impact on their small family.
"At this time last year, there had been one heavy snowfall and two light snowfalls. Half of Zhang Shun's house at the east end of the village was crushed by the snow. You remember that."
Old man Zhang glared at his youngest son and said.
"Dad, I think what my elder sister said is right. Just like what Lianyi said, 'prepare for a rainy day', it's not a bad thing for us to buy some food and store it. It's one thing to eat it yourself, but if the harvest is good next year, we can sell the food and get money in return."
Zhang Zhong sat on the edge of the kang and expressed his opinion. He was also a good farmer, so he was very sensitive to the weather.
"My father has recently started buying food for the family little by little under the pretext of doing odd jobs in town. There's no need to make a big fuss about this.
If the harvest is good next year, that would be the best. If the harvest is bad next year and everyone is hungry, they know that our Zhang family has surplus food. If someone comes to borrow money, would grandpa and grandma lend it to us or not?
If we borrow the money, we will never get it back. Our whole family needs food and drink. My aunt is still pregnant and she will probably give birth in summer.
But if we don't lend it, we are all from the same village and have the same ancestors. Grandparents are kind-hearted and will definitely not stand by and watch someone die. However, our abilities are limited. Saving someone and not saving someone will offend others. After all, human hearts are hard to predict, so it is better to do our best.
The same goes for buying food. It’s best to be low-key and save enough food to get through next year’s disaster. Also keep some money at home for emergencies.”
Although Lianyi was standing next to Hui Niang, she had experience working in a wealthy family like the Dong family and could be considered knowledgeable, so she explained on Hui Niang's behalf and the Zhang family members listened to her.
"Miss Lianyi is right. Let's do as she says. I hope God will have mercy on us and send us a heavy snow soon."
Finally, Old Zhang ended the meeting that day with a sigh.
After that, the four sons of the Zhang family would follow Song Dachuan to the town to do odd jobs from time to time, and then bring back bags of grain. Although the money was decreasing, seeing the amount of grain in the cellar increase, everyone felt a little more at ease.
After the Chinese New Year, it finally snowed, but it was a light snow that didn't even cover the ground, so the farmers were all happy for nothing. The atmosphere in the village was not very good either. The children who used to play around were much quieter, and when the villagers met they just said a few words to each other and then left.
Lianyi had already begun to make preparations quietly. She had learned from Shijiu that next year would be a disaster year. The provincial capital where they lived had first suffered from a severe drought and then from an insect plague. The government did not provide relief in time, and many people fled the famine. In some places, even entire villages had left.
The original body's younger brother also died in this year. He did not have Lianyi to help warm his body, nor did he have enough food and warm clothes because of the money Lianyi brought home. Song Dachuan's family could only barely avoid starvation. When the natural disaster occurred, Hu Zi was the first one to die.
Song Dachuan and his wife were able to survive in the end because they were taken care of by the Zhang family. They fled the famine with the Zhang family village and after a while they finally returned to the Zhang family village.
However, by then, two-thirds of the population of Zhangjia Village had died, and those who survived were extremely emaciated, and they only managed to survive because of the relief provided by the government.
Old Man Song's family was luckier because of the gold bars that Song Dashan found in Wankou Mountain. After they realized something was wrong, they persuaded Song Dashan to go to the provincial capital that was not affected by the disaster.
The family huddled together for warmth. Although they had to eat expensive food, at least no one starved to death. After the natural disaster, they returned to Songjia Village. Each person received a portion of relief food. When they learned that Hu Zi had died, and then received the news of their original body's death, they felt that they had gotten rid of their anger.
Now the bag of gold is lying in the rippling space, and Song Dashan’s body has turned into bones. So sometimes luck plays a role in completing a task.
This is also why Lianyi tries her best to save more people every time she enters a world and completes her mission without breaking the laws of the world. Therefore, she can earn merits from some ordinary tasks, and her luck will also be improved by accumulating them.
This time she was with Song Dachuan's family. She had done so much in advance just to survive the natural disaster. Going to remind the Zhang family before was also a step in advance. No matter what situation they would encounter during this escape, at least they would not be caught off guard.
There were only two light snowfalls throughout the winter, which barely covered the ground. However, the snow melted soon and the winter wheat did not grow well. After a spring rain, the growth was uneven, and the wheat that did grow was not filled with grain and was basically empty shells.
"His father, are we still planting in the spring?"
Hui Niang asked uncertainly. (End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
