"The Farmer's Fat Wife": Fat Men Are All Potential Stocks (Part 10)...
The rain started in March, gradually turning from a welcome downpour to a disastrous one. Eventually, it felt like the oxygen was thinning, and everyone's complexion changed.
Wheat is susceptible to waterlogging, so the whole village mobilized to find ways to drain water and fight the flood.
Looking at the sky, Ye Xiqing ordered the villagers to stop planting and quickly harvest the green wheat, salvaging as much as possible.
Although everyone later found other ways to make money, the fields were not abandoned.
The landlord's idea that others would come to farm his land for free after selling it was a good one, but he also needed to be clear about his own capabilities.
The pyramid of feudal society was constantly collapsing from the bottom up, and the first to be crushed to death were always ordinary people.
However, a building without a lower level does not conform to objective laws; there must always be a lower level. Once the lower level collapses, the collapse of the small landlords on top will begin.
I didn't take people seriously at first, but when I really couldn't find anyone to farm, I realized that it really wouldn't work without people.
Small landlords had some assets, but they couldn't reach the level of large landlords who could deceive the public and collude with officials, so they had to give up their land.
They also have to pay taxes; the more land they own, the more taxes they pay. If they can't make ends meet, they have no choice but to sell their land, and the small landowners become self-sufficient farmers.
The villagers of Xiawa Village were originally self-cultivating farmers who were about to sell their land. However, thanks to their advanced ideas, more and more people gathered there and took over all the nearby fields.
It's impossible for all three hundred or so people to go out and smuggle salt all at once. They can take turns smuggling salt and farming, so that neither will interfere with the other.
Within a few years, the granaries were overflowing with wheat, and pigs and ducks roamed in abundance, creating a thriving and self-sufficient scene.
Even if they have enough to eat and drink, farmers still cherish their wheat. If they harvest the green wheat now, the whole year's harvest will be wasted.
Ye Xiqing's expression was very solemn. She clasped her hands together and bowed three times: "I feel increasingly unwell. I have a feeling that what happened in my dream is about to come true."
As the birthplace of the legend of the flooding of the Niangniang Temple on Mount Tai, the villagers certainly knew about the dream she was talking about.
With the combined faith in the Goddess of Mount Tai and Ye Xiqing's, no one dared to say anything more, and the whole village was mobilized to quickly harvest the green wheat!
On the barren mountain that Ye Xiqing contracted, he built many hidden caves to hide his private salt workshop. He also piled up old grains, wheat, dry pine branches, firewood, and important money on the mountain.
Chickens, ducks, and other livestock that could be slaughtered were smoked into cured meat for easy preservation.
In addition, Ye Xiqing also asked everyone to move the statue of the Goddess of Mount Tai over.
The villagers of Xiawa Village were used to hearing Ye Xiqing's story about the dream and had no doubts. However, Zhu Niangzi, being a newcomer, was somewhat bewildered.
"The dream you described was actually real?"
That's the downside of smart people; they're hard to convince with ordinary talk of ghosts and spirits. But now, there's no need to convince them; everyone can see that this rain is no good rain.
Once the rain starts, it doesn't stop. The water in the fields keeps rising higher and higher. The villagers patrol the fields every day, turning the wheat fields into paddy fields.
They were initially hesitant, but now they are filled with relief. Fortunately, the head of the household ordered them to harvest the green wheat, otherwise it would have rotted in the ground, let alone been harvested.
Simple flooding is manageable, but the most frightening thing is that the water levels at the major river estuaries are rising day by day.
With the water level rapidly rising, the pressure of flood control has shifted to every prefectural and provincial government office, and Huai Prefecture has been bustling with people lately.
With the flood situation so severe, someone is bound to sacrifice their life.
Maoxian is a strategically important military town, no way. Weixian is a prosperous place, no way. Qiongxian has land belonging to you, Prefect, no way. Let's think of a flood diversion route that will cause the least damage.
Water flows downhill, so isn't it a good place for floodwaters to rush to the East China Sea?
The prefect looked at the guests who had brought a large sum of silver. Ye Xiqing recognized several of them, including the manager of the salt well gang in Weixian County.
A few clever maneuvers from above can determine the fate of those below. The prefect of Huaizhou pondered for a long time before finally deciding on the flood discharge route, and Yang County was dragged into the mess.
The floodwaters, released from the sluice gates, flowed like a dragon bursting from its dam, merging into the Yi River and swiftly destroying everything in their vicinity.
Wherever it passed, a vast expanse of water was created. Just as the prophecy had foretold, the Taishan Niangniang Temple was also submerged. Fortunately, Ye Xiqing had moved the statues away in advance.
Before the flood arrived, Ye Xiqing had been sending people everywhere to spread the word about the flooding of the Taishan Niangniang Temple. People in the vicinity took precautions and fled early, saving many lives.
It's a stroke of luck that no one died, but looking at their homes razed to the ground, everyone collapsed to the ground, wondering what they would do from now on...
...
This massive flood not only swept through most of Yang County, but also affected all 38 counties in southern China.
Thirty-eight counties were directly affected by the floods, not to mention the waterlogging. Even rice growing in water would not be completely unaffected.
In an instant, there was widespread mourning and refugees everywhere. The price of grain soared to 100 coins per dou (a unit of dry measure) and continued to rise. Not only Huaizhou Prefecture, but the entire south was thrown into turmoil.
Some people were still struggling with the trauma of the disaster, while others seized the opportunity to do great things. The Weixian official led his men to raid Ye Xiqing's stronghold, but Ye Xiqing had already left long ago.
The manager was filled with hatred. Now that the well gang and the prefect had joined forces, they were determined to eradicate the sea gang and become the sole power.
The official in charge of Wei County was genuinely afraid that his secret dealings with Ye Xiqing would be discovered, so he rushed to silence him. However, Ye Xiqing's men, as if they had foreseen the future, had already withdrawn from Wei County.
The prefect of Huaizhou dealt with the refugees in a simple way: he prohibited them from entering the city and disturbing the peace of the city.
When people suffer from disasters, won't they sell their fields, their land, their sons, their daughters, and even themselves?
The kind-hearted salt merchants from the well salt gang are willing to pay for it. Don't rely on the imperial court for everything. You still have land to sell. You're not really at your wit's end.
This was already the most sensitive and vulnerable time, a time when people's hearts were unsettled, and the imagined efforts to provide disaster relief and settle the victims did not materialize.
The salt well gang and other large merchants flocked to the disaster area like flies, buying up land at low prices.
Even this year's tax officials did not exempt people from taxes; those who could not pay their taxes were left in arrears and were included in the river repair work, serving as labor instead of taxes.
In a way, it was quite clever. Those who had land sold their land, those who didn't sell themselves, and the vast number of displaced people who had nothing to sell were incorporated into river repair teams to build river embankments, saving good families from labor service.
It not only allows displaced people to work as laborers, but also provides them with food so they don't starve. The precious food distributed is not wasted, and everyone gets what they deserve.
Theoretically, it could solve all the problems to a very high degree, but it's unclear whether all disaster victims are willing to live such a life.
...
Before the great flood, Ye Xiqing not only promoted that dream, but also actively provided shelters for everyone. If there was nowhere to go, they could come to her for care.
In recent years, Ye Xiqing has been gathering nearby people who are about to become propertyless or have already become propertyless. They make a living by killing people in Wei County, but they do legitimate business such as buying and selling grain in this county.
They offer honest pricing, have wide connections, and many people in the surrounding area have benefited from their services. Many people believe what they say.
Not only the people around them, but also Li Qiyue and Brother Li returned.
Although Li Qiyue and Li Sanyue didn't get along, they were still clear-headed about important matters. Seeing that the rain was getting heavier and heavier, regardless of whether it was real or not, they went home to avoid the rain without hesitation.
She naturally sensed how quickly Ye Xiqing had prospered over the years and wondered what he had been up to.
Did you think Li Qiyue would hate Li Sanyue even more for causing her trouble for no reason? Of course not.
She used to be at odds with Li Sanyue because she resented that she was excellent in every way, while her mother favored her fat and lazy older sister.
Now that Li Sanyue is so rich, of course she shut up and quickly told her husband's family to take their belongings home to seek refuge.
Li Qiyue's parents-in-law initially didn't believe in superstitions, thinking it couldn't be that mysterious, and wondered if their daughter-in-law's older sister was after their family's property. But when the flood actually came, they stopped talking.
Knowing there would be a flood, Ye Xiqing would definitely take precautions in advance, building flood defense tunnels, choosing high slopes to build houses, digging drainage ditches, and even repairing several boats as a precaution.
I don't dare to live directly on the mountain, after all, flash floods are very common during floods, and it's not safe on the mountain.
Property is secondary; leaving it on the mountain is fine, as long as it can be kept safe, it's okay if it can't. People, however, need an additional layer of insurance.
Fortunately, there was no flash flood. The survivors couldn't help but cry and bow to the Goddess of Mount Tai, thanking her for showing them a dream.
The people here already believed in the Goddess of Mount Tai, and now their faith has become even stronger. They carefully wipe the clay statue of the goddess every day and promise to gild it and build a temple for her in the future!
After a major disaster comes a major epidemic. Ye Xiqing directed people to pay attention to epidemic prevention. The water in the well is not drinkable now, and there are no advanced water purification methods. So they boil distilled water and wait for the flood to pass. The stored firewood will also be useful.
In ancient times, there were no mobile phones, and no one organized flood relief efforts. Once a flood occurred, people were immediately cut off from the outside world, creating a primitive feeling of isolation.
Ye Xiqing found this feeling strange. People usually regard the earth as an inanimate object, and when they run and jump on her, there is no reaction, so they assume she is just a background figure.
But when she suddenly turns over, all people can hear is her heavy heartbeat and breathing. For a moment, you might have the illusion that she has come back to life.
Listening to the rhythm of this massive life form is like listening to your own heartbeat in the quietest of nights, leaving everyone speechless.
When the sun finally broke through the clouds and shone down on the earth, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness that the sleeping giant beast hadn't actually come back to life!
While we praise her great life, she is better off not actually standing up to assert her presence; humanity can only survive while she is lost in a gentle dream.
As soon as the natural disaster stopped, the survivors immediately began rebuilding their homes, and everyone worked very hard in this regard.
But the government clearly felt that everyone wasn't working hard enough and was collecting taxes on time.
The affected people were dumbfounded: "Officer, our crops were just flooded and we've lost everything. How can we pay our taxes?"
The constable picked at his ear impatiently: "Stop pretending. Everyone knows that your people got advance notice of the flood, so nothing happened to them."
Everyone: ...
"Even if we had received advance warning, the land was still completely flooded, and not a single seedling was left..."
The constable sneered, "If you can't pay your taxes, go and repair the river embankment. Do I need to teach you that? By the way, do you even know the people of Xiawa Village?"
Everyone: ...
The floodwaters slowed the spread of news, and it took almost a month for someone who had escaped from the Hai Gang headquarters to bring back the news that the Hai Gang leader had been captured!
When the news arrived, the people of Xiawa Village were rebuilding. Upon hearing this, they were terrified. What should they do?
The Haiyan Gang had grown so powerful that the government couldn't possibly be completely unaware. In the past, money could buy anything, so they turned a blind eye. But now that their leader had been arrested, the authorities certainly wouldn't keep their eyes open.
After catching the big fish, it's time for the small fish to appear, and soon their safety will also be threatened.
The village of Xiawa has grown to over 300 people; it's difficult to escape now. What should we do?
Hua Xigu was so frightened that her legs went weak, and Zhu Niangzi also fell silent. Wasn't it because she had just chosen a path that it collapsed?
Everyone panicked, but Ye Xiqing remained calm and picked up the iron rod that was placed to the side.
"What's there to be afraid of? We have over three hundred people. Should we be the ones to be afraid?"
-----------------------
Author's note: Qingqing: There are three hundred people, why would I run?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
