Chapter 799 Blizzard Coming
It was snowing heavily. In just one day, everyone hurriedly searched for their best cotton-padded jackets.
"The snow came so early this year. It's not even winter yet!!"
"It's bad, rice, rice!!" When these words were spoken, everyone looked at each other, were suddenly frightened, and ran home one after another.
October is the golden autumn and it is the season for harvesting rice.
Some of the fruits were harvested early and have been brought back for drying.
Some late rice is still in the fields, waiting to be harvested after the rain passes. These are the future food supplies for the family. The whole family depends on the little piece of land to survive.
At this moment, everyone crawled to the edge of the field.
He stared blankly at the white space in front of him, opened his mouth, but his throat seemed to be stuck and he couldn't utter a word.
He just trembled all over and fell straight to the ground.
"Oh my God, you are trying to kill us! All the rice is frozen!" A shrill wail was heard, and cries were heard from all directions. Everyone was shrouded in sadness and despair.
"How could this happen? How could this happen?" There will be a rainy season in autumn and the temperature will drop slightly. But the temperature will soon rise, and the people will take this opportunity to harvest the grain.
This year, how could it be like this...
Young and old walked out of their homes and ran towards the fields crying.
The golden ears of wheat were frozen by the accumulated snow and bent under the weight of the snow. Seeing this scene, almost everyone felt as if the sky had fallen.
Nowadays, grain production is low. Even if Emperor Xuanping reduces taxes, the people still have little grain left throughout the year and can barely fill their stomachs.
If there is a shortage of food, people even have to tighten their belts and go up the mountain to look for wild vegetables to survive.
The old man on the edge of the field was staggering, his face pale and frightening. At that moment, his back seemed to collapse and he would never be able to straighten up again.
A trace of despair appeared on the old face.
Since ancient times, farmers have relied on the weather for their livelihood. During droughts, they need to carry water down from the mountains to irrigate farmland. Before daybreak, everyone, young and old, had to go up the mountain. After finishing the irrigation, I was so sore all over that I couldn't even lift my hands, and my shoulders were red and swollen from being pressed by the carrying pole.
Every day, they have to go to the rice fields under the scorching sun to pull weeds and plant rice seedlings, and take care of the crops carefully.
The fertile fields of every household are the lifeblood of the family.
Even after dinner in the evening, the old men would come to the edge of the fields with their hands behind their backs. Only when they saw the green seedlings would they feel at ease.
now……
"It's gone, all gone..." The sky fell.
"Something's wrong. Something's wrong with this day."
The early rice is being dried in the sun, and the late rice is still half a month away from maturity. This is not the time for snow at all.
"This is God's revenge on us. The gods have punished us." Someone murmured in a low voice, then fell to the ground, looking at the sky in despair.
Xu Shiyun held hot soup in her hands. Although Chao Chao was still unconscious, she would carefully make some soup every day to help her regain her vitality.
When Rong Che saw the snow flying all over the sky, his heart sank.
"It just snowed today, so the ground isn't too frozen yet. We must pull out some soldiers to help harvest food." Otherwise, countless people will starve to death this winter.
"We can still harvest them now that they are just frozen. Let's harvest them now."
"We collect all the rice and dry them together. We will collect as much as we can." The rice is not fully ripe yet and is not full inside. I am afraid there are many empty shells.
But now I can’t care too much. If I can harvest one more pound of rice, I can have a few more meals.
Half of the defending soldiers were immediately separated and sent to nearby areas to harvest the spoils.
Emperor Xuanping looked grim: "I cannot stay here for too long, I have to go back to the palace to take charge of the situation. I will leave this place to Lord Rong, no matter what the cost, you must protect Chao Chao."
There are more and more memorials these days, and the court cannot afford to delay.
Rong Che bowed deeply, his eyes red as he said, "Your Majesty, just go with peace of mind. Chao Chao is my daughter, and I will do my best."
The emperor hurried back to the capital.
The further we walked, the more frightening it became. All the golden rice along the way was frozen in the snow. Wherever you go, you can hear cries of grief and wailing.
Emperor Xuanping clenched his fists and said, "Order people to quickly count the disaster situation and send people to help the people harvest the crops."
"Harvesting is the most important thing." The heavy snow came without any warning, and the Beizhao grain depot simply could not support such a huge number.
Emperor Xuanping pressed his eyebrows, feeling uneasy.
The people have been pushed to the extreme, what should they do?
"Withdraw some more troops to the outside of the city, the sooner the better!" Emperor Xuanping could not wait. The people were now shrouded in anger, and they might lose their minds in anger.
Shanshan stood in the snow, holding the Buddhist beads.
He could feel the aura surging around him. Without Zhaoyang Sword Master in charge and with the deliberate connivance of the God Realm, everyone wanted to take advantage of the chaos and come to the mortal world to get a piece of the pie.
A hint of anger flashed across her delicate little face: "Don't force me to slap you!"
The surging breath faded away in an instant.
Shanshan pursed his lips tightly, his eyes fell on Lu Chaochao. His eyes seemed to be burned, and he quickly looked away, not daring to look again.
At some point, he secretly clenched the Buddhist beads.
“Don’t look, don’t think, don’t be angry… Don’t look, don’t think, don’t be angry…” He murmured in a low voice, and immediately turned around and walked into the house, as if he would lose control if he looked at it one more time.
Yuzhu just looked at Lu Chaochao from afar, tears welling up in her eyes but she was stubborn and refused to let them fall.
"I have given the story to storytellers from all over the country, and it has been circulated in the past few days."
“I just don’t know how many people can remain calm when faced with a natural disaster.”
The snow is getting heavier.
There was a thin layer of snow on Lu Chaochao's shoulders, and they only had time to harvest the food for one day.
Late at night, a blizzard hit.
Everyone dragged their heavy feet, their wet bodies refusing to leave the rice fields.
But how could mortal bodies withstand the blizzard? Everyone wiped their tears and left helplessly.
I stayed up all night, standing by the window and watching the blizzard coming quietly.
"Much of the rice we harvested was empty husks, less than one-tenth of the original grain. I'm afraid we won't be able to survive this winter." These words are being heard in countless homes.
I watched helplessly as the heavy snow covered the rice fields, and all my hopes were buried under the snow.
The snow came so quickly that the family didn't even have enough firewood stored for the winter.
Despair spreads and there is no hope in sight.
"Because we don't want to do anything to her?"
"God has punished me?"
The child asked the elders in the family in a tender voice, but no one spoke. They just looked solemnly in the direction of Lu Chaochao.
It's freezing cold at home, and even colder in the mountains.
The mountain wind was howling, and Xu Shiyun lit a brazier in front of Chao Chao, but Chao Chao's hands and feet were still cold.
Xu Shiyun knelt on the ground, unbuttoned her outer robe, and tucked Chao Chao's cold feet into her warm arms.
The moment their skin touched, she felt as if she was frozen to numbness, and she couldn't help but gasp.
“Madam…” Rong Che’s heart trembled.
Xu Shiyun held her feet tightly in her arms, her face calm, "How painful it must be for her..."
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