Chapter 7 Fear of locust plague

It is now mid-May, and there is only more than half a month left before the normal harvest time.

Jiang Zhiyue thought hard and never thought of the reason why Chen Zhicai and the people of Jiangjia Village started to flee in the original plot. Was it an earthquake, a flood, or something else, but no matter what, it must have been before harvesting grain.

I have left, so this food must be harvested in advance.

In the end, she made up her mind to call the Jiang family together, and suggested in a somewhat serious tone: "Master, let's collect the grain in advance."

"Harvesting grain? It will be harvested in half a month. Why do we harvest it now?" asked Sun with a puzzled look on his face.

Although there was only half a month left before the harvest, a lot of food would be lost, at least 30 to 40% less. Sun felt distressed just thinking about it.

Jiang Yuan thought of something and asked Jiang Zhiyue: "Did the old man in the dream tell you something again?"

Jiang Zhiyue shook her head. She didn't know about this matter. If she continued to tell her what the grandfather told her, the secret would be revealed.

She considered her words: "I've been feeling uneasy these past few days. I always feel like something big is going to happen."

"We haven't had any rain since the beginning of winter last year. Even the water level of the river behind our village is almost close to the ground. Locusts will easily breed in large numbers in this kind of weather. If..."

The Jiang family was shocked. If there was a locust plague, they would lose everything!

"Granddaughter, are you sure?" Mrs. Jiang asked in a panic.

After asking, she clapped her hands in annoyance. She was asking stupid questions. How could her granddaughter know whether it would happen or not?

But now that we have harvested the grain, we will lose 30 to 40 percent, but we have saved the remaining 60 to 70 percent.

What Old Mrs. Jiang thought of, naturally the rest of the Jiang family also thought of it, and finally decided unanimously to collect grain in advance and start starting tomorrow.

The Jiang family doesn't have much land, only five or two acres of fertile land and three acres of dry land. The Jiang family has a lot of land, and they won't be able to harvest it all in two days starting tomorrow.

After deciding this matter, the Jiang family fell into another entanglement, whether they should tell the villagers about it.

Finally, Mr. Jiang and Jiang Yuchao went to Hengrong's house to talk to each other. If asked, the reason would be blamed on Jiang Yuchao, saying that it was his inference from the book and Yue Yatou could not be exposed.

The three sisters-in-law of the Jiang family will each go back to their parents' homes tomorrow morning and try their best to persuade them to collect food in advance.

…

At Hengrong's house in Jiangjiacun, they had just finished eating and were about to go back to the house to rest when they heard a knock on the door.

"Bang bang bang~"

"I'm coming."

The person who opened the door was Jiang Ziwen, the eldest son of Jiang Hengrong's family. When he saw the people outside the door, he quickly turned aside to let them in: "Uncle Xingde, Brother Yuchao, why are you two here at this time?"

Mr. Jiang’s name is Jiang Kangcheng, and he is the same generation as Jiang Hengrong.

He said: "I came to discuss something with your father. Is your father at home?"

"He's at home. He just went into the house after dinner. I'll call him." After Jiang Ziwen said that, he hurried into the house.

Jiang Hengrong's main hall.

Mr. Jiang and Jiang Hengrong sat together and exchanged a few words before getting into the main topic of the day.

When the people in the room heard the news brought by Mr. Jiang and Jiang Yuchao, it was absolutely a bolt from the blue for them.

"Brother, how sure are you of this matter? We don't dare to inform you casually about such a big thing, right?" Jiang Hengrong asked tangledly.

"I'm only 50% sure. After all, it's just my boss's inference based on years of studying. I really don't dare to give any guarantee."

Mr. Jiang said: "But we are all from the countryside. We decided to harvest the grain in advance and we have to tell everyone the reason. If you believe it, we can harvest it together."

"You have decided!" Jiang Hengrong asked in surprise.

I thought they had thought of this possibility and asked for advice, but actually they had already made the decision.

With only 50% confidence, they dared to collect grain. Could it be that they got some news in the town? Jiang Hengrong felt a little shaken in his heart.

"I'll tell the villagers about this tomorrow morning, but we can't control what they do." Jiang Hengrong replied.

"What Uncle Henrong said is, let's just tell this matter. As for what to do, it's up to them." Jiang Yuchao said.

Jiang Ziwen sent Mr. Jiang and Jiang Yuchao outside the door again. When he entered the room, he heard his mother talking about this matter to his father.

"What do they think about this? How much less will they get if they collect the grain now?" Jiang Hengrong's mother-in-law curled her lips, thinking that Jiang Yuchao and the others were crazy. She also said that scholars are not as smart as she is.

Jiang Hengrong glanced sideways at his mother-in-law and ignored her, still at war between heaven and man in his heart.

He didn't believe that Jiang Yuchao had the guts to collect the grain without any assurance.

After Mr. Jiang and Jiang Yuchao came out of Jiang Hengrong's house, they went to Mr. Jiang's eldest brother Jiang Kangde's house. They didn't believe the news, but seeing how serious Mr. Jiang looked, they couldn't help but feel a little nervous, and finally decided to follow Mr. Jiang.

Let’s collect grain together in advance. After all, there is still some left after harvesting. What if we don’t collect and all the grain is lost?

…

Early on the next morning, every household heard the sound of a gong before they had breakfast. The gong was only sounded in the village when something was going to be announced.

On the threshing floor, villagers from Jiangjia Village stood together in groups, whispering to each other to find out what happened.

"Why did Hengrong call us here? We haven't had breakfast yet." A woman asked the person next to her.

"I don't know. Let's wait for Hengrong to tell you. You can't just call us over if nothing happens." The person in question answered.

Hengrong stood on a relatively high stone platform in front of the crowd and knocked the gong in his hand to signal them to quiet down.

"Big guy, I'm calling everyone out today because I want to talk about a life-threatening matter!" Jiang Hengrong said seriously.

When they heard that their lives were at stake, the people below all looked over, and their chatter stopped.

"What's going on?" Someone couldn't help but asked anxiously.

Hengrong beat the gongs and drums again before saying: "Yesterday, Jiang Xiucai came to my house and told me that there might be a locust plague here. Now that I have mentioned this, I want everyone to consider harvesting grain in advance."

This was what Jiang Hengrong had thought of last night. Even if there was no locust plague, people who had harvested grain in advance would not blame him. But if there really was a locust plague, he would have said this.

"You are kidding me to harvest the grain in advance. If you harvest the grain now, you will lose 40%."

"Yes, yes, how could there be a locust plague?"

"I want you to accept it, but my family won't accept it."

Sure enough, as soon as they heard the news, the crowd exploded. There were many people saying anything, and most of them didn't believe it.

Suddenly someone asked: "Hengrong, where did Jiang Xiucai hear about the locust plague? You can't just say that without any reason."

Jiang Hengrong repeated what Jiang Yuchao said yesterday.

After hearing this explanation, the crowd had different opinions. Some said that Jiang Yuchao was the master in the town and must know more than they did. Others said that Jiang Yuchao had spread rumors. For a moment, the crowd was in chaos.

Jiang Zhiyue originally wanted to see how the news was notified here, so she came over with Mrs. Jiang. When she heard that many people in the crowd pointed the finger at her father.

Old Mrs. Jiang also heard the words that slandered Jiang Yuchao, and immediately shouted in a loud voice: "What? Did my son put a knife on your necks and force you to collect grain? Or what?"

The old lady who was scolded by Old Mrs. Jiang had a look on her face. She was of the same generation as Old Mrs. Jiang, so who was afraid of the other when it came to a quarrel.

The old lady pinched her waist and said, "Who told your son to spread rumors about a locust plague? We have lived here peacefully all our lives and have never heard of such a thing happening."

Jiang Zhiyue looked calm and did not have much fluctuation in her heart. However, the Jiang family was willing to tell the news out of consideration for them, and she could not let them spread rumors.

She said: "We are just speculating on this matter, and we cannot give any guarantee to the villagers. However, we are willing to speak out for the sake of the neighbors. It's just that the ugly words are ahead. If something really happens, come to us to borrow food."

If you don't, don't say that our family is cold-blooded and ignores the friendship between the villagers."

Jiang Hengrong originally wanted to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor and let the villagers draw the blame on Jiang Yuchao, but he didn't expect that Mrs. Jiang and his maids actually came.

I could only bite the bullet and add awkwardly: "The Jiang family girl is right, we are just telling everyone about this, and you can see if you are willing to tune in. I will not force or force you."

Jiang Zhiyue gave him a cold look. Don't think that she didn't know that what Heng Rong just said was to lead the finger to their home.

The crowd was silent for a moment, and someone else said: "The Jiang family girl is right. Jiang Xiucai told us this out of kindness. As for whether you are willing to accept it or not, that's not your business."

Some people thought he was right and quickly agreed.

Zhou and Jiang Zhilan stood on the edge of the crowd. When they heard everyone starting to praise Jiang Yuchao, they felt very unhappy. Because of what happened a few days ago, the villagers avoided her mother and daughter like snakes and scorpions, and they also hated them in their hearts.

Zhou said: "Then we harvested the grain in advance, do you have to ration the losses to the big guys?"

Zhou's words hit the mark on most people's minds, and they were hesitant in their hearts. If they refused, they would be afraid of a locust plague, and if they accepted, they would be afraid of no locust plague. If Zhou said this, wouldn't everything be avoided?

Several people immediately echoed, but Song Furong couldn't stand it. She pointed at those who said that the Jiang family should compensate for the losses, and said: "They all say that people are shameless and invincible. I think you have no shame. Why do you have the nerve to say this?

If so, why should they compensate you for the food?

You can harvest it or not, but my family will continue to harvest it anyway. If there is a famine, you will regret it."

After Song Furong finished speaking, she walked over and took Old Mrs. Jiang's hand and walked out of the crowd together. She had to ask more to see when their family would collect food, so she had to follow closely.

Song Furong's son Jiang Nian also studied with Jiang Yuchao in the school in the town. Every time he came back, he would praise Mrs. Jiang for how awesome he was. She also had a good relationship with Mrs. Zhang. She was already convinced by what she just said.

…

The Jiang family's sisters-in-law also went back to their parents' house to tell the story. Jiang Yun accompanied the little Wang family to Zhangjiacun next door early in the morning.

Things went smoothly for the Zhang family and Xiao Wang family, and they were willing to take the gamble with the Jiang family, but the Sun family suffered a lot from her parents' family.

Zhang’s maiden family...

"I won't come back for eight hundred years, and I'll just bring something like this when I come back." Du Mudan reached out and snatched the basket that Sun was carrying with a mean look on her face. When she opened it, she saw a lot of eggs and dozens of other things that couldn't be seen.
To be continued...