It was summer and July, and the land of Guanzhong was busy.
There were less than two months before the autumn harvest. All the able-bodied men in the villages returned home from the construction site organized by the government and began their busy summer farming work.
It wasn't that they weren't busy before, but it wasn't the busiest time before. If there were a lot of people in the family, they could transfer some able-bodied men to work for the government to earn wages and save on meals. For small families, it was a good thing to save on meals.
After Guo Deng woke up in the morning and ate breakfast, he arranged the farm work for his five sons today. The family of more than ten people had a lively breakfast, and Guo Deng took his five sons to the field with the farm tools.
They didn't dare to neglect these crops for a day and relied on them for food all year round. They were really afraid that something would happen to them.
In the past, they didn't have much land and rented the land of the landlords. Now, they had more land. The family had two hundred and forty mu of land and a cow. The farm tools were all brand new iron farming tools. In the past, they could be considered small landlords.
At noon, the six men were so tired that they were panting and sweating profusely. Their stomachs were growling. Calculating the time, they felt that it was time for the family to send food. Guo Deng called his sons to put down the farm tools and let the cows graze. The six men found a shady place to sit down and rest.
Guo Deng was 48 years old this year, and his body was still very strong. Among his five sons, the youngest was 18 years old, and all of them were young men. Each of them was strong and worked hard. In the past, people said that Guo Deng was blessed. With so many sons, Guo Deng felt that he was blessed.
Under those circumstances, it was really not easy for the family to have food to eat and not starve to death.
It seemed that everything was over now and they had survived. Two hundred mu of land was enough for the family to eat and drink. They also had some spare money to eat meat and buy new things. They could also save some money.
Their lives were much better than before. Now, they didn't dare to ask for anything else. They only hoped that they could continue living like this.
He chatted with his sons and laughed from time to time. After a while, the old woman came with her daughters-in-law and grandchildren to send food.
At noon, the whole family gathered together to eat. The boys were so hungry that their chests were sticking to their backs. They picked up the rice bowls and ate in big mouthfuls. Guo Deng smiled as he watched the children eat. He also picked up his bowl full of wheat rice.
However, Guo Deng sighed with emotion as he looked at the shiny piece of fat on top of the rice in his bowl.
"Husband, what's wrong? Why aren't you eating? "
Guo Deng's wife, Madam Guo, asked when she saw Guo Deng holding the bowl of rice in a daze and not eating.
Guo Deng looked at his wife, then at his children, and chuckled.
"Thinking back to the past, during the toughest times, everyone had to share a steamed bun. We were so hungry that we could only drink water. How could water fill our stomachs? Now, we can eat and eat meat occasionally. We didn't even dare to dream … "
Sighing like this, the Guo children also remembered the past that they couldn't bear to look back on.
"Okay, okay, it's all good now. Don't talk about that. Now that the Emperor has avenged us, divided the land, and rewarded us with cattle, we can eat our fill. Let's not talk about this."
Guo Shi patted Guo Deng's back and comforted him.
Guo Deng nodded and didn't say anything. He asked everyone to eat together. After eating, there was still farm work to be done in the afternoon. His daughters-in-law also had to go back to do textile work.
Now, the government recruited women to make military uniforms for the army in winter. They paid 20 copper coins for one piece. They also paid money to make shoes, hats, and gloves. Those who were willing to work for the government for a whole day were also provided with meals.
Now, any idle person in the family had to go out and find a way to make money. The government was doing construction everywhere. There were many ways to make money. As long as one was willing to work, there was no one who couldn't eat.
A few days ago, Old Zhang's daughter-in-law in the village worked fast and well, she was personally praised by the village head and was rewarded with two taels of silver. The whole family bought some meat to cook at home, and each family in the village was given a few pieces.
Not to mention the lazy people who didn't want to work, everyone despised them.
They were eating and laughing. Suddenly, an official came galloping over.
"Uncle Guo! Uncle Guo! "
The official shouted as he rode on the horse.
"Hey, isn't that the Li family's boy?"
Guo Deng looked over and saw the Li family's boy running back. He quickly stood up and greeted him.
The Li family's boy was one of the more promising ones in the village. During the land reform, the Li family's boy was particularly brave. He rushed up and fought with the three old masters' guards. His face was covered with blood. He was the first one to kick open the old master's door.
If the village head at that time took a liking to him, he would bring him along as a bailiff. Every month, he would earn a salary and send back a few hundred copper coins to his family. Old Li's family, which used to be the poorest in the village, was now living a good life. Old Li was now living a comfortable life.
Li Kai dismounted from the horse and ran in front of Guo Deng. He said, "Uncle Guo, the village head told me to come back and tell you to bring everyone to prepare. Tomorrow morning, Minister Xu will personally come with a team to guide our village on exterminating the locusts."
Guo Deng was the chairman of the Six United Village Farmers' Association in Sanyuan County of Xi 'an. He was equivalent to the village head.
"Oh, Minister Xu will come personally?"
Guo Deng was shocked.
What kind of person was Minister Xu? Everyone in Guanzhong knew who he was. After the land reform, it was a mess. When the various village heads and guild leaders brought everyone to rebuild their homes, Minister Xu had brought people over.
Could you imagine?
A Rank Two official, a high official. He brought a group of Rank Three, Rank Four and Rank Five officials to take off their official robes and change into simple clothes. They went to work with the people in the underground fields. They did all kinds of work and ate together. They ate the wheat rice and pickled vegetables that everyone ate. Then, as they worked, they told everyone about the locusts.
The plague of locusts had been plaguing the people of Guanzhong for more than a year or two. It had not stopped for thousands of years. There were Locust Temples everywhere in Guanzhong. Everyone prayed and prayed every day, hoping that the locusts would not come before the autumn harvest. Or else, their entire year of hard work and food would be fed to the locusts.
Everyone hated and feared the locusts, but there was nothing they could do. The moment Minister Xu arrived, he started to explain the origin of the locusts and how to deal with them in a simple way.
"The Locust Temple is useless. If the Locust Temple was useful, the locusts would not come to visit us every year. Locusts are animals. They are worse than pigs and dogs. Everyone, don't worship them. We have to destroy them!"
That was what Minister Xu said to the villagers. Guo Deng was the first to respond to Minister Xu. He convinced everyone in the village to bring everyone to destroy the Locust Temple. He told them to believe in Minister Xu, they would eventually be able to destroy the locusts.
Now that Minister Xu was personally coming to this small village to teach everyone how to exterminate the locusts, how could Guo Deng not be excited?
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