Li Yongnian and Bai Lian drove Li Xiaoniu to town early in the morning.
After Bai Lian and Li Yongnian left, Leizi took the gong and knocked in the village.
"All came to the ancestral hall for a meeting!"
"There must be one person from each house!"
"Peng Pengbang!"
...
The sound of gongs in the morning is endless.
Every time there is a gong sound, the village has to notify important things again, so the villagers quickly get up and rush to the ancestral hall.
Grandma Ciying went to Bai Lian's house. Li Yongnian and Bai Lian were already shopping in the town.
"The village chief, what's the matter?"
"Yes, the village chief! I have to hurry up to catch grasshoppers in the field!"
"Yes! There are so many grasshoppers this year! The food is probably not good!"
...
Those who came first couldn't sit still. The crops in the ground were the most important to them. Too many grasshoppers in the ground meant that the family might be hungry in the coming year!
"Wait a little longer!" The village chief sighed and waved his hand, "This matter is more important. Let's wait for someone who hasn't come for a while."
The village chief had already spoken, and everyone stopped urging, especially when they saw that several elders from the five villages were helped to come to the ancestral hall, everyone was waiting wisely.
If the general clan elders were present, something serious happened!
After a quarter of an hour, almost everyone in the house arrived.
The village chief glanced at the people with a solemn expression, his voice was a bit heavy, "Everyone has found out now? There are so many grasshoppers in the ground!"
Everyone nodded, thinking, isn't it?
This is the first time that their younger boys have seen so many grasshoppers in the ground!
When I was young, there were grasshoppers in the ground. I liked to catch a few large grasshoppers and roast them over the fire.
No way, too poor.
"Grasshoppers are locusts. Some of you may not know that there was a locust plague in the ground about 20 years ago, let alone the crops in the ground, even the leaves on the mountain were all eaten up." The long voice was slightly heavy.
"This...this is not so serious, right?"
Some young people couldn't believe that there were so many trees on the mountain, how could they be eaten up?
"Locusts cover the sky and the sun. Some people were bitten with blood and no food before they came and ran into the house. Of course, one of my brothers was starved to death." Village Chief Li fell into twenty. Memories from many years ago, look in a trance.
"I heard my grandma say, my grandma said that because she is a girl, the family left all the food to the uncle, my grandma almost didn't starve to death..." someone interjected.
Grandma Ciying's face turned pale. Li Yongnian was only two or three years old at the time and almost starved to death.
That is to say, Grandma Ciying's dowry was still useful for a while, and Father Li and Wang's Lee were not as harsh as they were after seeing the silver.
Even so, he almost starved to death.
Li Yongnian is still young and naturally does not remember, but she will never forget.
So, she asked Li Yongnian to buy food early this morning, she was really hungry!
I didn't want to recall that incident, but I always remembered it, and used it to warn myself that my life is hard-won now, so I can't be confused again.
"Okay! Everyone is quiet!" Village Chief Li waved his hands. "Yesterday Yongnian told me that there are too many grasshoppers in the field. Yesterday, I went to the field to watch with a few clan elders. There are indeed too many grasshoppers, more than ever!"
"What can we do then?" Some people's voices were a little flustered, "My family went to the ground to catch them, and there is always no end to this stuff!"
"Grasshoppers still have to be caught, but I also discussed with several elders, we had better prepare in advance!" Village Chief Li looked at the villagers in front of him and asked, "You still have How much food?"
"Enough to plant a stick next time!"
"Enough for half a year!"
"My family too!"
...
People in the village usually plant one season of grain and one season of pepper. The pepper planted and sold to the Bailian family is more cost-effective than growing food.
Moreover, there is enough food left, everyone will go to the town to sell them, and add a new dress to the elderly and children in the family.
Therefore, if there is no harvest for a year, few people can have enough food.
"Half a year is not enough!" Village Chief Li shook his head, "It's just that we have passed this season. Who can guarantee that we can grow food in the next season?"
As soon as the village chief said something, everyone was silent.
Everyone thought of the long winter five years ago.
"Everyone's experience in the past few years is pretty good. There should be some money in the family. If you can, everyone will go to the town to buy some food. In case the price increases after a period of time..." Village Chief Li said as he spoke. Can't go down.
Farmers don't have much income just relying on farming. They saved some by selling peppers to the Bailian family a few years ago.
Now if everyone bought food, everyone would be impoverished.
But it's good to be alive in famine years.
What else can you ask for?
"Don't spread the matter about buying food in the town. If it is saved, the spread will not look good. If there is no locust plague, the people will be panic. The court will blame it!"
The Xie clan elder who had not spoken all the time spoke, looking at the people in the ancestral hall with cloudy eyes, "Everyone must take care of their mouths!"
This is actually what Bai Lian asked Li Yongnian and the village chief to say, all this is after all speculation.
If it is a false alarm, it will be bad for the people who make it to panic!
"Then can I remind the child of his grandmother's house?" Someone scratched his head, wondering whether to remind him.
He felt that Mr. Li was right, but the clan elders had already spoken, so he didn't dare to spread it.
After all, it’s not a certainty. If you really let relatives buy more food, it won’t be good if you lose money!
"Everyone can remind, but don't spread it!" Village Chief Li said in a deep voice, "It is everyone's business whether to buy food or not. By then, everyone will be happy if there is no locust plague. If you buy more food, you can't blame others. Having a locust plague can be considered a rainy day. "
"Yes Yes Yes!"
"Should!"
"I think I still have to buy some food. If something is really bad, I can't stay hungry!"
"Yes! Even if you buy too much, it is still food, you can still eat it, and you won't lose money!"
Everyone in the ancestral hall nodded in agreement.
However, some stingy people still disagree.
"Forget it, don't buy it! If there is no locust plague and the money is wasted, the money must be reserved for the grandson to marry the wife!"
"Isn't it? There are so many grasshoppers now, and they don’t look as many as they were more than twenty years ago."
"Even if the harvest is not good, I have a lot of land at home, so I won't have nothing to eat!"
...
Village Chief Li glanced at a few women with broken mouths, and did not persuade them. Those women are of this temperament, and they will never change their minds no matter what.
Everyone regards money as fate, and asks for money without fate.
The most joyous one is the fat aunt. After all, she has just saved enough money and is about to buy a daughter-in-law for her son!
There were too many grasshoppers in the ground, and the village chief did not delay too much time. After speaking, everyone went down to catch the grasshoppers.
Some people went home straight away, and went straight to the town with their family members. They were all scared and afraid to bet this time.
Young people can gamble, but old people and children cannot gamble.
