The sky was magically clear, and people came out of the cold room that had been dormant for half a month, and their vegetable green faces were all smiling with relief.

The children ran around in groups, hugging the god-like Xu Sanye, stepping barefoot in the soft mud under the sun.

With the arrival of Xu Sanye, the villagers suddenly found that whether it was in the pond, in the field or by the lake, there were tender grasses growing everywhere, and the raindrops that had not dried were hanging on the blades of grass, like small silver beads one by one. In the autumn colors of the long rain and early sunshine, the whole village has a fresh atmosphere of thriving.

Second Uncle Cao and Second Aunt Cao looked at the big guy from afar surrounded by a handsome nobleman, and felt that it was so dazzling, I am afraid that in the hundreds of years of history of Caojia Village, the prince of Qipin County is the biggest official, and that Xu Sanye is said to be the son of the super-grade Guogong, the former generalissimo of soldiers and horses, and the imperial relatives who can't look up.

It was because the old couple didn't dare to come closer, and as the crowd was noisy and active, there were also barefoot crowds on the fields, wandering and watching, and three or five groups followed.

Xu Hao, who walked slowly, couldn't help but say sorry in his heart, and he had to tell the people of the villages, and the sales of the hats and others were suddenly blocked. Now that the weather is clear, men can't scrape at home during the day, and women and children have no support, and the shackles of life will firmly trap the nearby countryside.

Let's work hard in the fields, and you can survive when you get food, but you can't go without food when you farm.

Xu Hao is not willing to blindly open his mouth to ask for relief, if every official does this, then the world should change, and he must be self-reliant as much as possible.

Don't underestimate the intelligence and wisdom of the toiling masses, Xu Hao thinks that he is far inferior to people in comparison, so he chooses to stand by and watch, cruelty is also the most effective, and it is also the most ruthless natural elimination law.

The short-lived excitement of Xu Sanye's arrival quickly dissipated invisibly, and everyone dispersed one after another. If Xu Sanye can bring a large amount of food at the same time, then the big guy doesn't mind accompanying him to celebrate endlessly.

At home, Second Uncle Cao said to his son: "You can go to Fifth Uncle Wang's house now." ”

"What are you going to do?" Cao Qiu sat on the threshold and cut open the bamboo, and asked unconsciously.

"Tomorrow everyone is ready to go to the field, and we should also be ready. This day off the ground, I always have to eat a full meal, the omen can be better, and the work is more energetic, and there is no rice at home now, so. Second Uncle Cao explained.

"I don't think Fifth Uncle Wang has a way, right?" I've been hungry for a year. Cao Qiu didn't think anyone had any grain in stock.

Second Uncle Cao said: "It doesn't matter if you go and take a look." ”

Cao Qiu said: "Why bother to run empty? I don't see them any better than ours. ”

Second Uncle Cao's eyes widened and he shouted, "You always like to come against Lao Tzu!" Can you know that they are just like us? Hurry up and make a trip. ”

Cao Qiu put down his tools and said helplessly: "Dad! I'm afraid their family is even more difficult than ours, at least our family can do some work except for two babies. ”

"Nonsense!"

Recently, Second Uncle Cao often feels that his son has become worse, and he likes to raise the bar with him in everything. For some trivial matters at home, I don't know how many times it has happened, and my son is always so lazy and refuses to do things. Sometimes it's just a disobedient, unfilial thing!

Second Uncle Cao thinks that Fifth Uncle Wang's family may not have a way, there are many people who can work in his own house, and there are many mouths for eating. And in addition to the fifth aunt, there is no third person in the family who eats idle food.

Last year, the whole village had to go out to flee, but Uncle Wang had no intention of going out, and quietly supported the survival of the family alone. And. I have never seen him borrow money from anyone, and the day before yesterday I saw him carrying a basket in front of the raw meat shop in Cao Siwu at the ferry. Bought a little wine and meat, shook his head and left, so how could he have no choice?

"Are you going or not? The things raised by dogs are done against Lao Tzu every day. Second Uncle Cao was furious.

"It's useless to go."

"If Lao Tzu wants you to go, go away, don't come to that nonsense, go quickly."

Cao Qiu had to put the knife down lightly and stood up listlessly, he couldn't bear to look at his father's anxious face, and turned around to leave.

Second Uncle Cao immediately instructed: "You said that my father asked me to come, please ask the fifth uncle to help a little bit, and after this difficulty, I will definitely repay it twice as soon as possible." ”

"Oh!"

The moon had just emerged from the treetops, and in a moment it was swallowed up by dark clouds, and there was not a single star in the sky, and it was as dark as a blackboard.

Probably no one in Caojia Village knew what the blackboard was, Xu Hao, who lived in the chief's house, looked at a pot of rice porridge full of water, and couldn't help but order to send rice, noodles and meat, but finally held back, this is not the time to be kind, how many hungry people are there in a radius of thousands of miles?

This is not in Hangzhou City, but in a more remote place, it is possible to save the hungry people by oneself and raise most people for nothing, but it will set a very bad precedent, who can have so much energy as an ordinary official? In a disaster year, they want to transfer food from outside and wait for the imperial court to provide relief, is it possible?

Before he could refuse the rice porridge and water brought by the chief with both hands, and share the only food left over by his wife and children, Xu Hao took it and thanked him, ready to be hungry, otherwise he couldn't stabilize people's hearts.

After drinking half of it, there was a four-year-old skinny child standing in front of him, looking at him with blank eyes, Xu Hao put down the bowl and said honestly: "I can't bear to eat, I'm a man who can't starve to death, give it to the child." ”

Walking out of the chief's house, Xu Hao walked around the village alone, and when he passed by Second Uncle Cao's house, he heard the sound of conversation inside.

"How did the fifth uncle answer you?"

He didn't say anything superfluous. I just said that please pay tribute to your father, I am really sorry, we still ate the old pumpkin yesterday, and today there is only a little porridge. ”

"Didn't you say I'd be doubling down on him soon?"

"That's it! He also showed me his rice jar, which was empty and empty. ”

"So, what didn't your fifth aunt say?"

"Didn't speak, just laughed."

"Damn." Second Uncle Cao punched the table, and said indignantly: "The day before yesterday, I saw him buying meat to eat, ungrateful things, and today I said that there was no rice, so the ghost believed him." ”

The family was speechless, Aunt Cao leaned over, and the children pricked up their ears. Listen to the conversation between Grandpa and Dad.

In the huge ancestral hall, there is not even a bean-sized light, Xu Hao can't see what's going on inside at all, but he can feel that the boundless darkness drags people's moods into the cliff little by little, how can he work in the field without strength?

Second Uncle Cao hated his second son again, and scolded: "That bastard has been out for these days, and he can't bring anything back, so it's better to die outside and don't come back." ”

After scolding fiercely, Second Uncle Cao immediately regretted it, what can I do if I really curse my son? I felt a burst of sourness in my heart. I couldn't help but shed two old tears.

"Holy shit." Second Uncle Cao turned around and walked out.

"Where are you going, old man?"

"Go and find food, dog's day, if you don't go out, you'll have to eat soil tomorrow."

Xu Hao, who was outside, hid to the side, watching the black shadow hit his side and hurriedly walked over, his steps heavy. He stood outside the room for a long, long time, until late at night.

The oil lamp was lit up, and under the faint firelight, Second Uncle Cao had a sad face. Remove a small tattered burden from your back.

"Eat! A tael of broad beans. ”

The eyes of the whole family were projected on the small paper bag, Xu Hao saw the light of hunger, and the eyes of the old man. Filled with tears.

Xu Hao couldn't bear to look at it anymore, he could grit his teeth and persist in being so hungry, and according to experienced old farmers and officials, he survived these few days. Food and clothing should not be a problem this year.

For the peasants in ancient times, the famine year certainly required human life, but the good year did not require human life. The grain hurts the peasants! So he doesn't expect a bumper harvest this year or next.

"Corn. Potato. Xu Hao was a little impatient, he decided to go to Liaodong, even if there were no potatoes and corn, now there were some other things there, which was the most lacking fat for the villagers at the moment.

When the Central Plains is in late autumn, the far north has ushered in heavy snowfall, and this year's snow is particularly heavy, crazy, and it is so loud that people can't even open their eyes.

Gale winds have whitened a large bay, and ships like old turtles are scattered in the white snow.

There were a few small houses made of stones on the shore, and Uncle Ge crossed his legs on the kang, and sat on his buttocks on a soft cushion made of red seaweed, roasting the brazier, squinting his cloudy eyes.

Xu Hao sat opposite him, Uncle Ge is a Liao who has lived north of Heilongjiang for generations, and his Han people have tenaciously survived in this white and vast land, and even the Jurchens dare not set foot in the barren land.

Fierce and ruthless is synonymous with the white paper family, and I don't know how many conflicts with the local savages have been, and how many clansmen have died.

The appearance of Xu Hao made the White Paper family regain the Han surname and Han tradition, otherwise they would not become the Eight Banners of Manchuria, they would have become Tatars in Russia, or gradually intermarry with the Tunguska savages and become new minorities such as the Eskimos, of course, the biggest possibility is that they will gradually go to extinction, after all, the Han people are too scarce to leave even a trace.

Xu Hao didn't know where this was, he felt that he was not far from the Bering Strait, and this time he was determined to open up a route to North America no matter what.

"Third Master." Uncle Ge slowly spoke, grinning and saying, "Thanks to your blessings, we poor Han people are proud of our eyebrows." Let's just say that those fur seals are full of treasures, the meat can be eaten, the skin can be worn, and the navel of the male is the most precious medicinal material. But this is not a human capable livelihood, it is dangerous, if it is not forced by the Jurchens, Goryeo Mongols, who the hell would be willing to do this? Count how many graves are there in the forests on the beach in the East China Sea? More than half of the people in our village have a sworn enmity with fur seals. ”

Xu Hao said: "It's not that you have a mortal enmity with the sea seals, but that you have a mortal enmity with those alien races. This time I will give the village a hundred muskets and ammunition, and the remaining Jurchens have sworn to kill every Han Chinese, this is a situation of no death, to organize all men, this is the land of my Han people. ”

"Well said." Uncle Ge is old but does not lose blood, "The old man also has to be a soldier, killing one is enough, I want to leave the land to my children and grandchildren, this is the white mountain and black water of our Ming Dynasty!" (To be continued......)