Hanhou

Xiong Bo's worries began to come true.

Less than a day after the wheat was harvested, the clear sky began to pile up rain clouds, and the wind was wrapped in moisture, making it extremely hot and sultry, indicating that a heavy rain was coming.

With Uncle Xiong's order, all the manpower in the farm was mobilized.Two women and children were left to take care of the cattle and sheep, and the rest went to the fields to snatch them. Even Wei Tong and Wei Shan took sickles and went to the fields to help.

Zhao Jia wasn't idle either, no matter how slow his movements were, it was still labor.

Needless to say, Xin Zhao, Zhao Puonu and Ah Man all carried wicker baskets and farm tools on their backs, and followed Qing Zhuang to the millet field.

Wei Qing and the eight three heads stayed in the livestock farm. They had to help the woman take care of all the cattle and sheep, as well as dozens of ducklings and chickens.

With the strength of three heads, it would take half an hour just to carry the fodder.

Fortunately, there are rakes and wooden shovels that Zhao Jia invited craftsmen to make, as well as a simple version of the trailer with inlaid wooden wheels and a rope that can be walked. Otherwise, with only this manpower, it may not be possible to finish the work in the morning .

"Ah Qing, I'll pull it!" A boy with a scar on his eye stepped forward and took the hemp rope from Wei Qing.I couldn't pull my hands steadily, so I simply wrapped them around my body.

Two more boys came over, one helped to pull the trailer, and the other walked behind the trailer and pushed it forward with his hands.

Several people worked together, and the wooden wheel began to roll, crushing the short grass on the ground.

Once the trailer is moving, things get a lot easier.The boys only need to keep moving forward, transport the grass to the fence, and move it in in bundles.

"I didn't cook the bean dregs today. After transporting the grass, I checked the fence again, and then I went to help Ah Zhi take care of the chickens and ducks." Wei Qing helped to push behind, and a few boys pulled a smaller trailer, and they were all going Catch the fence.

The scarred boy pulled the trailer to the fence with all his strength, then untied the hemp rope, wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve, looked up at the sky in the distance, and said worriedly, "It's going to rain."

"Don't let it rain!" Another boy picked up the grass from the car and carried it to the fence.No feeding troughs, just piled on the ground.Grabbing the horns of the ram as before, the ewe immediately surrounded her with half-grown lambs.

"If it rains at this time, the millet will rot in the ground."

While talking, Wei Qing picked up the fodder, and when the trailer was empty, he began to count the number of lambs.After counting twice, I felt that it was wrong, so I turned to the boy with the scar on his face and said, "Mai, come and see, is there a lamb missing?"

"The lamb isn't right?"

The boys were all startled, and immediately came over to help Wei Qing count together.

"Thirty, 31...one is missing!"

"It's true that one is missing!"

"what happened?"

"Don't panic, it may be hidden under the ewe, it has happened before."

"Look in the sheepfold."

Wei Qing asked Ah Mai and the others to back off, walked into the fence by himself, searched for all possible hiding places, and then drove the ewes away.But no matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find the lost lamb.

"How to do?"

The children are very anxious.

It is impossible for a half-grown lamb to run away by itself, the only possibility is to be taken away by other beasts.

"Don't be caught by me!" A boy gripped the hemp rope tightly and said bitterly.

"Go tell me first, I'll stay here and watch. Ah Mai, you take someone..."

While Wei Qing was talking, a boy suddenly ran over and said, "Ah Qing, something happened at the chicken coop, come quickly!"

"what?!"

"There's an eagle catching the chicken!"

"What about Akin?"

"Ajin is not here, he should have gone to Awata's side!"

Troubles came all at once, and the boys were a little at a loss.

Wei Qing was equally anxious, but knew that he should not panic now.He tried his best to stabilize his emotions and separated the eight boys. Three of them took care of the sheep pen, three of them went to chase the eagle with him, and the remaining two were responsible for delivering letters to the woman. Give up notice.

"Remember, don't panic! Mai, come with me to get the Yi bow."

The boys have limited strength, and no one can pull the horn bow.Fortunately, their purpose is not to shoot and hunt, but to drive away the eagles, and the Yi bow is enough to deal with it.

"A Gu, go find my wife and explain the matter clearly!"

"Azhi, you take care of the sheep pen here."

Following Wei Qing's words, the boys took action one after another, without any panic like before.

"Mai, let's go!"

Abandoning the trailer and the hemp rope, Wei Qing quickly ran into the wooden house, took down the Yi bow from the wooden frame, carried the quiver on his back, hung a dagger on his waist, tightened the rope wrapped around the quiver, and immediately Run out of the cabin and rush to the chicken coop.

Still far away, you can hear the anxious chirping of the reed chicken.

Wei Qing stepped even faster, pushing aside the fence in front of the chicken coop, and found that there were many dead chickens and ducklings lying on the ground, including a rooster and two hens lying on the ground.

The few remaining hens exploded their feathers, kept screaming and flew up, blocking the black hawk's attack with their bodies.Two of them flew the highest and pecked at the black eagle's eyes with their beaks.The surviving chicks and ducklings hid behind the hen, clinging tightly together, like a pile of fluffy balls, trembling.

Wei Qing knew that he couldn't delay, so he quickly drew the Yi bow, and the arrow flew out.The three of Ah Mai drew their bows at the same time, and several wooden arrows flew towards the black eagle. They missed, but succeeded in scaring the target away.

The reed chicken screamed anxiously, and its feathers exploded, making it look even bigger.Seeing Wei Qing and the others, he also put on a threatening posture, not allowing them to get any closer.

"Mai, draw your bow quickly, there are two eagles on it!"

"Two?"

The three boys were startled, and followed Wei Qing's point of view, and sure enough, there were two black figures hovering above their heads.

"What should I do?" A boy worried, "Can we drive them away? Do you want to go find my wife?"

"A Gu has already gone." Wei Qing took out a wooden arrow, stared at the black eagle in the sky with both eyes, and drew the Yi bow to its full capacity again, "We have to stay here, we can't let them come down again!"

"Fire arrows!"

Hearing Wei Qing's voice, the boys almost instinctively opened their bows to shoot arrows.Half of the pot of arrows shot empty, and miraculously hit a black eagle in the right eye.

"continue!"

Wei Qing kept pulling his bowstring, even though his fingers and palms were covered with red marks and blood oozing.Black Eagle was completely enraged and swooped down. Wei Qing seized the opportunity and shot an arrow at Black Eagle's left wing.

At this moment, there was another cry in the sky, and a dark brown figure passed through the clouds and appeared above the injured black eagle, grabbing it with sharp claws.At the most critical moment, another black eagle rushed over, spread its wings, and locked the golden eagle with its sharp claws.

The two raptors were fighting fiercely in the air, their wings flapping constantly, and they made a sharp cry.

Ah Gu finally arrived with the woman.

Seeing the situation in mid-air, without any hesitation, the woman immediately opened the horn bow, and a sharp arrow flew out, piercing the other wing of the injured black eagle.

The black eagle let out a whine, and fell vertically from mid-air.

The culprit who hurt the chicks and ducklings was right in front of them, and the reed chickens would not be polite, they all rushed up angrily, opened their wings and pecked fiercely.

The feathers in the chicken coop were flying, and the black eagle was trampled under the feet of the reed chicken.

Witnessing with their own eyes how difficult the irritated reed chicken is, Wei Qing and Ah Mai stepped back subconsciously and collectively swallowed.

The battle in the sky was soon decided. The black eagle broke one wing and was scratched by the golden eagle. He fell to the ground like his companions amidst the wailing.

Even though he was half dead, Black Eagle was still fierce, almost scratching the boy who stepped forward.Wei Qing drew out the dagger, without saying a word, directly pierced the black eagle's neck, then grabbed the black eagle's wings, and dragged it to the woman.

"Girl, it's my fault for not being optimistic about the chicken coop. Also, one lamb is missing, and I don't know the reason yet."

The woman picked up the black eagle and weighed it, then put it aside, carefully inspected several boys, and made sure that none of them were injured, then she was relieved and praised: "Don't panic when things happen, you have courage, it's very good!" ! Let me tell you sir, I will cook these two eagles today, and share a big piece with each of them!"

The golden eagle hovered above the chicken coop, immediately arousing the vigilance of the reed chicken.

Losing more than a dozen chicks and ducklings, the hen is on alert. As long as it flies in the sky, regardless of whether it is cooked or not, it is a threat and must be driven away!

The golden eagle didn't stay any longer, it let out a loud cry, and flew away with its wings fluttering.Looking at the direction, it should be returning to Awata.

During the autumn harvest season, voles and rabbits are common in the ground, and they can be caught without much effort.Such a good opportunity, the Golden Eagle naturally didn't want to miss it.

After tidying up the chicken coop, Wei Qing and others re-tightened the fence, and went to the sheep pen with the woman.

When they got closer, they found Ah Zhi and the three of them were brandishing wooden shovels, chasing a few small reddish-brown animals.

"It's the fox!" Ah Zhi saw the woman and shouted, "They killed the lamb and dragged it away from under the fence!"

These foxes were too cunning, they dug their holes very secretly, covered by tall grass, not to mention Wei Qing, even the woman who checked the fence didn't notice.The reason why Ah Zhi and the others were able to detect it was because the marmots on the opposite side kept yelling. They searched carefully under suspicion and discovered this secret passage.

"There is still more than half of the lamb hidden there."

When he mentioned the dug lamb, the boy's face was full of distress.After the lambs were born, they were the ones who took care of them.After finally growing up, he was harmed by a fox!

The boys gritted their teeth with hatred, and brandished their wooden shovels to chase down the culprit.If the flail wasn't too heavy for them to hold, it would definitely give this brood of foxes a taste of being crushed by a wooden stick.

With the addition of Wei Qing and the women, the foxes were quickly caught. Counting them, there were five or six foxes, large and small.

The woman checked the fence carefully and blocked the hole.Let Wei Qing continue to take the boys to inspect the sheepfolds, and then he took the eagle and the fox back to the wooden house, preparing to deliver meals to the field.

The steamed cakes and steamed buns are ready, but there are too many people rushing to collect them, more corn and rice should be steamed, as well as pickles and barbecue, all of which are [-]% more than usual.

"Let Ah Gu come to me if you need anything."

After the meal was ready, the woman left two roasted hares, more than 20 steamed buns, half a bucket of millet rice and hot soup with shepherd's purse for the children, and then she got into the car and left in a hurry.During the autumn harvest, people are everywhere.If there were no such children in such a large livestock farm, there would be troubles if things went wrong.

After the woman left, Wei Qing and Ah Mai washed their hands, each holding a bowl of millet rice, and sat by the sheep pen to share the barbecue and steamed buns.

"Ah Qing, you're amazing!" Ah Zhi stuffed a large piece of rabbit meat into her mouth, her cheeks puffed up, "It's lucky that you arranged, otherwise we wouldn't know what to do."

"Yes!" Ah Mai held a bun in his hand, and said, "Ah Qing, you are smarter than us, you can learn everything quickly, and you will definitely be a great general!"

Wei Qing swallowed the corn and rice in his mouth, and said seriously: "I didn't think so much, I just want to learn the skills, and then kill the Huns, and kill those wicked people."

"Isn't it possible to kill more by becoming a general?" a boy said.

"Ah Qing, you still want to be a great general, and lead us to kill the wicked and the Xiongnu!"

The children's words were sincere and earnest. Wei Qing nodded vigorously and clenched his fists: "One day, I will definitely do it!"

The woman went to the field to deliver food, and by the way told Zhao Jia and Uncle Xiong what happened in the livestock farm.

Hearing the performance of Wei Qing and the others, Zhao Jia immediately laughed and said, "How can an eagle be enough? Tonight, we will slaughter the sheep, and grandma will cook it."

"promise!"

"Lang Jun, the servant didn't think carefully before, how many more people should be kept in the livestock farm." Xiong Bo said.

"It happened suddenly, no one could have predicted it." Zhao Jia shook his head and smiled, "But Uncle Xiong is right. Ashin, take Ponu back and take care of the livestock farm with Ah Qing and the others."

"promise!"

Zhao Xin agreed, called a few teenagers, and returned with the woman who delivered the food.

With the help of five teenagers, the children immediately felt much more relaxed.In the process of inspecting the fence, Zhao Puonu even pulled Wei Qing over and curiously asked about the process of shooting the eagle.

"You can shoot through wings with a Yi bow?" Zhao Puonu said enthusiastically, "After the autumn harvest, let's go falconry together!"

Xin Zhao looked at Wei Qing differently after listening to Ah Mai and others about the process.He knew that Wei Qing was smart, but he never thought that this boy who was a few years younger than him was so smart.

"Is it the general?"

Hearing the excited words of the children, Xin Zhao couldn't help feeling his heart burn.The boy still has such ambitions, he is not without arms and legs, let alone a dull person, he can do the same!

As the evening approached, the hired servants and Qing Zhuang returned one after another.The harvested millet was transported to the threshing ground, and everyone had no time to rest, and swung the flails in turn to thresh the corn as quickly as possible.The unhulled millet is sent to the warehouse together with the wheat grains, and is dried and shelled when the weather is fine.

Zhao Jia sat paralyzed on the ground, covered in sweat like everyone else.After putting down the flail for a long time, his hands still trembled uncontrollably, and his back hurt.After pouring a whole bowl of warm water, I felt better.

"Your Majesty, the servant who was sent to Miss Wei has just returned and said that all the corn and wheat in the field have been harvested. With these people, it will take less than two days for the corn field to be harvested." Xiong Bo said.

"Good!" Zhao Jia picked up the wooden bowl again, and drank the warm water one gulp after another.Honey is added to the water, which not only moisturizes the throat, but also replenishes some physical strength.

"The utensils for measuring grain have also been prepared," Xiong Bo continued.

"Do you want craftsmen to make new ones?" Zhao Jia asked.

"Don't worry, Mr. Lang, the craftsman has made measuring tools for the official temple, and the difference will not be too big."

Zhao Jia nodded.

If you don't pay the land rent this year, even if there is a slight error, it will not be a big problem.

The Western Han Dynasty continued the rule of the Qin Dynasty. When the official temple collected the rent, the dried millet was poured into the measuring tool prescribed by the court, usually a wooden or pottery container, and it was a stone when it was filled.

After a hailstorm, the number of acres in Zhao Jia's hands averaged out, and the yield per mu could barely reach about one stone.

This year, the imperial court does not collect land rent, and the wages for servants and young adults cannot be saved. In addition to the rice and grain consumed for several months, and some taxes such as oral tax, Zhao Jia suddenly discovered that if there is no livestock farm to supplement him, he is considered a farmer. I have been busy for a year, not only did not make a profit, but even lost a little.

"Is this the so-called relying on the sky?" Zhao Jia muttered, pulling up a piece of grass and breaking it into two pieces.

Pastoral life sounds beautiful, and you will understand it after experiencing it yourself. The so-called beauty basically only exists in the poems and poems.The reality is that for the farmers in the border counties in the early Han Dynasty, if they worked hard for a whole year and could barely eat half full, this was considered a good year.

Heavy rain may fall at any time, and the entire border county is rushing to harvest.

There are no idlers in the village anymore, and many half-grown children take up sickles and go to the fields, fearing that the rain will wipe out a year's hard work.

The team to choose Liangjiazi has arrived in Hedong County.

Due to the long distance and limited time, the eunuch who was ordered to go north kept urging everyone to speed up, not to stop along the way, and to rush to the first destination of the trip: Yunzhong County as soon as possible.

Zhao Jia was busy collecting them, and didn't know about the arrival of this team.

After harvesting the last acre of millet field, the rain clouds accumulated to the thickest, and the day was like night. Lightning suddenly crawled through the clouds, and amidst the roar of thunder, heavy rain poured down, covering the whole county of Shaling.