allonlinenovel Chapter 300 Don’t be afraid of the ghosts in the 7th month of July
Chapter 300 Don’t be afraid of the ghosts in the 7th month of July
At this time, Shen Zhiqiu pretended to be enlightened, and his meaning was very clear: "So this is why you came here. I was wondering what happened that brought so many people together."
Without waiting for others to speak, he continued, "That thing is called a sickle. It can be used to cut grass, wheat, and rice. You can come and learn how to use it. We will be ready for the autumn harvest next month. One person can do the work of at least five people."
Shen Zhiqiu was not kidding. Someone in his previous life had done a test and said that the speed of the sickle was at least five to ten times higher than that of an ordinary sickle.
He said five people, but that's still conservative.
When Shen Zhiqiu said this, he turned around and looked at the people who were cutting grass with sickles.
But in his heart he was very happy: "Well, look at how generous our Nine Clans are. Even though you didn't welcome us when we first came, we didn't hide the good things from you."
Indeed, he guessed 90% of the feelings of the people in Tangjia Village, and most people thought the same way.
At this moment, I suddenly remembered that on the first day this group of people arrived, the whole village held weapons and thought they were here to fight.
Before they came, many people thought that since strangers had come to other villages, what if someone came to their village as well?
Who knows where he came from, what he did before, and whether he is like those newcomers from the neighboring village who either steal or molest decent women?
But when I actually saw this group of people, there was no welcome or enthusiastic greeting at first. Instead, they just looked like they were there to watch the fun and see something new.
In particular, the gossipy women in the village pointed at the clothes on the man and said, "Aren't those who flee famine rich? Why are they dressed like this?"
"Hey, look at that, the feet are out to see what's going on."
People were staying in the village and would get up to check if they heard any noise outside in the middle of the night, hoping that the group of people had seen them sleeping and climbed over the wall to sneak in.
It's true. There were quite a few such things on the first night when Shen Zhiqiu and his friends arrived. Even if there was any noise from chickens or ducks outside, they would get up to take a look.
On the second day, under the big locust tree at the entrance of the village, the gossip masters of Tangjia Village spread the news that Tang Laoliu's house opened and closed the door more than a dozen times last night.
In fact, let’s not talk about how much water there is in this. The person who noticed that Tang Laoliu’s house opened and closed the door more than ten times in one night probably didn’t sleep that night. That person was sitting in the yard all night.
But that's how people in ancient times were. They wouldn't think about whether the gossip was true or reliable. They just felt that the news was explosive enough. After all, it wasn't a big deal. They just listened to some gossip for fun.
There was also that day when people went to the village to fetch water. Tang Wenzheng saw it with his own eyes. At that time, most of the people who were fighting with this group of people in the village center actually had wells at home and would not normally go to the well in the village center to fetch water.
After all, being busy with farm work and household affairs all day long is tiring enough. Who would go to the center of the village instead of digging water from the well in the yard?
It's obvious that they are just here to watch the fun.
But now?
This group of people had a tool for cutting grass and harvesting crops quickly. They didn't hide it at all. Instead, they told us directly: "How is it? This thing is called a sickle. With it, one person can do the work of five people in autumn harvest. The crops will be ready soon. You guys should come and learn how to use it!"
Everyone in Tangjia Village had mixed feelings. They were happy to learn how to use such a useful tool for the autumn harvest, but they also felt guilty about what they had done before.
"Afterlife?"
Tang Jiugong was also moved by what he imagined in his mind. His eyes turned red and his voice trembled: By the way, wasn’t his attitude a bit arrogant that day?
Shen Zhiqiu looked back at this time.
Tang Jiugong suddenly bowed solemnly to everyone, including the village head Tang Wenzhen.
Gradually, the crowd turned into people from Tangjia Village, and everyone looked very excited.
But Shen Zhiqiu quickly avoided them, including his elder brother and Ma Zi behind him: "Emma, who can bear this? Let's not talk about Tang Wenzheng first. That old man is almost as old as their great grandfather."
He waved his hands quickly: "Don't, this is nothing, it's just a tool, it's not necessary, you guys should stand up quickly, I can't bear it, don't shorten my life again."
After hearing this, the people in Tangjia Village stopped bowing, but they were truly grateful to Shen Zhiqiu, because in their hearts, the sickle was extremely important.
The young man from the Shen family must have said this at this time to reassure them. You know, this sickle will not tell how fast the harvest will be in the future.
Even at this moment, it is definitely a magical object for pioneering new land.
You have to know why ancient people didn’t like to open up wasteland. Isn’t it because the effort they put in was not proportional to the rewards?
Moreover, land reclamation not only requires a lot of manpower, but also attracts the covetousness of others.
Over time, people will not open up new land unless they are left with no other options.
But with the sickle, things are different. Obviously, the sickle is very helpful for future land reclamation.
Not to mention the critical moment of autumn harvest. Isn’t it just to harvest this little bit of food from the fields after working hard for a whole year?
But do you think it is so easy to collect food?
Not to mention that during the autumn harvest, we have to get up early and go out before dawn. When we go out, we have to carry bamboo tubes of dry food with us because we have no time to go home for lunch, even if home is right next to us.
But in the minds of most ordinary people, these are what they should do, and they enjoy doing them.
Even some elderly people would go to the fields for the autumn harvest, and the children would advise them: "Grandpa (great-grandpa), don't get too tired, we can do the work, you just rest at home."
Eighty percent of the elderly would answer: "Why should I be tired? This is the only time of year when I can be happy. If I can bring food home from the fields every day, I would be willing to die of exhaustion."
So in the farmers' minds, being tired is not a big deal.
As for what they are afraid of?
Have you ever heard of this: “I’m not afraid of ghosts on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, but I’m afraid of water on the Dragon Boat Festival!”
As we all know, the 15th day of the seventh lunar month is the Taoist Zhongyuan Festival and the Buddhist Yulan Festival.
It is also a festival for people to worship the God of Autumn and their ancestors. Maybe because the ancestors are dead, it gradually became a ghost festival among the people.
People believe that on the night of July 15, hundreds of ghosts come out, so they say "ghosts of the 15th day of the seventh month".
In the feudal dynasty, most people believed in ghosts and gods, but they felt that the water of the Dragon Boat Festival was more terrifying than the ghosts of the Ghost Festival.
As for what the water is for the Dragon Boat Festival!
Actually, it means it rains around the Dragon Boat Festival.
That's because the Dragon Boat Festival is usually in summer, which is rainy.
They were afraid that it would suddenly rain, and heavily, just when the crops were about to be harvested. This was the season when rainstorms occurred most frequently, especially in the north.
The river swells due to heavy rain, the river level rises, the water becomes deep, and it is dangerous.
Especially their Xiaoqing River. It can't be said that it flooded every year, but as far as I can remember, there were several times when the river water overflowed the riverbed, flowed into the fields, and even into the house where they lived.
Although they would try to move to the hills when they saw heavy rain every summer, they could not move the food. People could survive, but the food would be wasted.
But even if we don't talk about river flooding, let's just say that the grain is ripe, and the golden grains are hanging in bunches on the stalks that have long turned yellow. You are preparing for the autumn harvest, or you are harvesting in the middle of it, and a heavy rain comes. How much will the loss be?