"Not only is it late, but the harvest is also poor. In some places, all the wheat has dried up, and there is no work at all."
"This year's crazy weather..."
These are Mikes from all over the world.
Dayan has a developed commodity economy, and there are many opportunities for work. The northwest region produces a lot of wheat, and the wealthy farmers who own large tracts of land are too busy. So every time the wheat matures, many farmers come to Longzhou to help them.
By cutting wheat, people can earn a living for a period of time and earn some hard-earned money. It is considered a job.
These people are called Mai Ke.
When Song You was in Yizhou before, and even when he traveled to dozens of other places, he had never seen this kind of mobile workmanship.
Coming here is a new experience.
The people closest to these wheat customers are people from this state, but there is no wheat growing there, so when the wheat ripens, it becomes empty, or the wheat ripens at different times, or they don’t have their own land, so they have to help others work during the harvest.
The ones that are far away are from neighboring states, and they have to travel thousands of miles to collect them all the way. They work from morning to night, fighting against time to make money.
It’s just that this year’s job doesn’t seem to be easy.
Due to climate change, the wheat in the northwest matures much later this year, which means that wheat customers often misjudge the time and arrive at the wheat fields early, but there is no work.
Mai Ke is a mobile worker. Even if he goes to the same place every year, he is already familiar with the local rich owners. If you don't work, they will not give you free meals. Mai Ke are often poor people who go out.
They are just begging for food. They don’t bring much money. If they can’t find a job, they will have no food to eat. They will starve to death in front of the rich owner’s house.
In addition, due to the severe drought this year, the local wheat harvest is not good, and even a lot of land is deserted. Without a harvest, it will be even harder for wheat customers to find work.
These are the people at the bottom of current society. Even ordinary farmers are better off than them. They are also the group of people least capable of resisting risks. If the world is a little chaotic, even if it is just climate change in other places, it will be enough to bring them serious consequences.
A devastating disaster.
Song You was lying on a slightly sloping slope, looking at the stars in the sky. He held a piece of baked bun in his hand and unconsciously put it into his mouth while listening to their story.
When life is extremely miserable, one becomes unusually open-minded about life.
These Mai Kes gathered together today, and they were talking about either where they couldn't find a job, or how hard it was for the Mai Kes they knew. They had no food to eat, and they turned from looking for work to begging for food. But this year, there are natural disasters in the entire northwest. Usually, there are no
The horse bandits who looked down on the small amount of money that Mai Ke had had started to take advantage of Mai Ke, and it was not so easy to get food, so they went without food or water for a long time, and they died in a foreign land without even leaving a name.
.
When the microphones spoke, although they were extremely emotional, they were also very light, with a kind of accustomed numbness, as if they had seen their own fate and accepted it calmly.
"Fortunately, the owners of the village in Bai County where we often visit believe in Buddhism and are kind-hearted, so they took us in for a few meals, otherwise we might have starved to death on the road."
"Who says it's not the case? I also took my baby with me. If I hadn't met a kind-hearted rich man, who even though he didn't do much work, he still got a couple of mouthfuls of food, otherwise I would have starved to death. I would have starved to death.
It’s okay to starve to death at my old age, but if we only have this one seedling in the family, if it dies, it will become extinct.”
Those who survived this trip were probably lucky.
As everyone talked, the topic slowly changed.
"They say the severe drought in Longzhou and Shazhou is caused by monsters. Is this true or false?"
"I heard that the drought in the Western Regions is even worse!"
"What's up with the monsters? Why did I hear that the fire jar of the Earth Fire Kingdom in the Shazhou desert broke and the fire came out, which caused the severe drought in Longzhou and Shazhou?"
"I heard that the God of Fire in the Flame Mountains of the Western Region was angry and said that people now only believe in Buddha and not the God of Fire, so he cast a spell to cause a severe drought in the northwest!"
"People in Bai County said that it was because people in the northwest gradually only worshiped Buddha, only believed in Buddhism, did not respect Taoism, and did not worship the heavenly palace. This made the Red Emperor in the sky angry, so he ordered the gods to control the rain.
Rainfall is not allowed in the northwest, so there is no way to survive."
Everyone spoke to each other with different accents, but they could generally be heard clearly. When communicating with each other, they often lowered their voices and opened their eyes wide, as if they were saying something outrageous, for fear of being caught by the gods in the sky or the people at night.
If the evil spirits hear it, it will bring disaster.
Sanhua Empress, who was catching lizards in the desert, heard the topic she was interested in and ran back again. She sat down beside the Taoist and stared at the visitors with a serious face.
There is another pair of eyes in the dark night, equally dark and bright.
He was the son of the middle-aged Mai Ke. He was estimated to be only about ten years old, but he had already followed his father into the world. There were even traces of work left on his body.
Things about immortals, gods and ghosts attract children's interest the most. Children are still children no matter how miserable they are. At this time, he huddled next to his father, opening his eyes in the dark night, while looking at the Taoist in Taoist robes and the people around him.
The calico cat listened to the adults talking about evil things in a serious manner.
"Since last year, the world has been full of unrest. There are many people wandering around at night and meeting monsters on mountain roads. I can't say for sure."
"God has no eyes!"
While everyone was discussing in low voices, an unsociable voice suddenly came from beside them: "I wonder what the Fire Country and the Flame Mountain have to say?"
Everyone followed the sound and looked.
Through the glow of the sky, they could vaguely see a Taoist sitting there. They had just sat up, and they did remember that a young Taoist came to them in the afternoon. He was the only one in the open space with a horse and a lot of luggage.
The man also brought a cat with him, and he rested in that position.
"What..."
"Oh, I have vaguely heard about the Flame Mountains and the Earth Fire Country before, but not in detail. Now I heard from several people that it seems to be related to the severe drought in the northwest this year. I am curious, so I want to ask you about the Flame Mountains and the Earth Fire Kingdom.
Wherever the Earth and Fire Kingdom is, what are its unique features?" Song You didn't care whether they could see clearly or not. He sat and saluted in the dark night, his eyes reflecting the half-day glow of the west.
Everyone looked at each other, a little timid.
This timidity is not due to the identity of the Taoist, but because they feel that they are vulgar, so they do not dare to speak for a while.
"Hui, Mr. Hui, go west from Longzhou to Shazhou. To the west of Shazhou, deep in the desert is the Earth Fire Kingdom. Legend has it that there is a fire jar underground in the Earth Fire Kingdom. It is a treasure. The flames come from the cracks in the ground.
The fires come up from the ground and are not extinguished all year round. The local people rely on these fires to make fires and cook food." Finally someone spoke, with a stammering tone, "Come on, after passing Shazhou, there is a flaming mountain not far from the Western Regions. The mountain is full of flames.
The fire never goes out all year round, making that place very hot to death during the day. There is a fire god living in the Flame Mountain, which is amazing, and the local people have worshiped him since many years ago."
After finishing speaking, I didn’t forget to add: “We have heard about this, but we have never seen it with our own eyes…”
“Is the drought in the Northwest serious?”
"Serious, very serious. It's better here, but the further you go west, the worse it gets. I heard that outside of Shazhou, grass doesn't grow in some places in the Western Regions." Mai Ke whispered to him, "In some places, the Dragon King
The statues of the master have all been smashed, and many eminent monks have been sent from some places to catch monsters that are causing drought."
"I see."
Song You nodded and raised his hands to him:
"Thank you."
The Mike didn't respond and just lowered his head silently.
After a short period of time, many Mikes were quietly sizing him up, but they neither dared to ask him anything, nor dared to discuss it in front of him. It was not until this period of time passed that they gradually returned to the original topic and continued to talk about evil things.
.
Song You was thinking about those two places in his mind.
At this time, he has collected the five auras of the underworld and the underworld. They are mainly metal, earth and water, and fire and wood are left. The northwest side of earth is probably the main fire.
I don't know if it is in these two places.
The glow dissipated and the stars became more dazzling.
There is a Milky Way running across our head, which can be seen with the naked eye.
The Mikes were exhausted all day long, and after not chatting for long, they each took their money, water and food and fell asleep. Soon, the open space was filled with thunderous snoring.
The Taoist also slowly closed his eyes.
…
In the early morning of the next day, it was still dark.
There is a voice next to my ear.
As I gradually wake up, my voice becomes clearer and clearer.
It was Empress Sanhua talking to a child. But most of the time it was Empress Sanhua's voice. Only occasionally did she hear the child respond with a few words, most of which were curious questions. The timidity unique to children from poor families was revealed in her voice.
After that, he closed his mouth again and listened to the girl telling him the origin of Danxia with great interest, showing off his erudition and talent.
It is difficult for people who go to bed soon after dark to sleep until dawn the next day. Therefore, even though it is still early in the morning and the sky is full of stars, many Mikes are already awake. At this time, they either don’t want to talk or are too busy to talk.
It was interesting to hear, everyone was quietly listening to the girl talk.
Naturally, the contents were all listened to on the road yesterday.
"Xian, is the elixir really colorful?"
"Of course it is! When the gods refine the elixir, they have to add the colorful auspicious clouds in the sky. The result will definitely be colorful and glow!"
"Then...are the auspicious clouds and sunset really filled with paint?"
The child's voice was very low and very worried.
"some!"
Although the girl's voice was not loud, her tone was decisive and without hesitation: "Pigments come from the sun. The sun sends the pigments here every morning. At different times, the clouds will be dyed into different colors. At night
Just take it back, if it is broken and falls, it will turn the mountain into a flowery road."
The child, lying close to his father, opened his eyes wide as he listened.
The girl was extremely satisfied when she saw this.
Song You remained silent.
"You're bragging..."
"certainly not!"
"Then you, how did you know?"
"My Taoist said that! My Taoist is very powerful, more powerful than the gods in the sky. He never tells lies!"
"..."
Song You, who was lying next to him, became even more silent.
The eyes that had just been opened simply closed them again, preparing to sleep again.