Chapter 1 Land Reclamation

This is an unnamed continent, on a sunny day with no clouds and no wind.

A scorching sun in the sky cast infinite rays of light, as if it was about to scorch the entire continent. Suddenly, from somewhere in the sky, a faint brilliance flashed extremely abruptly, and what appeared with the brilliance was a strange ring.

This ring didn't know where it came from, and it didn't know where it was going, it just appeared so suddenly, as if it had just passed through the void, through time and space, and shot towards the mountain below with unspeakable speed In the past, the weird "whooping" sound was short and slight.

On weekdays, all things that fly from outside the sky have tails of thick smoke, whizzing towards them, and the sound is extremely loud, as if they want to be seen by the whole continent, signaling their arrival.

Today's object is different again, there is only a short moment of sound, and then a long sound of "噗嗤", it penetrates deeply into the rocks of the mountain peak, and disappears. This time was so short that it didn't cause any reaction, even the mountain birds nearby didn't have time to fly.

The belated bird flew up in surprise, but circled a few times in the air, and then landed in a flash. It was self-serving, unaware that there was a mysterious thing on this continent.

Then I don’t know how many years later, the mulberry fields are vicissitudes, things are changing, people are changing, the mountain peak has subsided year by year, and it has become a hillside, and many places have become flat land, and gradually there are people, and there are even some people on this hillside. Surrounded by life, what wonderful stories can this mysterious ring bring? No one knows! Only on this day, a thin and small man stood near the hillside...

Zhang Xiaohua was very happy, standing on the hillside with a happy expression on her face.

He stared at the wasteland in front of him with hot eyes, as if the land was a piece of delicious pork belly.

In fact, it is not so much a wasteland as it is a mountainous land, because this land is in the middle of a hillside, but the slope is relatively gentle, and about four quarters of the land can be opened. But even this piece of land was the result of Zhang Xiaohua's father's hard work finding the patriarch for nearly two months. And Zhang Xiaohua also knows that there are many barren hills in the village, but there is very little land that can grow crops, so everyone wants to find a place that can produce rations besides the original land.

Most of the other people in the village were looking for wasteland close to the river, but their family set their sights on such a piece of land because they did not have the money to take care of the patriarch. superior.

The village where Zhang Xiaohua lives is called Guozhuang. The area is only about four miles away, and it is surrounded by mountains on both sides. The mountain is not high, so it is more appropriate to call it a hill. A big river flows through the village, and a small bridge on the river connects the small roads in the neighboring villages.

There are about forty families living in Guozhuang, half of them are surnamed Guo, which is a small family. People surnamed Guo live in the middle of the village, and other people naturally live scattered around the village. People in the countryside are very simple, but they are also philistines. Most of Guozhuang's affairs are presided over by the patriarch of the Guo family. Although they live in the same village, they have different surnames. When the patriarch handles things, he will inevitably favor one side of the clan. Most of the good housing locations in the village and the good crop land outside the village are in the hands of villagers surnamed Guo. However, after all, it belongs to the folks in the village. Although there are many small things, big disputes have never appeared in this small Guozhuang. People in Guozhuang feel that they are living a peaceful life in a peach blossom garden.

Zhang Xiaohua's mother, Guo Sufei, is from the Guozhuang family. She is a branch of the Guo family and has been "brilliant". She is also a daughter of old age, and raised her daughter until it was time to get married. It was also when the old couple were old. In order to support the elderly, Zhang Xiaohua's father, Zhang Cai, entered the Guo family.

In fact, it was said to be a married woman, but Guo Shan looked at Zhang Cai differently, and even Zhang Cai's heirs gave up Zhang's surname.

He never bargained with Zhang Cai, so Zhang Cai became more sincere to the Guo family.

It is said that the wealth of the rural family is mostly related to the labor in the family. Guo Shan has no son. Before giving birth to Guo Sufei, he always wanted to adopt a boy from his relatives, but due to various problems, it did not happen. Guo Shan was the only one supporting the family. This is known. But Zhang Cai was also competitive. After arriving at Guo's house, he was a good farmer and far surpassed his father-in-law Guo Shan in increasing the family's labor force. One year after the wedding, Guo Sufei became pregnant and gave birth to a son, adding a grandson to Guo Shan. Named Zhang Xiaolong. The old couple of Guo Shan were very pleased to see the birth of their grandson. While the whole family was looking forward to the bright future, Guo Shan fell ill from overwork and couldn't afford it...

Illness is undoubtedly a catastrophe for poor families. Zhang Cai sold all valuable things in order to treat his father-in-law. However, Guo Shanfeng’s dying life was still unable to be saved. When Zhang Xiaolong was more than two years old, he died suddenly. What makes Guo Shan feel peaceful is that his second grandson or granddaughter is about to die. Therefore, Guo Shan named the children before his death. The boy is called Zhang Xiaohu, and the girl is called Zhang Xiaohua. . After Guo Shan passed away, Zhang Cai's mother-in-law's health also deteriorated from bad to worse. Fortunately, Zhang Xiaohu's birth lightened the grief of the old man a little, which saved the ordinary life of the whole family.

The life of the peasant family does not care about working in the field and eating at home. The root of life is the land. In the past, the old Guo family was not prosperous, and the land could keep up with use. As Zhang Xiaolong and Zhang Xiaohu grew up, Zhang Cai was always worried about farming the land. At the beginning, he and his wife Guo Sufei, pulled Holding Zhang Xiaolong and carrying Zhang Xiaohu to the patriarch's house to kowtow to pay respects, Xu looked at Guo Shan's face and gave a small piece of cultivated land by the river, which was regarded as a solution to Zhang Shan's "urgent need".

Zhang Xiaohua was born when his eldest brother was seven years old. At that time, there were already two and a half laborers in the family, and the family's poverty situation was slightly alleviated. Speaking of Zhang Xiaohua's birth, it is also quite magical. The weather had been dry for more than two months. On the night of Xiaohua's birth, there was a sudden heavy rain. The rainfall in the mountains increased sharply. Bridge, the scene is very scary. And when Guo Sufei was giving birth to little flowers, she saw flying flowers all over the sky. Therefore, Zhang Cai's expectations for Xiaohua are very high. Even when naming, I also asked the teachers in the neighboring villages for reference, and came up with many names such as Zhang Zhen, Zhang Yu, Zhang Xueyou, etc., but I was too confused to choose which one was better. In the end, thinking of the rain of flowers all over the sky, and thinking of her father who passed away, Guo Sufei defied all opinions and gave Zhang Xiaohua such a popular name, although Zhang Xiaohua is a standard boy.

At this time, Xiao Hua was already twelve years old, and the children of the peasant family were always precocious. As early as a few years ago, Xiao Hua had already been busy with the affairs of the field with her father and two older brothers. It's not that Zhang Cai never thought about letting his children go to school to read and read, and when they grow up, they can read and write, and seek fame. However, Guocun is a small village, and there are not many scholars in the clan, so they can't support a small school. The school in the neighboring village belonged to another big family, and the fees for Guocun’s children were also high. Don’t worry about Xiaolong and Xiaohu. At that time, the family was poor, and Zhang Cai was powerless. Xiaohua was sent there for a few days when she was young, but according to the teacher, Xiaohua's aptitude is average in the school, and if she does her best, she can only be able to read and write. of. Zhang Cai weighed his pockets, then looked at Xiaohua's thick eyebrows and big eyes, and gave up his hopeful expectations, and took the child back to Guozhuang to guard his main business as a farmer. On the contrary, Xiao Hua's mother still seemed to remember the auspicious omen of Xiao Hua's birth, and from time to time asked the literate young people in the village to teach Xiao Hua something. Although Xiaohua likes to follow her elder brother to do farm work, her mother's persecution has helped him learn a lot of characters and can read some things. He can be regarded as a literate person in the family, but all things related to characters are handled by Zhang Xiaohua.

Today is Zhang Xiaohua's first day of independent farming. His father told him yesterday that this land is for him, and it is his job. Although it is still a piece of land with no signs of plowing, Xiaohua remembers what a scholar in the village said, once you have a goal, you can start, and with a start, half the battle is achieved! With success, it is not far from your wish, and Xiaohua's wish is to eat a piece of pork belly beautifully~

It was already the beginning of winter in November, the sun cast a bleak light and heat on the head, the mountain wind blew across the slopes, and the treetops were whining. Everything shows the silent desolation.

However, Zhang Xiaohua didn't have the time to pay attention to these. Holding a hoe, he just blindly cultivated the four quarters of the land. According to Zhang Xiaohua's plan, first dig an oval or quadrilateral border around the land in the center of the hillside, then remove the rocks in the land, clean up the small stones, and then deal with the miscellaneous Grass, when it gradually grows to a large scale, it will be cultivated intensively, and the entire field will be plowed carefully to lay a good foundation for planting seeds. Farm work always takes time. When Xiaohua finished cleaning the surrounding area and was about to remove the big rocks in the field, it was already noon. Xiaohua stopped farming, wiped the sweat from her forehead, walked to the field, took a crock pot of water prepared by her mother, and poured half of the pot of water, and then she became lazy for a long time. Waist, thumping the waist that has not been straightened all the time, I feel comfortable for a while.

That's right, although he used to work with his father and brothers, but because he was the youngest, no one let him do too much work, and he didn't feel too tired. Now that he shoulders the burden, he knows the hardships involved. However, thinking about my grandma, my mother, my own home, and my own future, I feel that it is worthwhile.

Zhang Xiaohua followed the young scholars to read and write. Although she was not serious, she often heard them talk about the mysterious future, life, love and other Yangchun language, but she also had some impressions. I will also think about my own life, but will soon be destroyed by reality and bow my head to face the land. Thinking of this now, it is probably a daydream, and I slipped away from my busy schedule.

Just when Zhang Xiaohua was thinking wildly, her stomach kept rumbling, it seemed that it was time to eat. I used to eat with my mother at home, but now it is an independent business, and I have started farming. When I came out in the morning, my mother said that it would be delivered to the field at noon. Looking at the time, it should be here.

Sure enough, a voice came from down the slope, "Xiao Hua~ come and help me." From the downhill, there was a steep slope, which was very wet and slippery. Zhang Cai fell when he came to visit the land last time. One fall. Zhang Xiaohua hurriedly replied, "Mother, wait a minute, I'll go down right away, don't come up by yourself." When Zhang Xiaohua walked down the hillside, she saw her mother standing by the side of the road with a bamboo basket wait for him. Zhang Xiaohua took the bamboo basket, carefully helped her mother up the hillside, let her sit on the rocks on the ground, then lifted the cloth on the basket, and inside was a bowl of pork belly and a few pieces of rough noodles Steamed bun. Xiaohua sensiblely asked her mother if she had eaten it, and her answer was not beyond his expectation, she had already eaten it. Seeing Xiao Hua wolfing down, Guo Sufei felt a little distressed, and said to Xiao Hua: "Eat slowly, don't choke, drink some water."

"Mom, why are you making pork belly all of a sudden?" Xiao Hua asked.

"Today is your first day of work, and your father told you yesterday that he will make you pork belly as a reward." Xiaohuaniang looked at her youngest son lovingly and said, "It's hard for you, Xiaohua, you are only twelve years old this year. At the age of 10, you can see that there are children your age in the neighboring village who are still studying in school, and you are working in the fields alone."

"Mother, look at what you said, didn't my elder brother work separately from my father at the age of ten? What about?" Seeing her mother start nagging, Xiaohua hurriedly asked, "Where is grandma, has she eaten pork belly?"

"Your grandma is over eighty years old, how can she eat this? The millet porridge I made for her." Xiaohua's mother said, "I don't think of your grandma until now, thanks to your grandma thinking about you all morning. Woolen cloth"

Xiaohua scratched her head in embarrassment, as if she really didn't think about it that much.

When it comes to Xiaohua's grandmother, Guo Sufei looks sad again. The life at home gradually improved with the growth of several children, but Xiaohua's grandmother's health was getting worse and worse. Although it is said that 80 years old is a rare longevity for rural people, But who doesn't want their elders to accompany them for a while. Recently, Xiaohua's grandmother has lost her eyesight. Guo Sufei discussed with Zhang Cai and wanted the doctor to see her, but Xiaohua's grandmother refused to agree, saying that it is normal for her to be blind at such an age, and she doesn't want to worry about it anymore. money. The couple couldn't stand the old man, so they agreed. Nowadays, the elderly work hard at home every day, feeding chickens and pigs in the dark.

Watching Xiaohua finished eating and drinking water, Guo Sufei said, "Xiaohua, do less work in the afternoon and go home early, grandma misses you. I have to go and deliver food to your father and brother", Xiaohua was stunned , "Mom, then... I ate up that pork belly, what are dad and brother going to eat?"

"It's okay, there are other dishes. Remember to work less in the afternoon, don't catch a cold!" Guo Sufei lovingly stroked Xiaohua's head, and looked at the anxious little son who was blushing, as if he was still a spoiled child in front of her lap.

When Zhang Xiaohua helped her mother down the slope, and looked at her mother's back in the distance, she felt very guilty, alas, why did I eat up all the pork belly.

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