boyutpedia Chapter 73: A Major Temperature Drop and Hailstorm Arrive One Month Later
Chapter 73: A Major Temperature Drop and Hailstorm Arrive One Month Later
So that's why?
"Knock knock, Peach Blossom Sister, open the door!"
"Sister Peach Blossom, open the door! Let's stay up all night together!"
While Shen Ming was in a daze, a knocking sound suddenly came from outside the Zhao family's courtyard gate.
Zhao Taohua immediately went to check the door and saw that Zhao Shengan, Zhao Shenglin, Zhao Shengxiang, Zhao Shengyue, Zhao Lianhua, and Yan Zhenzhu had all come over together.
When Qian saw that so many people had come to her house, she invited them all to sit in the main room: "It's warm inside, I'll get you some melon seeds and peanuts."
Seeing the mahjong tiles on the table in the main room, Zhao Shengyue asked curiously, "Sister Peach Blossom, what are these?"
Mahjong!
Zhao Taohua remembered that the Four Spirits had only played mahjong when they were bored, so she decided to teach Zhao Shengyue and the others how to play tonight.
Mrs. Qian placed the food on the table and then went to boil a pot of hot tea and brought it over.
Seeing that Yan Zhenzhu had also arrived, she asked worriedly:
"Are you alright staying home tonight to celebrate the New Year? Shengyue and the others are all children, while you are a married woman."
Yan Zhenzhu said nonchalantly, "Sister-in-law Hongyan, it's alright. I came to your house to visit, not to have an affair. They can't do anything to me."
Staying home to watch the New Year with Cao Shi and Zhao Shengde's faces is truly disgusting. It's much better to come to Tao Hua's house and happily celebrate the New Year together.
At the octagonal table, Zhao Taohua explained the rules of mahjong to them in detail, which made Zhao Shengyue and the others widen their eyes in amazement.
Zhao Shengyue exclaimed, "My God, are there really such interesting toys in the world?"
The durian spirit immediately said proudly, "Of course, this is a game that Sister Zhao specially came up with for the four of us, so that all four of us can play at the same time~"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Shengxiang, Zhao Shengyue, Zhao Lianhua, Zhao Shengan, Zhao Shenglin, and Yan Zhenzhu all looked at Zhao Taohua in disbelief. It was actually her idea?
"Peach Blossom Sister is amazing," Zhao Shengan exclaimed.
He felt that Zhao Taohua was omnipotent!
Zhao Taohua felt a little embarrassed by their praise and quickly interrupted them: "Alright, let's not talk about that anymore, you guys start playing now."
However, since there are quite a few of us, we'll take turns playing. The person who wins a hand leaves the table so the next person can play.
In the first round, Zhao Shengxiang didn't sit at the table. Zhao Taohua sat next to her and asked:
"Have you and Yang Fengshou finalized your marriage plans? When?"
Upon hearing Yang Fengshou's name, Zhao Shengxiang's cheeks immediately flushed, and she lowered her head shyly.
Her voice was so soft it was like a mosquito's buzz, but Zhao Taohua still heard it:
"It's settled, the wedding will be on the tenth of the fourth month."
Although Zhao Taohua didn't know Yang Fengshou's birth date, she did some quick calculations and concluded that April 10th was indeed an auspicious day for marriage.
Moreover, the weather was neither too hot nor too cold at that time, which was suitable for getting married, and people would feel very comfortable.
After two rounds, Zhao Shengyue and the other six had already mastered the technique and no longer needed Zhao Taohua's guidance.
Zhao Taohua instructed the four spirits to help serve tea and water while she went to the courtyard to continue observing the celestial phenomena.
"Vajrasattva, I open your eyes. I command you to act with the support of the heavens. Open them!"
After Zhao Taohua finished reciting the incantation, she also completed the hand seals in her hands.
The abundant spiritual energy within her body allowed her to open her third eye, enabling her to clearly see the position, brightness, color, and movement of the stars in the sky.
As Zhao Taohua looked up and her pupils moved, her fingers began to calculate.
Time passed slowly, and Zhao Taohua needed to use her spiritual energy to observe the celestial omens with each breath.
In addition to celestial phenomena, cloud formations, and wind conditions, all of these need to be considered together.
As Zhao Taohua looked at the shapes of the clouds and the direction of the wind in the sky, her expression grew increasingly grim.
Less than a month after the heavy snow, another hailstorm struck, accompanied by a sustained drop in temperature!
Zhao Taohua's hands trembled slightly, her eyes filled with worry.
She opened the courtyard gate and walked outside. Although it was late at night, people would occasionally set off firecrackers, the firelight illuminating the night sky and allowing Zhao Taohua to see the fields of Zhao Family Village for a while.
Because of her suggestion, after harvesting the rice, the villagers also planted perilla and motherwort in the fields.
If the fields were planted with wheat, she might not be so worried, because wheat is frost-resistant, but perilla and motherwort definitely cannot withstand such cold weather!
Currently, only the first batch of perilla leaves in all the medicinal herb fields are being sold for profit; the motherwort herbs will only be available for sale after spring arrives.
As for the perilla and motherwort planted later in the fertile fields, they would be ready to be sold at a later time.
If this sustained drop in temperature and hail were to occur, it would bring utter destruction to all the medicinal fields!
Shen Ming stood at the entrance of the main room and saw Zhao Taohua's slightly thin and helpless figure in the distance. He walked towards her unconsciously.
Suddenly, the village lit up with the light of firecrackers again. Shen Ming saw something on the ground, picked it up and was immediately attracted by the barely recognizable peach blossoms on it. Was this the one she had embroidered that afternoon?
He held it in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally put it in his pocket.
"Peach Blossom Sister, what's wrong?" Shen Ming asked as he walked to her side.
Zhao Taohua looked at him and asked, "Brother Shen Ming, do you know how many acres of medicinal herb fields our village has?"
Shen Ming was puzzled as to why she asked this, but he still answered her.
"Eight hundred mu of fertile land and thirteen hundred mu of wasteland."
When Zhao Taohua heard this number, she was almost in despair.
Is it possible to erect straw sheds over 2,000 mu of medicinal herb fields within a month?
Seeing that she didn't look well, Shen Ming asked, "Peach Blossom Sister, what's wrong?"
"The temperature is going to drop sharply soon, and it's going to hail. The herbs in the medicinal field will freeze to death."
Zhao Taohua finally spoke up!
When the two returned to the main room, Zhao Shengan immediately noticed that Zhao Taohua's expression was not quite right. He quickly put down the cards in his hand and asked, "Taohua, what's wrong? Are you cold?"
As soon as Zhao Taohua saw him, she remembered that Aunt Zheng had planted more than ten acres of medicinal herbs.
She said to them, "I just observed the celestial phenomena and calculated that our village will experience a sharp drop in temperature and hail in a month. The medicinal herbs in the village will freeze to death, so we need to build thatched sheds to protect them."
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhao Shengyue exclaimed in horror, "My family has planted thirty acres of medicinal herbs, and they've all been covered with thatched sheds?"
Zhao Shengyue was terrified just thinking about it!
Apart from Zhao Shenglin, everyone else present had planted many medicinal herb fields, and the Zhao family also had ten mu of medicinal herb fields.
The next morning, Zhao Taohua got up and went to the village chief's house.
"Grandpa Village Chief, Happy New Year! Congratulations on making a fortune!"
The village chief smiled and invited Zhao Taohua to sit down, and offered her some dried fruit.
Then, the village chief's face showed worry: "Peach Blossom, Yue'er told me last night when she came back, is it true?"
Under the village chief's worried gaze, Zhao Taohua nodded: "The sharp drop in temperature and hail will begin in a month."
The village chief sighed. In order to preserve the medicinal herbs, they couldn't be afraid of trouble.
“I will go and gather everyone and tell them this news so that everyone can start building thatched sheds immediately. Otherwise, the medicinal herb field will be destroyed in a month and everyone will have no income.”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Taohua immediately went home to eat breakfast. In a little while, she would go with her parents and the four spirits to build a thatched shed in the medicinal field.
Unexpectedly, they were stopped by Madam Cao halfway there. She mysteriously pulled Zhao Taohua aside and said:
"Peach Blossom, could you help me check if my daughter-in-law has been possessed by any evil spirit?"
I always felt that ever since she jumped into the river, she's become a completely different person, someone I don't even recognize anymore.