Reborn in Dunhuang, I am farming and doing business in the desert

Chapter 4 The little bronze mirror also came

The goat was frightened and ran away for a long distance.

Shen Zhao stood at the gate of the courtyard and looked for a while. When he saw his mother returning to the house, he quickly caught up with his second brother and used the whip in his hand to drive the goats to the south.

"What are you doing?" Shen Heng was puzzled. There was a government road to the south and other neighbors' farmlands, so it was not a good place to graze sheep.

Shen Zhao held up the sickle in his hand and said nonchalantly, "There's a patch of wild water chestnuts on the riverbank over there. Let's go get some."

"You don't have to get up so early to mow the lawn, right?"

Shen Heng scratched his messy hair, yawned loudly, and glanced at his sister with dissatisfaction: "Are you okay in the head? Don't blame me if you catch a cold or fever later."

"Okay, it doesn't hurt at all." Shen Zhao touched the bandage on his head and looked into the distance.

There are yellow fields, gray farmlands, and in the distance you can see the barren Gobi Desert.

The area is vast and sparsely populated, with only a few households far apart.

Every household lives in a mud-walled thatched hut, and some of the huts are semi-pit style, meaning half is above ground and half is underground.

However, this underground house is warm in winter and cool in summer, and is more comfortable to live in than a house on the ground.

The Shen family also has two half-hole thatched houses, one belongs to the uncle next door, and the other is their own home, but they only live in them during the hottest summer and the coldest winter of the year.

The reason why Shen Zhao wanted to get some茭草 was because it could be used to build an extra cave house for his family.

My brothers and I have grown up and can no longer sleep together like we did when we were children. Moreover, my eldest brother will be back home to get married soon, and then the house will not be big enough for us.

The brother and sister drove the sheep for about a mile before they came to a river about six or seven meters wide.

Shen Heng drove the sheep to the river bank to graze, then quickly ran to the river, scooped up some water to wash his face, and drank a few sips to rinse his mouth.

Shen Zhao also walked down the river bank and looked around.

This is the border between Yanzeli and the garrison farmland, with a river as the boundary. The other side of the river is the garrison farmland, and the water chestnuts that the brother and sister want to cut grow on the opposite bank of the river.

It is now late autumn and the river is very shallow. You can jump across it by stepping on the raised gravel on the riverbed.

Shen Zhao thought so and did so.

I took off my clogs, stepped on the river sand and cold water to cross the river, and came to a field of wild water chestnuts. I picked up a handful and started to cut it.

"Let me do it!" Shen Heng, who followed, didn't dare to let his sister do the work.

He snatched the sickle from his sister's hand and muttered, "When blisters form on your hands, I'll be the one to get beaten!"

Shen Zhao chuckled and followed behind to pile the cut water chestnuts together to make it easier for his second brother to tie them up.

If it were in the past, she would definitely not want to do this job, but for someone who has experienced life and death and spent several years in a dark prison, everything she does seems easy to her.

"Huh? Ah Zhao, you've become more diligent after being sick." Shen Heng turned his head to glance at the neatly stacked water chestnuts and couldn't help but look at his sister with admiration.

Shen Zhao smiled and urged, "Hurry up and cut the grass. If we are discovered by the garrison troops, we will be in big trouble."

Shen Heng was inspired when he heard this, and he could not help but speed up his actions and soon harvested a large area.

While there is no one around, they quickly transport the water chestnuts across the river, otherwise it would be a disaster if they encounter patrolling garrison troops.

At the very least, they would confiscate the water chestnuts, and at the worst, they would beat people.

The northwestern border adjacent to the desert is very barren, and every household has the habit of raising livestock, so wild茭草 is a major resource, which is harvested before it has a chance to mature.

The reason why there are still some here is due to the negligence of the garrison troops and the fear of the garrison residents towards the garrison troops.

In the past, Shen Heng would not have dared to cross the river to steal grass, but today with A Zhao leading the way, he felt that it would be okay to cut a little, after all, they were all wild.

In this way, the brother and sister harvested all the water chestnuts on the river bank, carried them across the river in bundles, and stacked them into two large piles.

At this time, the sun had risen to the treetops. Occasionally, people from the village passed by and just looked at them curiously, greeted them and left without any objection.

After all, the neighborhood is so small that everyone knows whose children they are.

"A Zhao, you stay here and watch over me. I'll carry a few bundles back first."

Shen Heng twisted a long straw rope, tied four or five bundles of water chestnuts together, and carried them on his shoulders.

Shen Zhao nodded: "Okay, go quickly and come back soon." In fact, she was quite scared to be alone in this deserted wilderness, but she was even more afraid that someone would steal the water chestnuts that she had worked so hard to get.

This thing looks like millet and is very useful. Not only can it be used to build houses, but it can also be used to weave grates and boxes.

In my previous life, I learned a lot of skills in the capital. I can not only cut cloth and make clothes, but also weave many things.

Cooking, making dishes and making pastries are even easier.

As for pickling vegetables and drying sauces, I learned from my mother when I was young. When summer comes, my family will dry several jars of bean paste, or go to Yuze City to buy a basket of fresh fish roe and dry caviar. After it is ready, some of it will be sold and some will be eaten at home.

But even though he had many jobs, his family was still very poor.

In order to find a wife for my eldest brother, my parents have been preparing until now and have barely managed to collect enough betrothal gifts and wedding items.

The next month, my eldest brother returned from Yumen Pass.

It was the same in my previous life. After my eldest brother got married, he only stayed at home for half a month before returning to the border and never came back.

It is said that he was transferred to the Western Regions and eventually died of illness on the way to the conquest.

Shen Zhao sighed.

In this life, how can I help my elder brother avoid that disaster?

Just as he was thinking about it, Shen Zhao felt his palm getting hot and something flashed.

She was startled and quickly raised her hand to check.

At this time, the second brother had already walked away carrying the water chestnuts on his back. His thin dark figure was hidden under the huge bundle of grass, and looked particularly small.

Shen Zhao stared at his palm for a long time, and suddenly a small round mirror appeared in his palm.

The palm-sized carved bronze mirror has a smooth and translucent front surface, which reflects every detail of the person. There is a circle of eight trigrams cloud patterns intertwined with yin and yang on the edge of the mirror, which is very exquisite.

On the reverse side is a relief pattern of lotus flowers, lotus leaves and a small frog.

Shen Zhao was surprised because she recognized this thing. It was the small bronze mirror that she had dug out from the prison wall in her previous life.

It was because of this bronze mirror that he was able to survive in the closed and dark dungeon for two years.

I didn't expect it to come back with me.

Shen Zhao gently stroked the lotus relief on the mirror with his fingers. After a while, the lotus flowers and leaves actually grew slowly, gradually growing out of the mirror surface and blooming in the void.

However, there is a pool of clear water at the root of the lotus leaf, floating on the mirror surface without falling or dispersing.

The little frog jumped back and forth on the lotus leaf, croaking at Shen Zhao from time to time.

Shen Zhao smiled and gently poked the little frog's head.

The little frog also rubbed against her fingertips gently, and its lower jaw kept moving.

"You are here too." Shen Zhao murmured to himself, his eyes gradually becoming moist.

He sniffed, quickly glanced around, nodded the little frog's head, and said, "Go back first. I'll play with you next time."

She was really afraid that someone would come over at this moment. It would be terrible if someone saw such a strange scene.

The little frog croaked in response and jumped from the lotus leaf into the water.

In a short while, all the lotus flowers and leaves disappeared, and the bronze mirror returned to normal, gradually disappearing into Shen Zhao's palm.

Shen Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and looked up again. Suddenly, he saw Xue Lingyao walking towards him from afar, followed by Qin Yi, whose face was covered in bruises.

Shen Zhao frowned and gradually tightened the sickle in his hand.

"A Zhao, aren't you injured? Why are you here?"

Xue Lingyao came closer, blinked her beautiful eyes gently, and said softly: "We thought you were seriously injured, so we went to your house to apologize, but we didn't expect you to still come out to herd sheep."

Shen Zhao stared at her coldly: "What do you want to say?"

Xue Lingyao's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she suddenly burst into tears: "Sister Zhao, it was indeed wrong for Yi to push you yesterday, but I have already apologized to you, and Yi and Brother Qin were also beaten by your brother. Why do you still insist on it and even ask Brother Qin to cancel the engagement?"

(End of this chapter)