Chapter 606 Quarrel
On the island of Ireland, the rain poured down, but for some reason almost all the islanders did not feel refreshed, but instead felt heavy and depressed.
The strange germs that appeared a few years ago, the priests who suddenly went "crazy", the prophecies that were spread more and more mysteriously, and the abnormal weather all cast a shadow on the hearts of the farmers.
As an experienced farmer, Patrit's father had a very strong feeling that there would be no good harvest this year.
Although it was ridiculous, he secretly replaced the potatoes with wheat and barley without telling his wife and children.
A week later, Patrit brought back a newspaper from the town, which said that potatoes were growing well throughout the European continent, and Ireland was no exception.
In fact, the British government is trying its best to conceal what happened in Belgium and the Netherlands. Potatoes in the entire Walloon region almost all died within a week.
And this terrible situation is spreading to the European continent. Potato late blight has appeared in parts of France and Germany, and Spain and Portugal have not been spared.
But at this time, the British government blocked the news in the country. The reason is that this curse-like germ also appeared on the island of Great Britain.
Scotland on the island of Great Britain is the hardest-hit area, with more than half of the potato crop dead, and large tracts of farmland in Wales and England also dead.
At this time, there have been no large-scale disasters on the island of Ireland, but unlike the UK, the main source of food for people here is potatoes. Once there is a problem with potatoes, it will be a devastating disaster.
Under the propaganda of good news announcements from the British government, the Irish people gradually indulged in the illusion of a good harvest.
Little do we know that the pace of disaster never stops
In the countryside of southern Ireland, the Jennings family still leads a busy and peaceful life.
Scathach always complained that her parents gave her too much work, but as the eldest girl in the family, she not only had to do farm work outside, but also had to do housework and take care of the baby when she came home.
So she began to imagine that she could become the youngest one, or become a boy.
After all, Patritt is either wandering around or attending so-called "drinking parties" every day. As long as he doesn't miss dinner, his parents will be extremely tolerant of him.
Patritt can also bring friends home. Wynn has been living and dining at Jennings' house for a long time, and he is always staring at Scathach.
This made her feel very unhappy, because she couldn't even adopt a stray cat, but her eldest brother could keep a person at home.
To be honest, Scathach thought those barley cakes and barley hemispheres tasted pretty good. After all, after eating potatoes for more than ten years, it was okay to change the taste occasionally.
But there is a big problem, that is, the yield of barley is still too low. I am afraid that even the rations for the winter will be a problem, let alone enough money to pay rent to the gentlemen.
"Maybe we can borrow some money from the church to tide over this crisis. After all, the priests seem very wealthy and friendly."
Scathach thought this, and then heard Patrit and Wynn openly "plotting" about Ireland's future on the haystack.
They planned to overthrow the British rule, then bring back the exiled and enslaved people and grant them freedom again.
The two thought that on the island of Ireland where there were no British people, they could freely enter the farmland to harvest wheat and send it to the mill. At that time, someone would grind the wheat for them for free and bake sweet and soft white bread for them.
Until then they can sprinkle salt, sugar and pepper on the bread! .
But in Scathach's eyes, this is simply nonsense. After all, if no one grows food, how can crops grow in the ground?
And since everyone is Irish, even if the British are driven away, potatoes should still be grown in the fields.
Also, as a "senior gourmet", Scathach stole the salt, pepper, and sugar from the church. The taste of these three things mixed together was really not good.
On the other hand, Scathach felt that his parents were not exiled to the other side of the world (Australia) by the British. There was no need for Patrit to hate the British so much, let alone get himself into trouble.
She feels that although she is ruled by the British now, her life is not too bad.
Scathach still envied Patrit. He was obviously older than himself, but he didn't have to do much farm work. He could just lie on the haystack and daydream every day. It was pity that he had to collect straw everywhere for emergencies. .
But one day Patrit was overheard by Scathach's father when he and Wynn were conceiving their grand plan.
"I don't welcome any lad talking about this illegal stuff in my home!"
This is a very stern warning. Most of the farmers in Ireland are honest and conscientious people. Once they start to accuse, it proves that they have reached an intolerable level.
"Mr. Jennings, I appreciate your hospitality these days, but your tyranny cannot kill my freedom!
Long live Ireland, even if you support British rule, you are the object of our liberation. Cheers to our future! "
This was the first thing Wynn said to Mr. Jennings in so many days. He was so unruly and left with his head held high.
But Mr. Jennings's eyes were also very firm. He didn't think what he did was wrong. He had seen too many people like this.
But Ireland was always British land, and as a father, a husband himself had to protect his family from harm.
"Dad, what have you done! Wynn is a true Irishman"
Before Patrit could finish his words, he was slapped hard by his father.
"You are not allowed to associate with such dangerous people, and you are not allowed to attend drinking parties from now on. You are already obsessed with it! Do you understand?"
"You are the one who is obsessed with me! The Englishman's lackey!"
After saying this, Patrit was about to leave, but his father grabbed his arm.
"If you leave, don't come back!"
"If you don't come back, you won't come back!"
Patrit shook off his father's hand and strode away. This was the first time that Scathach saw his father and his eldest brother having such a tense argument. He wanted to step forward to stop him, but suddenly lost his courage and just stood there blankly. There.
For a long time, his father fell weakly to the ground, as if his soul had been drained out. Scathach wanted to step forward to comfort him, but he didn't know what to say.
In the end, my father plucked up the courage to return to the fields and continue farming before Scathach did. He cleaned up the weeds in the fields as usual, but he worked extra hard.
In exchange for telling stories to Mickey and Tommy for ten nights, Scathach got the two little guys' treasured field mice. She mixed the two big field mice with potatoes, crumbs, and wild vegetables into a pot of porridge.
When Scathach came to the field with hot porridge, his father was already sweating profusely. When the latter saw the former, he still forced a smile, but Scathach cried. In the end, the father and daughter held each other's hands and cried.