春荒

huá běi huāng nián qī jiān nóng mín wèi le jiè liáng dù guò chūn huāng bì xū ná dì zuò dǐ yā liǎng sān nián nèi wú lì shú huí jiù wán le

华北荒年期间，农民为了借粮度过春荒，必须拿地作抵押，两三年内无力赎回就完了。

In the famine periods in North China, peasants who had to give land as security for grain borrowed during the spring, within a space of two or three years would lose everything.