Chapter 90: Walking the Road of Escape Again
der her eyes, looking as haggard as one could imagine.But because of the son by her side, the gleam of hope in her eyes sent shivers down everyone's spine.Thankfully, the child was found. Otherwise, A...QingShui Village was the first to get the news. While other villages were still packing, they had already set off.
But each family brought a lot of things, so traveling was rather tiring.
After one hour's travel, the crowd had walked for over ten miles and stopped on a high slope to rest.
The team was deathly silent, and then out of nowhere, someone started crying.
The cries seemed contagious, everyone's eyes were red. Looking around at their panicked comrades, they gazed towards their distant homes, barely visible in the distance.
"Waaah, waaaah, what am I going to do now"
“I don't want to leave, I'm so old, what if I die outside”
"Damn savages, should have killed them all back then!"
"What shall we do now How can we possibly live in the south without any land"
For a moment, the cries shook the heavens, men, women, and children all wept.
The Li family huddled together, their expressions numb and hopeless.
They were refugees, more experienced than the villagers.
But after finally finding a place to settle, he became a homeless stray once again. This kind of pain is something the villagers can't understand.
The village head and his old wife sat together, also wiping away tears.
He still remembered that he was the pillar of the whole village, struggling to muster his spirits and bellow at everyone.
"Don't cry anymore, in times like this, it's good enough to just keep your life. As long as you have your life, you shouldn't be afraid of anything."
He supported his elderly wife and knelt towards the direction of Qingshui Village. "Everyone, bow your heads! We old bones probably won't have a chance to come back. But let the children remember, this is our hometown. They will always be able to come back and visit!"
Everyone knelt down with a thud, crying and kowtowing along the way.
And the homeland that was destined to be lost, in misty tears, became even clearer.
Leaving one's hometown is a sad thing, like a leaf that has fallen from its branch. Their fate then becomes to drift about with the wind...
After crying her heart out, everyone felt a little better.
Someone pointed to a few figures in the distance and exclaimed, "Aren't those people from Liu's family"
Everyone's faces were grim. "What thick skin! He came chasing after us again"
The village head also frowned, “Get your things packed and get moving quickly. It's their business to leave, after all, the road wasn't built by our family! We can't control that, but if they dare to interfere, hit them! Absolutely don't let them stick together!”
"Yes, village head."
Everyone agreed and continued on their journey.
Unavoidably, some useless things from the basket were thrown out and piled haphazardly on the roadside.
Jia Yin was so touched that she wanted to follow her father.
Li Laosi was strong and not afraid of hard work. He really carried his daughter on his back, and then he busily took care of the team.
Jia Yin found an opportunity and almost packed everything that everyone had discarded into her spatial storage.
The Liu family was right behind, hurrying as fast as they could, exhausted. They were almost catching up to the villagers.
They were furious that the villagers had started leaving again. Their whole family cursed them angrily.
Gu Shi's hair was disheveled, and she jumped about like a madman.
"Heartless scoundrels, all of you from the same village! Why couldn't you take us with you They want to kill our family! Liu Gen'er, open your eyes and look at your sister, look at the villagers! A pack of animals, you should arrest them all and make them face the King of Hell, let them freeze and starve to death!"
Su Niang and Chun Hong were too exhausted to even cry. They didn't know if the villagers would freeze or starve to death, but they knew that if they didn't find a solution, in two days they wouldn't have a single mouthful of food left.
Then go and see my godfather first, it must be them!
"Stop yelling, why don't you use that energy to think of a solution! We can't just starve, can we"
"I don't know how I went blind back then, to have chosen a family like yours!"
Just as Lao Fu was about to listen to his daughter-in-law's words, he slapped her across the face. He hit Chunhong so hard that she cried out and lay on the ground, rolling around in a fit of anger.
“Liu Laifu, if you have the guts, kill me! Following you is a torment, I'd rather be dead! You just gamble in the city all day, do you ever care about what happens at home When people beat you, you don't even dare to let out a fart, but you can act tough with me. Kill me, kill me!”
Liu Lai Fu was feeling guilty and embarrassed, but he couldn't back down. He actually kicked Chun Hong a few times.
Perhaps Liu Tiezhu found it too bothersome, and shouted in exasperation.
"What are you making a fuss about Just because there's no food at home Then go find some! A living person can't die from being too full of urine!"
Su Niang pouted and hugged her son, complaining, "You make it sound so easy. Where do you even think we could find one Other people's bags are already full!"
She had just said it casually, but Liu Laifu's eyes lit up and he turned to Liu Tiezhu.
"Big Brother, you mean..." He pointed his finger forward towards the villagers who were only just visible as shadows.
Liu Tiezhu nodded and sneered, "It's fine for other people, but the Li family took thirty mu of land. Just now, their mule carts were loaded with bags of grain!"
Liu Lai Fu was afraid of getting beaten, so he said, “Li Lao Si is too ruthless. We can’t beat him.”
"Then find someone!" Liu Tiezhu's face was full of malice, "I don't believe our family is the only one short on food. This day and age, food is life, everyone wants it!"
The Liu family all nodded and huddled together to whisper amongst themselves...
The villagers of Qing Shui Village were unaware that they were being watched.
Fear drove them, pushing them forward until nightfall. Then, they chose a spot at the foot of a mountain to rest.
The men from each household went to gather firewood and started a bonfire.
Women were busy putting together small iron pots to cook a simple porridge, enough for the whole family to share.
The little rascals are oblivious to the troubles of the world and still running around causing mischief.
Li Jia's daughter, Xiao An, was very sensible. She helped pick up firewood and draw water.
When there was nothing to do, he stayed by his sister's side, worrying that she would be afraid, and kept playing with her.
Jia Yin sat on a piece of oilcloth, covered with a fine gauze veil to keep out mosquitoes while allowing air circulation.
Because the Li family learned about the news earlier than others, their preparations were the most thorough.
Especially this precious little one, Jia Yin. Everything she needs on the road, from food and clothing to daily necessities, is arranged perfectly.
Zhang Shenyi wandered around for a while and sat down beside Jia Yin.
He stayed at the Li family's, partly because he was too lazy to go back to Kyoto, and partly because he wanted to find out the secret behind Young Master Ye's recovery.
After so many days, he also felt a little discouraged.
Thankfully, the Li family was kind and took good care of him. Traveling south with them wasn't so bad.
The night at the beginning of August wasn't too cold yet, but the evening wind was quite chilly.
That night, everyone gathered around the bonfire, protecting the elderly and children. By the time they finally managed to fall asleep, it was already the middle of the night.
Upon waking up that morning, everyone was startled.
A short distance ahead on the official road, compared to yesterday's sparse crowd, it was now teeming with people.
Those riding carriages, donkeys, or carrying burdens on their backs, with wives and children and mothers-in-law trailing behind them, all wore expressions of exhaustion and misery.
Needless to say, the news of the relocation had spread far and wide.
Those who only want to survive, all go south.
The villagers immediately panicked. They didn't even have breakfast, just tidied up quickly and rushed on the road.
The villagers were still walking together, with the mule cart from Li's family in front and the village head's donkey cart at the back.
But along the way, some people walked faster than others, some stopped for a while, and the team from QingShui Village stretched out.
The team scattered as it was swept up by the tide of other fleeing strangers.s surprised, but he still ordered the servant boy to guard at the door.Mr. Wen then explained the situation, sighing at the end and saying: “It’s not that I’m favoring them. You know I met the Li fami...