Chapter 143 The News Xie Qingshan Brought Back

Jiang Ying was waiting anxiously.

They were located between Anping City and Qinghe City, with the distance almost the same. The officers and soldiers from Qinghe City arrived in the evening and took two hours to leave. Now more than two hours had passed, why had Xie Qingshan not returned yet?

Jiang Ying would walk to the intersection and look around from time to time.

When the sky turned from dim to pitch black, the villagers could no longer sit still.

"Why hasn't Qingshan come back yet?"

"Nothing's going to happen, is it?"

"Pfft, pfft, don't talk nonsense! It must be that the officials over there didn't report it to their superiors. Qingshan is waiting, and they've wasted time!"

Shen Qing slept a lot during the day, and now she was sitting in front of the fire listening to the other women's discussion, and she became a little worried.

As time went by, more and more people became worried. Several men said they wanted to look for him along the road. In the end, it was Master Jiang who stepped in to stop them and told everyone to hurry up and get some sleep.

If Xie Qingshan hasn't returned tomorrow, then everyone will go to Anping City to look for him!

Shen Qing also returned to the carriage and tossed and turned until midnight before falling asleep. She only heard no sound of Xie Qingshan returning before she fell asleep.

When it was dawn, Shen Qing heard voices coming from outside the carriage.

"I'm back! I'm finally back!"

She stood up and walked out of the carriage. She found that many people had already gotten up and were surrounding Xie Qingshan, whispering "God bless you."

When Xie Qingshan saw Shen Qing, he respectfully called out, "Sister-in-law."

Shen Qing looked at Xie Qingshan carefully. Seeing that his hair was disheveled, his clothes were dirty, and there were several tears, he asked with concern, "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"I'm not hurt. I have something to say to you after everyone gets up." Xie Qingshan replied quickly.

Granny Qin said cheerfully, "I'll go wake everyone up right away. It's already daybreak, so it's okay if you don't sleep."

When you are away from home, it is impossible to be like at home, so safety is of course the top priority.

Besides, even at home, you can’t sleep whenever you want during the busy harvest season. Everyone needs to sleep sometimes.

Xie Qingshan thought about the seriousness of the matter and did not say anything to stop Granny Qin.

The others immediately followed Grandma Qin and called their family members.

After everyone except the young children woke up, Xie Qingshan said solemnly: "There are too many disaster victims in Anping City, and it was in chaos the day before yesterday!

When I arrived yesterday, there were already quite a number of victims pouring into the city. When I hurriedly found the officers and soldiers and waited for the news, the victims were looting and smashing shops.

The soldiers guarding the city initially closed the city gates. Later, the county magistrate probably realized that there were too many victims and too few yamen runners and soldiers. Even if they were to arrest and detain them, there wouldn't be enough space. Moreover, if too many victims were killed or injured in Anping City, the county magistrate was afraid of being held accountable by the court if the situation became serious.

So last night they quietly opened the city gates, saying they were showing leniency and that the victims who left the city would be forgiven. I saw that they couldn't send troops here, so I just squeezed out with the victims."

Hearing about the disaster victims causing trouble, most people present were stunned for a moment, muttering worriedly, "How did it get to the point of causing trouble?"

"That's going to cost you your head."

"Even if they are not afraid of death, they still have to think about their children and grandchildren."

When Jiang Ying was little, she often listened to her father talk about what was happening outside. After she got married, she listened to Xie Qingshan's stories again. With a much broader perspective, she said, "They only cause trouble for the sake of their children and grandchildren!

It's not that they are not afraid of losing their heads, but they are almost unable to survive. Think about it, if it weren't for my sister-in-law who helped us in various ways when she was in the village, giving us fried fish in exchange for food and lard along the way, and making brushes to earn money, we would not have enough food to eat, let alone have watery meals. Would we have had any food when we got here?

Even if there is still food left, how many days can it last? Before the food runs out, don’t we have to find a way to survive?

The only way to survive is to rely on the local officials.

Unfortunately, the officials in every city are afraid of the victims of the disaster.

Because it means allocating land to disaster victims, providing them with grain, seeds, farm tools, and food rations from this period until the next year's grain harvest.

The task of dividing the land alone cannot be completed.

In the cities they had passed through, was there any piece of land left unowned? They still felt that they didn't have enough land, so how could they share it with others?

Everyone present thought at the same time, yes, if it weren’t for Shen Qing, they would have a hard time even getting enough water to eat, let alone eat meat and oil!

How can you pull a cart if you are not full?

The more tired you get, the hungrier you get, and the hungrier you get, the more tired you get...

Xie Qingshan gave his wife an admiring look and confirmed Jiang Ying's guess: "Those disaster victims have very little food left, and they are all skin and bones. They really don't want to or have the energy to walk anymore.

I encountered someone calling for help, saying that if we go further, we will be in a bitterly cold place of exile. There will be land allocated, but it is also wasteland, and we have to reclaim it ourselves. Moreover, the winter is extremely cold and it is very unbearable!

The victims' grievances, fatigue and dissatisfaction from the past few days exploded. They spread the news, gathered into more than a dozen large groups and absorbed dozens of smaller groups in the hope of putting pressure on the officials.

As a result, the county magistrate of Anping City closed the door and refused to see them. Instead, they blocked customers from entering and leaving the shops. Someone later took the lead in the looting, and it gradually turned into smashing and looting, and it was out of control!

Mr. Jiang sighed, "He's a pitiful man too."

If the imperial court does nothing and the officials cannot be relied upon, the people at the bottom will always be the ones who suffer.

They thought their lives were theirs, but in the eyes of the court officials they were now a burden.

Many people sighed along with Master Jiang.

Xie Qingshan no longer cared about pitying others. He had witnessed the chaotic scene yesterday and asked worriedly, "Dad, what should we do?

These disaster victims have tasted the sweetness of looting and smashing, and I'm afraid they'll follow suit in other cities. If that happens, I'm worried that when the government arrests them, they'll harm innocent people like us."

They now have enough food and can make money, so there is no need for them to get involved in this mess.

Master Jiang thought for a while, then looked at everyone and said, "They will definitely use their old tricks again. I'm afraid they will rob our companions again, or even commit the same evil deeds as the villains did the night before, burning, killing, and looting!

We have to walk around the city to avoid encountering large numbers of disaster victims, and if we do encounter them, we should speed up and leave.

But if I do that, I won’t be able to make and sell brushes at the same time.”

Shen Qing nodded, agreeing without any objection.

Although others felt distressed, they also realized the seriousness of the situation after experiencing the night before. They couldn't just earn money but not spend it, especially when the safety of their entire family was at stake.

What Xie Qingshan was also worried about was that even if they didn't make and sell brushes, they would still be walking. Their belongings were numerous and heavy. If they bumped into each other, would they be able to speed up and separate?

Although he was worried, he knew that speaking it out would be useless, so he swallowed it back into his stomach silently.

After breakfast, everyone set off without delay.

Feng Meng, Zhao Hu, Qin Dazhu and several other men were sent out, so Jiang Xiangxi, Jiang Datou and others took turns helping several families pull the carts to increase the speed.

When we arrived near Anping City, we saw that there were indeed many more disaster victims gathered there than before.

Shen Qing, Jiang Yu, Guan Li and the others all got off the donkey cart, stuffed the children in, and the adults surrounded them.

They were afraid that one more victim would be scattered if he wasn't paying attention.