Gou Sheng walked along, looking around with a sense of curiosity, wondering, "Why are so many thatched huts in this village empty?"
Seeing that there were many houses, he thought there were quite a few people, but now it seems there are only a little over a hundred, not as many as Xinghua Village.
Zhao Da simply said, "Many people have moved away from this village. When the war came, many people also fled to escape the famine, which is why the village is mostly empty."
The group had walked for a short while when they encountered a middle-aged man in his forties. The man was wearing clothes covered in patches and looked like an honest and kind person.
Upon seeing the group, Li Yishi quickly greeted them with a smile, "Sir, are these the people who have settled in Qing Shi Village? There seem to be quite a few!"
Their Qing Shi Village has a small population, and they are eager for people to settle down there, so that the village can grow stronger and not be bullied by other villages.
Zhao Da responded, "Yes."
Li Yishi smiled and nodded to the group, introduced them to each other, and then led them to his home.
Village Chief Li's house consisted of several mud-brick houses. Although it lacked the grandeur of a large brick and tile house, the house and yard were kept very clean, and the firewood piled up next to it was neatly arranged.
At this moment, there were many people queuing up to register in the village chief's yard. It was noisy, and the sound of people talking could be heard from afar.
The person in charge of registration was also an acquaintance, none other than Ma Ming.
"My name is Li Guangyong, Guangyong means 'useful'."
"Courage?"
Ma Ming held the calligraphy brush, frowning as he listened intently to the people at the table. Because everyone spoke with an accent, he couldn't understand much and felt that registering was a chore.
If he knew where Miss Jiang and her family lived, Zhao Da would definitely be the one registering here.
He was on the verge of a breakdown as the older man kept repeating "just for use".
It was only after an elderly man with a cane next to him reminded him that he suddenly realized and finally recognized the other person's name.
"Glory".
The once lively courtyard quieted down a bit when Village Chief Li led Jiang Yimian and her entourage in.
All eyes were on Jiang Yimian and her group, scrutinizing them from head to toe with curiosity but not much malice.
Gou Sheng felt a little uncomfortable being stared at. He looked back at everyone, and finally, he puffed out his chest, raised his head, and surveyed the crowd with an unhappy expression.
Jiang Yimian sighed and gently patted the back of the other person's head, lowering her voice to say, "What are you doing? Be normal."
She was afraid that if this guy continued like this, their group would be misunderstood.
Gou Sheng then said "Oh," quickly composed himself, and muttered under his breath, "It's their fault for always staring at us, I was just staring back."
He felt really uncomfortable being stared at by so many eyes.
Fortunately, most of the stares quickly disappeared, and the crowd began to whisper among themselves, their words tinged with dissatisfaction.
"Why are all these refugees being brought into our village? Didn't we already bring in two households a few days ago? Now so many more are coming. In a while, our Qing Shi Village might be completely taken over by refugees."
"It's good that our village has a small population, so that more migrants will prevent other villages from bullying us."
"Yes, it's better when there are more people."
"What's so good about it? They're all outsiders. We villagers are going to be overshadowed." The speaker was a young woman, who looked at Jiang Yimian and the others with disdain.
The other person hesitated for a moment before saying, "I don't think so. There are only a few households. What are they going to do with this? Our village doesn't have anything good. We're dirt poor."
"Indeed, these people don't look like refugees at all. They're fair-skinned and clean-cut, and they seem to be doing better than the people in our village. They look much more energetic than the family that came yesterday."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at the group again, this time with doubt in their eyes. When they saw Zhao Da with the group, they responded knowingly.
"This person has powerful connections; didn't you see how familiar they are with this official?"
"No wonder the official personally brought them here to register; their identities must be extraordinary!"
As they were talking, Jiang Yimian and the others also lined up behind the crowd, and her gaze fell on them.
Meeting that disdainful gaze, Jiang Yimian's eyes turned cold.
The woman who had said the villagers would be suppressed was taken aback and immediately shut her mouth. The others who had been talking changed the subject and started talking about other gossip.
The thin, dark-skinned woman in line in front of Jiang Yimian curiously approached and asked in a low voice, "Miss, what is your relationship with that official?"
The young woman was dark-skinned and thin, with a pair of shrewd triangular eyes that scanned the group. Her hair was neatly tied up in a bun on her head, and although her clothes were dusty and patched, they were still relatively clean.
Jiang Yimian glanced at her indifferently and said only, "It's nothing, we met by chance."
The young woman was skeptical and pressed on with curiosity, "Why did he personally escort you to register after we met by chance? What village were you from? Did you hide in the mountains when the war started?"
Those constables are always arrogant and never give ordinary people a friendly look. How could they possibly personally escort these people down the mountain? They must have some kind of relationship with that constable.
A barrage of questions only made Jiang Yimian frown; she didn't answer.
The young woman didn't seem embarrassed at all, and then asked about other things, "Hey, I went to town a few days ago and heard that there are tigers in the mountains. Is that true or false? Have you ever encountered any tigers in the mountains?"
Upon hearing this, Gou Sheng immediately puffed out his chest and said earnestly, "Of course we've seen tigers. Those tigers are ferocious. If you dare to go into the deep mountains, the tigers will definitely bite you to death."
Mimi has been away from the small depression lately, spending her days searching for food on the nearby hills. If these people go up there, being scared away is a minor matter, but if they have any intentions that are detrimental to Mimi, Mimi will definitely take action and will not let them off easily.
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