Jiang Yimian drank several mouthfuls of water and wiped her sweat before saying to the others, "I found a cave. It's secluded and deep in the forest, safer than here. Let's move there tomorrow."
The attention down below isn't on the mountain now, but it's hard to guarantee they won't set their sights on it later. It's best for them to move on as soon as possible.
Wang Fengqin then realized what her daughter had gone to do. Although she was still a little worried about the safety of the deep forest, she gritted her teeth and nodded, "Okay, I'll do as Yimian says. We'll go there tomorrow."
The mountain has indeed been relatively safe these past few days, but after hearing Yi Mian say that the people down the mountain are not good people, she has been feeling uneasy ever since. Remembering what the old man had said about fleeing famine, she hasn't slept well for several days, worried that the group down the mountain will rush up to burn, kill, and loot.
She had a good place to hide, even though she might encounter some wild beasts, but she felt that people were more terrifying and she would rather encounter wild animals.
Xiao Ye and Xiao Nuan'er naturally listened to their older sister. As soon as they heard that they were leaving, they immediately nodded in agreement and turned around to go into the shack to pack their little bundles.
Liu Xiaoyun remained silent.
Just as Gousheng was about to nod happily, Liu Xiaoyun pulled him back.
“Yimian, you must be careful when you go to those deep mountains. If you encounter wild animals, run away immediately and don’t fight them. We won’t go. It’s relatively safe here anyway. We still have a sick person at home, and we can’t afford to go through all that trouble.”
Chen Tiezhu's leg pain worsened during her last trip up the mountain, making her already weak body even more uncomfortable. She hadn't had a good night's sleep in days, and she was afraid that something might really happen to her husband if they walked for a few more hours.
Moreover, she was pregnant and simply couldn't bear to travel such a long mountain road again.
Gousheng is still young, and one person can't take care of both of them. We really can't afford to cause them any more trouble.
Seeing that the other person's eyes were red and they were speaking earnestly, Jiang Yimian didn't try to persuade them any further.
The Chen family's situation is indeed not optimistic, and she cannot be held responsible if any problems arise from forcing them to travel.
As for the others, they probably wouldn't want to walk such a long mountain road to leave.
After all, this place is safe for now, but there are many unknown dangers on the way to the cave.
*
The next morning, Jiang Yimian and the others had a quick breakfast and began packing their things to leave.
Seeing that they were really leaving, Liu Xiaoyun felt a little reluctant and came to help them pack their things with red eyes.
Wang Fengqin was also somewhat saddened, and the two continued talking while working on their hands.
“Xiaoyun, since you don’t want to come to that cave with us, why don’t you move to Old Man Liu’s place with them in a few days? It’s probably dangerous for the three of you to go alone.”
Although this place isn't some remote mountain forest, some wild animals still roam around, and if they escape, it could be a real problem.
Before, with them around, we could look after each other. Now that they're gone, it's just Xiaoyun's family left.
Liu Xiaoyun simply nodded.
Seeing the conversation taking place inside the shack, Jiang Yimian decided to go and tell the others that they were planning to go into the mountains.
I hadn't walked more than a few steps when I saw Gousheng squatting on the ground not far away, dejectedly pulling weeds.
Seeing the grass trampled beyond recognition by the other party, Jiang Yimian could only say helplessly, "What, you can't bear to part with us? Actually, that place isn't far. I've marked it all the way. If you want, we can just follow the marks to find it. But you can't tell anyone about these marks."
The cave was quite far from here, and the path was winding, so her markings, originally to prevent herself from getting lost, now had another use.
Upon hearing this, Gou Sheng's previously worried face immediately broke into a big smile. "Okay, Sister Yi Mian, I'll come to see you when I have time."
He thought that once the Jiang family left, he would probably never see them again. But when he heard that he could meet them again, he was overjoyed. He was no longer sad and was even looking forward to going to visit them.
Seeing that Gou Sheng was no longer sad, Jiang Yimian gave him a few more instructions and was about to leave when she vaguely heard some curses.
Gou Sheng was taken aback, and after thinking for a while, he said, "It seems to have come from Master Liu and the others. I wonder what happened."
Jiang Yimian assumed it was just a dispute between a few families and didn't pay much attention, so she followed Gou Sheng toward the source of the sound.
Just as I approached a few shacks, I heard a familiar voice, tinged with a hint of roguishness.
"I'm just asking you for some food, it's not a difficult thing. You should know the situation down the mountain, right? I only need to say one word and you can no longer stay on the mountain."
Wang Ergou stood with his arms crossed in front of his half-collapsed shack, his face full of pride.
He thought those people would kill him, but to his surprise, they not only kept him, but also provided him with food and drink every day, and even let him bring a few people to this mountain to find medicinal herbs.
He only needs to say a few words, and those people will happily do it. He doesn't have to lift a finger, and he can be more relaxed than ever.
Aside from that bitch Zhang sneaking into someone else's bed, he's living much more comfortably now than he did on the mountain—no, he's living much more comfortably than he did in the village before.
Back then, he would occasionally steal some food, but now he doesn't have to do anything.
So, he casually dismissed the few people who followed him and then secretly came up alone.
Upon hearing the demand for grain, Old Liu was furious, his beard bristling and eyes wide with rage. He roared, "You shameless bastard! How dare you threaten us? Have you forgotten that you're also from Xinghua Village? Not only are you a lackey for those refugees, but now you're asking us for grain? Have you gone mad?"
At first, they were overjoyed to see that the other party was still alive, thinking that the group down the mountain should not be bad people. However, this bastard started yelling for food after only three sentences and wanted to expose their whereabouts.
How could he tolerate it?
Wang Ergou pretended not to hear the insulting sycophant and said smugly, "Just tell me whether you'll give it to me or not. If you don't, we'll go down the mountain now and expose your whereabouts, letting those people come up the mountain to steal your things. Then it won't be as peaceful as I am; there will be bloodshed."
Giving it to him is better than giving it to those people. He has no ties now, so he can take the grain and hide it. If he finds that the group down the mountain is not right, he can just run away with the grain.
As for Old Liu and the others, he didn't really intend to tell Zhao Sandao. That guy was extremely suspicious, and if he said there were still people on the mountain, he might just send someone up to kill them. His lie that he hadn't had time to leave the village would also be exposed.
He'll get a beating too, he won't do a losing business.
Seeing that things had gone this far, and that Old Man Liu was still arguing with this shameless man, Old Man Sun couldn't stand it anymore. He picked up the shovel and started shoveling at Wang Ergou.
“I’ll beat you to death, you shameless bastard! You’re even threatening the villagers now. If it weren’t for the villagers helping you before, you lazy bum would have starved to death long ago. Today I’m going to show your mother in heaven what kind of person she gave birth to.”
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