Upon hearing this, the old man trembled all over, stared at Lu Cijian without saying a word, and after a long while lowered his head, his eyes filled with sorrow.
He remained silent for a long time before saying, "This is something you need to know yourselves. Don't blame me for ruining you later."
"I did go up there."
Three years ago, a group of people suddenly appeared on the Longxing Mountains and prevented the villagers from going up the mountain.
Back then, everyone was struggling, so naturally, people relied on the mountains for sustenance. When those people suddenly appeared and wouldn't let us go up the mountain, we couldn't agree to that, so we gathered a group of able-bodied young men and rushed up the mountain together.
Unexpectedly, those people were not afraid of us at all, and instead took out crossbows and shot several people dead, their blood splattering on the spot.
They were all honest farmers who had never seen anything like this before, and they ran away in terror.
Several young people were indignant and secretly went to report it to the authorities, but those people never returned.
Although the villagers were angry, they dared not provoke the people on the mountain again, and for a time they all hid in the village and dared not go out.
But for some reason, those people suddenly came down the mountain and took all the young men and women in the village away.
The village was suddenly decimated, leaving behind mostly the elderly and children. Many people couldn't bear the pain of losing their sons and daughters, and some even broke their health in anger, eventually passing away, leaving their children behind.
Because we can't go into the city or go up the mountain, we can only rely on the land in the village, but unfortunately, most of the villagers are elderly and few of them are able to work.
Many people starved to death one after another.
After three years, only old fogies like us have remained in the village, just waiting to die.
The old man spoke calmly, as if he were talking about someone else's affairs, but his trembling hands betrayed the anger and sorrow in his heart.
He had no idea how they had managed these past few years.
I don't know why they're still alive. It seems they're waiting for that faint glimmer of hope, hoping someone will come to rescue them.
It also seems that she is waiting for her son to come back, looking forward to the day when the family is reunited.
The room fell silent for a moment; no one spoke, as if they were stunned by the old man's words.
Song Er was stunned, unable to believe that those people on the mountain were so arrogant. After a while, he said angrily, "Don't the officials in Pingjiang County care? Such a big thing has happened, the officials can't possibly be completely unaware of it."
What's the difference between those people on the mountain and bandits?
Although this place is remote and few people come here, the government still needs to collect taxes. As long as the constables who come to collect taxes know about the situation in the mountains, the government will definitely know as well.
The old man chuckled, "If those people on the mountain had nothing to do with the government, how could they be so arrogant? They probably spared our lives just to watch us die."
After all, they wouldn't bother taking the lives of a few ants, and we can't possibly cause any trouble for them.
I only regret not dying with the others back then. Now I'm just barely surviving here; who knows when I'll die?
At first, he still held onto hope, wanting to wait for his son to come back, but later he gradually became numb, and it didn't matter whether he waited or not, since they would eventually reunite after they went down to the underworld.
You can even see your daughter-in-law who died in childbirth. Isn't it better to reunite in the underworld than to live like this?
Jiang Yimian felt a little uneasy and didn't know what to say for a moment.
The old man, however, said with a blank expression, "Now that things have come to this point, do you still want to go up? The officials of Pingjiang County are on their side."
Even if you die, no one will know.
"Get out of here while no one's watching, or you won't be able to leave."
Although he didn't know what was going on up the mountain, it couldn't be anything good.
Occasionally, he would hear explosions coming from the mountains. Although the sound was far away and there were many of them, he could tell that it was the sound of gunpowder exploding.
The only place where gunpowder could be used was in mining.
Those people are watching so closely, how could they let those who know the truth still be alive, especially these young people in front of them?
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yimian not only did not back down, but also said seriously, "Even if it means going through fire and water, I will try it."
Grandpa, don't you want to give it a try? You may be old, but what about your grandson? He's only a few years old, two or three. Can you bear to let him die before he's even seen the outside world?
Although she had never met Jiang Dazhuang, in the original owner's memories, Jiang Dazhuang treated "her" very well, and the warm feeling of the family being together made her feel wonderful.
She didn't want to see Wang Fengqin looking so dejected and heartbroken anymore; she wanted to make her happy and see the family reunited.
The old man paused, staring at the person in front of him for a long time without speaking. After a while, he shook his head and said, "I've tried, and I failed. Trying again now would just be overestimating my abilities."
He still has an elderly wife and grandson. Even if he doesn't know when he will die, he wants to live a few more days and spend more time with his family.
His son and daughter-in-law will surely understand him from heaven.
Jiang Yimian simply smiled and said, "What's your son's name? If I ever get to see him, I'll definitely tell him that someone is waiting for him down the mountain."
The old man paused, and after a long while, he said, "His name is Wang Jinbao."
Jiang Yimian responded and, without lingering any longer, got up and walked outside.
Only Da Bao was in the courtyard at the moment. He squatted in the corner and stared at the group, his voice timid but with a hint of curiosity, "Sister, brother, are you going to rescue the villagers and my father?"
Jiang Yimian stopped, bent down to look at the child in front of her, and said gently, "Yes."
Da Bao's eyes lit up immediately, and he said excitedly, "Sister, can you bring back my father and Da Chuan's father?"
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