Chapter 66: Better to Miss It Than Let It Go
At the end of the You hour, the Min family caravan, with its carriages and horses, holding torches, entered Gaojia Village.
The Panlong Mountains stretch for hundreds of miles, and at the foot of the mountain, where the dragon's tail sweeps gently, there are more than a hundred households. The villagers, mostly surnamed Gao, have made their living here by farming and hunting for centuries, and most weddings and funerals take place within the five neighboring villages.
The villagers usually work from sunrise to sunset, repeating the cycle over and over again.
Even if we knew in advance that there was a letter from an outsider, most of the villagers would have already dispersed and gone home to rest by dusk.
I couldn't sleep, so I sorted out the things I planned to exchange for money and counted them over and over again.
"Go to sleep. Those things are not worth much money. People may not be willing to buy them." The drowsy man on the bed couldn't help but mutter a few words.
"There are so many people coming this time, so it's selling well." The woman sorted things out carefully again before looking outside and muttering, "It's so late and they haven't arrived yet. I wonder if they will come tonight."
The man turned over, opened his eyes, and waved to his wife: "Second fool mother, come up and sleep, I will help you watch."
The woman lay down beside her husband without taking off her clothes, "I can't sleep."
A strong arm hugged her tightly, and a furry head pressed against her neck. A man's muttering came to her ears: "Erhan's mother, if I can't exchange it this time, it won't delay anything. In a few days, Brother Shanhe will come back, and I will go hunting in the mountains with them. I will at least exchange some silver for you, so that I can add to our Daya's dowry."
The woman turned her head to look at her man and couldn't help but push him. "Erhan Dad, I don't know why, when Dongzi came over to talk about this during the day, I suddenly thought of Sister Huaihua. Don't you think it's strange?"
There was no movement beside him. After a while, Erhan's father rubbed his eyes and opened them. "Why did you think of Sister Huaihua?"
"I don't know. When Dongzi came over during the day, I was wondering why he came back alone. Dongzi and his brother Shanhe always go in and out together. This time, they went into the city together to deliver goods, but he came back first. How strange."
The man turned over and lay flat on his back, thinking carefully about what his wife said.
Erhanniang added, "I haven't heard of so many refugees arriving at once in years."
The man beside him stood up, picked up his coat and put it on. He put on his pants by the bed and told his wife, "I'm going to visit my third uncle's house."
"It's so late, Uncle San is asleep, right?"
"No. If so many people really came to rest in the village, he wouldn't dare sleep tonight."
Before leaving, Erhan's father helped his wife tidied up the corners of the quilt. "You go to sleep first. No need to wait for me. We'll talk to him when he arrives. If we really stay in the village, we'll still have time tomorrow."
The man closed the door and went to the home of the village head Gao Shusheng under the starry sky.
Sure enough, there were shadows swaying on the window of the west wing of the village head's house, and it seemed that there were quite a few people.
He called out softly outside, and soon someone opened the door and ran over to open it for him.
"Brother Yamane, why are you here?"
Gao Shangen patted the visitor's arm, and the two walked in side by side. "Come to see your father. Why aren't Uncle Gao and the others asleep yet?"
"My father and my uncles are discussing something. I just brought some hot water in." He walked to the door and invited the other party in.
Gao Lizheng didn't expect Gao Shangen to come over so late, and was a little surprised: "Erhan's father, why are you here?"
As soon as Gao Shangen came in, he saw that all the elders of the village who had some status were there. His heart skipped a beat and he felt that it was the right decision for him to come here tonight.
The elders of the clan have all gathered together to discuss something, so there must be something wrong.
"After finishing work, I heard from my second mother that a lot of people are coming to the village tonight?"
Gao Lizheng nodded and pointed to the seat next to him, "Since you're here, sit next to me and discuss it together."
Gao Shangen greeted the other elders and brothers and found an empty stool to sit down.
"Where were we talking about? Let's continue the conversation." Gao Lizheng thought for a moment and continued to discuss the next important matters with everyone.
Gao Shangen was squatting on a stool nearby. He was confused at first, but after listening for a while, he finally understood.
Among the large group of people that the village is about to welcome, there may be the noble person that Sister Huaihua mentioned that year!
Gao Shangen's heart was pounding when he heard this!
Among the elders of the tribe, there was an old man with white eyebrows and beard. He held a cane in both hands and thought for a long time before he slowly spoke.
"Shanhe hasn't come back yet, and the matter is still undecided. We, the Gao family, can't act rashly. There are many people coming this time, and if there is a conflict between the two sides, it will not be good for us."
"Third Grandpa is right. I also think we should take over first. Shanhe will come back by then, so I can ask him about it."
"Dongzi said that the prisoners and the caravan combined totaled two to three hundred people. There are less than a hundred people left in our village. What should we do if something happens? I suggest you stay out of the village and stay outside East Village."
Some people disagreed, "What if they think our Gaojia Village is not good enough and just pass by?"
"Yes, after our village, there is a government post station ahead."
Gao Lizheng did not express his opinion for the time being, as he saw that after discussing it for a whole night, it was still difficult to reach a consensus.
He tapped the pipe and took a puff of cigarette. When everyone fell silent, he raised his head and looked at everyone.
"Sister Huaihua said back then that our village would only have one chance to save itself in the future. Do you remember?"
Only one chance.
It is better to make a mistake than to miss an opportunity that is right in front of you.
"We've all watched Shanhe grow up. Even though he's an orphan, he's a man of integrity. If he hadn't discovered something, he wouldn't have sent Dongzi back to tell us." Yan Guotou tapped his feet twice. "Let's give it a try. Maybe there's someone really capable out there. Otherwise, do we all want to give up our lives, or do we want to leave our hometown and go begging next year?"
In one sentence, it set the tone for tonight's topic.
Someone reminded everyone: "Don't forget, what Sister Huaihua said in the past has mostly come true in our village. She has repeatedly mentioned the matter of life and death of the village. Now is the time. Anyway, I don't want to die, nor do I want to go out and become a refugee."
Who would think of this?
Everyone glared at him.
The elder looked at Gao Lizheng and asked, "Did they say when the escort team will enter the village?"
Just as he finished speaking, the voice of Gao Shusheng's eldest son came from outside: "Dad, there are outsiders in the village."
Outside Gaojia Village.
Min Zhong and his men were waiting for people at the village entrance.
As soon as the Min family caravan entered Gaojia Village, they were stopped by villagers as soon as they arrived at the village entrance.
Min Zhong and Wu Liang were both surprised.
Have you never encountered this kind of thing before?
Wu Liang's eyes rolled around, and he whispered to Manager Min, "I think one of the Gao brothers is missing. Maybe that person came back first to report the news."
"It's almost certain. There are too many people coming to the village to stay overnight tonight. It's normal to be a little worried." Manager Min nodded.
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