In the cave, the flickering firelight cast a shadow on everyone's faces. The atmosphere was oppressive, and no one spoke. But the incident had already happened, and it had to be resolved.
The village chief looked around, his gaze finally resting on Zhao Yiming's face. He moved his mouth and said, "Yiming, what do you think?"
When Zhao Yiming was called, he first looked up at Tian An, then said, "Originally, I was also going to Songshan Academy in the capital, but now that the village is in this situation, I definitely can't let An An and the others stay. So I plan to proceed as planned and take them to the capital."
Hearing this, everyone looked up at Zhao Yiming and then lowered their heads again.
The village chief then asked the head of the village: "What about you? What do you think?"
The village head thought for a moment and said, "The village is in such a state now, and there are bandits outside. Our houses and fields are all destroyed. The village is uninhabitable."
Everyone fell silent again. Everyone knew that the village was no longer habitable, but where else could they go?
Their ancestors have lived here for generations and have never left Ming'an Prefecture. If they did go out, they wouldn't even be able to tell the directions. Moreover, they have no money or food, so to say that they can hardly move is an understatement.
Even more desperate were the farmhands. They had already experienced this kind of suffering once before. Having finally settled down, fate had played a cruel trick on them again. Could they repeat their previous luck? Could they still survive? No one knew better than them the cruel darkness of the road to escape.
Seeing no one speak again, the village chief could only continue, "You all think we should leave, right?" He then looked at the crowd again. Seeing no one objected, he added, "Then let's discuss it and come up with a charter as soon as possible. We can't stay in the village for long."
Everyone panicked and started to consult with people they knew. Tian An and her friends were doing the same thing, but while others were discussing where to go, they were discussing the route to the capital.
The first option was naturally to take the official road. It was easy to travel on, and their oxcarts and donkey carts could all be used, making things easier for everyone. Furthermore, Zhao Yiming was a scholar, and County Magistrate Gu had given them a pass when he was there, which saved them a lot of trouble.
But there is also a problem. They don't know the situation outside. There are many bandit problems in years of disaster, and they will be more targeted if they take the official road.
The second option was by water. Zhao Yiming had previously planned a water route for Peng Zhang that would cut the travel time to the capital in half. The problem was, they probably wouldn't be able to find a boat in this situation! Even if they did, they would definitely need the money they needed in this special situation. Tian An had a lot of money saved, but if they spent it all on the boat, how would they settle down after arriving in the capital?
The third option was the mountain route. Fewer people used it, and it could help avoid banditry. However, it was difficult and rugged, and the distance was definitely longer than the official road. Furthermore, the mountains were full of dangers, with all sorts of wild animals, snakes, insects, rats, and ants enough to make a person vulnerable. It was easy to get lost in unfamiliar forests.
After discussing it, the few of them directly rejected the water route and decided to take the official road first. If that didn't work, they would take the mountain road. Although the road was difficult to walk on, at least they wouldn't have to face the crazy bandits.
The route has been agreed upon, but there is still one tricky thing left, which is the farmhands in their family.
There are more than 200 farmhands in total, and they certainly cannot bring all of them.
After Zhao Yiming asked Deng Xue to take care of Xiaoqi and Xiaokang, he took Tian An to the farmhands.
When the farmhands saw the two masters coming, they guessed something, but they didn't know what Tian An and the others would do.
Zhao Yiming said straight to the point: "We signed a 20-year contract before, but there is a clause in the contract that the contract will be automatically terminated in the event of natural disasters or things beyond human control.
Everyone is aware of the current situation. We can't even protect ourselves, so we naturally can't keep you here any longer. So let's part ways amicably!"
The farmhands suddenly became agitated. "Boss, if you kick us out in this situation, we'll be dead!"
"Yes! You can't force us to die no matter what!"
Zhao Yiming gestured for silence with his hand, and waited until the crowd quieted before saying, "Everyone has worked tirelessly for our family over the past year. We're not heartless. If everyone helps rescue food, each family can take two bags, and we'll be even."
After hearing Zhao Yiming's words, the farmhands thought it was feasible. Two bags of grain were a lot, and they could at least sustain themselves for a while. With any luck, they could even find a safe place to start over.
When the villagers saw Tian An and Zhao Yiming actually distributing their grain to the farmhands, they also became interested. Several of the people who rented their land came forward to look for the two.
"Daniu, An'an! What should we do if you give them food? The food is grown on the land we rented to you."
"That's right, without land, you can't grow so much food!"
"Yes! We rented the land for twenty years, and we haven't paid the rent since then! You have to pay it back with grain."
Zhao Yiming pulled Tian An behind him, frowned at the person who was speaking, and said, "Although the contract is signed for twenty years, it clearly states that the rent is to be paid annually and has never been in arrears before. It also states that the contract will be automatically terminated in the event of natural disasters or things beyond human control. We don't owe you anything."
Tian An also took out a contract from his bag and put it in front of them, "The contract is written in black and white, and it has the signatures of all the uncles.
When signing the contract, the county magistrate read out the contents of the contract himself, fearing you couldn't read. Furthermore, the former County Magistrate Gu, now the Prefect Gu, personally witnessed the signing. Have you forgotten so quickly, uncles?
The few people didn't expect that Tian An actually carried the contract with him, and they were a little embarrassed for a moment. Of course they remembered the contents of the contract, but they just wanted to take advantage of the situation to get some food. But now it seems that they can only take a long-term view.
Looking at the situation, Zhao Yiming and Tian An discussed and decided to give each family in the village two bags of grain.
Firstly, they had a lot of food at home, and they couldn't take it all away by themselves. Even if they could take it away, they would easily be mistaken for fat sheep on the road, and then be attacked by a group of people, and they would be no match for four people with their two fists.
Secondly, the villagers had no food, and if they were forced to rob them, they might suffer even greater losses. If someone died accidentally, the loss would outweigh the gain.
Thirdly, Chen Feng and his men still have a batch of food, and if all else fails, there is the food that Tian An has stored in the space, so they are not short of food.
As expected, Tian An told everyone about their decision, and the villagers immediately praised the two for their kindness and consideration of the overall situation.
Even the occasional glances from the crowd disappeared.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
