It was still early, so everyone went back home. Some went home to sleep, while others started packing up their things and prepared to leave at dawn.
As soon as the sky turned light, Zhao Guoliang led Zhang Hujun and his men up the mountain.
Zhang Hulan also followed, and he also called Zhang Xiaojun along.
At the entrance of the village, they met villagers who were leaving the village with their families, and Zhao Heigou's family was among the crowd.
Zhao Guoliang persuaded them again: "Do you really want to flee the famine? There are many dangers on the road, aren't you worried about dying on the road? There is no one to collect corpses in the wilderness. Wait a little longer, maybe you can find water today."
One villager replied: "If we flee the famine, we will have a high probability of death, but if we stay in the village, we will have a high probability of death. We must go out and try to survive."
Zhao Heigou replied, "What if we find some water? We have nothing to eat at home, and we can't just drink water every day.
If you want to stay and eat grass roots and tree bark, then you can stay. We are leaving.
There are so many rich people in the big city, and they just give away some of the food they can't finish, and they eat better than we normally do."
Seeing that these people were determined to leave, Zhao Guoliang no longer tried to stop them and let them go.
Zhao Guoliang shook his head and sighed, feeling very heavy.
Without paying any more attention to those who were leaving the village, they came to the foot of the mountain and walked up along the ditch.
It took about half an hour to reach the cave, which is the source of the ditch.
There are big trees around the cave entrance, which is very cool and the soil nearby is also relatively moist.
This cave is a gap between two large rocks. It is wider at the bottom and very narrow at the top.
Liu Yongquan said, "Li Zheng, the entrance to this cave is so small, can't we get in?"
Zhao Guoliang walked to the entrance of the cave to check, and saw some water seeping out, indicating that there was water inside the cave.
Zhang Hulan also took a closer look and said, "Uncle Lizheng, if the adults can't go in, can you let Xiaojun go in and take a look?"
Zhao Guoliang looked at Zhang Hulan, smiled and nodded, "No wonder you called Xiaojun, you must have thought of it a long time ago."
Zhang Hulan smiled and said, "It will definitely be more convenient to enter the cave when the person is smaller. Let Xiaojun try first to see if he can get in. It would be the best if he can get in. We can then make plans after knowing what is going on inside."
Zhao Guoliang nodded, indicating his agreement with Zhang Hulan.
Zhang Hulan pulled Zhang Xiaojun over and told him, "Xiaojun, we'll tie a rope around your feet in a bit. If you can't get in, don't force it. Just kick your legs hard or shout loudly, and we'll pull you out."
In the cave, with the head facing inwards, no sound could probably be heard, so Zhang Hulan asked Zhang Xiaojun to kick his legs hard.
Zhang Xiaojun nodded, "Okay, aunt."
Zhang Hujun handed a fire starter and a hatchet to Zhang Xiaojun in case there was anything in the cave.
Zhang Xiaojun crawled his upper body into the cave, and the people outside tied a rope around his legs, and then he crawled in.
There were many small stones in the cave, which hurt Zhang Xiaojun's stomach.
After climbing a short distance, it became pitch black inside and he couldn't see anything, so Zhang Xiaojun lit a tinder and continued to climb inside.
The further you crawl in, the cooler it gets. If you don't move, you'll even feel a little cold.
After climbing about fifty or six feet, the room suddenly became wider and Zhang Xiaojun could even stand up by bending his waist.
He untied the ropes on his feet and walked forward in the dim light of the tinder.
The further he walked, the larger the cave became, and he could hear the sound of running water. The cave was very empty and the ground was slippery, so he didn't dare to go too far.
As long as he knew there was water in the cave, he turned around and walked back.
The people outside the cave were getting anxious at the moment. The rope was tied to Zhang Xiaojun's feet, and when he climbed in, the rope would move with him.
But he untied the rope later, and there was no sound from the rope. No one inside could hear the people outside shouting. As soon as the rope was pulled, it was pulled out, which frightened Zhang Hujun and Zhang Hulan.
If something happened to Zhang Xiaojun, Zhang Hulan wouldn't know how to explain it to Zhang Hujun and Old Man Zhang.
Zhao Guoliang took one end of the rope and looked at it and said, "Don't worry, Dajun. The rope was not bitten or cut by something. Xiaojun must have untied it himself. Let's wait and see. If he doesn't come out after a while, we can dig a hole and look for him."
Zhang Xiaojun inside was also wondering why the rope in the cave was gone. He wanted someone outside to pull him out, but in the end he had to climb out by himself.
Zhang Xiaojun climbed out panting. Zhang Hujun, who had been guarding the cave entrance, heard some noise inside and immediately called out, "Xiaojun..."
"Dad..." Zhang Xiaojun responded breathlessly.
Zhang Hujun and Zhang Hulan finally breathed a sigh of relief when they heard Zhang Xiaojun's voice.
As soon as Zhang Xiaojun's hands and head came out, Zhang Hujun pulled him out.
Zhao Guoliang immediately asked: "How is it inside?"
Zhang Xiaojun replied: "I can't see inside, but I can hear the sound of water. The cave is also very wide, and it's only narrow about five or six feet in front."
The villagers asked excitedly: "Is there really water in there?"
"There really is water, flowing. But I can't see anything inside. The light from the tinderbox is too dim, so I don't dare go too far inside."
"Okay, okay, as long as there's water." Zhao Guoliang was also very excited. He immediately ordered, "Hurry up and dig the hole bigger. It should not be difficult to dig a few feet away."
"Yongquan, go down the mountain right now and call some more people. Bring up a few small hoes. Big hoes won't work in the cave. Also, get a few more torches. Also, if we don't go back at noon, ask them to bring us food."
Liu Yongquan went down the mountain immediately.
Several people on the mountain surrounded Zhang Xiaojun and asked him to describe in detail the situation inside the cave.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
