Zhao Wei's words were like a huge rock hitting the water, and the people in Mouse Village were immediately in an uproar.
The tall and thin man held his stomach, grimacing in pain, but still stiffened his neck and shouted.
"Write a report? By the time the report is approved, we would have starved to death! Mr. Zhao, you are deliberately making things difficult for us!"
"Making things difficult?" Zhao Wei sneered, pointing at the old locust tree at the entrance of the village. "When you were doing this, didn't you think this would happen? Now that you're in trouble, you're blaming others for it?"
He took out a small notebook from his pocket and opened a page. "This is the debt your village owes us. It's written down one by one. If you want us to take you in, you have to settle these debts first."
The notebook is densely packed with dates and objects: On March 5th, 20 kilograms of sweet potatoes were stolen; on August 12th, 50 kilograms of corn were snatched; on September 3rd, 30 vegetable seedlings were destroyed... Every entry is signed and sealed by the villagers.
The people in Mouse Village looked at each other, and the few people who had been stubborn just now lowered their heads.
An old lady standing at the back suddenly fell to her knees, tears streaming down her wrinkled face.
"President Zhao, please give us some food for the sake of the children. Our little tiger hasn't eaten for three days. If he continues to starve, he will..."
As she spoke, she pointed to the side and saw a skinny little boy with a pale face and cracked lips looking at them with his big eyes.
Zhao Wei's heart suddenly tightened, but he quickly hardened his heart.
He winked at Yunxiu, who immediately turned around and ran back to the village.
After a while, Yunxiu came back with a bowl of corn porridge and squatted down to feed the little boy.
"You can give food to the children, but you can't keep people."
Zhao Wei's voice softened a little. "I'll have someone prepare some dry food for you. Go to the commune and wait for relief."
The tall and thin man wanted to say something else, but was stopped by the old lady: "Thank you, President Zhao, I am very grateful for this. Let's go, let's go now."
The old lady took the little boy and kowtowed to Zhao Wei, then took the dry food with everyone and slowly walked towards the commune.
Those dry foods were all very salty pickles made from mushrooms, and they were best eaten with rice.
There is also some cornmeal with the skin and bran, with a quota of three pounds per person, which tastes a bit irritating to the throat.
But at least it's food, so people won't starve to death.
To be honest, it is a bit difficult to sustain three pounds of flour for ten days, but no matter how difficult it is, at least there is hope, which is better than having no food at all before.
There were more than 300 people in Yushudun, and almost 1,000 kilograms of grain were lost in one go. Everyone in Yushudun was indignant, but they also knew that what Zhao Wei did was right.
They can't really just stand by and watch someone die.
We can't let people into the village.
Giving up a small fortune for the sake of the public is also a last resort.
Looking at their backs, Erxiao couldn't help but ask: "Boss, are they leaving just like that? It feels so unreal, I thought..."
I thought these people were extremely vicious and would make the people in their village bleed heavily no matter what. This was the only way.
"Their people are the most cunning. Send someone to count their heads now. I remember there were 358 people in total, but only 340 people came to collect food this time. There are still 18 people missing. There must be something fishy going on."
Zhao Wei looked at the experimental field and smiled coldly: "Our rice seeds are still waiting to sprout. We can't let a little rat shit spoil the whole pot of porridge."
It was at this time that Erxiao suddenly realized what was going on and slapped himself on the head.
"Why didn't I think of this? Tsk tsk... Fortunately, you reminded me, otherwise, I would have thought that the people in Mouse Village had given up. Tsk tsk..."
Those 18 people hiding must be up to some evil intention.
If we don't find the person, there's no guarantee that he will jump out and bite you at any time, just like a rat in the gutter.
Zhao Wei looked at Erxiao's sudden realization and said, "Don't just think about it. Take someone to check it out."
He pointed in the direction where the people from Mouse Village left and said, "Follow their footprints to see if the 18 people have gone into the mountains or are hiding in the nearby woods. Remember, don't alert them, just follow them quietly."
Erxiao responded and left, and before leaving he did not forget to greet the two shrewd militiamen.
Zhao Wei turned around and went back to the village and called a few experienced elderly people.
They used to wander around the mountains all year round to make a living, and they knew the terrain of the ten-mile area very well and knew where 18 people could hide.
Since Zhao Wei came to this world, he has been entangled with trivial matters. He has not really walked through the entire place and needs the help of these old people.
"President, I know three places. Let me show you how to do it. It may not be clear enough to explain it in words."
An old man, with a gleam in his eyes, began to draw mountains and rivers on the ground.
He clearly circled the three hiding places with a knife.
"President, this is the information I have obtained. I hope it will be helpful to you."
With one person setting the pattern, the others did not want to be outdone and started to paint on the ground.
Their painting skills are not very good, and many places are repetitive.
Combining what he saw and heard on a daily basis, Zhao Wei soon took out a small notebook and marked ten possible places.
Now, we just have to wait for Erxiao and the others to come back and then make a decision.
…
The other side.
Erxiao, along with two militiamen, crouched down and crawled into the bushes on the side of the road.
The grass leaves were still tough in the early autumn, and they made his trouser legs rustle. He stared at the people from Mouse Village.
"This way." The three of them moved forward in the shadow of the ridge. The mud under their feet rolled down the slope from time to time, scaring the grasshoppers in the grass to jump and fly around.
After walking about three miles, a dense and impenetrable forest of jujube trees suddenly appeared in front of us.
The thorns on the branches are like iron hooks, which can easily tear your clothes if you are not careful.
Erxiao asked a militiaman to stand guard outside the forest while he and another person pushed aside the branches and crawled inside. The backs of his hands were soon scratched with bloody marks.
This forest doesn't seem like a place where people would stay.
Erxiao suddenly pressed his companion's shoulder - behind the pile of rocks fifty steps ahead, there were faint flashes of fireworks.
Just as he was about to get closer, he heard someone cursing, "Damn it, this damn place is full of mosquitoes that can eat people. If I had known earlier, I should have followed the main force to the town."
"You know shit!"
Another voice lowered its voice: "Why bother to chew cornmeal with bran? As long as we can get into the village, we can eat as much fine rice and white flour as we want!"
Erxiao's heart tightened. He was thinking about taking his men away to report the news, but he saw a straw sandal suddenly fly out from behind a pile of rocks and land with a "pop" three steps away from him.
"Who's there?"
The man with the rough voice stood up suddenly, and the sickle in his hand flashed coldly in the sunlight.
Erxiao held his breath for a moment and pulled his companion deeper into the bushes. His back hit the roots of an old tree hard and he almost cried out in pain.
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