Having traveled the martial world for many years, Lin Biaotou was also a capable leader: "Each household should select two able-bodied men to come with us to move the grain, while the rest will stay here to guard it."
As soon as Lin, the镖头 (bodyguard), finished speaking, almost no one objected; everyone present trusted his character.
So everyone obediently arranged for their own people to enter the cave.
This tactic works quite well. With so many people supervising each other, even if someone tries to hide food after they go inside, they won't be able to.
None of these people come from prominent families, so there's no need to worry about them forming cliques.
When Zhen Wanwan saw that everyone had been assigned a spot, she planned to find a place to wait. But when she turned around, she found that the villagers standing outside had spontaneously occupied the corner near the entrance.
The Zhen family, the Zhou family, the Qu family, and the Dongzi family could only stand at the entrance of the cave. Except for the Zhen family, the other two families were anxiously looking in the direction of the entrance.
She observed the people present and found that, apart from those who went in to move grain, almost every household had people standing outside, ranging from sixty-year-old mothers to three-year-old children, all gathered here, making the cave completely crowded.
She felt bored and wanted to go out for a walk.
She felt uneasy; there were too many people. What if a fight broke out later?
To be on the safe side, she suggested to Old Lady Li and the Zhou family, "Mother, Zhou sisters-in-law, it will probably take them a long time to finish moving the grain. Why don't you go back and rest first, and come back in an hour?"
Nowadays, everyone is short of food, so the Zhou family refused outright, their eyes shining as they stared at the entrance.
"Hey girl, let's wait here!"
"Yes, I can only feel at ease if I see it with my own eyes."
All right……
She knew she was just being presumptuous, but she could understand it.
If she hadn't had the space and hadn't moved so much grain last night, she probably would have ended up like them.
The people standing here haven't eaten in a long time. Two years ago, there was a famine and no harvest, and now there's a war going on outside.
Food is just so, so important...
Although Grandma Li knew that her family had already moved a lot of grain in advance, her desire for food was no less than that of the villagers present.
Seeing that Zhen Wanwan looked unwell, and fearing that she might accidentally bump into someone in the crowd, he urged, "Wanwan, you should go back quickly! Take Erni with you."
Zhen Wanwan knew that staying would only cause trouble, so she decided to quietly go back and wait for news.
She happily agreed, and Erni sensibly took Zhen Wanwan's hand, intending to go back with her. However, the other children were unwilling to go, so she didn't force them to go with her.
She walked past the sea of people, feeling even more annoyed. Her right eyelid kept twitching, making her feel particularly uncomfortable, and she lost all interest in strolling around.
He then thought of taking Erni directly back.
She didn't see anyone from the Fang family come, and she didn't know if they knew about the grain.
Or do they simply disdain this grain?
It had been raining all day, and the cave was still dark. Some of the water leaked from the inner walls of the rock, and she turned left and right as much as possible to avoid the raindrops.
She traversed almost the entire length of the cave, because everyone was concentrated in the grain cave, leaving the other areas very empty, and you could hear echoes when you walked.
She walked absentmindedly toward home, only to unexpectedly run into Chief Fang.
He arrived in a hurry with a few servants, and she guessed they were probably heading to the grain cave.
Thinking about the situation over there, she greeted them first, "Chief Fang, what brings you here?"
Perhaps because it was too quiet, Zhen Wanwan's question had an echo, making the space seem empty and desolate. Coupled with the dark and damp environment, it had the feel of a ghost movie.
Whether Chief Fang noticed this or not, he stopped and bowed to Zhen Wanwan.
He said frankly, "Madam Zhen, Chief Escort Lin just informed us that we have found the grain, and we are just about to go and take a look."
Zhen Wanwan understood perfectly, imagining the crowded scene over there.
She kindly reminded him, "I just came from there. The cave is already packed with people, and it's noisy quite often. If Chief Fang is going there, it would be better to bring more people with him."
She had already given them a friendly reminder; whether they listened or not was their business. She had tried her best to persuade the families she lived with to take their children and elderly relatives back home.
She had already reminded those who didn't want to go back to be careful and to leave immediately if anything happened, but there was nothing she could do if they didn't listen.
After a moment's hesitation, Chief Fang decided to heed the advice. He turned and instructed his men to go back and bring more men.
After giving his instructions, he turned to Zhen Wanwan and said, "I thank you for your reminder, Madam Zhen. My wife is usually quite idle. Madam Zhen, you can come over and chat with me when you have time."
After Zhen Wanwan nodded in agreement, Chief Fang led his men away quickly.
Watching their retreating figures, Zhen Wanwan sighed, hoping she was just overthinking things.
After returning to the cave, Zhen Wanwan took out the baby's clothes and shoes and looked at them again and again. Then she slowly put the clothes into the trunk, which was full of baby clothes and blankets of all colors.
She didn't know if the baby in her belly was a boy or a girl, and she couldn't wait to meet him.
Her biggest regret in her past life was not having a happy family. In this life, she has parents, a brother, and a child who belongs only to her. She doesn't have to worry about mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationships or survival issues.
The space has enough for her to lie down and live out her life, and she can also happily raise her child.
Overall, it was pretty cool.
She was happily imagining her wonderful future when she heard a loud commotion not far away, and her heart skipped a beat.
Could something really have happened?
Her worries were justified. Old Mrs. Li hurriedly brought the children back, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Zhen Wanwan standing safely in the cave.
Wang Cuihua followed in anxiously, and stood at the entrance of the cave waiting impatiently.
Because there was food at home, she was allowed to stay in the cave to guard the house, so she didn't have time to go and see the commotion, thus preventing a riot.
Grandma Li patted her chest, looking terrified, and said, "That was close! Luckily, we were close to the door. Those starving people saw the bags of grain coming out and started fighting over them."
"I don't know who started it, but someone got blood on the spot. The villagers who were waiting there quietly couldn't sit still anymore, and they were all fighting over the grain. The cave is in complete chaos now."
Because she was in a hurry to get somewhere and didn't have time to think, Old Lady Li only now felt her strength slowly dissipating, and she collapsed to the ground.
This startled Zhen Wanwan and the others.
After regaining her senses, she warned the group, "I noticed something was wrong and immediately brought the children back. It's probably even more chaotic over there now. You should stay here quietly and wait for things to calm down before assessing the situation."
"Mother, how are Father and the eldest son?" Wang Cuihua's legs were weak, and she finally found a chance to ask Old Lady Li, but her voice was trembling.
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