Old Mrs. Li chimed in, "The rebels are about to reach our home, how could he possibly stick to these rules? Are you afraid he'll be an unfilial son and abandon his old mother to flee for his life?"
Zhen Fuyou remained silent and said nothing more, but the atmosphere became even heavier. Zhen Wanwan was not clear about the rules of this escort agency, but she still felt that Grandpa Zhen's idea was correct.
In this day and age, there are bound to be bandits on the road to escape famine, but how much should be paid as a reward?
Grandpa Zhen frowned and asked his wife, "Count how much silver and grain we have left. Then we can discuss it properly."
Old Mrs. Li fumbled around under the bed in the dark for a long time before pulling out a key. She then got out of bed and directed Zhen Fugui to move two of the chests in the room before opening one of them: "There are only two loads of grain left. Each load weighs fifty catties. One load is reserved for seeds. There are also five taels of silver and one hundred coins left."
All the family's possessions were left—a load of grain. That was enough to feed the family for about six months, one meal a day. That's why Grandpa Zhen was more confident than the other villagers in fleeing the famine. He could at least hold on for another six months. After that, it was up to fate. It was better than staying here and letting his whole family be killed by the rebels.
Grandpa Zhen nodded to indicate that he understood, and instructed his eldest son, Zhen Fugui: "When we arrive in town tomorrow, go to the escort agency and inquire about the deposit amount. We don't need them to provide full protection; just let us follow behind."
Zhen Fugui immediately replied, "I understand, Father."
That night, the village was not peaceful, with occasional cries reaching the villagers' ears.
"Knock knock knock~ Uncle, Aunt Li, Fugui, are you asleep?"
Just as Zhenjia announced the end of the meeting, they heard someone knocking on the door, and the voice sounded urgent.
Zhen Fugui received a nod from his father, turned around and went to open the door: "Hey, I'm here!"
As soon as Zhen Fugui opened the door, the outsider anxiously asked, "Fugui, are you planning to leave first thing tomorrow morning?"
"Hanzi, come in first and talk to me. My parents are still awake!" Zhen Fugui stepped aside and invited him in.
Sure enough, the man who entered was quite muscular and looked very strong. In those famine years, only people with some skills could afford to gain weight.
The outsider was Zhou Dashan, a hunter who lived halfway up the mountain. He was nicknamed "Fool" and was of the same generation as Zhen Wanwan. He had been close to his older brother since childhood.
Without any ceremony, he greeted the whole family as soon as he entered: "Uncle, I just came out of the mountains today and haven't even had a chance to rest before I heard the news of the war. I came to ask what your plans are."
Zhou Dashan was dressed in tattered clothes, but he was in good spirits: "My sister didn't explain things clearly at home, saying that you all have to leave tomorrow."
Grandpa Zhen sighed, briefly explained what had happened, and outlined his family's plans. He then looked at Zhou Dashan and pretended to scold him, saying, "Even the eldest son couldn't find you when he went into the mountains. Have you gone into those deep mountains again, kid?"
He said with a look of disapproval, "What if something happens to your family if you only go for a few days at a time?"
Zhou Dashan raised his hand to wipe away the cold sweat, and was also a little scared: "Uncle, you are right to teach us a lesson. We were almost out of food at home, so we thought we would try our luck on the mountain."
Zhen Fugui patted Zhou Dashan on the shoulder to encourage his brother. The Zhen family knew about his hardships over the years, so they didn't say much.
Only Old Lady Li was praying to Heaven with Amitabha Buddha, hoping that everyone could have a way to survive.
Grandpa Zhen comforted Zhou Dashan, then advised, "You should also make plans as soon as possible; you can't stay in Li Family Village any longer..."
Standing in the corner, Zhen Wanwan was thinking a lot. There were twelve people in her family, including five children, all under ten years old. There were only three adult men in the family, including her father. If no one was with her, the chances of encountering bad guys were very high.
Currently, Zhen's family is considered an outsider in Lijia Village. Since her maternal grandfather passed away, the Li family members have basically stopped interacting, and her mother's relationship with her cousins is also not very good.
His father used to be a scholar, but his family was too poor to support him. Later, the family fell into poverty and he could only make a living by writing letters for people in town.
However, since no one in the family had experienced the hardships of fleeing famine, they naturally did not know the difficulties and dangers along the way. Therefore, the most reliable thing to do was to find someone to accompany them and increase their chances of mitigating the risks.
The character of the companions is very important. Zhou Dashan's family has four brothers, but only two of them have wives and children. Modern women don't even dare to walk alone at night, let alone the hardships faced by women in ancient times. Naturally, the more male companions they have, the better for them.
Thinking of this, Zhen Wanwan said, "Brother Hanzi, we're leaving tomorrow at 10 PM. If you're going to leave, you can come with us. Let's look out for each other on the way."
This statement was unanimously approved by the family. Zhou Dashan thought for a moment and asked, "Uncle, where do you want to go?"
"Two years ago, my sister and her husband's family moved to Jiangdu. I heard that the land there is fertile, and as long as you work hard, you won't have to worry about food and drink..." Grandpa Zhen had already considered their future life, so he naturally agreed to all their questions.
Hearing this, Zhou Dashan still hesitated: "I wonder how long it will take to get there?"
"It will take six months to walk barefoot."
After careful consideration, Zhou Dashan agreed without needing any prompting. He said he needed to go home to pack his things and would meet Zhen's family at 11 PM the next day before leaving the village together.
I spent a sleepless night.
Zhen Wanwan couldn't sleep at all and forced herself to stay up for half the night. She only managed to sleep for two hours before her family got up. She only got out of bed when her mother came into the room to remind her, and she was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open.
She secretly ate two steamed buns and a glass of milk, and poured mineral water into her bamboo tube, adding a few slices of lemon. When she was extremely thirsty, she would drink a few sips to quench her thirst.
As dawn broke, the Zhou family was already waiting outside. The Zhen family had loaded their belongings onto the cart last night, and when they got up just now, they also put their bedding on it.
Everyone carried a few things, more or less, even the youngest Zhen Nini was assigned to carry a bamboo basket.
The two families walked out of the village. Old Mrs. Li looked back at the direction of her home with reluctance, her eyes filled with tears, which was heartbreaking. After walking for a while, they finally reached the main road.
People were gradually pushing their belongings toward the town along the official road, seemingly heading south to escape the famine.
By this time, it was already broad daylight, and Zhen Wanwan was finally able to see the scenery along the road clearly. The roadside was full of dead tree branches, and there was not a drop of water in the fields. The official road was about three meters wide, barely enough for two carriages to pass each other, but when they met, they still had to give way to each other before they could pass.
Zhen Wanwan estimated that it took about an hour to reach the town. At the entrance of the town wall, there were three large characters written in traditional Chinese: Qing Shi Town!
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