The village chief and several old men barely regained their senses, and the old men angrily swung their sickles.
"What are the border guards good for! They can't even defend the border! I lost my hand back then, how could I possibly kill a single barbarian!"
"Exactly, they're actually going to move the capital, letting the barbarians chase them south like they're being led by the tail?"
The village chief sighed and waved his hand impatiently, "Alright, things aren't like they used to be. Let's hurry up and prepare to head south. If we delay any longer, it'll be too late!"
"Collect the grain! Take it with you quickly, you'll need to eat no matter where you go!"
"Exactly, we don't even know what it will be like on the way!"
No matter how worried everyone was, there was nothing they could do but go with the flow.
Immediately, the village chief rang the broken bronze bell at the village entrance, and the whole village came out to inquire.
Hearing that all the villages were coming to seize the grain, everyone panicked. As soon as the village chief told them to harvest quickly, everyone turned around and went home to get sickles and carrying poles.
Nobody wants their family to go hungry in the winter; at this time, food is life itself.
Harvesting grain is like risking your life!
Every household, men, women, young and old, everyone went to the fields, even more enthusiastically than when they were harvesting their own land.
They even cut sorghum ears in the dark at night, and after another day, all the sorghum and millet were harvested.
The grains are laid out to dry on the threshing floor, rolled on a roller, and then, carried by the wind, plump grains fall to the ground...
Li Lao Er took the list and distributed the borrowed grain to each household.
The Li family naturally had the most left, which also worried Li Lao Er.
There's simply no way we could carry that much food on the way out of famine!
As darkness fell, he decided to go home and ask his mother.
As a result, Grandma Li brought Jiayin to deliver the meal.
The mother and daughter sat together, looking worried, and Jiayin got busy.
She wiggled her calves and ran a lap around the drying ground.
She kept only eight bags of grain, and put the rest away.
After finishing his meal, Li Lao Er was stunned as soon as he stood up, and then he was so anxious that he paced around in circles.
How could a thief steal grain right under your nose?
Grandma Li was also startled, but then she remembered something and stopped her son, giving him some instructions.
"Don't worry, don't make a fuss, the grain won't be lost. If anyone asks, just say it was sold overnight!"
Li Lao Er was filled with questions, but he didn't say anything more.
In situations like this, even if you're robbed, what can you do? Catching the thief isn't as important as escaping.
The next morning, Li Lao Er and Li Lao Si went into town again.
The shopping list included the most basic necessities such as oil and salt, as well as a prescription from a renowned doctor, containing some medicines for colds, dysentery, or fever.
The main purpose is to find out what's going on in the city; if things go wrong, we'll have to set off immediately.
The village chief stopped the mule cart at the village entrance and followed it into town.
He didn't buy as much as the Li family, but he bought twenty catties of salt in one go.
Seeing this, Li Lao Er also bought twenty jin.
Everything was fine when we entered the city, but when we left, the city gate suddenly became congested.
Countless carriages lined up in a long queue, each loaded with a lot of goods.
Some of the seats were occupied by female relatives and children, and the crying of the children could be heard from time to time.
Li Lao Er and the others felt something was wrong, so they quickly went around to the north gate to leave the city and then ran home as fast as they could.
There was no need to hide it anymore; the news had reached the city, and wealthy families had already begun to flee.
Almost as soon as they entered the village, the village chief began frantically ringing the broken bronze bell.
The villagers were puzzled, since the grain had already been harvested and the money they had borrowed had been put into their grain bins.
Does someone intend to rob them from their home?
As a result, the village chief threw out a single sentence that left everyone seeing stars.
"The barbarians have crossed the border, and even the Emperor is fleeing south. Pack your things and escape quickly, or it will be too late!"
After saying that, the village chief ran home.
My wife has already packed everything and put it on the family's little donkey cart, so we can set off at any time.
The Li family also loaded the prepared baskets, grain bags, and other items onto the mule cart and covered them with large pieces of tarpaulin.
Most of the remaining odds and ends were placed on a wheelbarrow, which was pushed by Li Laosi and Jiayi.
Half of the goods were put into baskets, which were carried by Li Lao Er and Li Lao San.
Grandma Li carried Jiayin on her back, while Zhao Yuru and Tao Hongying tugged at Jiaxi and Jiaan.
Jia Huan and Jia Ren were driving a carriage when they picked up Dr. Zhang.
But after waiting for quite a while, the old men next door still hadn't come over.
Grandma Li grew anxious and called to her son, "Go check on your Uncle Zhao and the others, and urge them on. I'll go take another look and see if they've forgotten anything."
Li Lao Er and the others responded and went off. Li Lao Tai carried Jia Yin on her back and walked around to each room.
Jiayin found it convenient. Taking advantage of her grandmother's inability to see, she filled everything within her reach—tables, chairs, cabinets, kang tables, copper basin stands, whatever she could find.
Throw them all into the space and pile them up.
Even a ruined home is worth a fortune; once you settle in a new place, who knows what it will be like?
Bring one more item, and you'll have one less to buy!
As the grandfather and grandson left the house, they heard Li Lao Er shouting from next door.
Soon they carried the three old men over, followed by three others, all with red eyes.
"Grandma, Grandpa Zhao said they lost their hands and are lame, so they can't walk far and don't want to be a burden on our family."
"Let us stroll around; they'll stay behind and watch the house."
Jiayi is soft-hearted; he spoke with a mixture of anger and anxiety, his eyes even turning red.
"How can that be!" Old Mrs. Li glared at her. "We eat and enjoy life together, how can we abandon you when disaster strikes?"
Get in the car quickly, we're leaving now!
When Jiayi heard his grandmother say this, he responded loudly, stuffed the old men into the car, and even took out ropes to tie their hands and feet in case they ran away.
The village chief drove his donkey cart over, and upon seeing this, his eyes welled up with tears.
The Li family is truly loyal and righteous, taking several half-crippled old men on their journey. It wasn't just about providing food; these were six burdens...
He originally came here to try and get his old buddies involved.
Unexpectedly, the Li family had already brought their people along!
He was grateful and was about to speak.
Just then, a group of people, young and old, rushed into the gate.
No one knows who started it, but everyone knelt down and kowtowed, amidst a chorus of weeping.
"Village chief, auntie, boohoo, please take us with you and run away together."
"Village chief, auntie, help! We can't run, we don't know where to go!"
The village chief was having a headache, not because he lacked a sense of responsibility or refused to lead the villagers.
The journey to escape famine was so difficult that even taking care of their own families was a struggle.
Bringing over a hundred people from the entire village is simply too difficult, not even a thought.
The Li family was even more troubled, with the elderly, children, and six old men already a heavy burden on their shoulders.
At this time, it's all about seizing the initiative; whoever gets there first has a greater chance of survival.
But none of the families in the village had carriages or horses, and taking them along would slow down their journey... Perhaps sensing the Li family's hesitation, a woman pushed her children forward.
"Auntie, please take my dog, Gou Dan, and Da Ya with you. Just give them something to eat on the way."
From now on, I'll serve your family like a slave, just please take them with me and save their lives!
The child didn't want to leave her mother, so she clung tightly to her neck and cried her heart out.
"Mommy, don't throw me away! Waaah, I don't want to!"
The Li family couldn't bear to watch any longer, and Old Mrs. Li tried her best to harden her heart and persuaded them.
"We've just started the escape, so hurry up and pack your things. There's still time to head south. Once you cross the Jinsha River, you'll be safe."
The woman shook her head vehemently, insisting on sending her children to the Li family as servants.
They were uneducated and lacked intelligence, but they possessed instinctive intuition.
The fact that the Li family started collecting grain and making purchases early, and is setting off so soon, clearly indicates that they had received the news well in advance.
Maybe wherever I end up, I'll have a goal.
Moreover, they had a mule cart at home, so they could definitely travel faster than others.
The children will have a better chance of survival if they stay with the Li family than with them!
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