"Village chief, you guys go ahead and cross the mountain. My family of three won't come with you."
The young wife spoke frankly, with a hint of smugness in her tone.
Some villagers who knew her quickly asked.
"What's going on? Where are you all going? You're not going to climb the mountain by yourselves, are you? That won't do! It's too dangerous up there. You should come with the group."
The villagers meant well, but the young woman didn't appreciate it.
She pointed to the city gate and smiled.
"We'll go straight through the city gate; we won't bother climbing the mountain with the rest of us."
The villagers were stunned at first, but then their expressions changed.
To pass through the city gate, you had to pay a toll.
In other words, their family could come up with fifteen taels!
Yesterday she was still pressuring the Li family to give her money, and now look what she's done!
They're reluctant to spend their own money, but they're always thinking about taking advantage of others!
The more the crowd thought about it, the angrier they became. Their gazes toward the family of three were filled with disdain and anger.
The man couldn't take it anymore and said in a low voice.
"Village chief, my child is frail and probably can't climb the mountain. Let's wait for everyone when we reach the official road over there..."
"No need!" The village chief's face darkened, and he interrupted him directly.
“Once you leave, you will all go your separate ways. If you meet again, you will pretend not to know each other, and we will not need you to wait for us.”
"That's right, who needs your fake kindness? Get lost!"
"Shameless bastards! You clearly have money, yet yesterday you forced Aunt Li's family to give you money. You have no conscience!"
From now on, we'll go our separate ways. Your lives and deaths are no longer any concern of the village!
The villagers spoke harshly, and the ashamed man stammered a few times, unable to utter a word.
The young wife, however, pouted and grabbed the child, ready to leave.
But Li Laosi stepped forward and blocked their way.
The young wife was startled and hid behind the man, shouting.
"What are you going to do? Everyone's watching! If you kill us, you'll go to jail!"
Li Laosi snorted coldly, disdainful of speaking to her, and only spoke to the man.
“You can leave, but since we won’t be seeing each other again, you should at least return the grain you borrowed from our family in the village.”
"Yes, return the grain!" the villagers immediately shouted.
"Don't you have silver? Don't you want to go through the city gate? Why don't you pay back the grain you owe?"
"It must be paid back!"
The young woman got anxious and shouted indignantly, "Why should we pay it back? Hu Laosan and the others didn't pay it back before!"
Old Mrs. Li stepped forward with her granddaughter in her arms and said coldly, "Hu Laosan and the others are just ungrateful and don't know how to look after each other. But you are a heartless wretch, always scheming against our family!"
The young woman blushed and deeply regretted her earlier arrogance.
If I had known, I would have just left, and I wouldn't have been forced to return the grain.
"We have no food left, we've almost finished eating! You can't expect us to give it all back, can you?"
"Then pay up! You're rich, aren't you? We'll give you the grain at market price!"
The village chief was also furious and made the decision with just one sentence.
The young wife and her husband were surrounded by the villagers; how could they dare refuse?
He gritted his teeth and paid for thirty catties of sorghum at twenty coins per catty.
Old Mrs. Li took the loose silver in her hand, turned around and left.
The villagers then parted the road, coldly watching the young woman and man flee with their child.
"I thought he was a good person, but you can never judge a book by its cover."
"Exactly, there are just too many ungrateful wretches."
The villagers were so angry that they kept cursing. The village chief waved his hand and turned to look at the Li family, who had already started walking down the mountain.
"Now you should realize how rare people like the Li family are. They could have easily crossed the city gates, but they chose to endure the hardships of climbing mountains with us. You should all have some conscience. If anyone dares to treat the Li family badly in the future, don't blame me for personally digging out your black hearts!"
Everyone looked over and saw that Li Laosan was helping Uncle Zhao onto the back of the mule, while the other two old men with bad legs were being pulled onto the wooden sled by Li Laosi and Jiayi.
At times like these, the three old men become nothing more than a burden.
But the Li family would rather expend such great effort than abandon them.
Such loyalty and affection are enough to make everyone blush.
At the same time, they felt extremely at ease.
Following the Li family, I don't know what the future holds, but as long as they are obedient and have a conscience, I don't need to worry about being abandoned even if I encounter difficulties...
After many twists and turns, by the time the group had made their way into the forest, the sun was already high in the sky.
The city gate was still completely blocked, even more crowded than yesterday.
Occasionally, someone would glance over and suddenly see people from Qingshui Village heading up the mountain.
"Oh dear, it sounds like someone's climbing over the mountain?"
"Climb the mountain? Yeah, why are we staying here? We can climb the mountain and go around the city gate!"
"Yes, climb the mountain, climb the mountain!"
"How could I not have thought of that? I've wasted two whole days!"
As they were talking, some people began to gather their belongings and headed towards the hills on either side of the county town.
The local people, who were still unaware of what was happening, heard about it one after another and ran even faster, almost turning around and running away.
The soldiers at the city gate, who had been feeling smug, were startled when they suddenly saw the people retreating like a tide. Could it be that the emperor had already arrived?
Or was it some high-ranking official or nobleman from Kyoto who set off and arrived ahead of time?
But it didn't take long for them to understand.
The hills on both sides of the county town resemble green steamed buns, densely covered with ants.
Those who had neither carriages nor money began to climb the mountain with their families.
The soldiers at the city gate were furious. How did these idiots suddenly become so smart?
Why didn't anyone think of this a few days ago? Now everyone suddenly understands!
Of course, they didn't know that the culprit had already climbed to the top of the mountain.
The village chief was carrying a load on his shoulders and also had to support his elderly wife; he was exhausted.
Halfway there, Zhao Yuru picked up his wife.
Tao Hongying carried Jiayin on her back and helped Old Lady Li.
Jiaren, Jiayi, Jiahuan, and Li Laosan carried their luggage and also pulled Jiaan and Jiaxi along.
Li Lao Er carried a basket on his back and led the big blue mule.
Uncle Zhao on the mule kept nagging, "Let me get off and walk around for a while, so your mother and children can get on."
Li Lao Er refused, as Uncle Zhao had lost a leg and could barely walk on ordinary days.
He certainly couldn't make it through such a remote and unmarked mountain area.
Li Laosi and Jiayi bore the heaviest burden, not only having to pull the two old men, but also each having a bag of grain on the sled.
But the two of them seemed more relaxed than everyone else, which made people extremely envious.
Several able-bodied men from the village walked ahead, occasionally using their sickles to cut through the weeds and vines.
It makes it easier for the elderly, weak, women and children to walk, and reduces the number of stumbles.
The villagers, young and old, were exhausted, and looking at the old men sitting on the sleds, they were filled with envy.
On second thought, their exhaustion didn't seem so unbearable anymore.
Jiayin lay in the basket on her mother's back, swaying back and forth while looking at everyone, wanting to tell them something.
This is a sense of security, a sense of security that will never abandon or give up on you!
Grandma Li occasionally turned her head and saw her granddaughter's enthusiastic expression, which made her both laugh and cry.
At times like these, only children still have the energy.
She quickly pulled the fine sand out again, covering her granddaughter completely, afraid that insects or other things on the tree might fall and frighten her.
After finally climbing to the top of the mountain, the village chief only called for a two-quarters-hour rest.
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