At this moment, almost all the villagers knelt down.
"Aunt Li, please have mercy and take us with you!"
"Yes, Aunt Li, sob sob, please save our lives for the sake of our past relationship. We didn't know anything, going out meant certain death!"
In an instant, the entire courtyard was filled with the sound of weeping, a sound that shook the heavens.
Tao Hongying hugged her son Jia'an and held her daughter Jiayin in her arms.
Zhao Yuru also held her two sons, Jia Huan and Jia Xi, tightly in her arms.
They are all mothers, so it's inevitable that they'll soften their hearts at times like this.
But he didn't dare say much, and just glanced at Old Lady Li quietly.
Old Lady Li wasn't heartless, so of course she was also distressed, but leading the whole village to flee the famine was just too difficult.
Finally, the village chief spoke up, "Sister, your family has experienced famine, so you have some experience. But we've been living in peace for too long and don't know anything. Please, let's do this for you. If anything goes wrong on the way, if we get separated from the group, or if it delays your family's journey, then your family can go first, and no one will complain."
Having said all that, what could Old Lady Li do but nod?
"Alright, let's get this straight: this is a time to escape. If anyone dares to be ungrateful or turn out to be a heartless wretch, don't blame the Li family for being ruthless."
Everyone quickly expressed their gratitude loudly, wiped away their tears, and finally showed joy on their faces.
Tao Hongying and Zhao Yuru quickly gathered the women together and gave them instructions.
"Remember not to bring unnecessary things. Bring a small iron pot, bowls, a kitchen knife, oil, salt, rice, bedding, cotton clothes, and definitely bring a tarpaulin. You'll need to sleep outdoors on the road, so be prepared for rain and cold nights!"
On the other side, Li Lao Er and the others were also giving instructions to the men of their respective families.
"If you have a cart at home, be sure to bring it, not a flatbed cart, but a wheelbarrow! If you don't have a wheelbarrow, carry it on a shoulder pole. Flatbed carts simply can't make it up mountain roads. Also, make sure you bring a sickle, axe, and machete! People on the road will try to steal your grain!"
The villagers were initially happy because the Li family had taken them along, but their faces soon turned bitter and fearful.
The experience of fleeing famine was far more brutal than they had imagined!
Soon, everyone went home to tidy up.
Needless to say, chaos erupted, with chickens running wild, dogs barking, the elderly crying, and children wailing – it was utter turmoil.
The village chief and the Li family were worried, so they all went out into the village to help.
Greed is human nature, especially when it comes to wealth accumulated through years of hard work.
Young people are better off, but the elderly are not so lucky; they wish they could bring all the firewood from home with them.
The village chief was so angry that his eyes turned red, and he went to each house to curse them.
"Zhang Laosan, put that wine jar down right now. If you don't, I'll smash it! What kind of time is this to be thinking about drinking? Do you want to die?!"
The old man, feeling wronged, sobbed as he lowered his hand, "I've been hiding this for two years, and it cost me two hundred coins to buy this fine wine!"
The village chief was exasperated. "Just use a big gourd to carry some, why carry a jar on the road? Are you trying to kill yourself with exhaustion? If you die from exhaustion, fine, but if you drag everyone down, I'll be the first to abandon you!"
Before he could finish speaking, he saw the old lady of the Zhang family stuffing hens into the basket.
"We'll be lucky if we don't starve on the road, and you're taking the hens with you. How are we going to feed them? Kill them all, kill them all, and we'll eat the meat as provisions on the road!"
The Li family was in a state of panic. They told the villagers, and they agreed, but then secretly stuffed the things into their carrying poles.
The Li family was so angry they were practically spitting blood; they regretted bringing these people along even before setting off.
An hour felt like an eternity, leaving everyone hoarse from exhaustion.
Jiayin clung to her grandmother's back, urging the old lady to take her around the village.
She casually stole quite a few things from the space.
We collected seven or eight earthenware jars, basins, baskets, winnowing baskets, hoes, and even soy sauce jars from various households that they couldn't take with them.
Someone will naturally notice that something is missing, but when people are fleeing for their lives, who has the time to investigate?
Before they could even start shouting, they were already dragging the elderly and children along to set off.
As for food and warm clothing, no one needed to urge them; everyone brought their own.
They didn't forget the iron pot for cooking, but they also stuffed in a lot of useless things.
The men carried loads on their shoulders, the women carried bundles on their backs, and the elderly pulled the children along.
When they gathered again at the village entrance, they looked at each other, their eyes reddening.
They lived a good life, even though they suffered from natural disasters. But with the Li family's well and the distributed grain, at least they didn't have to worry about starving to death.
Who would have thought that everything would be gone in the blink of an eye.
They no longer had a home, a house, or land, and they didn't even know where to go.
It felt like I had suddenly fallen from heaven into hell; all I felt was despair…
The village chief secretly wiped his eyes, just about to give the order to set off.
Unexpectedly, the Liu family, young and old, suddenly ran back, crying, "Village chief, help us! Wait for us! Let's go together, let's go together!"
Guo screamed, but there were no tears; she just wailed.
The entire village frowned and dispersed, not wanting their family members to get close.
Liu Tiezhu and Liu Laifu, who were used to being arrogant, actually started complaining.
"Village chief, you are all heartless! The whole village fled together, and you didn't even call on our family. If we encounter bad guys robbing us on the road, don't expect us brothers to stand up for you!"
Liu Laifu rolled his eyes and snorted coldly, "I know people in both the legitimate and criminal worlds in the county town. I originally wanted to protect the village, but your actions have really disappointed me."
Guo rushed up to the Li family, glaring and cursing.
"Big sister, you're really being unfair! You led the villagers to escape, but you didn't take us with you! In fact, we're the only relatives in the whole village! Tiezhu and Laifu are your nephews! You're only concerned with outsiders and not us!"
Old Mrs. Li was thoroughly fed up. If her younger brother were alive, she would still have some affection for him.
Now that his younger brother is dead, the Liu family is an outsider, especially since this family is so despicable.
"Get out of my way! I've already said I'm cutting ties with your family! You stole our grain before, and we haven't even settled the score with you yet. Who gave you the nerve to come here and yell at me!"
"Yes, you've all been driven out of the village, why should we take you with us?"
"Get out of here, don't delay our journey!"
Li Laosi stepped forward, grabbed Guo Shi, and threw her aside.
Liu Tiezhu and Liu Laifu tried to fight back, but Li Laosi kicked them in the stomach each, leaving them curled up on the ground unable to move.
Su Niang and Chun Hong pulled at the child, crying as if the sky had fallen.
But no one softened their hearts. This family was usually the village's notorious scoundrels, good for nothing but bad.
If we're trying to escape now, taking them with us would only be asking for trouble.
Besides, this family didn't borrow any grain from the Li family.
The family has seven members, seven mouths to feed, but not a single thing to eat.
This is clearly an attempt to survive by clinging to the village!
The more they thought about it, the harder their hearts became, and they couldn't care less about anything else.
Everyone worked together to pull the family apart, and then they quickly set off.
The Liu family members were completely panicked. They were just trying to survive by scavenging food from the village, especially the Li family.
After all, they are related by blood. If we bring up the name of the deceased father, I don't believe that Old Lady Li would really let them starve to death.
They didn't expect that the entire village and the Li family wouldn't give them that chance at all.
As the villagers walked away, the Liu family was completely dumbfounded.
It was Guo who jumped up and down, calling for her daughter-in-law to hurry home and gather some clothes and bedding, before frantically chasing after him.
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