Qingshui Village received the news relatively early; while other villages were still packing their things, they had already set off.
However, each family carried a lot of things, making the journey somewhat difficult.
After an hour, the group had traveled more than ten miles before stopping to rest on a high slope.
The group was completely silent until someone, for some unknown reason, suddenly burst into tears.
The crying seemed contagious; everyone's eyes reddened as they looked at their panicked companions and gazed at their homes, which could only be vaguely seen in the distance.
"Waaaaah, waaaah, what am I going to do now?"
"I don't want to leave. I'm so old. Am I going to die out there?"
"Damn barbarians, we should have killed them all back then!"
"What will we do then? How will we survive if there's no land to live in the south?"
The sound of weeping was deafening; men, women, and children were all crying.
The Li family members huddled together, their expressions somewhat numb and desperate.
They were people who had experienced a famine and were more experienced than the villagers.
But having finally found a place to stay, they were once again left homeless and destitute. This kind of pain is something the villagers cannot understand.
The village chief and his wife sat together, wiping away tears.
He still remembered that he was the backbone of the village, so he mustered his spirits and rallied everyone.
"Stop crying, everyone. At times like this, it's good enough if you can stay alive. As long as you're alive, you have nothing to fear."
He helped his elderly wife kneel down facing the direction of Qingshui Village. "Everyone, please kowtow. We old folks may never have the chance to come back again. But let our children remember that this is our hometown, and they will always be able to come back and visit in the future!"
Everyone knelt down with a thud, crying and kowtowing.
And the hometown that was destined to be lost became clearer and clearer through tear-blurred eyes.
People are despised when they leave their hometown, just like leaves falling from a branch; their fate is to wander with the wind...
After crying for a while, everyone felt a little better.
Someone pointed to several figures in the distance and shouted, "Aren't those the Liu family members?"
Everyone looked grim. "How shameless of them to have come after us like this?"
The village chief frowned. "Pack your things and get going. It's their business if they want to leave; after all, we didn't build this road! We can't control them, but if they dare to interfere, beat them up! We absolutely cannot let them stick around!"
"Yes, village chief."
Everyone agreed and prepared to continue their journey.
Inevitably, some useless items were thrown out of the basket and piled up haphazardly by the roadside.
Jiayin was envious and insisted on being carried by her father.
Li Laosi was strong and not afraid of getting tired. He really tied his daughter to the back of his back in a basket and busied himself taking care of the group.
Jiayin found an opportunity to put almost everything that everyone had thrown away back into the space.
The Liu family was behind, hurrying along as fast as they could, exhausted, but they were about to catch up with the villagers.
Unexpectedly, the villagers started their journey again, which angered the whole family, who cursed loudly.
Guo's hair was disheveled, and she was jumping up and down like a madwoman.
"You heartless bastards! We all live in the same village, why can't they take us with them! They're trying to kill our family! Liu Gen'er, open your eyes! Look at your sister, look at the villagers! A bunch of beasts! Take them all to see the King of Hell, let them freeze and starve to death!"
Su Niang and Chun Hong were too exhausted to cry anymore. They didn't know if the villagers would freeze or starve to death, but they knew that if they didn't find a way, they would have nothing to eat in less than two days.
When the time comes, they'll definitely be the ones to visit my father-in-law first!
"Stop yelling. Instead of wasting your energy, why don't you think of something to do? We can't just starve to death, can we?"
"Exactly! How could I have been so blind as to marry into a family like yours!"
When Lai Fu sensed something was wrong with his wife's words, he raised his hand and slapped Chun Hong across the face. Chun Hong screamed and lay on the ground throwing a tantrum.
"Liu Laifu, if you've got the guts, kill me! Following you is just torture, I might as well be dead! All you do is gamble in the city, do you ever care about your family's well-being? When others beat you, you don't dare utter a sound, but you're so tough when it comes to showing off to me. Kill me, kill me!"
Feeling guilty and embarrassed, Liu Laifu actually kicked Chunhong a few times.
In the end, Liu Tiezhu found it annoying and shouted at him.
"What's all the fuss about? So what if we don't have any food? Go find some! A living person won't die from holding their pee!"
Su Niang pouted, hugged her son, and complained, "You make it sound so easy for you, but where are we going to find it? It's in someone else's bag!"
She had only said it casually, but Liu Laifu's eyes lit up and he turned to Liu Tiezhu.
"Brother, you mean..." He gestured forward with his chin, pointing to the villagers whose shadows he could only make out.
Liu Tiezhu nodded and sneered, "It's one thing for other families, but the Li family took thirty acres of land. Just now, their mule cart was full of sacks of grain!"
Fearing a beating, Liu Laifu said, "Li Laosi is too ruthless; we can't out-rob him."
"Then let's find someone!" Liu Tiezhu said with a sinister look. "I don't believe that only our family is short of food. In this day and age, food is life. Who doesn't want it!"
The Liu family members all nodded and huddled together to discuss it in hushed tones…
The villagers of Qingshui Village were unaware that they had been targeted.
The fear of fleeing famine sustained them until nightfall, when they finally chose a place at the foot of a mountain to rest.
The men from each family went to gather firewood and lit a campfire.
The women busied themselves setting up small iron pots to cook some simple porridge for the whole family.
The teenagers, oblivious to the hardships of life, were still running around and playing.
Li Jiaxi and Jia'an are very sensible; they help gather firewood and fetch water.
When he had no work, he would stay by his younger sister's side, worried that she might be scared, and would always try to make her play with him.
Jiayin sat on a tarpaulin, covered with a fine gauze cover, which was both mosquito-proof and breathable.
Because they learned the news earlier than other families, the Li family was the most well-prepared.
Especially for Jiayin, their precious child, everything they needed for the journey was meticulously arranged.
After wandering around for a while, Doctor Zhang finally sat down next to Jiayin.
He stayed at the Li family's residence, partly because he was too lazy to go back to the capital, and partly because he wanted to find out the secret behind Young Master Ye's recovery.
After so many days, he became somewhat discouraged.
Fortunately, the Li family was kind-hearted and took good care of him. They went south together, which was not bad.
The nights in early August weren't too cold, but the evening breeze was still chilly.
That night, everyone huddled together, tending the campfire and protecting the elderly and children. By the time they finally managed to fall asleep, it was already past midnight.
When everyone opened their eyes in the morning, they were all startled.
The official road not far ahead is now packed with people, compared to the sparse crowd yesterday.
Those driving horse-drawn carts, donkey carts, and carrying loads, along with their wives, children, and elderly mothers, all looked exhausted and miserable.
Needless to say, the news of the relocation of the capital spread far and wide.
Anyone who wants to survive must head south.
The villagers immediately panicked. Without even having breakfast, they quickly packed their things and set off.
The villagers were originally walking together, with the Li family's mule cart in front and the village chief's donkey cart bringing up the rear.
But as they walked, some people went fast and some went slow, and some were delayed, so the line for Qingshui Village became quite long.
The group scattered when confronted by other fleeing strangers.
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