Human bone cart
After experiencing several small aftershocks, no one dared to stay in the room and all ran out of the ancestral hall and into the village paths.
The villagers who had hardly seen each other yesterday also came out, but they just looked a little confused and didn't think anything big had happened.
It was not until the aftershocks stopped and the situation stabilized for almost ten minutes that some people in the tour group remembered to pack up and prepare to leave. Although it was only a minor earthquake, it could not be taken lightly.
Yang Qi looked into the distance and said, "This is all plains. There's not even a small hill to be seen. It's definitely not an area prone to earthquakes. But if it's true, as the village chief said, that this was the capital of Nanhu State, where an earthquake once occurred, then it wouldn't be surprising."
Gao Wenwen suddenly realized: "Yes, but the crack in the center of the lake also has the potential to cause earthquakes."
"Sister, you guys are out too..." Xiaoshui walked over rubbing her eyes, her voice still a little hoarse from just waking up.
She was probably carried out by her family during the earthquake. She was obviously not aware of what happened early in the morning. When she saw Ding Can, she felt close to him and came over to hold her hand.
Ding Can squatted down, and Xiao Shui's soft body leaned over. She was obviously still a little tired, leaning on her to rest. "Yes, there was an earthquake just now, and everyone was afraid that the house would collapse. It would be safer to stay outside."
"I don't know. It was my mother-in-law who carried me out of the house. I just woke up."
Children sleep soundly and are not easily disturbed. It is normal that they did not notice the shaking just now. They probably cannot understand why these adults are acting as if they are facing a great enemy.
"Grandpa is here!" When she saw the village chief walking hurriedly at the end of the path, her eyes lit up and she raised her arm to wave. Only then did she remember that she hadn't seen her grandpa since a while ago.
Old Wang ran over anxiously, his expression not much different from when he was seen at the entrance of the ancestral hall in the morning, making people wonder if he had brought back some bad news again.
When he spoke, his words were confirmed: "I had just reached the village entrance when the earthquake struck. The road at the entrance cracked open like a huge crack, and people couldn't even pass through."
Ding Can stood up, still holding Xiao Shui's hand. "Cracks? We felt very little tremors here, how could it be so severe?"
"I don't know. I was so scared just now that my heart was pounding. I quickly wanted to come back to see what the situation was like in the village."
The people who were cleaning up the ancestral hall rushed out again after hearing this: "Can't we get out now?"
Lao Wang scratched his head. "That's probably the case. The main thing is, we don't know if there will be another earthquake. It's too dangerous to go out now. If it's like the one in the lake, people will die if they fall in."
After hearing him talk about the fall, most people present thought of Cheng Jialu's death and began to think about retreating.
Despite what the village chief said, they still went to the village entrance to take a look, and sure enough, they saw a crack about two meters wide in the ground in the middle of the road. It was already bright outside, but when they looked down, they could only vaguely see the fuzzy outline of the bottom.
It is indeed very deep. Even with a ladder or a wooden board, you cannot directly step over it.
Especially here, the land looks dry on the surface, but the broken soil surface shows that it is mixed with some water. It is soft and easy to slide, and it is impossible to step on it.
At this moment, calling someone to deal with the body is no longer the most important thing. There is no way to leave Nanhu Village. The town’s buses will definitely stop running because of this, and no local people will risk taking a ride to send people off at this time.
At present, it seems that we can only leave Nanhu Village after it is truly confirmed to be safe.
I don't know when Zhai Ting followed from behind. When she said she was leaving, she quickly tidied herself up. At least she looked much more energetic than before.
But this good spirit did not last long. When she saw the crack in the ground, it quickly collapsed.
"We can't go back, right?"
Since no one spoke to her, she walked up to them and asked them one by one, not caring at all about other people's strange looks.
Everyone just felt sorry for her. She was so scared that she would probably have nightmares every night for a long time.
"Let's go back first. I'll contact the leaders in the town to see when someone can come to rescue us." Lao Wang didn't dare to let them leave rashly. When he was waving his hand to let everyone follow him back, he felt an obvious tremor under his feet again.
This was much more serious than what he had just experienced in the village. Ding Can's arms were held by two boys on both sides. The three of them were tied together to be more stable, but his legs were still not under the control of his brain.
At least you can squat down safely to reduce the risk.
Some people who were alone nearby were not so lucky. They fell all over the place. Fortunately, the ground nearby was flat and not too close to the crack.
Dozens of seconds passed, and there was no sign of stopping. I only heard the sound of houses collapsing behind me. It was the houses in the village.
White tiles fell down and blended with the gray wall, followed by dust flying up from the collision.
In the panic, I only heard what Lao Wang said, and then he stumbled towards the village. He must be worried about his relatives and friends, or he couldn't let go of his responsibilities as village chief.
It was the first time that Ding Can felt such a strong earthquake. He felt that what he was standing on was not even land, but some kind of fluid that could surge and fall. Faced with such a natural disaster, humans were completely unable to resist.
She could only hear screams coming from all around, mixed with some suppressed crying.
After several minutes, the ground finally calmed down again, but it felt like a whole century had passed.
Gao Wenwen's face was a little pale. He suppressed the urge to retch. When he stood up, his legs were shaking unconsciously. After patting himself a few times, he slowly got used to it.
"Sister Can, that crack has become even bigger than before."
If the crack just now still had the possibility of being crossed, the one that appeared before us now had completely become an insurmountable chasm.
The soil at the top edges of both sides fell down, forming an inverted triangle shape. It was so deep that you couldn't see the bottom. It looked like a cliff.
He approached cautiously, found a larger stone and threw it down. After a long time, he didn't even hear the sound of the stone hitting the ground.
Nanhu Village in the distance has almost become a ruin. At first glance, the unique feeling of white tiles and gray walls that we had when we first arrived is gone. Only a few houses are left untouched.
The house is made of adobe and needs to be repaired frequently even when there is heavy rain, let alone facing the destructive power of an earthquake.
Ding Can glanced at Zhai Ting, who was curled up on the ground with her head in her hands not far away. "Let's go back first. The villagers of Nanhu Village are familiar with the surrounding environment and know where is safe at this time."
Xiaoshui's face flashed through her mind. Besides, there would definitely be people injured in that earthquake, so it would be good to be able to help.
When we walked into the village, the original path had been mostly covered by fallen adobe bricks, so we could only walk inside by squeezing in the gaps.
Some people were still trying to rescue and pack up some valuable things from the ruined house. In the distance, they heard a few children crying. The adults in the family were holding the little boy to comfort him. It was obvious that he was scared and crying.
Looking further ahead, Ding Can noticed that among the broken walls, the roof of the ancestral hall was still intact, with only a few tiles falling off.
Could it be that the villagers' ancestors really are blessing him?
When I walked to the door, I saw that there were quite a few people in the ancestral hall. The red cloth that originally covered the tablet had been torn off. The villagers were kneeling in front of it and praying devoutly, hoping that disasters would not continue to strike.
Zhai Ting stared at the tablet in a daze, as if trying to recognize every word on it.
After a while, she thought of her boyfriend who was just across the wall from her: "Jialu, he's still there..."
The body had not been taken care of in the first place, and now with this incident, no one knows what will become of it.
When Old Wang heard her words, he felt that he was also largely responsible for this matter. It was because he did not remind her in time and did not give her a serious reminder. "In this situation, there is really no way to call for help. If you don't mind, I have a coffin at home. I will carry him in first and make a decision later."
"Coffin?" Zhai Ting was stunned, not knowing where the coffin appeared out of nowhere.
The village chief nodded: "I prepared it for myself."
Some people in Nanhu Village have the custom of preparing coffins for themselves when they are old. The wood and the production process take several months or even more than a year to be carefully selected, and then the coffins are completed by skilled craftsmen.
"Thank you." Zhai Ting sniffed and looked unusually normal at this moment.
"It's okay, I'll take care of it. You don't have to go and see it. The ancestral hall is too small, and we have to find a safe place for everyone later." Old Wang waved his hand and called two uncles in the village to leave together.
Ding Can went back to the room and took out some necessities.
Not only them, but other villagers were also notified at the same time, asking them to pack some simple luggage and hide in the shelter for at least the next two days.
About ten years ago, in response to safety awareness, leaders and relevant personnel came to the town to conduct an investigation, wanting to survey whether there was any directly usable or suitable place for construction in Nanhu Village.
After circling around for half a day, we finally found one that basically didn't require any secondary construction.
On the northeast side of the village, there is an air-raid shelter that was left over from an unknown age. It has long been past the war years and no one has entered or exited it for many years.
Because of this incident, and because someone comes to inspect every year, it is known that there is enough food stored inside for the entire village to survive for half a month, and even the village has its own groundwater.
It wasn't until today that I finally had the opportunity to use it. Almost an hour later, the large group started moving forward.
The villagers knew the location and walked forward in scattered groups, and the visiting group just followed them.
Xiaoshui seemed to like Ding Can particularly well. She caught up with her halfway and held her hand tightly.
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