The sun has set, and only sparse stars hang in the sky.
The already quiet Shenjia Village was once again in an uproar due to the sound of gongs and drums.
"Village head, what's the matter?" asked a woman holding a bowl filled with clear rice soup.
The village head got straight to the point and said in a loud voice: "Just now, Mr. Shen's family said that the county town has been breached by refugees, and they may soon attack the town. Those who want to leave should go home now to pack their things and gather at the village entrance in an hour."
"Leave? Why should we leave?" someone asked.
There was no need for the village head to explain, someone immediately said: "The refugees have already invaded. If we don't leave, what will we do if they attack us?"
"I think it's probably fake. There are government officials in the county town. How could the refugees dare to go in? Even if they wanted to, do they have the ability to do so?" said someone who didn't believe it.
"Last time when Mr. Shen said there might be a locust plague, you also said it was fake, but now it really happened." Wu Cuihua happened to be present and immediately retorted when she heard this.
"Did Mr. Shen's family give you food or money, and ask you to speak for them every time?" The man who had just spoken said angrily.
Wu Cuihua spat at her and said, "I trusted them even though they didn't give me anything. But you, when I said something, you jumped out and acted like everyone had dug up your ancestral grave."
The man's face looked as ugly as if he had eaten a fly, and he was so angry that he wanted to rush over and hit her.
Chen Li was looking at the noisy crowd and felt his head buzzing. He suddenly struck the gong and drum.
"Bang, bang~" Two loud noises startled the quarreling crowd and their voices became quieter.
He said, "What's there to argue about? Those who want to leave can go home and pack their things, and those who don't want to leave can stay."
Seeing Shen Lizheng looking unhappy, no one dared to say anything.
It would be better for the county magistrate to be in charge now. In Shenjia Village, isn’t he the most powerful person?
The woman who was about to pounce on Wu Cuihua was interrupted by the head of the village and did not dare to make trouble anymore. However, she still said stubbornly: "Tsk~ You really believe everything others say. If there are refugees going to the county, the government will arrest them first. How can they wait until they come to us?"
"Anyway, you guys go, but my family won't leave. If you leave, this house and field will also be mine."
The woman said this and walked away.
Some people were moved by what the woman who left said. If everyone else left, then the fields and houses would belong to those of them who stayed here.
Although it is still dry now, it doesn’t mean it won’t rain in the future!
Oh, this is a good thing. If many people leave, we will have to thank Mr. Shen.
Immediately, several people said that they would not leave either.
The head of the village saw them like this and knew what they were thinking. Just when he was about to give them some more advice, the people from those families waved their hands and left.
"Hmph, you are a bunch of ignorant people. If you want to leave, go home and pack your things. You can leave in an hour at most. If you don't want to leave, just stay here like them." Shen Lizheng turned and left after saying this.
Some of those who stayed behind were hesitant, while others hurried home to pack their things.
The head of the village was worried when he thought about what the girl Shen Yu'an had said when she came to see him with Mr. Shen.
Considering that he is such an old man, he was actually intimidated by a little girl just now. If this were to be made known to others, people would be so amused that their teeth would fall out.
But thinking of the girl's serious look, he dared not disbelieve it.
So after hurriedly notifying everyone, he quickly went home to pack up his things. He had to take all the food and chickens and ducks with him.
Those who stayed behind were also worried. Could it be that the refugees were really coming to attack? Would the government just ignore it?
No matter what, they will follow the head of the village first. If no refugees come, they will come back. The house and the field will not really belong to them just because they were away for a few days.
Thinking this in my mind, I turned around and quickly went back to pack my things.
Even though we don't have much food left at home, we can't just let the refugees steal it.
At this time, the Shen family was also busy packing up. Since Shen Yu'an had reminded them long ago, they packed up quickly.
The grain in the cellar was moved to the oxcarts, along with the clothes and cloth that needed to be carried, the utensils for eating on the road, as well as oilcloth, straw raincoats and other miscellaneous items, filling the two oxcarts to the brim.
Even so, Old Lady Shen avoided the Zhang family and asked Shen Yu'an to put some food into her small treasure box, so that the food on the carriage would not be so conspicuous.
Otherwise, it would be unreasonable to have so much left after having sold so much food at noon.
The four people from the Zhang family did not come to bother them. When they came, they pushed a cart. Although it had to be pushed by manpower, they were able to load all their things.
Zhang Mancang and the others also understood that they were getting a good deal from the Shen family since they were willing to take them in. However, they should not be so tactless as to trouble them with everything and make things difficult for their sister and daughter.
The Shen family didn't say much. They helped where they could, and let the Zhang family do what they could do themselves.
All the things were loaded onto the carriage, and the house looked empty, which made everyone feel a little sad.
I don’t know if I can come back after this departure.
When Shen Yu'an entered the room, she found her mother still standing by the bed folding clothes. She didn't know how many times she had folded the clothes.
She stepped forward and asked, "Mom, what's wrong with you?"
"Your grandpa refuses to come over. How can mother not be worried?" Song had to explain with a frown.
"Mom, don't worry about grandpa and the others. They were fine when we went to see them yesterday. They must have their own reasons for not coming to our place." Shen Yu'an comforted.
"Besides, my two uncles and cousins are all pretty good fighters, and it's safe for them to be in the same village."
"That's true. It's also urgent. Mother didn't even think of this." Song forced a smile.
Because she was worried about the people in the Song family, Shen Yu'an accompanied her mother Song to Songjia Village yesterday.
Song had no choice but to go and call for help yesterday, but her father felt that it would be troublesome for them if so many people from the family came. He said a lot of words to persuade and comfort her, but in the end he didn't come.
They also said that no matter what happened, they would just follow the villagers and asked them not to worry.
Now we can only hope that they have heard the news and are all right.
At this time, Songjia Village also received the news. Chen Yun and the others would definitely recognize the man who brought back the news. He was the middle-aged man they met in the town in the evening.
He happened to be from Songjia Village and the son of the village head, so his words were highly credible.
As soon as Chen Yu'an and the others returned to the village, the man also returned to Songjia Village and told his father about this.
There are few residents in Songjia Village, only more than 30 households, and most people make a living by hunting. So although the locust plague has had some impact on them, it does not hinder their lives much. They would not have left if the refugees had not come.
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