That night, the lights were on in Lin Pingmao's house, Lin Changxi's house and his two brothers' house. They didn't fall asleep until the second half of the night. After taking a nap for a while, they woke up again immediately, remembering that they still had some needles and thread to pack up.
Lin Rui felt that he might never be able to return to the small mountain village of Linjia Village in this lifetime, but his father, two cousins and great-grandfather's families had not sold all their land, and the homesteads were left here. He guessed that they would probably wait until things outside were settled before coming back to leave a way out for himself. It didn't matter, it was human nature!
The next morning, just as the sky was getting light, Lin Rui was half asleep when he heard noises in the yard again.
"Three taels, three taels!"
"Master, I'm here!"
"Come on, come on, quickly move this jar of pickles up!"
"Okay."
"Zhen Niang, is this water? Rui'er said we're going through Lianshan. Are you worried there's no water in the mountains?"
"Who wouldn't think so? Rui'er insisted on bringing these boiled and cooled water, saying that it was for Mu Tou and Zao Zao to drink on the road. One of them has a child and the other is pregnant. If they eat something bad, they'll have nowhere to go to see a doctor. Oh, and don't bring the scissors, basin, and fire starter. I see Zao Zao's stomach can't wait and she's going to give birth at any moment. She needs hot water for washing and scissors for cutting the umbilical cord." Feng Zhenniang was busy with her hands and feet, her eyes fixed on the two overcrowded ox carts, to see if there could be room for them.
Lin Changxi looked at his second daughter, who was busy in the main hall with her big belly, and muttered to himself, and walked to Feng Zhenniang's side: "Er Ya is leaving with us? She is the daughter-in-law of the Jiang family. If she gives birth along the way, it will be one more mouth to feed..."
Lin Changxi is not a bad person, but most men in ancient times thought that a daughter once married is like water spilled. Erya is pregnant with the Jiang family's child, not his Lin family's. Why should he raise a child for someone else's family!
Feng Zhenniang was furious. She scooped a bucket of water and poured it over Lin Changxi's face and body, scooping up a scoop of water and sternly scorning him: "Erya may be the daughter-in-law of the Jiang family, but she is also our daughter. Look at you, you are not as magnanimous as Rui'er in the end. Rui'er said that the baby in Erya's belly, regardless of gender, will have the surname Lin. It is a child of the Lin family. He will protect them from now on. Whoever dares to bully this chatterbox will have his mouth torn apart!"
Lin Changxi looked embarrassed: "That's what I said..."
"You shouldn't even say that!" Feng Zhenniang turned around and left angrily. Lin Changxi looked embarrassed and continued to busy himself.
Lin Rui frowned when he saw his eldest sister's family's belongings: "Brother-in-law, have you taken everything?"
Zhao Qing was also a simple and honest man. He understood what his brother-in-law meant: "There are still some leathers left. I'm afraid they will take up space if I bring them."
"Bring it all, bring it all. We don't know how long we will be walking. It will be the beginning of winter in a month or two. It will be freezing cold and we can't do without fur to keep warm." When you are away from home, clothing, food, shelter and transportation are the most important things to you.
"Hey, I'll go back and get it!" Zhao Qing was a hunter, so his skills and agility were absolutely impeccable. He immediately ran towards his home.
"I'll help hug her a few times, Niuniu. You wait for your parents at grandma's house." After saying that, Lin Susu turned around and trotted to catch up with her husband.
Little Niuniu was also obedient and sensible. She was a little afraid of her uncle Lin Rui, so she simply ran to Feng Zhenniang and helped her carry the bag of clothes, helping her in a very professional manner.
My eldest uncle, Lin Changfa, and my third uncle, Lin Changhe, sent their son to ask, "Lin Rui, have you packed everything? When are you leaving?"
Lin Rui looked at his mother. Feng Zhenniang glanced at the two full ox carts and said, "We'll leave when your brother-in-law comes."
Just at this moment, there were chaotic footsteps outside the yard. It was Zhao Qing and Lin Susu who came running over breathlessly with a basket of skins on their backs. There was no room on the ox cart, so they had to carry them on their backs.
There are dozens of households in Linjia Village, but several of them fled famine with Lin Rui, including the village head Lin Pingmao and his two sons, daughters-in-law and two grandsons, Lin Changxi and Feng Zhenniang, Lin Rui and his pregnant second sister Lin Zaozao, his eldest sister Lin Susu and her family of three, Lin Changxi's two brothers, children and grandchildren.
Lin Rui calculated that, excluding the unborn baby in his second sister's belly, there were more than 30 people fleeing the famine, all of whom were blood relatives or clan relatives within the third degree of mourning.
But before setting off, there are some things I must say: "In these troubled times, people are vicious and we must be on guard. If we encounter refugees asking for food, we must firmly refuse. The food we prepare can only save us, not millions of people. The problem is not the lack of food, but the inequality of food. If you give to one person, the second, third, and fourth will beg from you. If you refuse them, they will hate you!"
"We are only responsible for our own families. Every time you give them a bite of food, you put them on a dangerous, fiery rack. If they're not careful, they could die!"
Lin Zijun and Lin Zizheng from Dabo's family were the first to speak out: "Don't worry, Lin Rui, I will definitely keep an eye on everyone. If anyone dares to make this mistake, they will be expelled from the team immediately."
Lin Zicheng also agreed: "Yes, I agree." He had heard from his wife about the tragedy in his mother-in-law's family with his own ears. He knew how cruel the bandits and mobs were, how they killed people without blinking an eye, and how they became evil spirits that even ate babies.
"And the most important thing is, if anyone dares to steal our food or harm our families, we must all unite as one and fight them with hoes, knives, and sticks. The poor fear the strong, the strong fear the stupid, and the stupid fear the desperate!"
"When you're out and about, don't let people think you're a good person. In troubled times, good people die the fastest. When they die, their wives and children will suffer. We should be evil people. We won't offend anyone unless they offend us. But if someone offends us, let them go to hell and pay for their sins!"
His words were a reminder to everyone. If you can do this, that's the best. In troubled times, this is not the time to be naive and drag everyone down with you.
"Lin Rui, where are we going?" Lin Zikun asked, feeling uneasy without a destination.
This really stumped Lin Rui. The dynasty was now divided into pieces. Fiefdoms were fighting each other, bandits were fighting government officials, and government officials were fighting each other. As soon as they gained some influence, they would raise their own troops and become independent. It was really like their brains were all over the floor.
The people of Linchao fled from south to north, and then from north to Nanking. Most of them wandered aimlessly, just wanting to find a place to settle down. However, when the nest is overturned, no eggs can remain intact. There were swords and blood everywhere, and corpses piled up everywhere. Linchao became a circle that encircled the people. After going around in circles, the place they arrived at was still similar to the starting point, which was despairing.
"Go north!" He decided. Huangmo Pass in the north was the only relatively safe place in the entire Lin Dynasty. General Xing's troops were stationed there. He had heard about the plight of the Xing family army in the teahouse before. Originally, there were three checkpoints, Huangmo Pass, Yishu Pass and Xiding Pass. Because of the serious corruption from top to bottom in the Lin Dynasty, only one in ten of the food and grass reached the northern border. How could the soldiers fight for the country and resist the powerful enemies if they had not enough food? In the end, they could only retreat to Huangmo Pass.
"Let's go!" Lin Rui made the decision. We can't delay any longer, otherwise something might happen.
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