Chapter 97 Entire Village Relocation: A Late-Night Visit
Lin Yao sat in a rocking chair in the courtyard, her thoughts drifting.
The thought of relocation weighed heavily on her mind, and the idea of living an uncertain life in the mountains filled her with worry.
Suddenly, I felt a round jujube fall on me, followed by one, two, three...
"Who?!" Lin Yao stood up and looked around, only to be met with a pair of eyes as she turned around.
Xu Zhiheng sat on the wall of her house, tossing a few red dates in his hand. When he saw her looking over, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Want to try some? I picked them on the way here."
The worry on Lin Yao's face dissipated considerably. "Why are you here?"
Xu Zhiheng snorted softly, flipped over and jumped down from the wall, landing in front of her. Seeing her smiling face, he felt a little sour.
They haven't seen each other for half a month since Lin's Restaurant announced its closure.
"I heard you're leaving?" he asked bluntly, his gaze falling on her.
Lin Yao nodded: "We'll set off first thing tomorrow morning; it's safer in the mountains."
"Is everything ready?" Xu Zhiheng asked, his gaze sweeping over the packed luggage in the yard.
Lin Yao was puzzled by his question, and scratched her head: "That's about it. We've packed up the food, herbs, and some usable tools."
An eerie silence suddenly fell between the two.
The evening breeze stirred up the fallen leaves on the ground. Lin Yao felt a little uncomfortable in the quiet, so she took the initiative to speak: "Why did you suddenly come here today?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhiheng became furious.
He hadn't seen her for almost half a month. If he hadn't run into Brother Dazhuang yesterday and heard the news that Linjia Village was going to be relocated, he wouldn't have known.
He glared at her irritably, didn't answer her question, and instead took off the bundle behind him and handed it to her: "See for yourself."
Lin Yao took it with a puzzled look; it felt quite heavy. Opening it, she saw several small packages and a porcelain bottle inside. "What's this?"
“Chen Qianyuan gave them to me,” Xu Zhiheng said calmly. “The red cloth wrapping is for treating bruises and sprains, the blue cloth wrapping is for protecting against wind and cold, and the porcelain bottle contains ointment that can be used for scrapes and burns.” He paused, then pointed to several small porcelain bottles in the corner, “And this, bone-corroding powder, can…”
“I know!” Lin Yao interrupted him, turned around and rummaged in her bag, pulling out a similar small porcelain bottle. “Doctor Chen gave it to me before, saying it could be used for self-defense in critical moments.”
Seeing that she was prepared, Xu Zhiheng's worry lessened, and he nodded without saying anything more.
Lin Yao was holding the bundle when her fingers accidentally touched the bottom layer and found a hard, square object.
Curious, she reached inside and pulled out a palm-sized wooden box. When she opened it, she found three shiny silver copper tubes with red fuses embedded at the top.
"What is this?" she asked, taking out the contents of the wooden box.
“A signal flare,” Xu Zhiheng explained. “The mountains are different from the village. If you really encounter difficulties, just light this and send it into the sky. When Jinyu sees the signal, he will bring people to rescue you.”
Lin Yao reflexively asked, "Jin Yulai? And what about you?"
Xu Zhiheng's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm on the surface. "If I have time, I will come."
Lin Yao wanted to ask more, but Xu Zhiheng took a step back and leaped onto the wall: "I'm leaving." In the blink of an eye, his figure disappeared into the night, leaving only a light, casual remark, "Be careful in everything."
"They're leaving already?" Lin Yao looked at the wall and pursed her lips.
"Who are you talking to?" Lin Cheng's voice came from inside the house. He came out wearing his coat, having been woken up by the commotion in the yard.
"Aheng." Lin Yao turned around and went to greet him, unfolding the contents of the bundle one by one for Lin Cheng to see. "Look, he specially sent us medicine and signal flares. If there is any danger, Jin Yu will come to our aid."
Lin Cheng nodded. "Aheng truly considers us his friends."
Before dawn the next day, people in Linjia Village began to leave their homes one after another.
The village headman stood on the threshing ground, counting the number of people by the light of the lanterns.
"Line up! The elderly, women, and children in the front, the able-bodied men in the back!" The village head's voice carried an unquestionable authority. "Remember, follow the pre-assigned groups, with a 15-minute interval between each group. No wandering around, no making noise!"
Lin Yao stood in the crowd with Lin Cheng and a dozen or so men, each carrying a bulging bundle on their back.
Lin Cheng, Azhu, Afu, and Wan Chunsheng walked on the outermost side, protecting the women, the elderly, and the children in the middle.
"Master, is it really safe in the mountains?" Wang Xiaoyu asked in a low voice.
Lin Yao patted her hand: "It's safer than the city." Even so, her gaze was fixed on the mountains and forests, her heart heavy.
The first group to set off were the oldest families in the village, escorted by five strong men, as they walked along the path at the east end of the village into the mountains.
"Second group, get ready!"
Lin Yao and her group were assigned to the fifth group.
By the time it was their turn to set off, dawn was breaking. No one spoke in the group; only the sound of footsteps could be heard.
Lin Cheng walked beside Lin Yao, leaning on a smooth wooden cane. This cane was used to beat the grass and scare away insects and snakes.
After walking for about an hour, the group arrived at a narrow mountain pass.
This is the only way into the mountains, barely wide enough for two people to pass side by side. Steep mountain walls line both sides, and two figures can be vaguely seen above them. These are the people the village head arranged in advance to meet you.
"Cheer up! After we get past this pass, it'll be another 15 minutes' walk to our destination!" Lin Yao encouraged.
After finally crossing the mountain pass, the view suddenly opened up. A hidden valley appeared before us. Who would have thought that there would be a crescent-shaped valley between these two mountains?
On the open ground at the bottom of the valley, a dozen or so simple houses built of yellow mud and thatch are scattered about. These houses were hastily built by the villagers last month. The walls are made of rammed yellow mud and the roofs are covered with thatch. Although they look simple, they can still keep out the wind and rain.
When the house was first discussed, Lin Yao paid for it and had the necessary supplies transported from the town.
Everyone was extremely grateful. It was agreed that since Lin Yao's family had a large number of people and had paid for the rooms, they should occupy the three largest rooms. The remaining rooms would be allocated according to the number of people in each family, with smaller families sharing the rooms.
But when it came time to settle down, people's hearts changed.
Lin Yao was directing A-Zhu and the others to move their luggage into the three rooms at the far east end when she heard a cold snort from behind her.
"Hmph, what a grand display!" Lin Demao stood not far away, leaning on his cane, with the still submissive Zhu Shi beside him. "I, as the grandfather, have to share a room with others, while you, a junior, have taken up three rooms!"
As soon as Lin Demao said this, several villagers who were already dissatisfied with the allocation of houses stopped what they were doing and looked back and forth between Lin Yao and Lin Demao.
Ye Dong, who lives at the end of the village, chimed in, "Yao girl, I'm not trying to be mean, but this valley is only so big. Everyone can squeeze in. There are over a dozen people in your family. Two rooms should be enough, right? Make room for your grandfather so he'll have a place to stay, won't he?"
Wang Xiaoyu's face turned red with anger: "We agreed that we would occupy three rooms, and the money was all paid by my master. Why didn't you suggest that we chip in the money back then?"
"Times have changed," Lin Demao stroked his goatee, adopting the air of an elder. "Back then it was back then. Now that everyone's down on their luck, we should act like we're down on our luck. How can we still be putting on airs? Besides, I'm your grandfather. Isn't it only right that you take care of me?"
What a grand setup! Three rooms for twenty-one people, and they can only squeeze into a shared dormitory.
Lin Yao put down the bundle in her hand and turned around. She looked at Lin Demao's self-righteous face, then glanced at the villagers around her, some agreeing and some silent, and a cold smile curled at the corner of her mouth.
She should have thought of that long ago.
When she initially paid for the timber, hired craftsmen, and discussed building the house together, these people showered her with compliments until she was sick of hearing them.
But now, just to fulfill the original agreement, some people are jumping out to make irresponsible remarks.
She knew that some people would disagree, but she didn't expect them to lose their temper so quickly.
Indeed, this is human nature.
When they need you, they praise you highly; when they don't, they try to take advantage of you by stepping on you.
If it weren't for the tight schedule and heavy workload, Lin Yao would never have chosen to mobilize all the able-bodied men in the village to build this shelter, which ultimately forced her to take everyone with her when she fled for her life.
Fortunately, she never revealed her true colors.
Just as Lin Yao was about to retort, a muffled voice suddenly came from behind her: "What you said is wrong."
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Fang Dayu had somehow ended up standing at the edge of the crowd.
He was carrying a bundle of firewood he had just gathered, his dark face showing a hint of disapproval. "When these houses were being built, you didn't contribute any money or timber, and you even provided meals. Now, they're taking three rooms as agreed, and you're coming here to complain?"
Fang Dayu looked around at the people around him and continued, "And you guys, oh, and me too. We didn't pay anything, and now we're not only safe, but we also have houses to live in. Shouldn't we be secretly happy?"
His question was so blunt that it made those around him feel a little embarrassed.
Fang Dayu was an orphan in the village. He was usually quiet and reserved, only knowing how to work hard. Back when Lin Yao's restaurant needed someone to make fish balls, he was always the fastest and most even at making them, and he always earned more money than the others.
Lin Yao wasn't very familiar with him; she only knew he was a reliable person, but she didn't expect him to stand up for her at this time.
Lin Demao was publicly contradicted by a young man, and feeling humiliated, he glared and said, "What do you know, you little brat? This is a family matter of the Lin family!"
“Family matters must be handled reasonably.” Fang Dayu put the firewood on the ground. “When the houses were being allocated, the village headman said that whoever contributed more money and effort should have more space. Shouldn’t A-Yao’s money allow her to have two more rooms?”
He glanced at Ye Dong, who was chiming in beside him, and said, "Uncle Ye just said that you can squeeze through, but I remember that when the village was dividing up the land, you even had a fight with Grandpa Zhang from the west end just to take half a foot more."
Ye Dong walked away awkwardly.
Fang Dayu's words temporarily put an end to the messy thoughts of many people with impure intentions, after all, no one wants to be the first to be ungrateful.
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