In the first few days, some older people were clamoring to go down the mountain because they wanted to check on the situation at home and in the fields to see if there was anything left.
If you suddenly ask old farmers who have been tending to the fields all their lives to just sit there with their sleeves rolled up and stare blankly every day, it would feel like a group of ants being released upon them, making them feel uncomfortable inside and out.
So on the seventh day after going up the mountain, Lin Youliang was fed up with the noise and decided to organize a group of people to go down and test the waters. His original intention was to let these young and strong people go down and take a look. If there was any sign of trouble, they would come back quickly.
But the older group refused to stay on the mountain and wait for news. They insisted on going down. They also said that some of them had some things at home and the young people didn't know where they put them, so they had to go and find them.
There are many middle-aged and elderly women like Zhang Xiaonu among them.
Lin Youliang had a curse stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say it out.
I don’t even know what the place below looks like after it was burned. What else can you find out?
But he was only in his thirties as the village chief, and he could not suppress the ideas of so many older people, so he had to change his words and said that each family would send one person, and you could decide who it would be, but half of the total number must be young and middle-aged, otherwise no one would go.
In some families, sons are already in charge and can suppress the old men and women from standing up, but in some families, the younger generations are still younger and can only follow the elders, such as Lin Wenxuan's family.
Lin Wenxuan had the hoe on his shoulder, but Zhang Xiaonv snatched it away while crying and shouting, saying that she would go.
"If something happens to you, how will I live..." She must go and see if her two chickens are still there, otherwise she will not be able to rest in peace even if she dies.
Lin Wenxuan couldn't even snatch her away, and in the end he could only wait for her to come back on the mountain with Liang Shengdi. But before leaving, he repeatedly told her to follow Lin Youliang's instructions.
"Just do whatever the village chief tells you to do. If he tells you to come back, come back as soon as possible. Don't be so attached to this or that. Think about the baby in Shengdi's belly. You haven't even heard her call you grandma. Are you at ease?"
Zhang Xiaonv listened to it and repeatedly expressed that she would follow the instructions.
In this way, a group of them sneaked down the mountain and returned to the village.
We had just reached the foot of the mountain when some people sat down on the ground and started crying loudly.
I really can't help it.
After all, there are only a few people who can climb up the tree to see the situation. The older people have only heard about it from them and have never seen the real situation in the village.
Now, looking around, the village is completely barren. Those beasts have even pulled out and burned all the young crops in the fields. There is no way out for a summer harvest.
No matter whose house it was, it was all burned with smoke and fire. If you were lucky, half of the house would be left, but if you were unlucky, only a few walls that had not collapsed and charred beams were left, scattered all over the ground.
Zhang Xiaonv followed Dashan's father and ran quickly towards him. Then, in front of the burned-down "ruins" of their home, they slapped their thighs and burst into tears.
There were many families like this, and the whole village was suddenly filled with cries.
Lin Youliang couldn't care less about them, so he could only walk over and shout,
"Keep your crying quiet, or you might attract the Japanese!"
"Aren't you looking for something? Hurry up and look! Are you waiting for the devils to help you?! Once you're done, hurry back up the mountain!"
He organized a group of young people to go out with him to test the waters and see if the Japanese had withdrawn from their town.
If not, then we can only go back to the mountain and stay there. If we retreat...
There are so many people in the village, and it is impossible for them to stay in the mountains forever. They should come down quickly and make mud and bricks together again, so that they can build houses for people to live in before summer planting. Then each family can contribute some grain to grow, so that they can still look forward to the autumn harvest.
No matter how difficult life is, we have to keep going.
Two guns were left to protect the village, and the rest of the soldiers split into four groups, each carrying a gun and leaving the village. They agreed that they must return to the village before the sun reached their heads, otherwise everyone would assume you were dead.
The Japanese swept the place thoroughly. All the food that had been hanging from the beams was gone, as was the basket of eggs that Zhang Xiaonu had hidden in the kitchen. The pickles and dried vegetables were gone. There was also a small jar of moldy tofu, which the Japanese didn't want to eat, so they just smashed it on the ground.
Miss Zhang cried and wanted to pick up the moldy tofu that had become alkaline and dry, but the more she tried to pick it up, the more it broke into pieces, and she had to put it back into the half-can with the head missing, half tofu and half wood ash.
Zhang Xiaonu never stopped cursing the Japanese and cursing God.
"It rained endlessly before the Japanese invaders came, but it stopped when they arrived... I was reluctant to eat or wear clothes, and every year I offered new rice to the Buddha. Why don't you open your eyes..."
In the corner of the half-collapsed courtyard wall, she found a cooked egg dropped by the Japanese. The two chickens were gone. Zhang Xiaonu clutched the cooked egg and sat in the ruins, weeping heartbreakingly. Dashan Daddy, the man next door, sighed and crawled out from under his own wall.
"Wenxuan's mother, please don't cry. After all, our families are all safe and sound. Think about that..." He wanted to talk about the families of Lin Youliang and Chen Dachun who had just held funerals, but Chen Dachun's house was not far away across the street, and now the wall was gone. He was afraid that people would hear it if he spoke too loudly and it would touch on sad things.
Zhang Xiaonv sobbed and replied, "I know... I know... I just can't help but regret it..."
"My daughter-in-law... she said she wanted to eat chicken and eggs before... I couldn't bear to let her have them! I really couldn't bear to let her have them! In the end, they all fell into the hands of the Japanese! I should have just let her eat them! At least she can feed them to my grandson!"
It’s a pity that Liang Shengdi didn’t hear it on the mountain. Even if she heard it, she probably wouldn’t be too moved. Instead, she would point to the egg in her hand and say, “Then give me the egg first.”
The older generation is like this, they will never let it go, and it will never enter their mouths. But if it happens again, will she really be willing to let it go?
No, Zhang Xiaonv will just find a way to bring the chickens up the mountain.
Those who stayed in the village to rummage through things, if they were lucky, might be able to find something hidden in the corners. Those who were unlucky, like Zhang Xiaonu, were left with only some broken pots and jars.
However, the group that went out received some news when they came back.
"It seems there are no more Japanese soldiers around our village. I see that those who escaped from Xiahe Village have secretly returned to repair their houses. And Shanghe Village, Sanwang Village... every village has been burned and looted. They are probably gone."
"No! We didn't leave! We settled down on Xiaxi Mountain. They said they were going to make a stronghold. I don't know if the whole army will stay here, or just a few..."
"There's talk over in Longshan that the Japanese have taken over the territory. We only have one town, why would the Japanese need so many strongholds?"
"Our town is quite large, and there are many border areas. Of course they want to occupy it..."
"Then it shouldn't be kept by everyone, right?"
…
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