Jiang Zhi and Xu Errui quickly climbed back up the steep slope and returned home.
Grandpa Xiaoman didn't expect the two to return so quickly. The roads are difficult to travel now, and even if they were empty-handed, it would take at least an hour to get back to the mountain from the village.
He also noticed another problem: "Errui's mother, why do you both look so pale?"
Nearby, Qiaoyun, who was grinding oak seeds for the family, noticed that her mother-in-law and husband both had pale faces: "Mother, are you cold?"
Jiang Zhi has been wearing the same clothes since yesterday. They've been soaked by water and dried by the wildfire. Running through mud and ash, they've long since become a hard shell.
Seeing everyone gathered around, Jiang Zhi said to Xiaomanye, "We didn't enter the village. We just arrived at Zhao Li's house down below. His whole family has disappeared. Zhao Li's father and wife are dead... They were murdered! The fire was also set by those people."
She didn't dare go into more detail, as it was simply too chilling.
Was it looting? Kidnapping people to sell as slaves? Or were they already killed and thrown into the fire?
The ending is unknown, and no one cares where those people went.
Silence, a deathly silence, everyone's face was ashen.
For these farmers who have spent their entire lives working the land, murder and arson are things that are almost unthinkable in their lives.
Xu Errui's teeth chattered, and with his mother's instructions, he dared not reveal at this moment the matter of the bandits almost coming up the mountain.
But some things, even if he doesn't say them, others will still think of them. Little Man's lips trembled: "That road... needs to be blocked even more!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiaoman and Xu Errui immediately agreed: "Okay, let's go now."
Before Jiang Zhi could say anything, Xiao Man's grandmother, who was terrified, said she was leaving.
The fire on the mountain is still raging, and there are bandits who have committed murder. Anyone who stays behind will either be burned to death or killed.
Xiaoman and Jiangzhi were in agreement: They wouldn't leave!
Xiaomanye represents experience, while Jiangzhi represents inference.
What caused the fire on the mountain?
It's because things have already fallen into chaos down the mountain.
The village was burned down; it was either by displaced people or by mutinous soldiers.
All we know right now is that Zhao Li's family was killed, and Xu Youcai's group lives in the village, but we don't know their current situation. They are probably in grave danger as well.
Jiang Zhi also suspected that the villagers themselves told the story about Zhao Li's murder, since people lived on the mountain.
If we were to flee down the mountain now, given the survival capabilities of our two families, we might not survive more than three days.
There's an old saying that goes, "The most dangerous place is the safest place."
Now that a wildfire has burned the area, no one would imagine that there are still people alive on it.
Jiang Zhi's words made everyone's expression improve, and even Grandma Xiaoman stopped mentioning leaving.
Little Man, chewing on his bamboo pipe that was long since devoid of tobacco, said, "Second Aunt, we all survived the fire thanks to you. From now on, whether we stay or leave is up to you!"
Although he and Jiang Zhi were from the same village, they rarely interacted due to the difference between men and women. He only knew that Jiang Zhi was not a kind and gentle woman.
Looking back now, it's understandable that Errui's father was in poor health and that a single woman was managing everything at home and outside. It's also understandable that the children, being young and impatient, would sometimes hit or scold them.
Moreover, Errui's father's chronic illness was caused by Xiaotian and his mother, so it's understandable that they might take their anger out on him.
When Xiaotian left this time, Errui said that the child had taken everything he was supposed to take, and Jiang Shi hadn't withheld anything, which shows that some rumors are unreliable.
Judging from this period, Jiang was decisive, methodical, and reliable in handling matters.
In chaotic times, the worst thing is for a group to be leaderless, with its members scattered and disunited.
Looking at his own family of old, weak, sick, and disabled people, and then at Xiaoman who was still unable to handle things, Xiaoman knew that among this group of people, only Jiang was capable of being the leader.
Today, he said it as soon as possible.
Jiang Zhi wasn't too surprised by Xiaoman's decision; she had the same idea.
To survive, unity and avoiding internal strife are key, and she doesn't need to pretend to refuse in times of crisis.
But to say that one's life is entrusted with such a heavy responsibility is too much; Jiang Zhi's awareness has not yet reached the level where she can be responsible for the lives of others.
If it's on the premise of protecting oneself, it's acceptable to lend a helping hand as well.
So Jiang Zhi nodded: "Uncle Chang Geng, let's support each other from now on! I'm not very knowledgeable, so I'll need your guidance on some things!"
Since we're going to continue hiding and staying here, Jiang Zhi suggests that we shouldn't move the path down the mountain.
I hope that no one will discover the traces of my actions today.
They waited for the wildfire ash to cover the area, leading people to mistakenly believe that no one was still alive on the mountain.
Grandpa Xiaoman nodded repeatedly: "You're right. I'm such a senile old man, I was only thinking about piling up some more soil, and I almost messed things up."
If they immediately pile up new soil, it would be a blatant message to the bandits that someone above them is still active recently.
After calming down, Jiang Zhi handed the chicken that had been trampled to death to Xiaoman's grandmother and asked her to stew it all so that everyone could have a good meal.
Eating a whole chicken in one meal was something we wouldn't have dared to imagine before. Ordinary families would usually marinate it and eat it for ten days or half a month.
But now, one unexpected thing after another happens, and after finishing this meal, we don't even know if we'll have another one.
Xiaoman's grandmother no longer felt the need to skimp on food. One meal she would eat plain white flour porridge, and the next meal she would have stewed chicken with dried vegetables.
Although we agreed not to cook or light fires during the day, there's smoke everywhere now, and we're not worried about being discovered by people down the mountain.
Both families ate their fill, and even Xu Dazhu drank a large bowl of oily chicken soup.
Jiang Zhi gnawed on a chicken bone and sighed, "These chickens that drink mountain spring water and eat natural food taste so good, and the meat is so delicious. I want to raise chickens all over the mountains and eat chicken every day."
After the meal, she took her son and daughter-in-law back to her own home. They had eaten and drunk their fill, but life had to go on.
At this moment, the old hen, who had survived the ordeal, was flapping its wings vigorously inside the stone enclosure, trying to remind its owner of their presence.
Oh dear! They've been starving all day. They weren't burned to death, they weren't trampled to death, but now they're starving to death.
Qiaoyun was heartbroken; she was the one who usually took care of these chickens. She quickly opened their stone gate.
The chickens, which were terrified just yesterday, have already forgotten their fears after only one day. They fluttered into the nearby woods, drank some spring water, and then began to enthusiastically search for food in the scorched earth.
Those charred oak fruits are their favorite. They use their sharp beaks to peck through the hard shells and pick out the pulp inside. When they are happy eating, they will even cluck a few lines.
Looking at these carefree chickens, Jiang Zhi suddenly laughed.
She appeared very calm in front of Xiaoman, but she knew in her heart that it would be extremely difficult for her to lead such a group of people to survive; it was practically a hellish start.
All right!
Even chickens know to find food in the mountains and forests now, so why can't people survive?
Jiang Zhi never expected that her confidence would be built on a group of chickens.
The grain bags at home can no longer be moved; they need to be saved for seed.
If you use oak seeds as your staple food, you must also include poultry, eggs, and meat, otherwise your stomach will feel uncomfortable.
Would these things be found on a mountain that has been burned?
Suddenly, a chicken frantically scratched with its claws and actually pecked out a burned mountain rat hiding in a crevice in the rocks.
The mountain rat turned to run away, but several chickens excitedly clucked and surrounded it from all sides. In the end, the mountain rat was pecked to death and eaten.
Jiang Zhi watched with great interest and called out, "Er Rui, let's go collect the meat!"
"What?"
Xu Errui was trying to figure out how to repair the house when he heard his mother calling him, so he ran over with his face covered in soot.
Beside her, Qiaoyun, who was peeling oak berries, also looked puzzled: What is Mother talking about?
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