Finally, Xu Errui felt the cold water and realized, "Xiaoman, it's raining!"
Xiaoman slid down the cliff: "It really is raining, Errui. If it's raining, where are Xiaotian and the village chief?"
Xu Errui tucked the wood-chopping knife into his belt and slid down, pulling on the rattan cane: "Who knows? He wanted to leave on his own!"
After settling down on the mountain for the past few days, with plenty of food and drink, the two began to talk about the villagers who had fled the famine, especially Xiao Tian, who had grown up with them.
The drought in Xujia Village is not too severe. The winter wheat is still alive in the fields. As long as every household carries water to save it, there will still be a harvest.
It was all caused by displaced people and chaotic soldiers that made everyone panic; calling it a natural disaster is less accurate than calling it a man-made one.
But Xiao Tian insisted on going with the village chief and the others, and his two friends were immediately disappointed in him.
Needless to say, Xu Errui felt that Nie Fantian had been raised in his home for more than ten years, and that it was heartless of him to leave so easily when danger struck.
I used to cover for Xiaotian when he stole eggs from home, which made my mother scold me for siding with outsiders.
Now that Mom has stopped scolding people, it's so nice that the whole family lives in the mountains!
Xiaoman also felt uncomfortable.
In the past, Xiao Tian was often beaten and scolded by Aunt Jiang, and I would share my food with him. Now he just left me behind.
Besides... Aunt Jiang isn't as awful as he usually describes her.
Neither of them knew what the problem was, but they felt that Xiaotian leaving was wrong and they would definitely regret it later.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the two dared not delay any longer. They hurriedly packed the dug-up kudzu roots into their baskets and tied up the cut kudzu vines. They carried them home in a hurry.
By the time Xiaoman and Xu Errui arrived home, the rain had turned from light drizzle to a fine downpour, soaking their hair.
The rainwater was so dirty that even though Jiang Zhi, who hadn't showered or washed her hair since coming up the mountain, was also dirty, she still couldn't accept Xu Errui's head full of grime.
She boiled a pot of water, took some scissors, and was about to cut off Xu Errui's hair, which had been singed into a mess.
Xu Errui protected his hair, refusing to let them cut it: "Mom, how can I face anyone like this!"
Jiang Zhi showed no mercy: "Besides the few of us, all you can see on this mountain are trees and rocks. There's no one else here!"
Xu Errui was on the verge of tears, but he obediently accepted the shaving of his head. He simply couldn't accept that he had suddenly become a monk.
Qiaoyun, standing to the side, was stunned: "Mother, Errui has lost his hair, aren't you angry with him?"
Our bodies, hair, and skin are given to us by our parents. Ordinary people are not allowed to remove their hair unless they are severing ties with their parents.
Jiang Zhi was stunned. What a coincidence! It could also be considered a tribute to the original owner of this body!
Actually, what she had wanted to do for a long time was to get rid of her own hair.
There are no hair dryers here, so she doesn't dare to wash her hair. Plus, with all the mud and dust, and sweating from working, she feels like there's an ant nest on her head.
Even if a woman is unkempt, she can't appear in front of people with a spiky hairstyle, especially since he is an elder.
Since I can't cut it, I can only comb my hair with a fine-toothed comb over and over again to relieve the itching.
More often than not, one has to endure the turmoil raging inside their hair bun.
The rain never stopped, and the rainwater mixed with the ash from the wildfire, leaving a black mark on the ground.
Gradually, the dust on the ground became moist, and the air was filled with the "fragrance of soil"... The earthy smell made Jiang Zhi sneeze repeatedly.
It wasn't dark yet, but she had already eaten dinner and sat on the threshold, gazing at the sky alone.
It started raining, and the rain poured onto the wildfire, causing white smoke to billow and the sky to darken, making visibility extremely poor.
Having just gotten a haircut, Xu Errui wasn't used to the cool feeling on his scalp. He wrapped a headscarf around his head and sat there in a daze, occasionally touching his prickly scalp.
"Errui, come down the mountain with me tonight!" Jiang Zhi thought for a long time before finally making her decision.
Xu Errui asked, dumbfounded, "Going down the mountain for what?"
"You'll understand when you get down the mountain!"
The forest was quite noisy on a rainy night.
The rain pattered against the leaves, and the loose rocks that had slid down after the winter drought created a cacophony of sounds.
At that moment, two people appeared furtively in the woods.
Jiang Zhi wore a straw cloak over her head, and Xu Errui, dressed similarly, stood beside her. The two of them, arms crossed, made their way down the mountain.
On a rainy night with no stars or moon, the only source of light is a charcoal fire in an earthenware bowl. If you shake it in the wind, the faint light can illuminate the path under your feet.
Using the route they had taken during the day, the two slowly made their way to the edge of the steep slope.
Xu Errui was about to tie the rope around his waist to the tree when he heard a low "Ah!" from above!
Jiang Zhi was startled and raised her hand to strike the tree branch with the wooden stick in her hand. The dark figure quickly called out, "Aunt Jiang, Aunt Jiang, it's me, it's Xiaoman, don't hit me, ouch!"
He shouted too late and was hit hard, tumbling down the tree, even the dry grass covering his head was knocked away.
"Xiaoman, what brings you here?" Jiang Zhi asked in a low voice, and quickly went to help him up.
Xiaoman wiped the mud off her face, propped herself up on her back, and stood up: "My grandpa wants me to go down the mountain... Hey! Go bury Uncle Zhao and the others!"
He arrived at the cliff edge just as it got dark, but for a young boy to bury a corpse that had been dead for several days, not to mention whether there were any refugees around, just facing the dead was enough to make him suffer.
So Xiaoman climbed up the tree and dared not move.
Xiaoman's voice was trembling with tears: "Aunt Jiang, I... I dare not go."
Grandpa said that we are all from the same village and our ancestors were from the same family, so we can't just leave it like this.
Taking advantage of the rain, when no one could see the feet... I went to bury them.
Jiang Zhi smiled, noticing that the stubborn old man had secretly gone.
Xiaoman and Jiang Zhi had the same idea.
Zhao Li's father and wife have been dead for several days. It's unreasonable and unacceptable to just leave them like this, and it doesn't comply with hygiene and epidemic prevention regulations.
Even though we were separated by two mountain bays, I still felt uncomfortable.
But as mentioned earlier, she couldn't reveal her whereabouts, so Jiang Zhi decided to take advantage of the rain to quietly go and check the situation first.
If no one moved the body at the scene, it meant that the refugees and soldiers had already left, and she planned to bury the body while it was raining.
Unexpectedly, Grandpa Xiaoman also had this idea and invited Xiaoman to come and see, but Xiaoman was timid and lingered at the edge of the cliff.
"Xiaoman, why don't you come with us?"
With her large group and two hot-tempered young men as her henchmen, Jiang Zhi's courage grew.
Xiaoman readily agreed and quickly put his hay raincoat back on.
So, the two furtive figures multiplied into three, and they slid down the steep slope using the rope.
After descending the mountain, Jiang Zhi and the other two left the path and entered the woods, walking through the muddy ground, their steps uneven.
In the scorched forest, three dark figures resembling headless and armless monsters swayed about, occasionally letting out low, eerie cries as they stumbled and fell.
If anyone else saw this scene, they would definitely be terrified.
After turning the bend in the mountain, the bottom of the gully where Zhao Li's house was located became increasingly dark and gloomy.
Jiang Zhi and the other two huddled together, not daring to speak, only staring intently at the location in the darkness.
The rain grew heavier, and the gurgling sound of water seeping into the cracks in the soil, along with the whimpering of the injured animals, became increasingly frightening.
Suddenly, a strange "waaaah!" sounded behind the three of them, startling Jiang Zhi so much that her heart stopped!
The youngest, Xiaoman, plopped down on the ground, while the grass stalks on Xu Errui's body trembled uncontrollably: "Don't scare me!"
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