Xiao Lanlan was scolded by her fourth brother, so she immediately hugged Jiang Sui's arm and scolded him back in a mischievous way, as if she was only on Jiang Sui's side.
Xiao Hechuan was helpless, but he did not refute it. After all, what Jiang Sui said was true.
Facing this way of getting along between the brother and sister, Jiang Sui only felt warm.
The relationship between the brothers and sisters has always been very good.
After walking for most of the day, the villages we passed were in ruins and the roads were full of small cracks. It had rained and the ground was muddy, making our shoes dirty and making us feel irritated.
Seeing that it was getting late, Xiao's mother wanted to stop and rest for a while, get something to eat to fill her stomach so that she could continue on her journey. She also had to find a suitable place to stay before dark so that she could rest there at night.
Traveling without sleep is not only very exhausting, but also unsafe at night as there are mostly mountains and forests on the road and one may be afraid of wild beasts.
The refugees who were fleeing all took the initiative to walk together, and everyone felt at ease when there were more people.
Humans are social animals, and this is true no matter where they are or when.
The Xiao family untied the rope for the cow, and then Xiao Yi and Xiao Mian led the cow to find some grass nearby to eat, while Xiao Qin went to collect some firewood nearby.
Xiao's mother and Jiang Sui and the others started to prepare some food. When the refugees following behind saw them stop, they also stopped and started to take out their own dry food to eat.
Some people did not have carts and could not bring tools such as pots, pans, and utensils, so they prepared bread and cornmeal buns in advance before setting off, and looked for water while walking on the road.
After a while, wisps of smoke began to rise from this empty space.
However, everyone’s expressions looked numb and their eyes were empty. The journey to Jeju was still very long and no one knew what would happen next.
Zhou found a lot of wild vegetables nearby and found a place with water to wash them. Xiao's mother chopped the wild vegetables and mixed them into cornmeal, baked a lot of wild vegetable cakes, and made steamed buns made of two-grain flour.
This meal can be prepared at the same time as the evening meal, so there is no need to cook again at night. You can rest early and conserve your energy.
There were still a dozen chickens left, all of which were carried away by Xiao Qin. They would not be eaten unless it was absolutely necessary.
However, his chickens also received many envious looks from people. Their homes were destroyed and their poultry were either dead or lost. This family was really lucky, as they were able to keep so many chickens and even two cows.
It's true that comparing yourself with others will make you feel thief.
Envy and jealousy are fine, but seeing these five tall and strong men standing there, no one dares to go up and cause trouble.
We couldn't just eat dry food at noon, we had to have some soup, so we got two handfuls of brown rice and cooked some brown rice porridge. After everyone was full, they continued on their journey.
Many refugees saw that the Xiao family had already set off, and immediately followed, as if they regarded the Xiao family as the leader, because they had a large family and felt safe.
Goudan was still young, and he spent most of his time sitting on the ox cart. From time to time, he would get off and walk for a while, and then climb back on the ox cart when he was tired.
When it was getting dark, we chose an open grassland as a temporary resting place.
The original tarpaulin was still there, so we used it as a mat and laid it on the grass. We then put bedding on top of it to prevent it from getting dirty. We could only sleep on the ground at night, but everyone still had to take turns to keep watch to prevent any danger at night.
The job of keeping watch was still done by Xiao's father and a few brothers, but this time there was one more person, Xiao Hechuan, who would also join in the watch.
The family eats some dry food and drinks some water for dinner tonight.
The refugees following behind all stopped here with the Xiao family. After a while, many small fires appeared on the grass and the refugees began to cook.
There is a puddle next to the grass, so it is quite convenient to get water.
The Xiao family had no objection to their behavior of following, as long as everyone did not cause trouble, and there were always advantages in having more people.
The only thing to worry about is that it might rain at night. If that happens, the bedding will get wet and we will catch a cold, which would be bad.
Fortunately, the thing that is most in short supply on this mountain road is firewood. If you burn a pile of firewood on the side, it won’t be too cold at night.
At the current rate of progress, it will take at least a month to reach Jeju.
In the first half of the night, Xiao Hechuan and his father took turns to keep watch. Xiao Hechuan was the first to keep watch, letting his father and brothers sleep first, because they had worked hard during the day and needed to replenish their energy.
But he found that among the refugees who followed them, there were more than a dozen men, old and young. When they saw that the Xiao family had sent people to keep watch, they all lay down and rested with peace of mind.
Xiao Hechuan frowned. He didn't object to these people following them, but since they were going together, they had to contribute their own efforts if they wanted to reach Jeju smoothly.
He had been an official in his previous life, and as officials serve the people, he would naturally not exclude these suffering common people. But at the same time, they could not feel at ease enjoying the benefits brought to them by others.
With an idea in mind, Xiao Hechuan started to implement it early the next morning.
Everyone had already cooked and eaten breakfast. Some who didn't have much food didn't even have breakfast and just waited for the main group to leave.
Father Xiao and his men packed their things, harnessed the ox cart, and prepared to set off, only to see Xiao Hechuan walk up to the front and start talking:
"Everyone, please listen to me first!"
The refugees looked listless, and when they suddenly heard Xiao Hechuan talking, they tacitly stopped what they were doing and looked at him in confusion.
Some families gathered together and whispered.
“Since everyone is going to Jeju to make a living, the journey is long and arduous, and I can see that everyone doesn’t want to be alone. They think there is strength in numbers, and if they encounter any problems, they can seek help.
In that case, during the rest period every night, the men present should contribute their efforts, just like our family, taking turns to keep watch and always pay attention to any disturbances in the surrounding area. "
Some reasonable people would naturally listen to Xiao Hechuan's words, but some unreasonable lazy people just felt that they were already very tired from traveling during the day, so why should they have to keep watch at night? Isn't it enough for someone else to do the watch?
"We are just passing through your path. Why do you give us orders?"
"Of course you can choose not to listen. It's up to you. The road is mostly through wild mountains and wilderness, with many jackals, tigers and leopards. We only have a pair of eyes and cannot see the dangers on all sides. If something happens, don't blame me for not reminding you. We are just passing by anyway. It's a favor to remind you, and it's my duty not to remind you. If anything happens, you will bear the consequences yourself!" Xiao Hechuan didn't say anything nonsense. After he finished speaking, he turned around and went back to his family.
He was just giving a suggestion. Anyway, if they really encountered a wild beast coming down the mountain or something, he had no obligation to warn others. He just had to take care of his own family.
Moreover, he did this because he wanted to have more people to keep watch at night, more pairs of eyes to observe the dangers around, and give his family a greater sense of security.
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