"Mom, I always feel like a disaster is going to happen. Why don't we move the food out and move it to an open area? Otherwise, I'll feel uneasy. Things have been acting so abnormal recently. For the sake of our whole family, we should be cautious."
Jiang Sui's decision came so suddenly that even Xiao's mother was nervous.
Almost everything she felt was wrong happened. She had previously said there would be signs of a severe drought this year, and asked me to stock up on food in advance just in case. And it turned out to be true. This year there was a severe drought, and the harvest was total, and food prices skyrocketed.
Now, Jiang Sui said that there might be a disaster, and asked them to move to an open place with their food and valuables. Xiao's mother believed her preparations for a rainy day, but where should their whole family move to?
The original house had been sold to someone else a long time ago.
"Sui Sui, I believe you're worried. I also feel that things have been very abnormal recently. Now something happened in the back mountain. I would feel uneasy even if you didn't tell me. But the question is, where should our whole family live after moving out?"
If it was just a family of a few people, it would be fine, they could just build a shed and live in it, but for a family of ten, how should they allocate the space?
This is indeed a difficult problem, but compared to everyone's safety, what's the harm in being a little wronged?
Just when the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were undecided, Xiao's father and others came back, and with them the village chief.
They also came back to talk about moving. They explained the situation in the back mountain, which made Jiang Sui completely unable to sit still. He always felt that the disaster was about to happen and it could not be delayed any longer. Otherwise, if something really happened, no one in this family would be able to be missing.
Father Xiao told the village chief early in the morning that he and his family didn't know where to take shelter temporarily.
The village chief quickly thought of a place for them to go, but he would have to let them down for a while.
"There is a large wasteland in the east of the village. There is a land temple there. The place is not big. This land temple has been abandoned for a long time and has fallen into disrepair. It needs to be cleaned up before you can live in it. You guys should deal with it first. Otherwise, if the mountain behind continues to collapse and affects your family, what will you do?"
After the village chief said that, this was a good place to go. Father and Mother Xiao briefly discussed it and then nodded in agreement.
The village chief told them to hurry up and shout if they needed help, and the villagers would definitely lend a hand if they could.
But Xiao's mother rejected this good intention, mainly because there was so much food at home and it would not be good if someone saw it. She was afraid that it would cause trouble. After all, everyone was living a tight life now, and it would be a good thing if they could eat one less meal a day and save some food.
But now it was already late in the afternoon, and Father Xiao was thinking of moving early tomorrow morning.
Jiang Sui strongly opposed and suggested moving immediately.
The women first packed up the valuables and clothes in the room, and then went to the land temple to clean. The men were responsible for moving things with the ox cart.
It is best to move the food after nightfall so as not to attract attention.
Xiao's mother originally wanted to listen to Xiao's father and move early tomorrow morning, but after listening to Jiang Sui's analysis, she was successfully convinced by Jiang Sui.
Everyone felt that what Jiang Sui said made sense, so they followed her instructions and quickly returned to their rooms to pack their belongings, clothes, and necessities.
Country people don’t have many sets of clothes, they only have two sets of clothes to change every season. They have ox carts at home, so it is convenient to move things.
After packing up their clothes and valuables, Xiao's mother took them to the land temple to clean up. At night, they could just put a few boards together and use them as beds.
When they arrived at the land temple, looking from afar, they saw that the land temple stood alone in this wasteland without even a tree around it. The place was very empty, and Jiang Sui was very satisfied.
The land temple is indeed not big, and the family has to live in a crowded place. There is a statue of the land temple in the middle, but the altar has collapsed and is covered with cobwebs. There are also cobwebs in the corners of the house and on the beams. There is a thick layer of dust on the ground, and it has indeed been abandoned for a long time.
But there is one good thing. When this land temple was built, the ground was paved with bluestone slabs. After cleaning it, you can sleep directly on the ground without the need for a bed board. It is very convenient.
This land temple is so good, but the reason it was abandoned is because a Feng Shui master said that the Feng Shui of this place was not good and the land god didn’t like it, so he didn’t care about it. Later, he chose a place with good Feng Shui and rebuilt it.
The women worked efficiently. Some swept the floor, some dealt with the cobwebs, and when they were done they just mopped the floor twice and that was it.
Father Xiao and his family put the poultry in chicken coops at home, and then packed up the pots and pans and sent them to the land temple first. There were more than 20 chickens, including several old hens that could lay eggs.
It's not difficult at all with a bullock cart.
The grain is then loaded onto a truck, covered tightly with a tarpaulin and delivered.
The total weight of the grain was about 700 to 800 kilograms, and it was a bit difficult for the old ox to pull it, but fortunately it wasn't far.
The remaining smoked meat, bedding, and some miscellaneous items were moved last. Xiao Yi had made two carts before and used them alternately, one for hauling food and the other for other things.
By the time the family finished their work, it was already dark and everyone in the village had finished dinner and was getting ready for bed.
The Xiao family didn't even have time to eat, so Xiao's mother started to make a fire and cook. The clay stove used for the stall came in handy and was very convenient for cooking.
The others were making their own beds for the night, with clear division of labor and tacit cooperation.
Not to mention, it feels like camping. It's even cooler on this open grassland than at home.
The grain continued to be placed on the cart and covered with a tarpaulin, with stones pressed on the four corners.
With so much food, they were afraid that it would be lost, so Xiao's father suggested that he and his three sons take turns to keep watch at night, with each person guarding a certain time period.
By the time everyone finished their meal, it was already midnight and everything was quiet.
Inside the land temple, everyone sleeps on the floor with bluestone slabs underneath. It is cooler to sleep on than on a kang, but it is a bit hard and may cause back pain if you sleep on it for a long time.
Jiang Sui and Xiao Hechuan were lying together. Xiao Hechuan had kept a habit for a long time, that is, he had to hold Jiang Sui's arm before he could fall asleep at night. Jiang Sui had long been accustomed to sleeping in the same bed with him.
At the beginning, it was Xiao's father who kept watch first. Each person would keep watch for an hour. Everyone was tired after an afternoon of work and soon fell asleep.
But no one expected that the disaster would happen tonight.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Father Xiao went to call his eldest son to take over, while he continued to sleep with his little grandson in his arms. However, just as he was getting into the right state, he felt the ground shaking.
Xiao Qin, who was keeping watch outside, was the first to notice that the old cow tied to the side and the chickens in the cage began to become restless and clucked non-stop.
Xiao Qin reacted immediately and called his family members who were sleeping in the house.
While shaking, Xiao's father had already woken up, and the father and son began to call for help.
"Wake up, wake up quickly."
Everyone woke up in a daze. Jiang Sui almost jumped up. Sand and stones began to fall on her head, and the ground was shaking. She knew that an earthquake was coming.
"It's an earthquake, everyone run out!"
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