The Chen family had an empty oxcart, but there wasn't much left to carry. All of the Chen family's relatives had their own carts, so they lent the empty oxcart to Lotus Village in exchange for some grain. As for water, Lotus Village didn't have much water left either. They lent it out so that others could help feed the ox and prevent it from dying of thirst.
Around noon, the group temporarily left the main road, intending to find a village to rest and see if they could exchange some water.
After walking for a long time, we finally saw a village ahead.
Standing on the donkey cart, Chen Nong exclaimed excitedly, "Look! Their village has a waterwheel, but it's a waterwheel built in our village!"
When everyone looked, they realized that the rows of waterwheels were indeed made in their village. How could they not recognize them? Many of the parts were made by their own team.
Some people couldn't help but shed tears; the sight of the village stirred up their emotions, and they missed their village.
It may have been a long time since it was put into operation; the waterwheels are dilapidated, and several have collapsed.
Looking at the overturned waterwheel, Chen Lao Er felt extremely distressed; this was the blood they had given away.
Continuing on, we saw another watermill, but it was no longer in operation because there was no water flow.
These watermills were all produced in Chishan Village!
The children finally couldn't hold back and burst into tears.
The commotion quickly attracted the attention of the villagers.
Six men, wielding sickles and machetes, approached them and snarled, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Of the six, one had an empty sleeve, one held a knife in his left hand, two were blind in one eye, and two were lame.
Although these people looked fierce, Chen Lao Er and his men, who had just come down from the battlefield, could tell at a glance that they were wounded in the military.
The village chief said, "We are on our way to Youzhou Prefecture to escape famine. We are passing through this place and would like to rest for a while. We also wanted to see if we could exchange some water for some water."
The man with his left sleeve empty asked, "Then why are those children crying?"
So many crying babies make one suspect that they are human traffickers.
The village chief sighed, "I miss home."
They missed home and their village.
A child pointed to the waterwheel and water mill built in their village not far away and cried, "These were all built in our village. Seeing these things makes us miss home and our village."
The children nodded through their tears.
The man asked incredulously, "Are you from Anping Village?"
The village chief nodded. "Yes, but there are two other villages joining us."
The six men quickly put down their knives and laughed, "Sorry, we thought they were here to rob our village again."
"Rest in our village for a while. There's nothing else, but plenty of places to rest. Everyone in our village has fled to escape the famine, and there aren't many people left in the village."
"Come on, come on, this way, there's a trap over there, don't go that way."
Everyone was dumbfounded. He was just a moment ago looking fierce, but now he's suddenly so enthusiastic.
As the man walked along, he said, “Thanks to your Anping Village, our village sent people to your village to learn a trade. Everyone has been living a good life and the village has become rich. Alas, it’s a pity that the good times didn’t last long and we were hit by a year of drought.”
The second clan elder asked with interest, "What skills did your village learn from our village?"
The man said, "I sprouted beans, made tofu, tofu pudding, and soy milk. Later, I saved up some money and learned how to raise fish and shrimp. I also learned how to make fern root rice noodles."
A man laughed and said, "After we made a lot of money, we learned how to raise chickens, ducks and geese, and we got all the chicks from your village."
The second clan elder exclaimed, "Your village is quite nice; you've learned so many skills to come back from here."
The man laughed and said, "That's because we're united. Life was really tough before. When we went to your village, the whole village chipped in to pay for the trip. We didn't have any money to learn how to sprout beans either. We only learned the skill after we earned money working in your village."
"After we brought back the skill of sprouting bean sprouts, we gave all the money we earned to the village chief. Later, when we had saved enough money, we learned how to make tofu, and life got better and better."
As they chatted, they entered the village.
Looking at the empty village, with every household's door panel gone, it seemed they had been looted.
The man sighed and said, "After the villagers left, the village was looted by several groups of people, and everything was taken away."
A villager from Anping Village asked, "Why didn't you go with the rest of your village?"
Of these men, apart from the one with the limp, the rest would have no problem going with them to escape the famine.
The man said, “There are many elderly people in the village who can’t walk anymore and can’t go with us to escape the famine. We also have elderly people in our own families, and we are injured and have difficulty moving around, which would slow down the group. So we want to take care of them first before we find a way out.”
A man wiped away his tears and said, "It didn't last long. All the old people in the village passed away, leaving only my grandma and Ajin's grandpa."
A man choked up and said, "Of the group that stayed with us, only six of us are left now."
Man: "My grandma is dying. Her biggest wish is to visit Anping Village. Please, could you come with me to see my grandma?"
The village chief, unable to bear it any longer, said, "Let's go!"
"Grandma, Grandma, look who I brought to see you. They are all from Anping Village, that magical village. Haven't you always wanted to visit Anping Village? They've all come to see you."
The old man lying in the house didn't even have a bed or blankets; they must have been taken away. But he was still well taken care of; soft dry grass was laid on the bed, and he was covered with several soft straw mats.
The haggard old man was meticulously groomed, and upon hearing that people from Anping Village had arrived, his face lit up with joy.
Upon seeing this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines; this was a sign of a final burst of energy before death.
The village chief's wife looked at the doctor, who shook his head.
Humans are born, grow old, get sick, and die. This is the end of life, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.
The old man spoke up, "So you're from that magical village. I'm so lucky to be able to meet people from your village before I die."
I've wanted to visit your village for a long time. I've heard that your village is very magical, that it can create many treasures, and that the people in your village are all very kind people who are willing to pass on their skills to everyone so that everyone can have enough to eat. I'm sure Buddha will bless you; you are all good people.
Our village is so fortunate to have you; we learned a trade and are now living a good life.
I've suffered my whole life, and I never thought I'd be able to enjoy a peaceful retirement. My son, daughter, grandson, and granddaughter are all very filial. They took me to the city and even made me a silver bracelet.
They were all filial children. When the villagers were fleeing famine, they insisted on taking me with them. If I, their wife, hadn't threatened to kill myself, they wouldn't have left.
My eldest grandson is an unfilial son. We told him to go with everyone, but he absolutely refused to go.
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