After the food, water, and silver were divided equally among the three villages, the Chen family and the village chief's family immediately set their sights on the silver from Dashan Village and Hehua Village.
The village chiefs of Dashan Village and Hehua Village didn't know what was wrong with the people of Anping Village. They liked silver so much, but if you traded food and water with them, they would be happy to do so. It's more practical to trade with your own people.
So the two village chiefs waited patiently for them to speak first.
The village chief and the others were also thinking about what to exchange for. Food and water were out of the question, as they didn't even have enough to eat themselves.
Just then, a young man ran over excitedly, "Village chief, we've dug up even wetter soil!"
The village chief said happily, "Good, tell them to keep digging."
They were still digging when it got dark. They had been digging all afternoon, and several groups of people had gone down to dig. The hole was very deep, and they had been using torches for a long time.
"Village chief, village chief, we've found some watery soil!"
The three village chiefs rushed over and saw that the soil they had just dug up was moist enough to be made into mud balls. They exclaimed happily, "Keep it up! There might be water down there!"
At this moment, the man who had gone out to gather information ran back with a pale face. "Village chief, something bad has happened! Someone is spreading rumors that there is water here, and now a lot of refugees are rushing over. People from Peach Blossom Village and the Alliance Village behind us have been robbed, and many people have died."
The village chief asked nervously, "About how many people have come?"
The man said, "They outnumber us by about five times, and many of them are armed."
The village chief's pupils contracted. "Quickly, spread the word. Evacuate from here immediately. Leave a patrol team behind to provide cover and cover the rear. Take all the smoke bombs with you."
Then he turned around and said urgently, "Quickly pull the people out of the cave."
The village chief picked up the gong hanging from his waist and started striking it.
Upon hearing the gong, Zhou shouted, "It's an emergency evacuation! Hurry up, pack your things and get out of here!"
Sanya asked in confusion, "Didn't we just dig up some wet soil? Why are we leaving now? Maybe we can dig a little more and find water."
Da Ya said, "Something must have happened. We can't stay here any longer; we have to leave quickly."
Daya harnessed Chen Kai and the others to their mule cart, then hurriedly shoved them inside and told someone to drive the cart and take them away first.
Er Ya and the others helped pack the items and put them on the donkey cart.
The village chief's wife quickly packed her things, puzzled, and said, "Old man, don't we have smoke bombs and the secret weapon bestowed upon us by our ancestors? We've been digging this well for so long, it would be such a waste to just give up like this."
The village chief frowned and said, "This time is different. Those people might not be refugees, but rather displaced people. There are all sorts of people among them. This is just the first batch; more will come later. We can't hold onto this pit well; we must evacuate!"
Upon hearing that they might be refugees, the village chief's wife turned deathly pale.
Migrants are different from refugees. Migrants are people who have no fixed abode and whose household registration has long been lost. They are most likely to produce wicked and evil people, almost like bandits.
The village chief's daughter-in-law said, "We haven't even left the county yet, and it's already this chaotic. Doesn't the county magistrate care?"
Village Chief: "Manage? I reckon even the county magistrate is in trouble now. Without the army to suppress them, no one can manage it."
Areas that have suffered disasters are most prone to unrest, and it takes at least a year or two to quell it.
Bai Yu asked in confusion, "How could this be?"
The village chief explained, "When refugees get too hungry, they will rebel. If some restless people take the lead in causing trouble, it is easy to form a rebel army. These people fight with the government, but the fighting gets fiercer and fiercer."
Bai Yu: "If the imperial court sends grain and water down, wouldn't that solve the problem?"
Village chief: "Sending grain and water is easier said than done. Even if the emperor really wanted to, these supplies would never reach us refugees; they would be embezzled by corrupt officials."
Human nature is greedy. Corrupt officials are greedy, and so are ordinary people. Once ordinary people embark on the path of arson, murder, and robbery, it's very difficult for them to turn back. Once they experience the allure of wealth, it's hard for them to go back to a life of hardship. They only think about climbing the social ladder, becoming increasingly greedy.
After the team withdrew, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking at the disheveled team, Chen Kai said helplessly, "We are still too weak. If we continue like this, we won't be able to hold onto the water source even if we find it in the future."
They haven't even found a water source yet, and they've already been damaged like this just from digging up some wet soil. Who knows how badly they'll be damaged once they find a water source?
Da Ya said with heartache, "We've lost out. So many of our people were injured and did a whole afternoon of hard labor because of that pit, and now it's all been taken by someone else."
Chen Nong said, "Let's not even think about that pit. Didn't you hear what the people who covered the rear said? Those guys fought fiercely over that pit."
Chen Kai looked at the dimly lit mule cart and sighed. He needed to find a way to upgrade Black Ox as soon as possible and see if he could find some lighting equipment.
Otherwise, at night, the carriage would be pitch black and inconvenient, and the only lighting would be the firelight outside.
By the end of the month, they still hadn't found water, and they had consumed a lot of food and water, so everyone was getting increasingly anxious.
The Chen family is now pinning their hopes on the black ox for water, hoping it will work its magic tomorrow and release a few buckets of water.
The Bai clan also placed their hopes on their ancestor, waiting for him to appear.
"Oh no! Oh no! A donkey in the Xu family died of thirst!"
The women hurried over to see what was happening, asking as they went, "What's going on?"
"It's because Xu Tai's family is stupid. They were tricked out of their water by people from other villages. They had no water to drink, so the donkey died of thirst."
When Da Ya and the others heard the news, their first reaction was sympathy, and then they thought about going to exchange some donkey meat for food.
In Chen Kai's carriage, the baby was already drooling.
"Eat donkey meat, eat donkey meat, find Grandma, we want to eat donkey meat!"
The fifth son, who was driving the cart, said, "My mother has already taken the water to change it."
The village set aside a donkey cart, and everyone helped carry the Xu family's donkey, which had died of thirst, onto it.
On the bus, a young man was holding a butcher's knife, ready to help cut the meat.
The procession couldn't stop, so they had to cut the meat as they went.
The Xu family kept crying. They had fed the donkey very well, so how could it have died?
An old woman said, "I told you not to be so kind. Now your own donkey has died of thirst."
The woman said, "Yes, things are already like this. We can barely take care of ourselves, yet your family still wants to take care of others. Isn't that just courting death?"
Old woman: "The donkey is dead, hurry up and cut the meat!"
The woman said, "If you don't want your last donkey to die of thirst, quickly cut some meat, change the water, and give it some water."
The Xu family wiped away their tears and said, "Go ahead and do it!"
Zhou and her eldest daughter-in-law squeezed through, saying, "Make way, my family is exchanging half a bucket of water. If you don't have as much as my family, don't block the way."
Soon, the villagers made way; well, they had little water and didn't dare to speak loudly.
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