Chapter 56 Arrival at the Village
Wan Laoer's words were like a thunderclap, which stunned Wan Er's wife and Wan Laotai. This was better news than pie falling from the sky, and more exciting than picking up a hundred rabbits!
"Second brother, are you seeing things? I can't see anything here! How can you be sure that there is a village over there?"
Old Mrs. Wan was afraid that her son had made a mistake, which would not only make everyone happy for nothing, but also lead him in the wrong direction.
"No, mother, although I can't see clearly, I am sure there is definitely a house over there."
Seeing that Wan Lao Er did not seem to be lying, Old Lady Wan quickly said to him, "Lao Er, go and tell the official that it will be dark soon. If we delay any longer, we will all die here."
Wan Laoer responded excitedly and hurriedly moved towards Li Zuo with difficulty.
"Sir, there is a village over there. Should we go take a look?"
Li Zuozheng and Xiang Yang were discussing which direction to go next when they heard Wan Laoer shouting at the top of his lungs. His face was bruised and purple from the cold, but he looked excited.
Li Zuo and Xiang Yang decided that the safest way now was to find a place to rest temporarily and make plans after the snow stopped. After all, such heavy snow not only made it difficult to identify the direction, but also posed many greater dangers.
The news brought by Wan Laoer undoubtedly saved everyone's lives.
"Really? Where? How did you find it?" Wan Laoer told everything about seeing the rabbit just now, and then recounted how he accidentally discovered the village.
In fact, if it weren't for the influence of the wind and snow, they should be on the road outside the village. It's a pity that the vision was blocked by the wind and snow, and they almost missed the village.
"You lead the way!" Li Zuo shouted to Wan Laoer at the top of his voice.
Then, he turned to Xiangyang and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Hurry up and inform everyone that everyone must hold the rope and move forward one by one. If anyone falls behind, we won't have anyone to come back and look for them!"
Xiangyang nodded excitedly, his voice was as hoarse as a broken gong and he would never speak if he could avoid it.
Wan Laoer returned to Xiao Fubao, carefully stretched out his hand, and gently took Xiao Fubao.
"Wife, I'll hold him for a while. You help take care of the kids. Don't fall behind. I'm going to lead the way." Wan Ersao nodded quickly and told Wan Laoer loudly, "Be careful."
"Got it." Wan Lao Er responded loudly.
A group of people followed Wan Laoer. A rope was tied around Wan Laoer's body, and the other end of the rope was tightly held in Wan Xingmo's hand. Li Zuo followed closely behind Wan Xingmo.
Behind Li Zuo came the Zhao mother and her two sons, then the boys from Old Lady Wan's family, then Old Lady Wan and her daughters-in-law. Wan Jinshu and Wan Lao Da and a few others walked in the middle of the team, and finally the police officers led the way.
The group formed a long line. The ropes were not enough, so even the soldiers' whips were used.
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, Wan Laoer finally saw the vague outline again.
"Found it!" Wan Laoer shouted excitedly, but his voice was ruthlessly swallowed up by the strong wind.
Wan Xingmo then saw the direction that Wan Laoer pointed to, and it was indeed a village.
The group walked with difficulty for another quarter of an hour before they reached the village entrance.
Standing at the entrance of the village, Wan Laoer realized that something was wrong. This seemed to be an abandoned village.
Everywhere you look, there is a foot of snow piled up on the roofs of the village, and some houses have collapsed under the weight.
Those houses that have not collapsed yet are all built with stones and look extremely solid, but it is unknown how long the roofs can hold up.
The road in the village was covered with thick snow and there was not even a footprint.
Because the view is blocked by layers of obstacles, it is impossible to see the true appearance of the entire village. People can't help but wonder how big the village is, how many people it can accommodate, and how many houses are still intact.
Li Zuo said decisively: "All of us should immediately enter the houses that have not collapsed, and then explore whether there are any habitable houses in this village."
Everyone followed Li Zuo closely and walked into a low stone house closest to the village entrance.
There is no yard around this house. There should have been an open space at the door, but now it is covered with snow, making it impossible to tell its original purpose.
The door of the house was closed tightly and was pinned from the outside with a long stick, which showed the owner's care and cherishment for the house.
If it weren't for the support of this long stick, the door would have been blown open in such a fierce snowstorm.
Li Zuo carefully took away the long stick and gently pushed open the door.
He didn't dare to use too much force, for fear that the pressure from the accumulated snow would cause the door frame to lose its support, causing the door panel to hit him directly.
Fortunately, the house was built fairly solidly and no unexpected situations occurred.
However, as soon as the door opened, a cloud of dust blew in my face.
The house was filled with thick dust, as if casting a mysterious veil over everything.
The mottled marks on the wall, like an ancient scroll, silently witness the ruthless passage of time.
The room was furnished with simple furniture, which was in tatters, with a hole in the table and a leg missing from the chair, but even so, there were not many such pieces of furniture.
Because the house had been uninhabited for a long time, the furniture was covered with a thick layer of dust.
This is a three-room thatched house. I don’t know if the owner has just replaced the thatch, but the house seems particularly dry.
There is a kang in the east wing of the house, but there is nothing on it. Perhaps the owner of the house took the kang mat with him when he fled from famine.
The west wing is of the same style as the east wing, except that there is a stove under the lower window, which I guess is where cooking is done.
The already narrow house seemed even lower and more crowded after so many people poured in, making people feel a little depressing.
"Okay, everyone, settle down here first. Women and children stay here. A few men, come out and check out other houses with me. We may have to live here for a while."
Li Zuo glanced at the snow outside. There was no sign of it stopping. He spoke with a worried look on his face.
If the snow doesn't stop, they won't even have food to eat, let alone travel. If it keeps snowing, they will either starve to death or freeze to death.
In the end, Li Zuo took two other officers, as well as Wan Xingmo and Wan Laoer, to search the village to see if there was anything useful.
At this moment, they urgently need a lot of dry firewood for heating. The water source has been solved, but they can't just drink water, right?
Under the leadership of Li Zuo, the house-searching team began to search every room in the village.
The people who stayed behind were not idle either. Old Mrs. Wan placed her own pot on the stove. The size was just right and the pot fit perfectly.
There was a pile of neatly stacked firewood under the stove. Without waiting for Grandma Wan's instructions, Second and Third Sisters Wan took the initiative to start working.
Liu's belly is now visible. Although it doesn't look very big, it is still different from her slender appearance a month ago.
In addition, she had eaten a lot of meat along the way, so some fat grew on Liu's face.
Liu was assigned by her two sisters-in-law to do some light work, such as looking after little Fubao, wiping the dust with a rag, etc. These were all tasks at hand, and little Fubao did not require much care from Liu.
Little Fubao, wearing tiger-head shoes, insisted on practicing walking along the edge of the kang. Her brothers surrounded her like stars surrounding the moon.
Little Fubao was being amused by his brothers and was laughing non-stop. He accidentally lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Fortunately, she was wearing warm clothes and was not injured. Not only did she not cry, she also sat on the ground and laughed foolishly.
With her two little hands, she imitated Old Lady Wan by patting her own short legs, and the room was filled with little Fubao's sweet laughter like a silver bell.
Wan Wen was quick to pick up little Fubao and gently brush the dust off her butt.
Little Fubao thought her brother was playing with her and kept giggling.
Seeing that the children were having fun, Liu went to wipe the dust with peace of mind.
The second and third wives of Wan had clear division of labor, one was responsible for organizing things, and the other was responsible for making fire and boiling water.
Buckets of snow were carried into the kitchen and poured into the pot. Soon all the snow melted into water.
Zhao wanted to go into the kitchen to help, but was stopped by Wan San's wife.
"Sister-in-law, please stop working. I'm used to doing these things. Just rest and chat with my mother. This kitchen is small, and it's hard to turn around if there are too many people. I feel more comfortable alone."
As soon as Zhao stepped into the kitchen, she was pushed out by Wan San's wife.
Mrs. Wan’s cooking skills are top-notch in the Wan family, and everyone praises the food she cooks.
While the people in the house were busy, an accident happened on the house search team's side.
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