Xie Liudi's home
"Sister-in-law, do you think this is feasible?"
"Sister-in-law, go ahead! We'll be going south in the fall too."
"What? You guys are moving too?"
"That's not it. My dad took on a big business deal over there, and he was worried he wouldn't be able to handle it, so he said he'd take my wife with him. But then he thought that the time he'd spent there in the past two years was already quite long, and it would take too much time to come and visit, so he decided that the whole family would just go and stay for a couple of years. Besides, business here hasn't been good these past few years, so my dad said he'd just transfer it to my uncles."
Because Xu Tongling was an only child, her family had a lot of trouble over the family property. Now that she has a new livelihood, giving up this situation is not a bad thing.
Xie Zhu put down her needlework and asked with a troubled expression, "Is that a reliable idea?"
“Reliable! My father has already gone to check it out. Although the southern prefecture is not as prosperous as ours, it is still much better than the town. If it weren’t for the fact that the person who made the connection was destined to be with my father, this good thing would not have come to our family.”
Once the topic was brought up, Xu Tongling seemed to open up and recounted her father's heroic rescue of the benefactor.
The two women enthusiastically rambled on about all sorts of things, while the three men made the final decision about the relocation.
Even if Xie Liudi didn't want to leave at this point, since both the "Golden Belt" and the "Lag" were planning to leave, he couldn't fall behind.
Xie Ming: Bro, I'm the real gold belt holder.
Once the matter was settled, each family went to the clan head's house to register, report to the government, sign documents, and obtain travel permits.
The imperial court had already intended to relocate the population to the south, and with the money to pave the way, things proceeded smoothly.
Once the documents were in hand, the families who were preparing to leave began selling off their possessions. Having to sell the land they had cultivated for decades, everyone couldn't help but shed tears.
However, their sadness was quickly dispelled by another group of people—the tribespeople who were prepared to stay.
The tribespeople who refused to leave shamelessly demanded that they use the fields here as sacrificial fields.
It's called sacrificial land, but who knows what will happen to it after they leave? Those fields were acquired through the hard work of their ancestors, and they would never agree to give them away for nothing.
Furthermore, those who are willing to go there do so because they own the land in their hometown. Aren't they willing to abandon their families and leave their hometowns for that extra property?
Those who have no intention of leaving are using their kinship ties to manipulate others, hoping to gain benefits for nothing, which is really unreasonable.
The dispute lasted for several days, but fortunately, the land deeds were in the hands of the clan members, so the troublemakers couldn't do anything about it.
Finally, the old clan chief, exasperated, threatened to sell all the land to other major clans in the village if they continued to cause trouble. Hearing this, the clansmen who had hoped to get something for nothing finally gave up and obediently followed the established rules.
Although some members of the clan were unwilling, the number of people migrating south was so large that they dared not cry at the ancestral hall.
The old clan chief also made it clear that the clan members who stayed in Heman Village could elect another clan chief, while those who left would be considered as branching out. As for the clan genealogy, a copy would be made and taken away by the clan members who migrated south.
The clan finally found some peace after the matter was settled, but a rift eventually formed between those who wanted to stay and those who wanted to leave.
The third day of the fourth lunar month is auspicious for travel and relocation.
The clan chief of Heman Village led his clansmen in burning incense and kneeling to worship their ancestors, informing them that the Xie clan had decided to move to Nanquan County, thousands of miles away, for the sake of their descendants' prosperity.
After paying respects to their ancestors, they brought out the new family genealogy and newly erected ancestral tablets, which the younger generation carried on their backs as they set off.
This time, with financial support from Nanquan, they were able to travel using 10 mule carts and 10 oxcarts.
The elderly and children hardly had to walk; their oxcarts carried only the harvested grain and anything else needed for the journey. All other belongings had been converted into silver and distributed to each household in the south, in an effort to travel light.
As they watched the convoy depart, the remaining clansmen felt a growing sense of regret.
Yes! The road ahead may be long and uncertain, but it may not necessarily be treacherous.
Once they left the village, the group quickly lost their reluctance to leave and began to admire the scenery along the way.
They were all country men, wives, elderly people, and children who had never traveled far from home. Their simple, honest laughter and chatter created quite a lively atmosphere. The ride was bumpy, so we got off and walked several miles.
They are people who often work in the fields and go to the mountains to make a living. Walking such a short distance is nothing to them. Besides, their martial arts skills over the past two years have not been for nothing.
Before they knew it, they had been traveling for nearly half a month after leaving Heman Village. They arrived at the treacherous Niujiao Peak, the border between the prefecture and the capital, a place that had taken them more than two months to reach in their previous life.
Xie Ming chose the same route that his clansmen had taken, which would pass through 5 peaks and 19 villages.
He wouldn't indiscriminately provoke any mentally unstable group; he's not planning to touch those who are neither wicked nor evil.
Those to be dealt with are people who have a deep grudge against the Xie family or are extremely wicked.
In my past life, I ended up at the foot of Ox Horn Peak, where the tribe's food was looted by refugees.
Meanwhile, the bandits in front took advantage of the chaos to mingle with the crowd and kidnapped many women and children from the tribe, and also killed many men.
"We're almost at Niujiaofeng. Everyone, get on the bus and don't linger. Let's get through quickly."
The speaker was Old Li, who came from the south and has been staying in the village since he arrived at the beginning of the year.
He was still responsible for handling all the affairs along the way during this relocation.
"Uncle Li, is there any legend about Ox Horn Peak?"
Xie Liudi's family member Sanli was a lively person, and he immediately became interested when he heard what Lao Li said.
"You have no idea, there are said to be thousands of bandits on Ox Horn Peak. Every year, merchants passing through this area suffer greatly!"
Old Li touched the sweat on his forehead and spoke with lingering fear.
"Why are you so fierce? Aren't we in danger?"
A member of the tribe gathered around, his eyes filled with fear and worry.
"Our master made arrangements beforehand, and they gave us chess pieces on the mountain. As long as we hurry through, we shouldn't run into any trouble."
Xie Ming was determined to make this deal, and it was time to test the results of more than a year.
You should know that the "secret manual" contains meticulously modified killing techniques. An ordinary person probably couldn't withstand even a single move or two from it.
So he quickly interjected, "In that case, the elderly and children should hurry up and get on the bus. Those with better skills should stay and help escort the bus."
“Your uncle is right. We should be on the safe side. I don’t know how well you’ve learned, but just look at how few old trees are growing well in the village. I know you’re all doing pretty well.”
The clan elder also spoke up at the right time, making everyone laugh.
The crowd agreed with his suggestion and quickly prepared accordingly, lining up to protect the mule cart and oxcart as they moved forward.
Their formation quickly attracted the attention of the bandits halfway up the mountain. Although the vehicles were marked, they saw the men waiting beside them and guessed that the approaching bandits were easy prey.
At that moment, someone immediately went to inform the second-in-command, who was not far away.
As expected, the second-in-command didn't even ask if the people had been bribed before leading a dozen or so men down the mountain to block the road.
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