Old Ma wasn't so optimistic. "Accepting some of them is possible, but settling all of us is unlikely."
Commissar Wang was also having a headache over the remaining grain. Despite repeated efforts to conserve it, it was almost gone. "Let's just settle as many people as we can. We have no other choice. We thought there should be some reserves here that could help us out, but we didn't expect there to be a problem with those reserves."
"Starting tomorrow, we'll disperse all our people and try to contact the original troops stationed in the area to see if there are any vacant fields left. If there are, we'll distribute them in batches. If we can settle them down, then we'll take people back and transport as much of the supplies as possible. It's a pity we lost so many horses this time; we can't transport much by manpower alone."
Upon hearing Chief Kuang's words, Old Ma immediately went down to make arrangements. Chief Kuang, remaining in the room, sighed, "We must find a way to keep all these people here. We can't go any further south. If we go any further, the destruction there will definitely be worse than here. We didn't have any ground fissures or sinkholes where we were before, but they're starting to increase here. If we go any further, the situation might be even worse. If we force our way forward, we'll truly have no way out."
Political Commissar Wang also sighed, "If all else fails, we'll find some places with plenty of water to settle everyone down first, and then we can cultivate the land."
“That’s right, how come we didn’t think of that? That’s why you’re the political commissar, your brain works much better than ours.” Chief Kuang seemed to have opened up a new world. Yes, it’s not necessary to have a village to accommodate these people. As long as there is a water source, they can build their own village. “No, I need to talk to Lao Ma and the others again. Finding a large water source is also a direction, we can’t let it slip away.”
After saying that, he hurriedly ran out, leaving Political Commissar Wang there rubbing his forehead. "In such a rush, you should at least discuss a strategy before implementing it. This kind of chaotic and disorganized arrangement is just asking for trouble."
Unfortunately, no one in the house responded to him, so he had no choice but to resign himself to being rushed out. Otherwise, with their chaotic arrangements, he didn't know how much more work he would have had to do.
Gao Shuzhen from Gaojia Village was truly outraged. Ever since her son returned and launched into a tirade of complaints, she realized that her adopted son hadn't been a single help along the way. Even her older brother, who had promised to look after Dongxing the entire journey, had ultimately abandoned all responsibility. What angered her most was that when she confronted him, he left her to deal with that mother and son. Didn't he know that she didn't get along with his wife and child?
That day, she started complaining again while doing her work, and Gao Dongxing, getting impatient, couldn't help but interrupt her.
“Why do you complain to me every day? If you want to complain, go to your brother or your eldest son. Farm work is exhausting every day, and then you come home and keep nagging.”
"I'm just worried about how tired you are. If either of them could help, you wouldn't have to work so hard."
"What's the use of saying all this now? It's not like you haven't gone to them, but have you seen any of them pay any attention to you?" Gao Dongxing slammed the handkerchief in his hand into the basin.
“But they won’t listen to me, and I have no other choice.” Ever since Gao Shuzhen took advantage of Pinghe Village last time, she wanted to try the same trick again, but somehow the village chief of Gaojia Village found out. Back then, they came to her door with some people to warn her that if she continued to damage the reputation of Gaojia Village, they would kick her out of the village.
As a woman who had married out of the village, she already felt somewhat insecure about moving back to the village. When she saw that the villagers had come to her house to warn her that they were bullying the weak and fearing the strong, she naturally had no choice but to agree.
"You should come to the fields with me tomorrow. I can't carry all this farm work by myself." Gao Dongxing's sudden words shocked her even more.
"You mean I should go work in the fields too? Although I was born here, I've never worked in the fields before, so I don't know anything about those things."
“If you don’t understand, learn. Look at those people who came to the countryside with us. Many of them have lived in the city for generations. Look at them, now the young and old are all very capable workers. Besides, my uncle’s arm is injured, so he can’t help at all. I simply can’t handle all this farm work.” Gao Dongxing has been working in the fields alone every day for the past few days, while other families have the whole family working together. Unlike his mother, who stays at home cooking and nagging all the time, always complaining about how tiring it is. All the work she does is nothing compared to the effort he puts into the fields.
"If I go to the fields, what will happen to all the chores at home?" Gao Shuzhen looked at her youngest son hesitantly, hoping he would change his mind.
Gao Dongxing couldn't help but roll his eyes. "What chores could there be at home? We can always clean up when we get back."
"Then I'll go to the fields tomorrow. If I don't do a good job, you can't blame me."
Gao Dongxing didn't want her to make excuses anymore. "Actually, these things aren't difficult. Just watch how others do them and then do them too. Look at me these past few days, I've gone from knowing nothing to being able to do them independently."
At this moment, Gao Shuzhen regretted that she had thought of separating from the Lian family so early. If she had known that Si Cheng and her elder brother were unreliable, she might not have had to suffer so much by relying on the Lian family.
Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. "Dongxing, did you see any girls you liked on this trip? If so, let's hurry up and go propose, otherwise all the good girls will be taken."
"He still wants to marry a good girl from another family? Doesn't he even look at our current situation? With our looks, how many girls would even look at us?" Gao Dongxing got angry as soon as he mentioned this. This time, several villages went on the trip together, and many young people hit it off during this time, so now the villages are full of preparations for weddings. Even some of the young people of marriageable age from the families who went to the countryside with them have found partners locally. Thinking about how he has been ignored all this time, he felt a little dejected.
“We can’t set our standards too high. Things are different now than before. If there’s someone suitable, we can just settle for them.” Gao Shuzhen thought her son was still using the old standards to find a partner.
"I'm not looking high enough now. If any woman says she's willing to spend her life with me, I'll marry her. The problem is, none of them are interested in me." After saying that, he turned and left without looking back.
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