When they were taking in the last batch of refugees, they had already posted a notice explaining the reason and asking people not to continue waiting there.
However, some people always held onto a侥幸心理 (a sense of侥幸, or a belief that they could get away with it) and stayed there. Refugees from other places also stayed with them, causing the number of refugees outside to increase.
"Can't you help us?" someone pleaded, looking at Wang Letian and his group.
Looking at the emaciated people below, Wang Letian also showed his pity. "It's not that we don't want to help you. Since the drought started, we've already taken in many people, but there are still many who don't have a place to settle down. We can't put all our eggs in one basket. Maybe other places will be your opportunities. We'll find a way out eventually."
“You said ‘maybe’ yourself. Who knows if it’s a dead end ahead? Don’t forget, there were warnings of tsunamis and major earthquakes in the south before. The damage ahead is definitely more severe than here.” A voice of rebuttal continued to come from below.
Lieutenant Chen answered Wang Letian for him, "You only remember the previous news, but have you ever thought about whether the people who went through here before have come back? If the situation ahead was really bad, some people would have turned back long ago."
They had this suspicion too; there must be other suitable places to live ahead, but they hadn't had the time to go and check.
Everyone understands this principle. Some people are too burdened to endure the long journey, while others feel safer here because there is someone in charge, so they want to stay here.
Of course, there are also some who stay out of the way simply to be lazy and to gain some advantage.
Seeing that everyone below had fallen silent, Lieutenant Chen pointed his gun down below and said, "I don't want any more damage to the city walls. If anyone wants to continue the challenge, we don't mind wasting a bullet."
Thinking of the gunshots just now, everyone couldn't help but take a step back, which put Fang Cheng, who was still sitting on the ground, in front of them.
Fang Cheng, who had just been embarrassed, felt even more ashamed and lowered his head to hide the malice in his eyes.
Wang Letian and his men were already used to the deterrent effect they had just witnessed, but they didn't know how long it would last this time.
I really hope they'll think things through this time and find a different place sooner rather than later.
Back at his office, Wang Letian gulped down two mouthfuls of water. "I wonder if these people outside will ever come to their senses and stop causing trouble every time someone stirs things up."
“This can’t be stopped for the time being. There seem to be more refugees coming from outside these days than before. It looks like the drought in the surrounding area is getting worse.” Ma Tao held a fan and tried to fan himself away from the heat.
"There's no way to go and check it out. I don't know how things are in the south now. The earthquake warning wasn't very clear, and now there's no communication, so it's hard to persuade everyone." Wang Letian complained bitterly, feeling like he was being blind.
"They certainly didn't anticipate the severity of the disaster at the time. They only instructed everyone to evacuate and didn't make any other arrangements," Ma Tao consoled himself.
However, he was unaware that some people, wanting to profit from the disaster, had manipulated the situation, but the consequences were far more severe than he had imagined, causing his subsequent plans to completely fall apart.
"If all else fails, we should send someone to check ahead. If we can get these people out there, that would be ideal. Otherwise, this stalemate isn't a long-term solution." Chief Kuang still hoped to find a way out for everyone.
“We still don’t have enough manpower. This can’t go on forever. Why don’t we recruit some people from among these refugees? That way, everyone can solve their problems together.” Someone suggested this.
Wang Letian shook his head directly, "The relationships here are too complicated. Basically, they all travel as families or clans, only solving their personal problems. There's no way to deal with them, and we simply don't have enough food to hire them."
This time, all the storage was dug out, but apart from their daily rations, everything else was recorded. They planned to try to exchange it for some coarse grains to accommodate more people.
Given the current situation, it's unclear how long the drought will last, and external aid is out of the question. Therefore, we need to plan ahead and allocate these food supplies as far into the future as possible.
"Sigh!" These days, sighing has become everyone's catchphrase; it's impossible not to sigh a few times a day.
"If we could get more teams like Village Chief Si's, we could save ourselves a lot of trouble," Ma Tao sighed, thinking of the news he had just received.
Upon hearing the name of Village Chief Si, Lieutenant Chen immediately thought, "That's right! We can ask Village Chief Si to make another trip for us. With Village Chief Si's martial prowess, our safety is at least higher."
Ma Tao took a sip of water before saying, "That's impossible. They've been out for far too long this time. I just received news that they're now slowly making their way back to their village. And the map I provided them has only covered one-third of the distance."
"If all else fails, how about we find other people to go into the mountains and clear them out? Let's ask Village Chief Si to help us with the task?" Wang Letian was more optimistic about Village Chief Si.
Ma Tao was even more supportive of Si Cheng and his team's patrols of these mountainous areas, saying, "You don't know how many animals they've eliminated in just over a month."
Ma Tao's words successfully piqued everyone's curiosity, and they unconsciously gathered around him, eager to hear about his exploits.
Ma Tao didn't disappoint everyone. He started by telling everyone the news he had just received: "The wolf packs and hyena packs that were the biggest headache for us were easily wiped out by them. Moreover, they rarely used the firearms we provided them. They took them down with just their homemade crossbows and machetes."
Upon hearing this, Wang Letian interrupted him, "Are their crossbows really that powerful? Can we make a batch ourselves?"
"Yes, no wonder they wanted to exchange so much pig iron last time; they were planning to use it to make weapons. But if we exchange so much pig iron with them, what if they organize a powerful force later? Will that affect us?" someone expressed their concern.
The military controlled the amount of pig iron exchanged at the time, partly because they feared that skilled craftsmen might use it to manufacture various weapons, which could potentially disrupt public order.
"Don't worry, although we've given them some pig iron this time, they definitely won't be able to cause trouble with that little bit of pig iron. The most important thing is that they don't even have that kind of idea." Ma Tao emphasized the last sentence.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com