Chapter 46: Narrow Village
"Who! Who's squatting there playing tricks?"
There were about twenty households and sixty to seventy people assigned to one village this time.
Being crowded together in such a large crowd, one can at least feel more courageous.
Someone tiptoed quietly towards the haystack, but before he got close, he saw a shriveled and wrinkled face suddenly emerge from inside.
Hidden in the moonlight, his skin color appears even darker, and he looks like an old ghost coming to collect debts.
At the same time, an indescribable stench rushed into the man's nose, and he couldn't help but scream and backed away.
"Is this a ghost who fell into a toilet and drowned?"
When the dark figure came completely in front of the crowd, it was clear that it was an old man holding up his belt.
"What are you yelling about! You scared the shit out of me!"
Everyone was stunned and couldn't help but take a big step back.
Although they don't care about it when they are in the wild, it is still a little hard to understand why they use the toilet at the doorstep.
"Excuse me, is this old man from the village?" Diao was inexplicably moved to the front. She looked around and saw that they were all members of the Shen family. She turned around and was surprised to see that they were all staring at her.
She asked the question despite herself.
It’s not that I’m afraid, it’s just that it seems like my family has never been the one to take the lead in the past... I suspect there’s something fishy going on!
"What do you mean, brother or not? If you give me face, just call me village chief. If you don't, that's fine! There aren't many people left here anyway. Now that you're here, we can definitely find someone to take my shift!"
The old man shook his hand, his words hinted at something, and after that he glanced at Diao, then glanced at the people behind her, and introduced them very fluently.
"Our village is called Narrow Village. Yes, it's narrow, cramped, and narrow... narrow like there's no hope at all!"
"There are only six households and nineteen people left in the village. I'm alone and don't have the energy to watch over you all day. Besides the requirement that each person cultivate an acre of wasteland and someone will come to collect the grain next year, you can do whatever you want. Even if you want to escape, you can try."
"Anyway, don't blame me for not reminding you. Let alone crimes like yours, there aren't many good people in the village who can escape safely to Qingyang Town..."
As the old man sighed, everyone felt a sinking feeling in their hearts, and the slight joy they had just felt when they arrived at Chiling completely disappeared.
It was not until this moment, when I walked into this almost deserted village, that I felt some sense of reality.
The North is not a good place.
Suffering from the war for many years, people are dying at any time. With their identities, whether they leave or stay, they will not have a good ending.
"That's all I have to say. You can live in any empty house in the village. Just don't mind that someone has died there. Of course, there's nothing you can do about it. Right now, within Honglu County, any empty space is occupied by someone who has died."
The old man seemed to be evasive and easy to talk to, but every word he said hit home.
Everyone went looking for a place to stay in a dejected manner.
When the old man turned around and prepared to go back into the house, he suddenly heard a voice behind him.
"That's also the saying, when two roads meet, the brave prevail."
The clear voice was out of tune with the dusk.
The old man narrowed his eyes and looked back for a while, but he could only vaguely see a short and thin figure, and couldn't help feeling disappointed.
He had lived here for more than forty years and had seen many young men full of vigor and vitality. Unfortunately, they were either buried under the city walls or... like himself, they were lost in the crowd.
What can a child do?
——
After entering the village, everyone dispersed.
Just as the old man said, the narrow village looks big from the outside, but it is actually empty inside.
Of the five households we encountered, four were empty, making it look like a ghost village.
They felt so depressed that they had no time to be picky, so they just found a yard to stay in.
The Shen family is the only exception.
"This one?"
"No, it's too humid."
"What about this one?"
"No, it's too ugly."
"This one will do, it looks similar to our old yard."
"We didn't have enough to live here before. When the third and fourth children grow up in a few years, we can't still live in the same room with Yang Yi, right?"
"How about I build you a big house with blue bricks and tiles?"
She asked questions all the way and was rejected every time. Diao's face became darker than the sky.
"That's not the case. I'll build one for you later." Chen Chunxing smiled and took two steps forward. He pointed to the side and said lightly, "This one looks okay. I think this is the yard."
A few people who had been walking there for a long time and were feeling sleepy hurriedly followed her when they heard her decision. Diao couldn't wait to push open the gate.
"Okay, this will be ours from now on..."
After seeing the courtyard clearly, the word "home" was stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter it.
If the previous ones could only be considered "dilapidated" and "barely habitable", then this one was a complete ruin.
The yard is very large, but most of it is empty space, and the weeds under the earthen walls are taller than the calves.
There seemed to be quite a lot of houses, but most of them had skylights, and one near the gate even had half of its side collapsed.
"Come on, tell me, what's good about this one?" Diao touched her chest, afraid that she would no longer be partial from now on.
"Fortunately," Chen Chunxing stepped into the yard, turned around, and said affirmatively, "It's big enough."
Diao...
She held up the fourth child with a stern face and whispered softly, "From now on, you will be my baby. You must do your best for me and never act like a madman like your elder sister."
Chen Yandong lay on Diao's shoulder and reached out to retrieve the caracal and Xiaoju lying on the cart.
As a result, Shen Zhixia and Shen Mingqiu each took one away, and Shen Yandong cried out in anxiety.
The three children didn't take Diao's words seriously. Whenever the old lady was angry, she would do this, but in the end she would still side with the eldest sister.
Since it was decided by her, it means that it will never be changed.
After everyone entered the yard, Yang Yi immediately cleared the weeds. Fortunately, the moonlight was good tonight, so they could provide lighting without a lamp.
Chen Chunxing casually pushed open a door and was immediately choked by the dust, so she covered her nose with her hands. She stretched her head to look inside.
"It's okay, there's a bed, but it needs to be fixed."
Diao followed him inside and then left with a sullen look on her face. "How can we live in such a dirty place... Well, you little ones will have to sleep on the cart today!"
As for the big ones...don't sleep, just work.
She didn't know what outsiders thought, but for the Shen family, arriving in the northern border was a new beginning.
Since the eldest girl said this place is a blessed land, then this will be their home from now on, so naturally they have to clean it up as soon as possible.
After discovering that the well in the backyard had not dried up, Diao cut up some old clothes as rags and began to clean the house inside and out.
After helping for a while, a few children were sent away by Chen Chunxing to rest.
She felt that her physical condition was still good and she didn't feel sleepy even after not sleeping all night.
We cleaned up like this until dawn.
Except for the half-collapsed house and the old furniture moved to the yard, everything was basically cleaned up.
"We're new here, where can we find a craftsman..."
Diao yawned and put two bird eggs into the pot.
The only good thing about this misfortune is that the kitchen is safe.
Put the black pot you brought on the stove and you're done.
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