Chapter 125 Arrival
Shen family.
Shen San and Li also knew that the eldest branch of the family had run away with several other families, and they had even gone to the small courtyard of the eldest branch with their own eyes.
Seeing his son coming back, he grabbed Shen Jin and asked, "Where is your eldest brother?"
Shen Jin shook his head: "I don't know."
Shen San was so angry that his mouth was about to twist. "You run over there every day, how could you not know? Do you think I don't know where you go if you sneak out quietly every morning? Who gave birth to you? How could you keep silent about such a big thing?"
Shen Jin was already in a depressed mood. After hearing what his father said, he didn't even want to talk. After being pushed by Li, he said angrily, "I really don't know. Why did my elder brother tell me? Did he tell me so that I could tell you?"
Just as he finished speaking, Li slapped him on the back: "You've almost finished. What do you mean by 'we'? Who are we to you? You don't know the difference between inside and outside, and you're trying to win them over with just a few melons and dates? Who gave birth to you and who raised you!"
If she hadn't known that Chen Lie was good at hunting, would she have turned a blind eye and let her son run to the eldest house every day? Now I don't know if he has learned the hunting skills, but he has coaxed the other side to become estranged from her family. What a great skill.
Shen Jin was so angry that he didn't want to talk and just turned around and ran out.
Shen Yin, who was originally following Shen Jin, also hurriedly ran out when he saw this. Chen Tie was a step too late and was caught by his sister Tian Ya's jacket and failed to run away.
Shen Jin didn't go anywhere else but went to the small hill where he usually learned slingshot.
There are still a lot of leaves of different sizes hanging on this piece of land. They are targets for them to practice slingshots. Now there are no people practicing.
Shen Jin didn't have any thoughts and just sat with his legs crossed on the big round rock where he used to rest.
Shen Yin was also sitting on the side, and only then did he quietly ask, "Brother, do you really not know where the eldest brother and the others have gone?"
Shen Jin shook his head: "I don't know."
Shen Yin lowered his head. Ever since he knew that his eldest brother and his wife had left with his second brother and elder sister along with several other families in the village, he finally asked, "Brother, why didn't eldest brother take us with him?"
It's not that I'm not sad and lost.
Shen Yin saw that his third brother was also very sad.
It would have been fine if Shen Yin hadn't said anything. When he said that, Shen Jin's nose felt a little sour and his eyes turned red, but he still explained: "You can't take us with you. If you take us with you, will you take our parents with you?"
The two brothers knew very well what the relationship between the two families was now. Shen Yin lowered his head and said nothing.
Seeing his brother like this, Shen Jin wanted to cheer him up. He also knew that his elder brother had done something, so he whispered, "My elder brother taught me a lot of things. He also dug a hole for us to hide in and gave me a slingshot. I'll take you to see it."
Shen Yin's attention was diverted: "Really?"
"Really? Let's go, but don't tell anyone else. It will be useless if you tell anyone."
"Can you tell Mom and Dad?"
"No, go get another one later and tell my parents to find one closer to our house."
When Shen Jin said this, he thought of something and pulled Shen Yin: "Wait, let's go later. Let's go to Big Brother's house first."
"Why are you going to Big Brother's house?"
"Find something useful and hide it."
The so-called useful things could not be hidden in such a small hole. In the end, they found a broken clay pot. Which one do you think it was? It was the one that Chen An and Chen Ning used to cook when they separated.
Although it is a bit broken, it can be used. It is great whether used as a pot or for storing water.
Shen Yin was also smart. After looking around his eldest brother's house, he thought of several other houses. While the villagers' attention was not yet focused on this, they went to look for them first.
The two brothers found several jars, pots, and even sets of bowls and chopsticks. They treated them as treasures, collected them all, and dug them up in the cave.
Shen Yin no longer felt any grievances. As a child, he didn't know the danger. He just thought this secret treasure land was amazing and loved it very much.
…
Compared to the unsettled people in Shili Village, although Chen Lie and his companions were a little nervous in the cave where the grain was stored, they were united. Even the Xu family members who joined in temporarily did not fall behind too much.
Among the three children, the oldest one was silent and could endure hardships, so he didn't make much noise along the way. The two younger ones probably had never been to the mountains or forests before, or they were worried about their parents and brothers. When Manager Xu was about to leave, the youngest one even started crying, but that was only for a moment. After Manager Xu and the old lady persuaded him a few times, he stopped crying.
At this moment, everyone had eaten some dry food, and Chen Lie arranged for everyone to rest.
After carrying all the things for a day and a half, everyone was exhausted, and they hadn't really rested for two nights. The first night they were busy packing up and left at midnight. The second night they found a cave, lit two fires, and sprinkled snake repellent powder. There were also men keeping watch, but they could hear wolves howling and beasts roaring from time to time, so no one could sleep.
He held on all the way to the first food storage point.
Old Man Lu and his friends have been walking this route a lot recently, and they know that the first
They had no chance to rest well, so they stayed in the cave with Shi Dalang, keeping an eye on what was happening outside, so that Chen Lie and the others could rest in peace.
There was hay in the cave that Old Man Lu and his companions had cut earlier. Each family got a share of it, with each family occupying a small area. They laid out several mats and mattresses, one for each family. It looked like a big bunk bed, and they all rested close together. If there were many people, one mattress would not fit them all, so they could only half-sit and half-lean to rest. After all, the cave was not too big and there was food stored in it.
Sang Luo's family of four also spread out a bed. When the two little ones fell on it, they didn't want to move their toes at all. Their legs and feet were in so much pain that it was driving them crazy. Fortunately, they were used to carrying heavy loads and climbing mountains every day, otherwise they would have cried.
Just as Sang Luo was thinking this, she heard a few soft sobs coming from the side. Sang Luo looked over and saw that it was the little girl from the Xu family, crying because of the pain in her legs.
Those who are too young in each family and have not exercised are actually the same. Sanniu and Qiaoer from the Shi family, Shitou and Axu from the Lu family, and the little girl from the Chen family are only slightly better than the two children from the Xu family. They only started crying when they heard the little girl from the Xu family crying about her leg pain.
When Sang Luo saw this, she wanted to boil some hot water and let everyone apply hot compresses with cloths, but she herself was not feeling much better. It would have been fine if she hadn't sat down, but after sitting down, the pain seemed to be magnified ten times, right?
I could only call Chen Lie and ask him to boil some hot water.
Among so many people, only Chen Lie and Lu Er seemed fine. They must have gotten used to it in the past two or three years.
Chen Lie nodded in response, turned around and went out to fetch some water. There was some water in the cave, but not much, and it was almost used up when he was heating up food just now.
After the water was boiled, she asked each family to bring clay basins to fetch water. She soaked a cloth towel in the hot water and wrung it out, then applied the water to the children's legs and feet. She then brought a basin to Sang Luo.
Sang Luo had already pulled out a few towels and was about to take them out to wring them out when Chen Lie called out to her, "It's too hot. Let me do it."
There were six cloth towels, two for Sang Luo and the two children. Chen An and Shen Ning were still young, so it was nothing. Sang Luo turned her back and covered herself with the quilt, then rolled up her trouser legs to apply warm compress in the quilt.
Chen Lie felt a little embarrassed, especially when he was twisting the towel for Sang Luo, his ears almost felt like they were burning.
The hot compress really works. After a few rounds, the children stopped crying. Even the little girl from the Xu family became quiet. The younger ones even fell asleep while the hot compress was on.
Shallow breathing and slight snoring could be heard in the cave.
Sang Luo's eyelids also felt heavy. She watched Chen Lie pour the water and hang the towel, then sit on the haystack to one side. She pointed at Chen An and Shen Ning and said, "Hug them in the middle. You haven't closed your eyes for two days. Lie down and take a nap. We're counting on you to keep watch at night."
The woods are most dangerous after dark.
Chen Lie was slightly startled. Sang Luo had already laid down and fallen asleep.
He looked at the quilt and mattress, and his ears became even hotter. However, he had indeed not slept for two days. He could still stay awake on the way and take good care of them. He put his younger brother and sister in the middle of the mattress as he was told, leaving a very narrow space for himself, and slept on his side.
Sang Luo listened to the noise, the corners of her lips raised, and this time she really fell asleep and sunk into a deep dream.
…
On the fourth day of February, Shen San touched Li's key and finally took his family heirloom gold bracelet to the county to find a pawnshop.
Of course, I went into the county with several people from the village. After entering the county, we went our separate ways and then made an appointment to return to the village together.
The group, who had rested in the cave at the first grain storage point for half a day and a night, waited for the arrival of Chen Dashan and his group of people carrying grain in the morning. When they got closer, everyone was surprised to find that several of them were injured.
Zhou Erlang, Zhou Sanlang, Chen Youtian and Zhou family's second daughter-in-law. Among them, Zhou family's second daughter-in-law looked pale and did not look well.
Chen Lie's face was a little gloomy, and he asked Chen Dashan: "What happened?"
Chen Dashan was also scared: "Luckily there were only four wolves. If there were a large group, it would not only be injuries. Zhou Ersao was bitten on the leg. Fortunately, she was wearing thick enough clothes and everyone rescued her in time."
Everyone gasped when they heard this.
Zhou Cunzheng and his wife had already rushed to check on their daughter-in-law: "Ayun, how are you? Where are you hurt? Have you applied medicine?"
Wang Yun shook her head: "It's okay, I've already applied medicine. I was just scared, but everyone was injured to some extent in order to save me."
Wang Yun said she was fine, but in fact she was still having palpitations and her hands were shaking. She also learned to climb trees, but she was frightened at the critical moment and reacted a moment slowly. If Chen Dashan had not been quick to pull her up, she would not have been bitten on the foot, but would have been knocked down by the wolf, and it was probably her throat that was bitten.
Everyone was relieved when they heard that she was fine, but they also felt scared.
Chen Lie asked everyone to go back to the cave, and he, Chen Dashan, and Lu Erlang dealt with the prey.
Only three wolves were killed, and one escaped.
Chen Dashan's face was gloomy. "This thing holds grudges. We have to be careful. If it follows us, it will suddenly jump out and hurt us. We can't defend ourselves. I'm even more worried that only a few of them came out last night. If there are more companions, I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with them."
It’s okay if there are only four of them, but how many elderly, weak, women and children are there in this cave now?
~
After resting for more than two hours, a few people with minor injuries were left behind with Old Man Chen, Old Man Lu and Shi Dalang to guard the food. The wolf skins and wolf meat were also kept for them to deal with. They also rested and healed their injuries to prevent their injuries from worsening. The young and strong men reorganized the team and set out again.
There were many people on this trip, so beddings and other items were also needed. For safety reasons, they did not bring too much food. He, Chen Dashan and Lu Erlang went deeper into the mountains on this trip. Their main purpose was to get the elderly, the weak, women and children into the mountains safely and settle them down first. They did not seek speed but stability.
When they set out again, Chen Lie was much more cautious than when he was on the periphery. People were too easily attacked by wild animals, and leading people was much more difficult than transporting food. He was in front, Chen Dashan was behind, and Lu Erlang and Shi Erlang and other young and strong men were guarding both sides. Although they were carrying loads, everyone had weapons in their hands, on their backs, or within easy reach.
Along the way, there was no sound except footsteps, not even the sound of talking. Everyone pricked up their ears to pay attention to the movements in the forests, bushes and grass.
Even the children, who had left some of their belongings at the grain storage point to reduce their burden, all had bows in their hands.
For safety reasons, they no longer lived in caves at night. Instead, they stopped one or two hours in advance and built simple tree houses on tall trees. All women and children went into the tree houses before nightfall.
Although the journey was slow, it was indeed safe. When they encountered a pack of jackals on the first night, the women and children who had weak self-protection abilities were all in the tree house, so Chen Lie and his crew had no worries. The women and children could also use slingshots and bows and arrows to assist remotely from the tree house, and Wei Qinghe won the battle with only minor injuries.
Well, this is a minor injury, caused by being pounced upon by a jackal.
The twenty-one-year-old strong man was not even as good as the fifteen-year-old Shuanzhu. It was all thanks to the help of the people in the tree house and the quick rescue of Chen Lie below.
Mrs. Xu, who was already quite familiar with the families, saw what everyone was thinking and explained awkwardly, "Qinghe is a scholar, so he lacks a bit of agility and strength."
"Scholars!!!"
That's okay. What several families admire most are scholars. Look at our A-Luo, how amazing she is!
~
On the sixth day of the second lunar month, when the recruiting officer entered Shili Village, Zhou Lizheng discovered that another family had run away from the village, no, half of the family. The family originally forced the second son to serve in the army, but on the night of the fifth day, the second son and his wife ran away together. The third wife cried and screamed, but no matter how much she cried, the third son of that family was also driven away by the officers and soldiers.
And Chen San, with his eyes twitching with heartache, gave the ten taels of silver he had obtained from pawning the gold bracelet he had kept for nearly ten years, plus the five taels of silver his family had saved, to the head of the village and the recruiting officer, and was exempted from military service.
Li rushed out to take back the silver, but Shen San would not let her? The couple started fighting in the yard, and they fought so hard, grabbing each other's hair and ears, biting and scratching each other, it was really crazy!
Zhou Lizheng and the recruiting officer didn't care about these things. They took the money, crossed out Shen San's name on the list, and moved on to the next one.
Chen Tian was so scared that she burst into tears, and Chen Tie also shed tears. Shen Jin and Shen Yin were busy coaxing their younger brother and sister respectively.
The recruiting officer walked around the village. The whole village was filled with wailing, crying, cursing and quarreling everywhere he went. The Shen family was not noticeable.
~
On the tenth day of the second lunar month, the tax collectors entered the village again. Some villagers shouted that they did not want to pay next year's rent and taxes in advance. Zhou Lizheng used threats and intimidation, and with the presence of yamen runners, the villagers finally either paid the grain in the drying yard or went into each house to carry the grain.
Um, move?
It’s a robbery!
Wherever the grain collection clerks passed by, whole families wailed.
In the third room of the Shen family, Li was holding onto a grain bag and refused to let it go. She was forcibly dragged away by a clerk. Li was so angry that she hit the clerk's stomach with her head. People in the room were thrown to the ground. Li was also hit by the clerk with more than ten long whips. This time, not to mention Shen Tian and Shen Tie, even Shen Jin and Shen Yin were frightened and burst into tears, and all rushed over. The clerk saw several children trying to block the crazy woman, and Zhou Lizheng helped to persuade them. He had already whipped her more than ten times, and felt relieved, and he still had to collect grain later, so he stopped.
Chen Lie and his group walked for four days until the seventh day, and finally arrived at the entrance of the refuge. Looking at the peak that towered into the clouds, the top of which could not be seen at all, Chen Lie led everyone to the narrow and long alley that could not be found without careful searching, and in some places people had to turn sideways to enter. When the six families saw that the entrance was so hidden, the adults who knew what this meant were so excited that their hearts trembled!
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