Chapter 263 Mass Escape
Aunt Liu didn't stop and went from house to house to talk to them, but most of the villagers, like Aunt Liu, didn't believe her at first.
Some people mocked Aunt Liu, asking if she had lost her mind, while others looked at her with disdain, saying that she just wanted to fly again.
But Aunt Liu didn't give up; she patiently persuaded everyone.
Gradually, a few timid women began to waver. They gathered together to discuss it, and the more they talked, the more frightened they became.
One of the women from the residential compound suggested, "Why don't we go to the temple together and ask the Goddess Mazu? Let her show us the way."
Everyone thought it was a good idea, so the group marched towards the temple in a grand procession.
Upon arriving at the temple, everyone knelt down and prayed devoutly to the goddess Mazu.
Aunt Liu watched nervously from the side, only to see her secretly take out the tampered cups from her sleeve and switch them with the original ones.
The crowd asked the cup several times, and the answer was always the same: the storm surge was indeed coming.
The villagers were immediately in an uproar. Those who hadn't believed her before turned pale and began to believe Aunt Liu's words.
Looking at everyone, Aunt Liu said loudly, "Fellow villagers, even the Goddess Mazu has given us clear instructions. Let's quickly pack our belongings and head to the high mountain camp behind the army base. It's safe there!"
As if waking from a dream, everyone nodded in fright and rushed home, hurriedly packing their bags and heading towards the mountain camp with the elderly and children.
Along the way, everyone hurried along, their hearts filled with fear of unknown disasters and worries about the future.
A large group of people from Stone Village walked to the village entrance, intending to hike through the neighboring village.
When the villagers from the neighboring village saw this scene, they learned that a storm surge was coming. Seeing that everyone was carrying food and blankets and that it didn't seem like they were faking it, they also went home to pack their bags and set off with the main force.
Su Haiting and her group, who were originally on the drying ground, saw the villagers dragging their families and carrying their luggage and assumed that they had agreed to relocate. They quickly handed them the relocation agreement, saying, "Fellow villagers, are you moving? Sign this first and you'll get 50 yuan. The first to sign will take the fast train, and the rest of us will charter a boat to go to the city to take the train."
Faced with the consent forms handed to them, the villagers ignored them completely. The forms fell to the ground and were trampled by the soles of their shoes in a panic, as if they were being chased by a storm surge and were trying to escape.
The relocation team members were completely baffled, exchanging bewildered glances. "What's going on? Don't they want the money?"
"Wait a minute, they're not heading in the direction of the dock. Where are they going?"
Su Haiting stopped a young man and asked, "What are you doing? Aren't you moving to the dock? Why are you going in the opposite direction?"
The young man glared at her. "Who said we were moving? My grandma told us we can't move. We're going to take refuge, you know? Mazu said the storm surge is coming soon. I'm not talking to you anymore. If we're any later, we won't be able to find a good place to spend the night!"
Su Haiting and the other relocation team members looked at each other in bewilderment. Finally, they burst into laughter and began to explain to the villagers, who were fleeing like their families, "Storm surges are a once-in-a-century event. There was only one storm surge on the island last year. The earlier claim that experts predicted a storm surge within a week was just a rumor!"
“That’s right, you don’t need to flee to the mountains. The main reason we’re asking you to relocate is because the islands have no productivity, and the Northwest needs people to develop it. We might as well take the money and move directly to the Northwest.”
Su Haiting and her companions pulled at the fleeing people as they passed by, trying to persuade them one by one until their lips were sore, but they still couldn't convince them to stop.
Aunt Liu looked at Su Haiting, who was still baring her two missing teeth and trying to persuade the villagers not to leave, and couldn't help but sneer, "You shouldn't bother trying to escape with them, otherwise when the storm surge comes, you'll be the one crying and screaming while clinging to a tree trunk!"
Upon hearing this, Su Haiting immediately laughed again, "You guys are really afraid of dying. Who told you that? It's going to rain on the mountain tonight. You don't want to go up there and get soaked for days and then not be able to get down the mountain, hahaha..."
When Su Haiting smiled, all the staff around her laughed along with her.
As they were laughing, the previously cloudless sky seemed to confirm Su Haiting's prediction that it would rain, and suddenly lightning flashed and thunder roared.
The moment the thunder struck, a light drizzle began.
Su Haiting and the others quickly ran to the eaves of a building next to the drying ground to take shelter from the rain, and watched as the large group of people continued to move forward in the rain.
Some took out raincoats and put them on, while others covered the dry food on their backs with burlap sacks.
"Officer Su, none of them are willing to sign. What should we do? We've only been given half a month!"
The group members were a little worried and asked Su Haiting.
After all, you couldn't find such unsuccessful workers, who couldn't even mobilize a single household to relocate, even if you circled the globe.
Su Haiting seemed to remember something, her eyes suddenly lit up, and a sinister smile curled her lips. She whispered to the staff member next to her, "You come with me to do this later, and I guarantee they'll have no choice but to take the money and move out immediately!"
The group whispered amongst themselves, then turned their backs on the villagers who were heading up the mountain.
On the dock.
After paying the boatman she had hired, Chu Mei headed straight for the drying ground without stopping.
Knowing that Zhao Jingxiang and his team would be mobilizing the villagers to relocate at the threshing ground today, she rushed over to find Zhao Jingxiang.
She was afraid that if she arrived even a minute late, Zhao Jingxiang would do something foolish like that muddle-headed Zhou Shuyao.
After walking around the drying ground and searching the former educated youth settlement, she gradually became uneasy, disregarding the fact that she was soaked to the bone by the rain.
She noticed that the usually bustling Stone Village was unusually quiet today, and no one answered the door when she knocked on any of the houses.
Wandering aimlessly in the deserted village, getting soaked in the rain and unable to find anyone, Chu Mei was about to rush to the police station to ask when she bumped into Commissar Hao and his group knocking on the doors of every house. It seemed that only after confirming that no one was inside did they continue knocking on the next house.
"Political Commissar Hao, what's going on? Where have the villagers gone? And do you know where my Jingxiang is?"
Chu Mei anxiously tugged at Political Commissar Hao's sleeve and asked him a question.
Commissar Hao wiped the sweat from his forehead, panting heavily as he shook his head. "I didn't see him, but someone just said that a storm surge is coming soon. Let's be safe. I'll check if all the villagers on the island have been safely evacuated. I think you should go to the high-altitude camp to take shelter. Maybe your Jingxiang is up there too!"
Chu Mei didn't believe it at first, but the next second she looked up and her brow twitched violently, her legs went weak with fright.
Because everyone noticed the unusual weather.
A dark flock of birds flew overhead, braving the wind and rain, as if they were fleeing in panic!
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