Chapter 139 Five Missing
When they heard Guard Geng say that saving lives was the most important thing, those who were still standing there in confusion started to panic.
In an instant, the women who were looking for their children were shouting and screaming, and the men who were looking for their wives and children were running around. Everyone hurried back to the house, taking whatever they could, whether it was a blanket or a cushion, weighing them in their hands and then putting them down.
Forget it, it’s more important to hold the child!
When some children went out to play, the adults immediately rushed out to look for them. In just a short moment, the yamen was in chaos and there were ghosts crying and wolves howling.
But despite the chaos, there are also people who can bring order to the chaos.
Lai Fu's eldest and second sons divided the work and took the few belongings at home, carried their grandfather on their backs, and took care of their mother.
Ding Gui asked Miao Dayou and Ding Shun to go and carry food together. As for the families of Miao Dayou and Ding Shun, they all came to Zhang Xiu's side, even though Miao Dayou had more children.
But it’s okay. Fang Cuihua grabbed one in each hand and walked away quickly.
Ding Xiaodie also took a child with her, and Zhang Xiu carried the old woman on her side. They didn't take anything else, as saving their lives was the most important thing.
Amidst the chaos, all that could be heard was the village chief Lai Fu shouting at the top of his lungs: "Whoever goes back to get that tattered quilt will lose his life and have no regrets."
For the villagers of Aozigou, the evacuation was like a nightmare, full of stumbling and fear.
Under the instructions of Guardian Geng, Lai Fu led everyone out of the yamen, ran along the street, bypassed the huge lotus pond, and finally reached the foot of the mountain.
Only after entering the woods did Lai Fu dare to breathe a sigh of relief: "I'll count the number of people."
"one two three……"
Frightened faces flashed before his eyes, which made him feel heartbroken and helpless, but he had no choice but to continue counting. Unexpectedly, when he finally counted, he found that five were missing.
How come there are five less?
Originally there were eighty-seven people, young and old. When everyone left the yamen, Lai Fu rushed in to see if there was anyone there. What happened now? There are only eighty-two living people.
Ding Gui looked around and said, "Brother, it's Miao Daxing and his family who didn't catch up."
"Son of a bitch." Lai Fu couldn't help but curse. He waved his hand and said, "You guys keep going deep into the mountains. I'll go find him."
"No, what will we do if you leave?" Yang couldn't help but jump out and hold her husband tightly. Usually he only thought about the villagers, taking care of the villagers first when it came to food, and going to save people even when there was an earthquake without fear of danger. In this situation now, she would not agree no matter what.
You have to know that they are facing the desert army, not just a few people.
Others also advised: "Forget it, Village Chief, don't go!"
"Miao Daxing, that bastard, fell behind on his own. I saw his entire family when we were leaving the government office. There's no way he could have fallen behind. He must have done it on purpose."
But hearing what everyone said was one thing, but if he didn't find Miao Daxing's family, he would feel guilty as the village chief.
Ding Xiaodie had no choice but to stand up and say, "Uncle, actually, Uncle Daxing and his family have long been thinking about leaving us. I overheard it."
This time the village chief finally fell silent.
Everyone started scolding Miao Daxing again, saying that he was like an ungrateful person who could never be tamed and would go wherever he wanted.
Others said that he was holding a grudge against himself for having been driven out, so he didn't want to be a villager of Aozigou anymore.
Ding Xiaodie looked at her parents. She was not hard-hearted, but it was Miao Daxing's own choice of which path to take. If she killed the village chief because of his decision, was it worth it?
Maybe there is no balance between value and worth in human life, but now she has no choice but to save the one who can be saved.
In fact, Miao Daxing and his family did choose to leave on their own.
When they walked out of the yamen, Miao Daxing saw that the situation was serious, so he told his wife to go up the mountain to the other town. The reason was simple. He had heard that there were desert soldiers who killed people in an entire village.
"So when the desert soldiers arrive, they will definitely head towards the side with more people. We have a small family, so as long as we hide well, we will definitely get through this difficult time."
Daxing's wife was a person with no idea what to do. She listened to Ding Xiaodie that night and listened to Miao Daxing now, so she took her three children without hesitation and followed Miao Daxing to leave the village group.
At this time, Lai Fu could only helplessly say: "Okay, then let's continue to move forward. Men, try your best to help the elderly, women, and children. Also, don't fall behind. There is strength in numbers. Don't forget this."
Because they were going up a mountain, the team was moving forward very slowly.
Lai Fu was more cautious. He called a few villagers to cover the team's footprints with dead leaves, and told Dabao to stay on the top of the hill where Yangliu Town could be seen, and to keep an eye on the movements in the town.
Dabao was not afraid at all. He comforted his mother who was wiping away tears: "Mom, I'm fine. I'm a fast runner. At this speed, I can catch up with you in two hours."
What else could Yang say? If they didn't ask their own family members to do the task of cutting off the rear, Village Chief Lai Fu would be unable to speak.
Now she could only nod: "Then be careful. If anything goes wrong, come after us immediately."
"Well, don't worry, mother."
Everyone in the village felt guilty, but apart from respecting the village chief more, few people dared to stand up when it came to taking real action.
For example, Ding Shan, the eldest son of Ding Rong's family, is the same age as Dabao. Usually, no matter who he meets, he always wants to fight with fists. But now he is speechless and wishes to find a hole to hide in.
There were also a few other young men who were trying to dodge and were eager to make themselves transparent.
Ding Gui's family saw all of this, and he gnashed his teeth in hatred: "Damn it, we'll have to divide the work after we settle down. This can't go on."
But he got angry right after he finished speaking. He immediately called Ding Shan and a few other young men over and said, "You take turns carrying these three bags of food. If anyone drops a grain of rice, your whole family will have nothing to eat when we enter the mountains."
Ding Shan and everyone: "..."
Although they all glared at each other, no one said anything in the end. This was an extraordinary period. Through observation over this period of time, they also knew that Ding Gui had more and more say in the village, so they were somewhat afraid to provoke him.
Ding Shan was also silent. After last night, his father and mother were not quite right, and his younger brother was even more wrong. He had to keep a low profile now.
After the division of labor, the team continued to move into the mountains. Unexpectedly, they saw the Lu family in front of them not long after. They were also traveling light, with each guard carrying a small bag of food, and the lady was protected by several maids.
Some of the maids were carrying bags, which should contain valuable items of the master's family.
The two brothers Lu Chenhe were one in front of the team and the other in the back. It looked like there were at least thirty people including the masters and servants. Each of their faces had a seriousness that was not usual, which showed how serious the situation was.
(End of this chapter)
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