"Village chief, you are the village chief of Hanjia Village. I absolutely disagree with you taking Li Lanzhen, this awful woman, with you when you flee the famine!"
When the rascal Wu Laotai woke up, she heard the village chief saying that he was going to take Li Lanzhen and the others to escape the famine. She immediately started shouting at the top of her lungs.
The village chief glanced at her. "Yanshan's family is from the same village as us. Although Han Yanshan and we don't share the same ancestor, he is surnamed Han."
To be honest, I don't know my own worth. My husband's surname is Wu. If you disagree, who do you think you are?
When Old Lady Wu saw what the village chief said, her eyes lit up, and she jumped up and down, shouting, "Village chief, look! Li Lanzhen has brought three families from other villages with her!"
After saying that, he glanced smugly at Li Lanzhen.
She didn't want Li Lanzhen to go with her to escape the famine. That jerk was always trying to take advantage of her and was always going against her. Without her, she would be the worst person in the group, and no one would dare to mess with her. She could take advantage of anyone she wanted.
Looking at the people of Hanjiacun, she loudly incited them: "Look everyone, we are a village that fled famine together and found wild grass, vegetables and water. It's just that we are sharing it among the people in our village. If there is one more person, there will be one more share of food. I don't want to share it with people from other villages. Whoever wants to can share it."
After Wu Laotai made such a fuss, several villagers hesitated as they looked at Li Lanzhen and her group, their faces darkening.
Several women who usually didn't get along with Li Lanzhen also started shouting loudly that they couldn't take Li Lanzhen with them when they fled the famine.
The village chief looked at them and silently shook his head. These people still hadn't realized that if it weren't for the powerful weapons in the hands of Yan Shan's family and Han Mingjiang, the entire village would probably have been in trouble.
Han Deshun chuckled and looked around at them. "You've probably forgotten, if it weren't for Aunt Li bringing Han Minghai and Han Mingjiang here, none of the people in our village would have had a good ending. What, are you kicking away the ladder after you've crossed it?"
The young woman, who was related to Old Lady Wu by marriage, stood up and shouted, "But don't you see? Several of their families are sickly, with many children and few able-bodied men. If any danger comes, isn't it us who will bear it for them?"
"Exactly, what can an old woman like her handle?"
Li Lanzhen's sons glared angrily at the family they had always gotten along well with in the village, who were now abandoning them to flee the famine.
They've encountered so many things in just a few days, which has shown them that there's strength in numbers. If it were just the four families, totaling about twenty people, they probably wouldn't have gone very far.
Li Lanzhen was also thinking about this problem. This was ancient times, and it was a time of war and chaos with no rule of law. The woman who had spoken earlier was not wrong. All four families had sick or injured members, and they had many children but few sons.
On the road of fleeing famine, the mountains are high and the roads are long. The key is that we don't know where home is or where we can settle down. We have no sense of security and are filled with anxiety.
It's always good to stick with the villagers; they know you well, so if something happens, you can work together and look out for each other.
At this moment, Han Dazhong, the village butcher, stepped forward and shouted in a loud, rough voice, "What are you saying? Han Yanshan has lived in the village for over twenty years. How come none of your families have received help from Brother Han?"
They're all related by marriage, so what's wrong with them helping each other escape the famine? Which of you has a brother or sister-in-law from the Han family who would let your wife bring her family along to escape the famine?
"We're fleeing famine, leaving our parents behind, not knowing when we'll see them again. Who among you thought of this, letting your daughters-in-law go back to their parents' home and take them with you on this journey?"
As soon as he said that, some people in the crowd began to cry softly. Gradually, the sound grew louder and louder. Perhaps they were thinking of their parents, and the fear and panic they had felt after only a few days of fleeing the famine. The women covered their faces and wept.
Seeing that everyone's emotions were turning in Li Lanzhen's favor, Old Lady Wu rushed out shouting, "Han Dazhong, you're speaking well of Li Lanzhen, are you having an affair with her? Ah~~~"
No sooner had she finished speaking than Li Lanzhen slapped her across the face. "You're asking for it. Do you think you can throw mud at me like that? Your mouth is stinking and filthy. If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll tear your stinking mouth apart!"
I haven't even settled accounts with you yet. First, you smashed my head with a big rock on the back hill, causing me to bleed profusely and pass out. You then abandoned me and ran away without a care in the world. If it weren't for my children and grandchildren worrying about me, the soil on my grave would have dried up by now.
Secondly, when bad guys came, instead of resisting them and saving your son, you let these robbers steal our family's grain and even tried to sell my daughter to a brothel.
"You're not just foul-mouthed, you're heartless! If someone like you goes with us to escape famine, I, Li Lanzhen, am truly terrified. You might suddenly kidnap our daughters and sell them to brothels. Everyone needs to keep a close eye on their daughters. And boys, keep a close eye on them too, don't let them be sold to kidnappers for money!"
Li Lanzhen's words were highly inflammatory, and the villagers quickly pulled their daughters to stand beside them, glaring at Old Lady Wu with vicious eyes.
She looked at the village chief and said, "Village chief, when we came here, we met the young master of Jin Fulai from the county town. He said that if we were to flee the famine, we should go east and hide in the mountains for a few years. So our families are going east."
Han Deshun tugged at the village chief's sleeve. He stepped forward, looking at everyone with disappointment in his eyes, and slowly said, "Fellow villagers of Han Family Village, I am the village chief of Han Family Village. On the road of fleeing famine, please don't call me village chief anymore."
I stated that my family would be fleeing the famine together with Yanshan's family. The choice is yours to discuss. If you want to go together, we'll go together; if you don't want to go together, then we'll go separately. I won't force you.”
His words immediately caused an uproar among the crowd.
The people of Hanjiacun were like headless flies, buzzing around and arguing heatedly.
Li Lanzhen could understand them. For so many years, they had lived peacefully, with the village chief making decisions for everything, big or small. Now, they were panicking and at a loss when asked to make their own choices.
When Grandma Wu saw that the village chief had ignored her and was going to follow Li Lanzhen instead, she was furious.
She stood aggressively in front of the village chief, hands on her hips, pointing at him and saying, "You've already had your second son lead several families away from us to go with his father-in-law's family in Zhouzhuang. Now you want to separate Hanjiacun too. How can you be a village chief like this? I'm going to report you to the county government."
Li Lanzhen chuckled, slowly walked over to her side, crossed her arms, and looked at her with a smile, "Go ahead and sue. Perfect, send your only son to the King of Jin to be a soldier."
Old Mrs. Wu once jumped up and cursed, "Bah! I curse you! May you run into soldiers ahead! Go away, flee the famine if you want. I'm absolutely not going with you! How are you old, weak, sick, and disabled supposed to flee the famine? You're such a jerk!"
Li Lanzhen still smiled and said, "Okay, I'll walk my own narrow bridge."
My darlings, the little dragon is here! Thanks for following along, please leave a review before you go. Thank you.
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