Li Lanzhen then asked Han Mingjiang how the hole was dealt with.
Han Mingjiang said, "Mother, my father-in-law had stones moved over to block the hole."
The old village chief had sealed the coffin tightly, fearing that some unscrupulous people might go down at night and disturb the coffin.
Li Lanzhen hadn't thought of that.
Thinking about it now, it makes sense. You can't judge a book by its cover, and we were on the run, so there wasn't much firewood to burn.
Some people wondered if there might be other things in the cave since food could be found there. People with such thoughts might go down into the cave on their own.
Now that the old village chief and the others have dealt with it, they're no longer troubled by it. They're just worried that someone might destroy the coffin, which would be unfair to the person who turned into bones.
The people of Hanjiacun stayed in the underground river area for a day and two nights, refining some salt and purified water.
Purified water is scarce, so the amount of drinking water available to each household is still regulated.
People have been washing and cleaning in the river these past two days.
However, my skin felt uncomfortable from the salt and alkali water.
Later, people dared not go into the underground river to bathe anymore.
On the day they left, Xue Laohu still led the way. Although they were walking underground, the guards still observed the terrain from time to time.
Han Shunde said to everyone, “Everyone, quicken your pace. We’re walking here, where the sun won’t shine on us, the wind won’t blow on us, and we don’t have to worry about other refugees robbing us of our belongings, or about soldiers coming to conscript us. So let’s quicken our pace and get out of the underground river as soon as possible. Once we reach the mountains of Youzhou with their trees and grass, we’ll have a way to survive.”
Li Lanzhen had to admire Han Shunde's ability to make grand promises; his words gave people hope.
She also hoped to arrive in Youzhou as soon as possible, be assigned to a village to settle down, and live a good life.
Her thoughts were probably shared by everyone in the entire refugee group, including the children.
Xue Laohu walked ahead, occasionally taking out the map to check it, afraid that the river might have gone astray.
Last time, Li Lanzhen gave the map to Han Mingjiang and asked them to take a look. When Han Mingjiang brought it back, she told him to give it to Xue Laohu for safekeeping.
When there are problems, just let Xue Laohu and Han Shunde study them and look at the map.
Two days after walking along the underground river, everyone ate dinner and rested in the evening.
During this period, due to the issue of conserving drinking water, no one has been cooking porridge to drink. Instead, they boil water, store it, and drink a little bit to moisten their throats while eating dry food. Unless there are very young children or elderly people in the family, they will cook a bowl of porridge for them to share.
Li Lanzhen's family is in dire straits because her eldest daughter-in-law is pregnant, her parents are in poor health, and her grandchildren are all young.
So every night, I still have to make a pot of porridge.
I made a pot of clear porridge early in the morning.
Each person drinks half a bowl, and the rest is put into a jar and given to the children and the elderly to drink at noon.
Some villagers were envious, saying their family had a lot of water.
Xue Nizi put her hands on her hips and yelled at them, "We have plenty of water because we took many jars with us when we left. Our family is large, and there are many people to do the work. No one is trying to cheat or shirk responsibility."
Everyone was speechless and could only lower their heads and remain silent.
They dared not offend this family. Firstly, they all knew the benefits Li Lianzhen had brought them along the way. Secondly, Li Lanzhen's family always brought their in-laws and her parents along when they ate, so there were many people and they were united.
If a war breaks out, Xue Bao alone would be enough for them to handle.
After entering the underground river, Li Lanzhen stayed with Gou Dan and his grandson for meals and rest.
Grandma Gou Dan tried to persuade Li Lanzhen, but to no avail. Eventually, she happily agreed, and whenever she was boiling water, cooking, or doing chores during the march, she would always be quick and efficient and do more.
Needless to say, Li Lanzhen had taken a liking to Gou Dan ever since he brought her to Ankang City.
It's not that Li Lanzhen has an overflowing saintly heart, but rather that she feels that in this world, she should help kind people as much as she can if she has the ability.
For example, his two in-laws initially asked him to flee the famine with his family because he felt he was incapable of leading more than a dozen children and grandchildren to escape the famine.
Another thing to consider was their character, and surprisingly, both families turned out to be good people.
Without their help, things would have been much harder for me along the way.
Not to mention his own parents, his sister-in-law is especially devoted to him, always obeying his every command and protecting him immensely.
The Han Shunde family is just as easy to get along with.
Li Lanzhen thought of how hard her grandmother, Gou Dan, had worked, and how she herself had been all alone in her previous life. She realized that even a woman would encounter many troubles of all kinds.
Grandma Gou Dan, a woman raising a young grandson, has it tough living in this world. Moreover, both she and her grandson are kind, honest, not greedy, and hardworking, so Li Lanzhen is happy to help them.
In the evening, the old village chief gathered everyone together again, took out the map, and listened to Xue Laohu and Han Shunde talk about it.
Han Shunde said, "We've been walking for two days and two nights. According to the map, the direction of this underground river is correct, so we'll follow it."
Xue Laohu frowned and said, "There are no more markings about two miles ahead of this underground river. But based on our observations on the ground, that mountain is about five miles away. I don't know if the river turns at that place or what. I'm worried that if the river flows underground, we won't be able to find an exit when we try to go up, which will be very troublesome."
Upon hearing this, everyone realized it was indeed a serious matter.
The old village chief said, "As we walked along the way, there were always cracks in the caves above our heads, letting sunlight in."
Okay, tomorrow we'll walk and observe as we go. If we can get up there, we'll go check it out first. It would be troublesome if we get stuck down there and can't get out.”
Think about it: it might be very convenient to go up through a natural crack, but once you get stuck underground, digging another hole to get out would be a huge undertaking.
Han Zhaoxiong said, "When I went to relieve myself just now, I discovered that there was a crack more than ten meters long and about one meter wide on the top of the cave on the opposite bank of the river. I could see all the stars in the sky very clearly. I was afraid that there were people up there, so I listened at the cave entrance, but there was no sound. But it should no longer be the Stone Forest."
Han Shunde thought for a moment and said, "Just to be on the safe side, Xue the hunter and I will go up and take a look later."
Because the place where they held their meeting was not far from Li Lanzhen's thatched hut.
Li Lanzhen heard all the questions they were considering.
As early as yesterday afternoon, she discovered that the geology of the underground river had changed, and the stone walls on both sides were no longer all hard stone as they were before.
Instead, it turned into hard soil, leading her to guess that this section of the underground river must have passed through sandy or loess soil.
The water in the underground river was no longer as clear as before and had become a bit murky, but it still tasted salty.
During her lunch break, while leaning against the wall, she noticed that every now and then, soil from the cave would collapse and accumulate on both sides of the riverbank.
She didn't think much of it at the time, but now the more she thinks about it, the more scared she gets.
If this area is loess or sandy soil, is there a possibility of collapse? If a collapse occurs, it could become an underground river that buries bones.
Thinking of this, Li Lanzhen confessed that all the families, big and small...
"Nizi, Tonghua, and Sanya, the three of you should cook breakfast early tomorrow. Make the porridge a little thicker, heat up the wild vegetable pancakes, and make sure everyone is full."
Eldest and second sons, tell your fathers-in-law not to unload the donkey carts. Feed the donkeys some beans and water. Everyone, gather your baskets and crates next to the carts.
Make sure all the children are well taken care of, and that each child is properly cared for by the person in charge. Don't leave any child behind.
"Linglong and Miaomiao, you two must stay with Grandma."
Because Li Lanzhen spoke very solemnly, everyone felt a little uneasy after hearing her words.
Xue Nizi then asked, "Mother, is something going to happen tonight? Are we going to have to run away?"
Li Lanzhen did not explain.
Mrs. Wu quickly pulled her two grandsons, Han Yisong and Han Yibo, close to her side and whispered to them to stay close to their grandmother.
As it turned out, Li Lanzhen's sixth sense was correct.
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