Everyone arrived full of hope, only to be stunned by what they saw.
Perhaps there are refugees like them everywhere in the desolate mountains and at the foot of this mountain. This blow to the people of Lao Han Village has extinguished their hope. They have lost their spirit and collapsed to the ground, refusing to take another step forward.
Seeing this scene, the old village chief seemed to age ten years. He hunched over, coughing incessantly, and sat on the ground, too exhausted to move.
Li Lanzhen was also greatly disappointed. The mountain in front of her looked like a barren mountain. There were trees on the mountainside, but no greenery. At the foot of the mountain, there wasn't even a blade of grass. The tree trunks were bare, as if the hungry people had stripped off their bark and eaten them.
The surrounding refugees glanced at them, then continued with their own business indifferently.
Li Lanzhen noticed that they seemed to be in good spirits, so they probably didn't lack food. However, some people were staring at their car with ill intentions, while others were looking down from the building.
She noticed that there were three or five burly men among them, watching them from a distance with their arms crossed.
Li Lanzhen keenly noticed that the eyes of these people were all red. Based on their experience of fleeing along the way, she knew that they must have eaten human flesh.
So I immediately became alert.
Han Shunde and Xue Laohu also noticed something strange about this group.
The two men exchanged a glance, and Han Shunde began to shout to everyone, "Get up, get up, let's move forward. There are too many people here, it's not easy to accommodate so many of us."
The people from Hanjiacun and Lujiazhuang dragged the elderly man along, while the children stood up, ready to follow Han Shunde and the others.
The further you walk along the foot of the mountain, the more appalling the state of the refugees becomes. Adults and children are all emaciated, but they are still in good spirits and do not look lifeless.
Li Lanzhen didn't know what was keeping them going, and Han Shunde and the others didn't stop to ask. They walked until it was getting dark before gradually leaving the large group of refugees.
Xue Bao and Han Mingjiang returned from scouting and told Han Shunde and the old village chief, "Village chief, there's a valley ahead with people inside, but not many. It looks like a village. We'll go there tonight."
Han Shunde then asked, "How much further is it?"
Han Mingjiang said, "Village chief, it's about another mile away."
Han Shunde encouraged everyone to keep up the good work so they could rest later.
By this time, everyone was numb and just kept walking along with the people in front of them.
Upon arriving at their destination, Li Lanzhen saw a group of about several dozen refugees at the mouth of the valley. They had built makeshift shelters out of dead wood and thatch, and it seemed to be a village.
They continued walking, and stopped about two or three hundred meters away from these people. Han Shunde told everyone to rest here for the time being.
Upon hearing this, each household found a place on their own. Some people built simple sheds with straw mats, while many others simply laid out straw mats and lay down.
Physical fatigue and a sense of loss left everyone disheartened and lacking energy.
Li Lanzhen and her family found a recessed spot near the mountain. The men quickly used shovels to further trim the mountainside and built several thatched huts. Gou Dan and his grandson also built a thatched hut next to them.
They didn't cook a meal; instead, they took out wild vegetable pancakes and the little water they had left, ate until they were half full, and then lay down to rest.
After lying down, Li Lanzhen recalled the scene she had just witnessed.
Why are so many refugees gathered on this side of the mountain instead of crossing it to enter Youzhou City?
Has something changed in Youzhou City? Is it because there are too many refugees and Youzhou City can no longer accommodate them, or is it that the Rong King of Youzhou City, like the Jin King, is preparing to conscript men to become emperor? With so many people gathered here, there will definitely be chaos and unsafety.
Especially those men, with their bloodshot eyes staring at the women and children of Hanjiacun, made Li Lanzhen feel uneasy.
At this moment, the old village chief called over Han Shunde, Xue Laohu, Han Dazhong, and others, and they were also talking about what they had observed.
The old village chief sighed and said, "It seems we can't enter Youzhou City either. Otherwise, why are all these refugees gathered here? There are so many refugees on this side of the mountain; there must be even more over the other side. Alas."
Han Dazhong slapped his knee and said, "Damn it, when I left Han Family Village, I thought that once I arrived in Youzhou, I could register at the government office, be allocated a village, build a house, farm the land, and live a good life. I never expected it to be like this!"
Han Shunde also lowered his head. Who didn't think the same way? He left his hometown and fled all the way here, just wanting a stable place to live a good life. But even this one wish couldn't be fulfilled.
Xue Laohu said, "Tomorrow morning I will cross the mountain and go into Youzhou City to check the situation. Everyone, please stay here and do not rush to cross the mountain. We will wait until we understand the situation in Youzhou City before making a decision."
Han Shunde said, "Hunter Xue, I'll go with you tomorrow."
Xue Laohu shook his head. "Village chief, you should stay here. I see everyone is in a bad mood. Don't cause any trouble. There are a lot of people here, and they're all mixed up. I saw more than a dozen people who don't seem like good people. We should bring the guard team back tomorrow to protect our safety."
The old village chief nodded. "Yes, Hunter Xue is right. Let's do it that way."
The old village chief turned to look at Xue Laohu, "Take Han Mingjiang and Han Zhaoxiong with you tomorrow."
Xue Laohu nodded and said okay. He lowered his head and thought for a while, then looked up and said, "Village chief, tell each household to take good care of their women and children. I saw those people's eyes were fixed on women and children. We left our homes and went through many hardships to escape famine and came here. We haven't lost any of our family members along the way. We shouldn't lose them here."
The group immediately became solemn. Yes, the journey had been incredibly difficult; they hadn't lost a single elderly person or child. Now that they were here, the situation was more complex, and they had to be even more vigilant.
Han Shunde nodded solemnly, "The guards will continue patrolling tomorrow, and I'm thinking of organizing the boys who are already grown up so that they can also guard their homes."
What were they discussing? Li Lanzhen didn't know; she was already exhausted and had fallen asleep.
But she found out the next day. Before dawn, Xue Nizi gave Han Mingjiang and Xue Laohu three wild vegetable cakes and water for mixing in their water bags.
Upon seeing this, Li Lanzhen said, "In-laws, are you planning to cross the mountain to enter Youzhou City to gather information?"
Xue Laohu looked at everyone and said, "Yes, it will probably take us two days to get back. Please take good care of the women and children at home, in-laws."
Li Lanzhen glanced at the vegetable pancakes Xue Nizi had given them and said, "I understand. Be careful outside, and carry a knife and a big stick."
Then he pulled over his basket, rummaged through it, and actually took out three firecrackers, six wild vegetable cakes, and a tael of silver from his spatial storage, put them in his bundle, and handed them to Han Mingjiang.
"Second brother, take this. It's dry rations for your father-in-law to eat on the road, and a few firecrackers too. Be careful, stay close to your father-in-law, and don't go off on your own."
Han Mingjiang replied with a smile, "Mother, I will be careful. You should also be careful at home and not stray too far from the people of Han Family Village."
Turning around, she saw Han Minghai. "Brother, I'll be gone for two days. Take good care of the house."
After walking a few steps, he waved to Xue Nizi and called out, "Nizi, keep an eye on the child."
Xue Ni waved her hand and shouted back, "You talk too much."
Han Mingjiang followed Xue Laohu and Han Zhaoxiong up the mountain with a grin.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com