After a short rest, Xue Laohu called everyone to start walking.
It was hot, and after traveling for most of the day, the children were exhausted and drenched in sweat, their clothes sticking to their bodies. Each family let their younger children sit in the car.
This time, the large blue mule cart belonging to Li Lanzhen's family led the way, with Li Lanzhen and Han Mingxiang sitting on the shaft, and their eldest daughter-in-law sitting in the carriage.
Han Mingjiang's two sons were now riding in the donkey cart driven by their uncle, walking at the very back. Xue Laohu followed closely behind Li Lanzhen's cart, vigilantly observing the surroundings. Han Minghai and Han Mingjiang, pulling a cart, also followed closely behind the mule cart. Zhang Deshui's family and Gou Dan and his grandson were sandwiched in the middle.
Following behind were more and more people fleeing the famine. Most of them were traveling together in groups of several families, and they were probably villagers from the surrounding villages.
“My dear in-law, now that we’ve passed Yejiawan, I’ll accompany you and your son to Yejiawan again. How does that sound? If anything happens, our family will be there, so we won’t have any worries.”
Li Lanzhen nodded: "Okay, alright, you've thought this through. Let's do it this way. We'll go through Yejiawan together, find a safe place to settle down, and then go on our way."
When they had traveled two miles past Yejiawan, there were several small hills on both sides of the road. The trees on the hills had been stripped of their bark, but they could still set up simple sheds to rest.
"My dear in-law, I think this is the place." Xue Laohu asked her, looking around.
Li Lanzhen looked around and realized that the people of Yejiawan wouldn't be able to see them from this hiding place, so she nodded in agreement.
Everyone said, "Don't unload the truck, just sit here and wait."
He then turned to Xue Laohu and said, "My dear in-law, please take good care of all the family members, as well as these two, grandfather and grandson. If there are any problems, I will have the second son run back to report. You should set off and run ahead. Don't think about looking for us. I will take the eldest and second son with me."
Xue Laohu wanted to say something more, but his wife, Wu, shook her head at him. She could see clearly that her mother-in-law was now smart and resourceful. Most importantly, her attitude towards their two families had improved a lot. She was now reasonable and no longer made a fuss.
She must have made up her mind before making this arrangement. What else is there to say? You're just looking for trouble. Staying here to take care of her children and grandchildren is the right thing to do.
"Xiang'er, when you're running, keep an eye on your sister-in-law, make sure she doesn't get jolted."
Li Sanya chewed on a piece of straw, clicking her tongue inwardly. "My aunt-in-law has changed so much. She's so wonderful. My sister-in-law is really living a life of luxury."
Li Lanzhen pulled the large knife out of the mule cart, wrapped it tightly in a piece of coarse blue cloth, and held it in her arms. The eldest brother, Han Minghai, and Han Mingjiang each carried a wooden stick as thick as their arms.
I learned this from Xue Laohu at home last night. Every adult has a wooden stick, polished smooth. Even Han Yinan and Gou Dan have one.
Han Mingxiang and Han Yuemei watched their mother and brother walk away with worry.
Li Lanzhen, with her two sons, followed the path back along the original owner's memories. As she walked, she looked around the mall. She wanted a stun gun; she felt uncertain without preparing a few handy weapons.
Li Lanzhen hung the white powder in the mall, asking to exchange it for three stun guns, but she received no response. She was anxious but helpless.
After walking for about a mile, we saw Yejiawan Village.
There's a reason it's called Yejiawan (Ye Family Bay), because the village is located on a bend in the mountain road, and the villagers' courtyards are all built along the bend, nestled against the mountainside.
Li Lanzhen's maternal home was located at the bend of a main road, at the entrance of the village. This was Li Lanzhen's maternal grandparents' home. Her maternal grandfather was from Yejiawan Village. His father's generation was the only son in the family, and he was also alone. He did not have a son, but he had Li Lanzhen's mother as his only child, which is why he found her a son-in-law who moved in with her family.
Having no son means the family line will end, and sons-in-law who marry into the family suffer even more. When Li Lanzhen was born, she was ridiculed by the villagers, who said that even if they took in a son-in-law, they would not be able to produce a son to carry on the family line.
Li Lanzhen was very wild from a young age. Whenever her family members were bullied, she would rush up and bite and kick them like a wolf cub.
They persevered through farm work, never losing out to the men in the village.
Thinking about the original owner's past, she arrived at her mother's house not far away. At this moment, she quickly looked at the space and was overjoyed. There were three electric batons inside, half a meter long, black, and familiar electric batons. She immediately felt at ease.
"Mom, something looks wrong. Look, why are so many people surrounding Grandma's house?" Han Mingjiang, being tall, saw it from afar and said to Li Lanzhen with concern.
Han Minghai said anxiously, "Mom, let's run and see what's going on. Could it be that they've come to bully Grandma and Grandpa again?"
Li Lanzhen ran a few steps with her two sons and could hear the adults pleading and the children crying. Her heart ached as if it were being torn apart.
The crowd formed several layers, obscuring what was happening inside the courtyard. Only the discussions of a few older women standing outside could be heard.
"Oh, poor Li Erhan, he probably won't live past today. Look at all the blood he's lost, that leg is probably ruined."
"Yeah, if you ask me, Ye Niuyan is too ruthless. The stones that Li Erhan found in the mountains were unclaimed. Anyone could go up the mountain and move stones. Why did he have to make Li Erhan carry the three stones home? Really."
"Who says otherwise? Ye family girl has a hard life. Her parents died early, and she married a man who moved in with her family. She only had one son."
"Isn't there another girl?"
"What use is a girl? She's married so far away. A son is still needed to carry on the family tradition."
"Li Erhan's son was also hung from a tree to protect his father and was beaten until he couldn't move."
"That's right, what will happen to Li Erhan's family? They probably won't be able to survive here. They'll have to go find a girl to live with."
"How could that be? Girls are useless. We'd rather flee the famine."
Hearing this, Li Lanzhen, worried about her parents and brothers, tried to push through the crowd. Just then, she heard a little girl's piercing scream: "Ah~~ No, no, don't grab me, don't grab me! I won't go be your idiot's wife, Mom, save me..."
At this moment, Han Mingjiang had already squeezed inside and was wrestling with one of the burly, dark-skinned men for the little girl he was holding.
When Li Lanzhen entered, she saw an incredibly tragic scene!
The original owner's father lay on the ground, dragging one leg, leaving a bloody trail behind him. He stretched out his thin, dark hand and pleaded loudly, "Big Eyes, please, take all the stones from my yard, but don't take the bell."
The person lying behind him was probably the original owner's mother. Her face was covered in blood, and she lay there motionless. A boy was kneeling beside her, constantly wiping the blood from her face and crying out.
At that moment, a short, dark-skinned, thin woman rushed out from the backyard. She was probably the sister-in-law. She was holding a carrying pole, her eyes wide open, her mouth agape, panting heavily, and she shouted hoarsely, "You beast! Let go of my daughter! I'll fight you to the death!"
The burly, dark-skinned man watched the woman rushing towards him, released the little girl from his arms, and chuckled maliciously: "Alright, come on, jump into your brother's arms and let your brother pamper you."
He had barely finished speaking when he was hit with a carrying pole and then with a stick.
The burly, dark-skinned man stared at Han Mingjiang, who had struck him with a stick, and paused for a moment. "Who are you? Oh, so you're this little wench's son, huh? No wonder she was pretending to be innocent. Hmph, she's a slut too..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was stabbed in the shoulder, and blood gushed out immediately. He screamed and looked at Li Lanzhen standing in front of him with an expression as if he had seen a ghost.
"Get out of my house! Or I'll let you taste what it's like to be chopped into pieces with a cleaver! Get out!!"
Upon seeing this, Ye Dayan immediately began shouting, "Outsiders are bullying the people of Yejiawan! Everyone, come and help me!"
Li Lanzhen immediately rushed over and shoved the stun gun into his stomach. "Thump." Ye Daye fell to the ground and didn't move.
Then, Li Lanzhen pointed her stun gun at the crowd, her eyes sharp as she looked at the several men who were itching to come closer: "Anyone who dares to come over will end up like Big Eyes!"
Turning to Han Mingjiang, he said, "Second brother, tie up Big Eyes. If his family doesn't pay compensation, beat him to death to pay for your grandparents' lives!!"
My darlings, Longlong is back! Thanks for following along. I'll write a short review; I'll keep writing!
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