The dust raised by so many soldiers was even greater. They had been chasing after them when they realized that the people running ahead had left the official road and run into the rocky beach. Moreover, they could see from afar that there were dark masses of people on both sides of the road ahead.
So they rushed past the place where Hanjiacun exited the official road and headed forward, which gave Hanjiacun time to escape.
The people of Hanjiacun followed Xue Laohu and his men, who were leading the way, and ran wildly into the rocky beach.
The road was lined with strange rocks of all shapes and sizes, some high and some low. After walking about half a mile, there were hills, and they were all irregular and had no way to go. We had no choice but to walk around the bottom of the hills.
The last to arrive were Han Dazhong's family, followed by the people from Zhoujia Village.
These people must have gone a long time without eating, so they stumbled and staggered, and Xue Bao and his men dragged and pulled them forward.
Meanwhile, the old village chief's second son's family was also hurrying forward. Aunt Huaihua put the two children of the second son's family on a cart and had Han Shunde push it forward.
Just then, Zhou, the mother-in-law of the village chief's second son, cried and insisted on sitting on the cart and having Han Shunde push it.
Han Shunde rolled his eyes in disgust and quickened his pace. Han Shunde's wife, Liu Daidi, grabbed her sister-in-law's mother, Zhou, and pulled her forward, her mouth never stopping.
"Grandma, stop crying and wailing. You want to attract the soldiers, don't you?"
Didn't you take my second brother to the capital to enjoy a life of luxury? How did you end up here? And how come there are only 30 or so people in your village of several hundred?
Look at you all, you really look like refugees, you don't even have a decent basket to carry. The more you flee, the more panicked you become."
She held Zhou's hand, her feet never stopped, and her mouth never stopped chattering.
Aunt Huaihua suppressed a laugh: "My in-laws have to be dealt with by my eldest daughter-in-law."
In Hanjiacun, people come to celebrate the Autumn Equinox every autumn.
Every time, she would cry and shout that she was starving to death, always trying to smuggle something back from home. Her second daughter-in-law was a pushover, always listening to her mother, and would secretly send the family's grain back home.
Once, the eldest son's wife caught them red-handed. She grabbed a pound of cornmeal from Zhou's arms and just as Zhou was about to sit on the ground and throw a tantrum.
The eldest daughter-in-law sat down on the ground, pounding her fists and crying loudly, "Everyone come quick! Look at this! Our in-laws are trying to drive us to our deaths! Do they even want us to live?! Our whole family toils from dawn till dusk, and after the autumn harvest, we only get a little grain, and the second son's wife is sending it all to her parents' home! Look at my aunt-in-law, carrying our grain in her arms, about to leave! It's unbearable!"
The eldest daughter-in-law sang and recited for a while, completely stealing her in-laws' lines. Zhou stood to the side, stammering "you, you, you, I, I, I" for a long time without saying anything, and then she patted her bottom and left.
The eldest son's wife entered the yard, closed the gate, and immediately confronted the second son's wife, saying, "Zhou Mingyan, let me tell you. If you dare to bring any more grain back home, we'll split the family property. After that, we'll see if you take all the family's assets back to your parents' home. We won't interfere."
The second son was furious and raised his hand to hit her, but Aunt Huaihua stopped him. "We don't have the habit of hitting women in our family, but second son's wife, I'm telling you this now: if you do this again, you can go home."
After saying that, he rolled his eyes at the second brother standing next to him.
I told you to marry her, but it's only because she's pretty. Can pretty face feed you? That girl only listens to her mother all day long. She'll turn your house upside down, and you'll be starving!
Since that incident, this in-law rarely visits. Whenever she comes to the house, the eldest daughter-in-law locks the granary and kitchen tightly, leaving her no chance to sneak in.
During this famine, the second son's wife, for some reason, insisted on returning to Zhoujia Village to go to the capital with her father-in-law's family before leaving.
The old village chief and Aunt Huaihua wiped away their tears, reluctant to part with their son, grandson, and granddaughter, but there was nothing they could do.
Finally, they were given a cart to carry grain and bedding to Zhoujia Village. Now there is nothing left, and the people who came back are just a few emaciated skeletons.
And yet, this witch still wants to sit on a cart and have her eldest son pull her along? Dream on!
The people of Hanjiacun fled until the sun went down and they could no longer see the road. Only then did they dare to stop. At that time, they did not know where they had run. They could only feel that there were stones under their feet and stones when they touched the ground next to them.
The stones were scorching hot from the daytime sun, making them unsuitable for sitting. Even standing for a while would cause the soles of one's feet to burn.
Everyone stood there, panting heavily. No one thought of lighting a bonfire. They were all worried that if the bonfire was lit, the soldiers would rush in when they saw the light.
But the people of Zhoujia Village didn't think that way. They collapsed on the scorching pile of stones and shouted, "Please have mercy and give us some food and drink. We haven't had a proper meal in over ten days!"
The old village chief said, "Everyone, don't light any fires. If the fires attract the soldiers, we'll be surrounded and trapped."
No one made a sound as they silently packed up their carts, baskets, and backpacks, which had been battered and bruised along the way. The children were already asleep from exhaustion, so they took out straw mats and laid them on slightly flat stones for the children and elderly to sleep on.
The old village chief beckoned Han Shunde and Han Dazhong to go over and talk to the people of Zhoujia Village.
Xue Laohu and the others didn't go over, but Li Lanzhen followed.
She was curious to hear what had happened in Zhoujia Village, and besides, the thought of them following Hanjia Village seemed like a problem.
When Han Shunkui's mother-in-law saw Li Lanzhen arrive, she sneered, "Ha, you awful old woman, you're still alive?"
Li Lanzhen slapped him twice across the face, saying, "You're all alive and well, why should I die when you're swaggering around here? Even if you die, I won't. Do you know why? Because my children are filial, because I have high standards and a smart mind, because I won't go to my in-laws' house to rummage through their belongings for food, and because my mouth isn't as foul as yours."
Zhou was slapped and had never suffered such a loss before. She jumped up and wanted to fight with Li Lanzhen.
At this moment, Xue Bao, Han Mingjiang, and Han Minghai stood in front of Li Lanzhen, holding broadswords and wooden sticks. The group glared at her angrily, ready to strike her with their sticks if she made a move.
The old village chief frowned and said, "Zhou Laonian, if you don't come out and say a word, we'll go our separate ways if this continues."
At this moment, Han Shunkui's father-in-law, Zhou Laonian, stepped forward, chuckling, and said, "My dear in-laws, we are truly desperate. As you can see, all of us, about 30 people, have lost everything we own, and some are injured. Please give us some food to get through this."
Li Lanzhen continued directly, "Get through this? Give you food? What will you repay us with? On what grounds! Even if we get you through this, what will you eat afterward? Stones?"
Old Zhou jumped up and pointed at her, saying, "You awful thing! Who gives you the right to speak when we men are talking?"
Han Shunde said, "Whether or not we get food is really up to Lanzhen and her sister-in-law."
The villagers of Zhoujia Village stared at Li Lanzhen, wondering whether she would give them food or not. How could this have anything to do with this eccentric character?
Han Shunde continued to explain to them, "Lanzhen and her sister-in-law have been helping us along the way. She saved the son of Jin Fulai, the young master, and the young master gave her a batch of grain as a reward. She has been helping us along the way."
Old Zhou and his wife were dumbfounded, thinking to themselves: "Tsk tsk, if only we had tried to please her, maybe we could have gotten an extra handful of grain."
Li Lanzhen looked at the old village chief and asked, "Old village chief, are they coming with us?"
The people of Dongjia Village nodded vigorously, repeatedly saying, "We'll go with you, we'll go with you, we'll definitely follow you."
Li Lanzhen glanced at them and continued, "Village chief, for your sake, I can give them grain, but they have to write an IOU and pay me back when they get to their new home. And with interest."
The people of Zhoujia Village swallowed their anger and thought to themselves, "Let's just take care of the present first. We don't know where to settle down."
And so, Han Shunde wrote a contract, lending out three catties of grain to each family, to be exchanged for five catties of grain within a year.
Each family in Hanjiacun contributed some dried wild vegetable scraps and lent them to the people of Zhoujiacun. Everyone in Zhoujiacun then pressed their handprints on the package.
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