The peaceful days passed by one by one, until finally on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, the Taoist priest received a letter from Yunhua, and from then on, the days were no longer peaceful.
The morning was clear and sunny, a perfect day. Just after breakfast, Lu Chuan was playing with Ze'er in the yard when he looked up and saw Yun Hua's letter. He immediately called for the Daoist priest to come out.
At first, everyone thought it was the same as usual, that Yunhua had simply sent a letter to inquire about his well-being. However, as the Taoist priest opened the letter, his expression grew increasingly grim, and everyone had a bad feeling.
As expected, after reading the letter, the Taoist priest called everyone over and slowly said, "The letter says that the war at the border has officially begun. Our army has suffered repeated defeats and has already lost two cities, and morale is low."
Upon hearing this, Lu Chuan asked incredulously, "That shouldn't be the case. Wasn't General Qin supposed to be stationed at the border? How could he possibly suffer repeated defeats?"
Grandpa Zhao didn't believe it either. General Qin was the God of War of Yuanqing Kingdom, a god-like figure in the hearts of the people. He was a figure that struck fear into the hearts of other nations. How could he have suffered repeated defeats, even losing two cities?
At this point, the Taoist priest became even angrier, slamming his fist on the table and saying, "Isn't it because of the turmoil within the royal family? Several princes are fighting each other for the throne, completely disregarding the border war, the lives of the soldiers, and the safety of the people. They can't even supply enough food. The soldiers are fighting on empty stomachs. No matter how strong they are, how long can they hold out?"
Hearing this, the group was furious, but helpless. For some, power is truly important, but for Xu Han, it meant nothing.
There is a kind of happiness that has nothing to do with power or money; it is simply joy and happiness.
But clearly these princes did not think so. For that supreme power, they disregarded even their brothers and relatives, all for the sake of becoming the number one person in the world.
Grandpa Zhao was unusually angry. "These princes really don't know when to fight! They should know when to fight! Now that the enemy has come to our doorstep, they only know how to bully their own kind. If this continues, I'm afraid our Yuanqing Kingdom will be finished."
The Taoist priest looked coldly at Grandpa Zhao and said, "Old Zhao, watch your words."
"What are you afraid of? We're all our own people here. You can't possibly wear it out."
Upon hearing this, Xu Han and Lu Chuan chuckled awkwardly, realizing that the news wouldn't get out.
The Taoist priest comforted Grandpa Zhao, saying, "Don't worry, I'll send a letter to Yunhua now, let's wait a bit longer."
Grandpa Zhao cursed a few more times, and Lu Chuan, feeling indignant, also cursed a few times.
After their anger subsided, the group calmed down and began discussing countermeasures. Since they couldn't control others, they could only control themselves.
The Taoist priest slowly said, "Now that the two sides have started fighting, this time it's not like the small skirmishes before. War is the most cruel thing. During this period, we should try to keep a low profile. Girl, you arrange for everyone to make some food and stock up, just in case something unexpected happens in the future."
Upon hearing this, Xu Han immediately became serious. "I understand. I will make more cooked food and put it in my space during this period."
Grandpa Zhao chimed in, "That's right, the Taoist priest is right. Times have changed. If the world really descends into chaos, the people down the mountain will definitely come to the mountains to escape the turmoil and war."
Lu Chuan thought for a moment and suggested, "We should try not to go to the outer areas during this period of time, so as not to let the people at the foot of the mountain find out that there are people living here. If they find out, we will be in big trouble."
"Yes, it's always good to be more careful. Although those civilians are unarmed, they can still outnumber us and resort to underhanded tactics."
The Taoist priest then instructed Lu Chuan, "Xiao Chuan, if we have time tomorrow, let's go to the entrance and find a way to hide it."
Although the group has rarely come down the mountain in recent years, they still inevitably leave some traces. Fortunately, the drought and floods of recent years have covered up the paths they used to follow.
This time, the two only need to clear and conceal the area slightly; they can be more careful when they descend the mountain again. Besides, the various plants are growing very quickly lately, and they can completely cover it up.
However, the people in the county town probably haven't received the news yet, and they won't be hiding in the mountains anytime soon.
In addition, the border is far from here, so the group has plenty of time to do this work.
After discussing and arranging things properly, the group went about their respective tasks.
Xu Han was worried about the two children, so she pulled Mu'er and Ze'er aside and gave them a long lecture.
"You two must not run out alone, understand? Especially you, Ze'er, you can't leave the yard by yourself when you're at home. If you want to go out to play, you have to call your father or mother."
Ze'er also sensed her mother's anxiety. She listened attentively to what Xu Han said, nodding vigorously, afraid that Xu Han would not believe her.
After arranging everything at home, Xu Han went straight to the kitchen to prepare food to store in her spatial storage. No matter how chaotic the world is, people still need to eat.
Xu Han had done this kind of thing many times before. With her previous experience, she was much faster this time. Moreover, Xu Han specially stocked up on a lot of staple foods.
Besides food, the most important thing is weapons, but for families with members who practice martial arts, these things are not lacking. Whether it's bows and arrows or other weapons, they all have them at home.
Moreover, the Taoist priest had connections, so he specially asked Yunhua to obtain some high-quality weapons used in the army. However, the quantity was not large, only one set each for the Taoist priest, Grandpa Zhao, and Lu Chuan.
For Xu Han, who has no fighting skills, if anything unexpected happens, she should just take the two children and hide away as soon as possible so as not to cause them any trouble.
Naturally, there's no need for any weapons; even if there were, they wouldn't be of any use.
Although everyone was preparing for war, the group did not neglect their work in the fields.
It's already April, the perfect time for wheat to fill out, so we can't afford to neglect it.
This is the time of year when the grass grows wildly, and I have to go to the wheat field to pull weeds every few days.
The chicks in the orchard also need to be taken care of. After two or three months of growth, the chicks have grown up and the survival rate is quite good, around 80%.
Since hunting is not allowed in the spring, and there's no need to renovate the courtyard this year, the Taoist priest and Lu Chuan have some free time to tend to the crops in the fields.
In their spare time, they would often go for a walk in the mountains together and pick some fresh wild vegetables.
Xu Han, busy with household chores, rarely went up the mountain.
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