That evening, the tribespeople ate leopard meat, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Although they didn't mention going to the mountain with An Shuyi again, they said they could help carry it if the two of them couldn't carry it.
However, An Shuyi and Xia Hua refused, saying that there weren't many left, and if the two of them went, they could carry them back, and they should hurry up and get the rafts.
Just as An Shuyi had guessed, the torrential rain lasted for more than half a month. However, as the rain gradually subsided, she instructed her people to pack up the potatoes and sweet potatoes, as well as the meat that had not yet been eaten.
In the past two weeks, only three cows were slaughtered: one for An Shuyi and Xia Hua, and another for An's father's family. In addition to the three cows and one leopard, there were also two bags of grain that they had brought before. An Shuyi and Xia Hua would also often bring back some potatoes and sweet potatoes. So, although no one went hungry in the past two weeks, they also didn't eat too much.
Now that they were going to travel south on rafts, the livestock were also a problem. That night, everyone was discussing what to do. People could travel on rafts, but they couldn't let the cattle travel on them too!
Village Chief Lin, acting as their representative, asked, "Sisters-in-law, you have many ideas, please give us some suggestions on what to do with these livestock."
He did want to leave some people behind to wait until the water level dropped before bringing the cattle back, but with so many cattle along the way, even dozens of people wouldn't be safe. They might be robbed before they even got very far.
Xia Hua looked at them and said, "Why do we need to discuss this? Didn't we ask you to build a raft? Isn't that enough?"
“Sister-in-law, people can ride on a raft, but not oxen. What if they sink? Oxen are so heavy,” Lin Changnian said.
"Don't worry!" Xia Hua said, "As long as you do as Shu Shu and I say, there won't be any problems with the rafts. There are nearly twenty rafts. In addition to people, each raft will need to carry a cow. If that's not enough, I'll think of another way."
"If there's not enough room, we can just kill a couple and take the meat with us. We'll still need to eat once we're settled, so it doesn't matter whether we kill them now or later."
Hearing her say that, Village Chief Lin felt relieved. "If that's what you said, then we're at ease. Everyone, take a good rest, and we'll set off early tomorrow."
The next morning, everyone put the children away. Apart from the livestock, they didn't have much else, just the potatoes and sweet potatoes that the two sisters-in-law had found. That was all they needed to take.
A dozen or so people carried a raft and started going downhill. The torrential rains of the past ten days had made the water level two meters high.
Xia Hua handed Xiao Liu over to An Shuyi to watch over. "Chang Qing, put one raft up first, secure the rope with something, put the cows on first, and if there are no problems, then put the people on. Put a few people who can row on each raft, but don't all huddle on one raft. Keep an eye on your own children for me."
“Okay, sister-in-law,” Lin Changqing told the men with him to put the raft on, and another man to tie the raft’s rope to the tree to secure it. “Wenzheng, bring the ox over here.”
"Here it comes, Dad!" Lin Wenzheng pulled the ox over, stepped onto the raft, and then pulled the ox up, but the ox was scared and didn't dare to move.
*Crack!* The whip lashed the ox, causing it to wince in pain. The ox took a few steps forward and stood on the raft, but trembling with fear, it eventually lay down.
Xia Hua handed the whip to the person next to her, "What are you standing there for? Get on board." Everyone seemed to wake up from their daze and then stood on the raft. However, everyone listened to her instructions and stood where they were supposed to stand.
Once everyone got on the raft, it didn't sink, and they finally believed that the raft could really pull cattle. Xia Hua didn't care whether they believed it or not; she had confidence in the raft. The wood used for the raft was balsa wood, which has a low density and is perfect for making rafts.
They originally wanted to wrap it in cowhide, but there wasn't enough cowhide, and they also couldn't find this kind of tree, so they had to discard the cowhide.
"Shushu, you go up first and lead the way. We'll try to get there today. If that doesn't work, we'll travel through the night."
An Shuyi nodded, "Then I'll go up second, and let the eldest row to the front." After Niu went up, she carried Xiao Qi up, followed by An's father's family, Xia Hua's sons, and after everyone else came up, she let the eldest and Li Nan take charge of rowing.
After they had traveled some distance, she told them to stop. Once Xia Hua and the others were ready and everyone was on board, they began to move forward.
ah*
Hearing the screams, An Shuyi went to check and found a body floating in the water. Seeing her mother, who was quite frightened, she comforted her, "Mother, don't be afraid. It's already dead. It's probably because it's been in the water for too long. Just don't look."
"Mom, it's alright, don't worry." An's mother was helped to sit up by An's father.
Although it's only just dawn, the sun has already risen, and I believe it won't be long before the water sinks.
"Second brother, try to be as fast as possible."
It wasn't even noon yet, and the sun was already blazing in the sky. It was drizzling last night, but today the sun is shining brightly. This weather is really abnormal.
Along the way, they saw not only bodies floating in the water, but also in high places. They even saw living people who ran down from the mountains and asked them to give them a ride, but they refused and ignored them, continuing south.
What used to take them several days to travel can now be done in just two hours, or even a little over an hour, which is very fast.
The journey was too long, and they were still floating on the water at night. Fortunately, they had made torches in preparation for such situations. Although they were not very bright, they could still see. They took turns paddling while the others rested.
The next day, just as dawn broke, An Shuyi had the eldest rower paddle the raft to the shore. After a day and a night, they finally reached the territory of Jinnan City. From then on, they would have to walk on their own. Fortunately, it wasn't far. From here, they could already see the city walls of Anhe City, although only a glimpse of them.
Once all the clansmen had come down, everyone started cooking and eating. However, it was just simple roasted meat, some of which was still bloody when they ate it. After they finished eating, they pulled the livestock, carried the children on their backs, and started heading towards Jinnan City.
Perhaps because they were nearing Jinnan City, refugees started appearing. For the past two weeks, they had been able to eat meat every day, although they were only half full. But they looked different from the emaciated refugees. They were also leading livestock, so naturally they became the targets of those refugees' robbery.
An Shuyi handed the child to the fourth child next to her, "Hold your little sister tight and stay by my side. The eldest child, carry the sixth child on your back. The second and third children, protect the others."
She also took out the knife that Hua Hua had bought for her. It was a sharp knife about half an arm's length long, with blades on both sides. It looked very sharp. Xia Hua told her to keep an eye on her sons, and then she grabbed a baseball bat and rushed to the front.
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