At first, the refugees were somewhat hesitant, but as the number of refugees increased, they stopped hesitating and rushed towards them, snatching cattle, baskets, and even children and women. They would snatch anything they could.
An Shuyi and the others could only let the women and children hide in the back, but they were not the only ones who were robbed; refugees with children were also targets.
"Mother, Xiao Qi." Hearing the voice from behind, An Shuyi hurriedly turned around. She didn't know where the refugee came from, but he was pulling on Xiao Qi's leg. The fourth brother was holding Xiao Qi tightly, and the two of them were pulling each other.
"Mother, save Xiaoqi, Xiaoqi is scared." Xiaoqi was also scared and hugged Lao Si tightly.
An Shuyi rushed forward, slashed the refugee's neck with her knife, then pushed him away, saying, "Hold on tight and follow behind me."
"Wood, surround the women and children in the middle, and have everyone else stand on the outside."
"Understood, sister-in-law." Upon hearing her words, the others spontaneously placed the woman and child in the middle, while the other men surrounded them, brandishing wooden sticks and kitchen knives.
"Fourth brother, take Xiaoqi and stand over there." After confirming that the women and children were safe, An Shuyi twisted her wrist, slashing across the neck of the refugee in front of her. Then she kicked the man away, drew her knife, and slashed the knife across the refugee's neck, plunging it into his head.
Unlike before, she no longer had to worry about injuring the refugees. Now she was like a killing machine, with only one thing in her mind: how to kill these refugees. Just like when she and Xia Hua were abandoned in F state, they only had one knife. In order to survive, they ate raw meat and drank sewage. Killing people was like killing prey.
Perhaps the two of them were too terrifying, because the refugees also began to back away, looking terrified. In addition to being wary of the refugees, Village Chief Lin and the others were also watching them. Only when no more refugees approached did the two of them stop.
"Wood, lead the way, let's go."
"Yes, sister-in-law." Village Chief Lin led the way, keeping the children and women surrounded to protect them. Only twenty people were assigned to pull the livestock, while An Shuyi and Xia Hua were at the very back. If anyone dared to take a step forward, their necks would be slashed by a knife in the next second.
An Shuyi and Xia Hua watched the refugees warily, following behind their people. Their bodies were covered in blood and mud, and some parts were torn, but the two of them didn't care.
They had to endure such fights once or even twice a day. They didn't dare to sleep at night. The women and children sat in the middle, while the men sat on the outside. An Shuyi and Xia Hua could sit wherever they wanted. As long as the refugees came, no matter what they did, they would be killed.
This situation continued for three days until they were finally able to see Jinnan City clearly. There were still soldiers guarding the city, but there were also many refugees. Fortunately, when the refugees saw that they had so many livestock, they did not dare to come and rob them. They could only look at them greedily, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Upon closer inspection, they discovered that Jinnan City was also resettling refugees. An Shuyi called over Village Chief Lin, "Huahua, I'll take Mutou to see how to resettle the refugees. You and the other clansmen can wait here."
Village Chief Lin is both the village head and the village head, so he should be the one to do this kind of thing. But she was worried that Village Chief Lin wasn't quick-witted enough and might separate the people when it came time to assign tasks, so she decided to go with him.
Before Xia Hua could speak, the other clansmen said, "Sisters-in-law, you two go ahead. We'll be fine here."
"Yes, you two sisters-in-law go ahead, we'll stay here."
Xia Hua interrupted impatiently, "Quiet down, stop talking so much. If you keep nagging, I'll have Shu Shu separate you and keep you out of the village."
"Sister-in-law Xia, let's not talk, please don't separate us."
"Still talking?" The others quickly covered the speaker's mouth and pulled him back.
Seeing that no one was speaking, Xia Hua said, "Shu Shu, you go ahead. I saw them. Be careful."
"I know, you all be careful too!" After saying that, he led Village Chief Lin to find the soldiers.
"Sir, may I ask how the refugees are being resettled?" Village Chief Lin asked as he walked over, but the soldiers only pointed to the notice on the wall and said nothing more.
An Shuyi watched for a while. The refugees were resettled in the surrounding villages without needing money. For the first month after resettlement, they received relief grain, eight catties per person, and half a mu of land per person, regardless of age. In Jinnan City, each household received one hundred taels of silver, but there was no relief grain or land.
"Sir, we have twenty-five households and would like to settle in the surrounding villages. Is that possible now?" As she spoke, she discreetly placed five taels of silver into the guard's hand.
The soldier clenched his fist and said, “There are too many of you to be settled in one village. You have to be separated. I’ll have someone take you to be settled. Once you’re settled, he will bring you back to re-register your household registration.”
Village Chief Lin looked anxious. "Sir, please think of something! We're from the same village, we just want to...!"
"Shut up," An Shuyi interrupted the village chief before he could finish speaking, and turned to continue, "Sir, then we would be very grateful if you could find an adult to take us to be settled."
The official smiled and said, "This lady is clever. Please wait for me a moment!" He then stood up and, after a while, came over with a soldier. "Madam, this is my brother-in-law, surnamed Li, given name Shi. He will be responsible for taking you to your accommodation."
An Shuyi looked at the man, who appeared to be in his twenties. He didn't seem like a cunning or deceitful person. She nodded and said, "Thank you, sir. Lord Li, please lead the way."
“Madam, do you see the road leading out of the city?” Li Shi pointed to the road they had come by, though it was a side path. “I’ll wait for you there. Go and call the others.”
“Yes, Lord Li.” An Shuyi said, turning her head. “Wood, go and call the others. The lord and I will wait for you over there!”
After saying that, she followed Lord Li and waited until no one was around before saying, "My lord, we are all of the same clan. I wonder if it would be possible to settle us in a village? This is a small token of my appreciation." As she spoke, she took out a purse containing only two silver ingots.
That's twenty taels of silver. As long as Li Shi isn't a fool, he'll know what to do.
Just as she expected, Li Shi put the purse in his sleeve and smiled. "Madam, you should know that you have more than 20 households, at least 200 people. Some villages only have this many people. If we were to settle all of you there, they wouldn't be happy."
He paused here to check An Shuyi's expression, but seeing her calm face, he believed his brother-in-law's words that this woman was not simple, and continued, "But I know a village that is not far from Jinnan City. There is no one in the village. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides, except for the entrance to the village, which is difficult to travel."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
