"What are you looking at? Wait until I draw the water up before you look. Hurry up, aren't you thirsty? There's still time to look." After saying that, he ignored them, tied the bucket with a rope, and lowered it into the well.
"Shushu, the bucket has been lowered. Let me know when you take it down." After a while, upon hearing the voice, he pulled the rope up, tied it to another bucket, and then lowered it back into the well.
When she pulled it up again, the bucket was filled with crystal-clear water. Seeing that there was indeed water, the people of the tribe were overjoyed.
"Don't get too excited, hurry up and get everything ready." After Xia Hua finished speaking, she poured the water from the bucket into the bucket next to her, and then put the bucket back into the well.
“Sister-in-law, why don’t you let me do it? Or I can go down and fetch water myself. It’s too tiring for you to fetch water all by yourself!” said a clansman next to her.
Xia Hua shook her head. If she asked him to come, what would he do with the buckets in the well? And if she asked him to go down there, how would Shu Shu get the water? "No need, Shu Shu and I can manage. You two take care of finding the things."
Then she started carrying water up, while An Shuyi poured it down below. Even though she was sweating profusely, she didn't complain once.
No one knows how many buckets of water they carried, but all they know is that the number of buckets placed beside them by the tribesmen is decreasing, and An Shuyi, who is in the well, is also watching the number of buckets beside her decrease.
She didn't use much water this month, only two buckets, leaving forty-eight buckets. She has three more buckets next to her, just waiting to empty them. If that's still not enough, she'll have to take turns with Xia Hua.
But soon, her buckets were empty. She put the empty buckets into the warehouse and said, "Huahua, I'm tired. Can you relieve me for a while?"
Hearing her voice from above, Xia Hua knew that she had run out of water, so she put the bucket aside and said, "Brother, come and pull Hua Hua up so you can put me down to fetch water."
Lin Wenming, who was standing next to her, nodded. "Okay, Auntie, but I'm not your brother, I'm your nephew Lin Wenming."
"Hahaha!" Loud laughter erupted from all around.
Looking at the somewhat aged man, Xia Hua was also a little confused. "Then you've grown up a bit too fast, haven't you? Okay, nephew, quickly pull your aunt up here."
After Lin Wenming pulled the man up, he wanted to have him put down, but Xia Hua stopped him, saying, "Go away, I'm going down to fetch water."
"Auntie, let me go. You must be tired after all this time," Lin Wenming said, trying to stop her.
They still have so many people around, yet they make these two aunties work so hard. How can they live with themselves like this?
“Yes, Xia, let Wenming fetch water. You and An should also rest. You’re both exhausted,” the clansmen nearby advised.
"I'm not tired," Xia Hua said, and hurriedly grabbed the rope and started to go down. Lin Wenming wanted to go forward, but An Shuyi stopped him.
"Wenming, let your aunt go. You all hurry up and put all the water away, and make sure you have all the things you need. Also, make sure the horses, cows, and mules have enough water. Once the remaining buckets are full, we'll leave."
“Auntie, there’s water here. Shouldn’t we stay here a few more days?” Lin Wenming asked. The others also looked at An Shuyi; in fact, they also wanted to stay for a few more days.
An Shuyi shook her head, "There's not much water left down there. It'll probably only fill these buckets. There's no point in leaving it here. Let's hurry on our way."
After saying that, he ignored them, put the bucket down, pulled it up, and poured the water into other containers.
But before the buckets were even full, a villager came over and said, "Villagers, what should we do? A lot of refugees have come to the village."
"Wood, tell those tribesmen to take their weapons. We're leaving. We don't need the rest." An Shuyi pulled the bucket up. "Huahua, pack your things. I'll pull you up."
Village Chief Lin hurriedly had the elderly and children sit on the oxcart, with the men standing guard beside them. He let those in front go first, knowing the seriousness of the situation. The villagers dared not delay and whipped the oxen to run away.
Hearing the sound, Xia Hua in the well opened the bucket she had taken out, poured two buckets of water into the well, grabbed the rope, and was then pulled out.
"Hua Hua, get in the carriage." An Shuyi, carrying a bucket of water, pulled Xia Hua and jumped into the carriage. "Boss, let's go."
Fortunately, Village Chief Lin and the others had already started running ahead, so now only their carriage was behind. Xiao Wu and the others were put in Xia Hua's carriage and ran directly in front.
The leader spurred the horse, and it galloped forward quickly. After running some distance, they finally saw the refugees appear inside the house.
An Shuyi thought that with such hot weather, not many of these refugees would survive, but now she saw that there were quite a few. She saw the refugees gathered around the well. If they went into the well, they would find that there was only one layer of water inside, and it wouldn't be long before they caught up with them.
"Boss, go faster." After catching up with Village Chief Lin and the others, "Wood, tell the ones in front not to take the side roads, but to go straight to the main road, where horses and oxen can travel faster."
Although they had a lot of stuff and were not moving fast, the refugees had not had enough water or food for a long time, so it would be difficult for them to catch up.
"I understand, sister-in-law." Lin Cunzi hurriedly told her son to run forward and tell the villagers in front. The cattle were no longer just being driven, but were being pulled by people in front. Soon when they looked back, they could no longer see the village.
Of course, this doesn't mean they're safe; after all, those refugees won't let go of any chance to survive.
"Mother, the refugees are catching up." The eldest son was driving the last carriage, so he noticed the refugees as soon as they appeared.
An Shuyi and Xia Hua exchanged a glance. It seemed that a fight was inevitable today. They lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked back. The people chasing them were not right. There were only a little over a hundred people, and some of them even had blood on them. It seemed that the refugees had already been beaten once.
"Boss, tell your uncle to have everyone take out their weapons. If those refugees dare to come up and rob us, kill them. Don't hesitate and be afraid to make a move."
"Yes, Mother!" the eldest son said to the village chief in front of him. Then, the village chief Lin told his son to run ahead and inform the people.
Inside the carriage, An Shuyi also took out his broadsword, but it was snatched away by Xia Hua the next second. "Shushu, this time you use the baseball bat, and I'll use the broadsword." Her two machetes were in her carriage, along with her baseball bat, which was already at the front of the procession, so she couldn't reach it.
She bought this baseball bat from the mall; since she wrapped it in cloth, no one would be able to tell what it was.
Moreover, compared to baseball bats and machetes, she still preferred Shushu's big knife. It was a pity that Shushu only managed to snatch one last time. She wished she had snatched one that day too.
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