The group exchanged glances, and finally, the second uncle said...
"Baotian! First of all, we all thank you brothers for sharing the water and meat with our families. We've all been out of food for the past two days, and we can't even find grass roots or tree bark outside. With your help, we can at least hold on for a few more days!"
Also, now that you've found water and hunted game in the mountains, are you going again tomorrow? Could you take everyone with you? In this famine, everyone's reached their limit; we really have no other choice!
"this,"
Seeing Xie Baotian hesitate, Third Uncle became somewhat anxious.
"Baotian, we're all brothers from the same clan, you can't just stand by and watch us die!"
"No, Third Uncle, it's not that I didn't want to bring everyone, but the situation in the mountains is complicated. The journey is long and difficult, not to mention the dangers just to find a water source. There's only one water source within a hundred miles of this mountain range, and all the animals in the mountains gather there, from small snakes, insects, and rodents to large jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards—all living things are there."
The water we fetched was all obtained by working with the Liu brothers to break into the snake swarm. Several people were injured in the process. My daughter Yu Shu and Tian Qi, along with the two Liu brothers, stayed in the mountains to recover from their injuries and provide support for us.
If this big guy goes and something happens, I can't afford the responsibility!
After Xie Baotian finished speaking, everyone fell silent!
After about fifteen minutes, Third Uncle sighed and said...
"Going in might mean death, not going in doesn't guarantee survival either, so let's go in and take the plunge. Life and death are both predestined! Three of us from the family are going! We'll take responsibility if anything happens!"
Hearing his third uncle say this, Xie Baotian had no choice but to nod in agreement.
Seeing this, the other families also decided to give it a try. So, three people from one family went, five from another, and in the end, twenty-three people were chosen to go.
Only Xie Dafu's family was left unattended. They still had some food stored up. It would be an exaggeration to say it would last a year, but it would be enough for the family to eat for half a year. However, even with food, they still couldn't survive without water!
Ma didn't want her children and grandchildren to go into the mountains and risk their lives, so she put on the airs of a clan chief's wife and asked everyone to bring back a few gourds of water for them.
Previously, everyone had begged them to lend them some grain, but no one could get any! Later, when everyone had no choice but to beg them to sell some to them at a lower price, since they were all relatives of the same clan, and wanted to help their clansmen by offering a cheaper price than outside, they held onto the grain tightly. Outside, it sold for two taels of silver per catty, but they wanted two taels and three taels, and kept saying that if they didn't buy now, the price would go up again, and they wouldn't be able to buy it for two taels and three taels outside anymore!
They wanted these people to bring them water, but who could? Everyone claimed they weren't even sure they could get enough from their own homes, or that they didn't have enough to drink themselves. They refused, figuring that there was no harm in numbers, and even the clan chief couldn't do anything about it!
Xie Dafu wanted to show off his power as the clan chief, but it was clear that no one would listen to him at the moment. He didn't dare to offend anyone, so he had to grit his teeth and exchange grain for water. One pound of grain was exchanged for one gourd of water, and only then did each family agree to bring them back a gourd of water!
Xie Dafu was upset that he couldn't get mutton from Xie Baotian's house. Everyone else had been given a pound of grain in exchange for water, but Xie Baotian's family was the only one not to receive any!
Xie Baotian didn't care about taking that pound of grain from them. He didn't have to bring them water, and he could bring back more of other things. He wished that Xie Dafu's family would never have anything to do with them again!
After agreeing on the number of people going, we set a meeting point at the village entrance at 3 a.m. the next morning to travel while it was still cool. Then everyone went home to rest.
Xie Tianlin injured his head yesterday, so he stayed home this time, while Madam Lu and Madam Wang went with him.
The next morning, when the Xie family arrived at the village entrance, everyone else had also arrived, and they all gathered at the edge of the woods near the mountain.
Sure enough, the Liu and Xiao families each brought a large number of people, probably in the same situation as Xiejia Village, either clansmen or relatives, numbering over a hundred. It's estimated that all the families from the surrounding villages who didn't flee the famine are here!
Xie Baotian and the others couldn't say anything; they were all just trying to survive. Whether they lived or died in the mountains was up to fate!
Having walked the route twice and made sure to leave a mark, we were able to walk much faster even in the dark. With hope in our hearts and a strong spirit, we hurried along the way. When it got light, we walked and ran, making our journey incredibly fast. What would normally take a day was covered in just half a day!
When they arrived, Xie Yushu and the other three had brought back four or five bundles of yams while it was still cool in the morning. They were sitting in the shade eating the leftover roasted venison from yesterday!
Upon seeing the large group of people, Liu Nan jumped up.
"Damn it! It seems like everyone who can move has come!"
As he spoke, he called to Xie Yushu and her brother, and each of them stood next to their own pile of yams, afraid that the yams they had worked so hard to dig would be snatched away!
The Liu and Xie families understood the situation and quickly ran a few steps to stand in front of their own piles of yams.
The later visitors didn't recognize yams and only focused on the roasted venison. Liu Qiang, seeing this, since he was already full, cut off two pieces for his family and Xie Yushu, and let them share the rest.
Xie Yushu distributed the venison to Xie Baotian and the others, and Madam Lu grabbed Xie Yushu and wiped away her tears.
Xie Yushu said anxiously
"Mom, now is not the time to cry. Let's go back and talk about it slowly. You should eat and drink. This pile of yams is what Tianqi and I dug up. They can be eaten as a meal, and they can also replenish your energy, strengthen your muscles and bones. In short, they are a very good thing!"
"Once you've eaten and drunk your fill and rested, let my father take you, your second aunt, and Tianming to transport some goods back first. Your second uncle and Tianqi can stay here and dig a little more. With so many people here, we definitely won't be able to dig much. Those who dig less might even be eyeing ours. You all hurry up and transport the goods back and hide them well!"
"Okay!"
"Sister-in-law, Yu Shu is right. Don't rush to cry, eat quickly!"
After hearing what Xie Yushu said, Wang quickly advised Lu, and the others also quickly ate and drank water, and then took a break!
The Xie family was doing their work in an orderly manner, while the newcomers were causing chaos by fighting over the venison!
Later, Liu Qiang couldn't stand it anymore. He kicked two of them over and beat the one who was grabbing the most. Only then did they calm down. Liu Qiang decided to give the men three bites and the women two bites to fill their stomachs. Then everyone lit torches and went to get water!
The newcomers were still trembling with fear at the sight of the snakes and tigers, but driven by their thirst for water, they forced themselves to go forward, one by one bracing themselves for fear!
The only advantage of having a large number of people was that, because the torches were so densely packed during the road clearing, no snakes managed to dart through the gaps and hurt anyone!
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