He raised his voice and responded impatiently, "Stay in the mountains? Humph, that's easy for you to say! What are you going to do in the mountains? Become an unregistered mountain dweller? Do you know what that means?"
The village chief's voice was particularly loud in the quiet night.
When the village chief mentioned that if they stayed in the mountains they would not have household registration, the man who had been full of anticipation and speaking confidently just now suddenly drooped his head like an eggplant hit by frost, not daring to say another word.
That’s right. In this era, not having a household registration is really a huge trouble.
Without a household registration, it means that you cannot enter the city openly. You can only hide like a rat that cannot see the light, living in fear all your life.
Moreover, if you have children in the future, they will be illegal immigrants and will not be able to live like other children from normal families and have a normal life.
This is undoubtedly an extremely terrible fate for anyone.
So, when he thought of this, the person who had just suggested staying in the mountains could only shut up silently and not say anything else.
The village chief's eyes slowly swept through the crowd, his eyes revealing majesty and scrutiny.
During this glance, he keenly discovered that a few people actually showed an expression of great interest after hearing the proposal to stay in the mountains.
They lowered their heads slightly, but their eyes glanced into the depths of the forest from time to time, as if they were really considering the possibility of staying. Anyone who saw them could feel their inner hesitation.
Seeing this, the village chief's face darkened and became tense in an instant.
His thick eyebrows were tightly furrowed together, forming a deep "川" character, and a hint of anger flashed in his eyes.
Then, he raised his voice and shouted to everyone, "I know it hasn't been easy for everyone here! We've been walking for almost two weeks, sleeping in the open air and eating in the open air. Everyone is exhausted and eager to find a suitable place to settle down and live a good life. I understand all this and I see how hard you've worked."
At this point, the village chief paused for a moment, his eyes sweeping across everyone's faces again, and then continued, "But I have to make it clear. No matter what, staying in the mountains is not a wise choice! Think about it, there is indeed water and food in the mountains now, which has temporarily solved our urgent needs.
But the situation in the mountains is unpredictable. Who knows if there will still be water and food in the mountains in a few days? What if the water source dries up one day and there is no food to be found? What will we do then? Then we will still have to suffer from hunger and thirst!
As the village chief spoke, he waved his arms and seemed a little excited.
He took a deep breath and continued, "Moreover, this safety issue is a major hidden danger! We have been quite lucky along the way. Apart from encountering a wild boar, we haven't encountered any other ferocious beasts.
But this doesn’t mean that you will always be so lucky in the future!
What kind of wild animals are there in this forest? Tigers, leopards, wolves... any of them, if you really encounter one, it will be fatal! Can we guarantee that we will never encounter these wild animals in the future? "
At this point, the village chief's voice became louder and more serious: "But these are not the most important things. The most important thing is the household registration issue! You know, in our world, people without household registration are like rootless duckweed, nothing!
If you were caught, you'd be at the mercy of others, able to be bought and sold at will! Just imagine, the rest of your life being sold here and there in obscurity, living in fear and darkness, could you bear it?"
The village chief's words were so passionate and powerful that everyone looked frightened and lowered their heads after hearing them.
The whole scene instantly became silent. After all, no one wanted to fall into the miserable situation of having no household registration and being at the mercy of others.
Seeing that no one spoke, the village chief softened his tone a little and continued, "Well, it's getting late, so don't let your imagination run wild. Those who should be on night watch should do so well, and keep your eyes wide open. Don't let any wild animals sneak in while we sleep.
Those who need to rest should hurry up and rest, and get enough energy. We still have to continue our journey tomorrow, and the road ahead is still long, so everyone cheer up! " After saying that, the village chief waved his hand, signaling everyone to go about their own business.
*
Li Zhaodi's mother said she had something urgent to discuss with her, and hurriedly pulled her back to her parents' home to rest, but she kept talking to her daughter about family matters.
Li Zhaodi listened to her mother's muttering and responded from time to time, but her mind was a little wandering. The yam tasted good, so she decided to eat it these days, otherwise it would be a pity if it went bad.
At this moment, a low but clearly audible conversation came over.
Li Zhaodi subconsciously turned her head to look, and found that it was Aunt Qin and Grandma Xiaojiang standing in the corner, looking sneaky, and it was obvious that they were whispering something behind people's backs.
The subject of their discussion was actually their own mother-in-law, which made Li Zhaodi frown and listen carefully.
Aunt Qin said with a hint of regret and gossip, "Don't you think Old Lady Yao is stupid? She finally found some rare ginseng, but instead of hiding it secretly, she actually gave it away. Isn't that stupid?"
Grandma Xiao Jiang also hurried forward, nodding repeatedly in agreement: "Yes, that's right! I heard that ginseng is said to be over a hundred years old. My goodness, how much is it worth! It must be worth a hundred taels of silver!"
At this point, Grandma Xiao Jiang seemed to feel that it was not exciting enough, and continued, "I see, it's worth more than this! In the past, a man in Wangjia Village next door dug up a ginseng that was only twenty years old and sold it for thirty taels of silver! Think about it, this one of ours is over a hundred years old, so it must be worth much more than that twenty-year-old one. I think it should sell for at least two hundred taels of silver!"
Aunt Qin's eyes widened when she heard this, and she said in surprise, "Oh, it's so expensive! That old lady Yao is really stupid. If it were me, I wouldn't want to share it with others and sell it secretly myself. How could I live a better life then? Why can't this old lady Yao understand?"
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