Su Wencheng scratched his head and replied apologetically, "We didn't ask specifically about the details, but we saw so many people coming and going on the official road, and we didn't see anyone being arrested, so we figured they wouldn't be conscripting men here."
When the village chief heard this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief and kept muttering, "It's good that they don't conscript men, it's good that they don't conscript men!"
He calmed down a bit and then said loudly, "Okay, let's hurry up and finish building the car today, and then go down the mountain tomorrow so we can get to the south sooner!"
Su Wencheng frowned and said to the village chief with a serious face, "Village chief, although it seems that there will be no conscription of men at the moment, look at the number of refugees on the official road. There are simply too many of them. We should keep a low profile. Have everyone prepare more dry food. Don't stop too many times along the way. Let's head south quickly. That's the safest way."
After hearing this, the village chief couldn't help but secretly admire Su Wencheng's attentiveness and nodded repeatedly in response: "Okay, you are right. I will go and talk to everyone about this matter later. We must not take it lightly."
After saying that, the village chief stood up and struck the gong hanging on the tree.
The sound of "dangdangdang" of gongs echoed in the camp. When everyone heard the sound, they knew that a meeting was about to start. They consciously found a good seat and sat down around the blazing campfire.
The women were still weaving straw sandals and hemp ropes, while the men were chatting together. The patrol officers did not stop and were still patrolling diligently around the camp.
The village chief cleared his throat and walked to the center of the crowd with several village elders. He said solemnly, "Fellow villagers, I'm sure everyone knows that tomorrow we will leave these mountains where we have stayed for so long."
The village chief sighed heavily and continued, "Although I've heard that there will be no conscription for the time being, the situation outside is still very serious, so everyone must not take it lightly.
Next, I want to emphasize some precautions for descending the mountain. Everyone, listen carefully. First, after descending the mountain, no one is allowed to talk to outsiders. You must know that the world outside is in chaos and people are treacherous. Everyone, please remember this."
"Village chief, we know." The villagers responded loudly, thinking in their hearts that walking is tiring enough, so how can they have the time to chat with outsiders? Instead of wasting time on talking nonsense, they might as well hurry up and walk a few more steps.
The village chief nodded and continued seriously, "Second point, everyone in the village must strictly follow orders. No objections are allowed at any time. All actions must be arranged according to the plan. This way, our team can advance in an orderly manner, and everyone will be safer. Do you remember?"
Seeing everyone nod, the village chief continued, "Third, after we get down the mountain, the team must stop and make some adjustments. Place the children, women, and children in the middle of the team, and have the strong men like us surround them on the outside to form a protective circle."
After we got down the mountain, everyone put their weapons in a place where they could be easily reached just in case. If they didn't have a weapon, they could just find a stick. This matter concerns the safety of the entire village, so we must not be careless."
"And fourth, everyone, remember this. If anyone notices anything unusual on the road, they must report it immediately. They can't hide it. If anyone encounters any difficulties, they must speak up. We're all from the same village. We must unite and support each other and move forward. Do you understand?"
The village chief swept his eyes across everyone's faces, his eyes full of expectation, hoping that everyone could remember these precautions firmly.
The villagers were deeply moved by the village chief's words. They nodded and said, "When we have difficulties, we villagers will help each other. Our Sujia Village is great!"
The village chief continued, "The fifth point is, after we get down the mountain, everyone should be more careful about what they eat. Try to avoid being around other people and don't show off in public, as this will attract attention."
After saying that, the village chief stopped, picked up the water bag beside him, drank a sip of water, and moistened his throat.
"Everyone should prepare some dry food tonight. When you're outside, try to avoid making fires and eat less strong-smelling food. Focus on the journey and rest less.
Finally, I want to remind everyone to go to bed early tonight and don't dawdle tomorrow!"
The village chief explained his words clearly, and everyone knew exactly what to do next.
After the meeting, the whole camp became lively. Everyone was busy and every household was busy preparing dry food.
Yao Qingshuang pulled out a bag of flour weighing nearly ten pounds from her bag and handed it to Li Zhaodi and Zhao Chunhua. "The fried noodles and rice we made last time were all eaten up a long time ago. We need to make some more this time so it's convenient for us to eat on the road. You two can fry this flour and make fried noodles."
Li Zhaodi and Zhao Chunhua responded and quickly set to work. Before long, the fragrant fried noodles were ready.
At the same time, sisters Su Mingxuan and Su Mingfei were not idle either. They carefully made the pancakes.
The pancake is made dry and contains very little moisture, so it will not go bad even if kept for three to five days. This way, you don’t have to light a fire to cook while you are on the road, which saves a lot of trouble.
The next day, as the village chief's gong sounded in the camp, everyone woke up from their sleep and quickly began to pack their luggage.
After seeing that everyone had packed their things, the village chief stood at the front of the team and shouted with full energy: "Let's go!"
In this way, the people of Sujia Village embarked on a new day's journey.
The way down the mountain was really difficult, and the group was carrying a lot of things. In the end, it took everyone almost two hours to stand at the foot of the mountain.
At this time, the sun had already risen high, and the scorching sunlight shone mercilessly on the earth. Everyone was hurrying on the road, and sweat kept flowing down their foreheads and cheeks. However, everyone's hands were busy pulling carts, driving livestock or carrying luggage, and they had no hands free to wipe the sweat that kept falling.
The village chief looked serious and determined as he led the men, women, and children of Sujia Village to slowly join the huge fleeing team.
For a moment, this team of hundreds of people stood out in the crowd.
When those timid refugees saw the large group of several hundred people from Sujia Village, they immediately looked terrified, as if they had seen some terrible monster. They hurriedly moved aside, fearing that they would get into trouble.
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