Chapter 10: Fleeing from Famine
A few days later, the village river dried up, leaving only the old well with water. Now, each family could only afford half a bucket of water, and with no telling how long the bad weather would last, every family now only had one meal a day. Li Zheng's family didn't dare treat them any differently, or else everyone else would starve to death, while the two of them would be so pale and tender after eating, which would indicate something fishy was going on.
While reminding the villagers to buy food, Li Zheng began to practice martial arts day and night, and urged Baoger to practice martial arts every day to improve his strength. Li Zheng still didn't know the martial arts here. What he heard from people on the street were all from storybooks, so he could only practice to become stronger. What if he met a master?
"Sister, I'm hungry." Li Zheng looked at her own Bao Ge'er's thin face, feeling a little distressed, and said, "Let's go in and eat today."
Bao Ge'er's eyes lit up and said, "It's not good." Bao Ge'er knew that everyone in the village was eating very little now, and Brother Goudan had lost a lot of weight.
"It's okay, it's no big deal to eat it once." Li Zheng didn't dare to eat outside. Every family only cooked once a day. If their family ate meat today, the whole village would be able to smell it. They had to be careful. Fortunately, she had prepared cooked food before and put it inside.
But today was destined to be turbulent. "Bang bang bang," "Gather, gather." The village chief knocked on the siege hammer and called for everyone to gather.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"Is the imperial court going to give us food?"
"I don't know?"
"Okay, everyone, be quiet. My fourth son has returned from town with news. Listen to him." A sweaty man standing next to the village chief stepped forward. "Folks, I just ran back because I heard from my boss that the King of Wu's army is coming and they're demanding food and conscripting people. My boss packed up and left as soon as he heard the news this morning."
The news caused an uproar among the villagers.
"The government doesn't care?"
"yes"
"When our boss ran away, the officials in the government office also ran away, so our family is planning to leave as well. If you want to leave, hurry up. Although our village is a bit remote, the army can move quickly."
"Alright, those who need to leave, pack up quickly. Those who want to inform their relatives, make your own decision. We plan to head south and meet at the village entrance in half an hour. When the time comes, whether you're here or not, just leave." With that, the village chief and his fourth son turned and headed home. Upon hearing this, the villagers scattered. Those who needed to go home packed up, and those who wanted to inform their relatives did so quickly. After all, who doesn't have relatives at this time? And it's more reassuring to go with your own relatives. The villagers accepted it so quickly because the government officials had fled, so how could they, the ordinary people, not run?
Li Zheng returned home and pushed out the prepared cart, on which she put a quilt and a bag of grain weighing about 100 kilograms. She also prepared a bag of salt, a bag of sugar in a jar, a small pot and two pairs of bowls and chopsticks, some clothes, shoes, umbrellas and oilcloths for her and Baoger, a few water bags, and a few cakes. The total weight was not heavy, only about 100 kilograms, and there was just enough space for Baoger to sleep and rest.
While I was packing, I heard Aunt He's voice, "Zheng girl, Zheng girl."
"What's wrong, auntie?"
"Zheng girl, my aunt's family has to go to Wangjia Village first to join my family. However, they are on the same road, so my aunt's family may be slower. Zheng girl, you have to follow the village chief's family closely. The village chief is a good person and there are many able-bodied men in his family. Well, I won't say anymore. It's time for me to leave." After saying that, she left quickly. It would be too late if she was any later.
"Okay," Aunt He's eldest daughter-in-law is Aunt He's niece. The two families have a good relationship, so it is natural for them to go south together.
"Okay, is everyone here? We won't wait for those who haven't arrived yet. Let's go!" The village chief took the lead and led the way.
She looked at the carts loaded with food, chickens and ducks hanging from them, some carrying their pigs on their backs, and children carrying bamboo baskets filled with small items like hatchets, machetes, and sickles. Uh, her family didn't have any of those. It seemed her family had the least, um, safe.
The village chief led everyone along a smaller path instead of the main road. They walked very fast, everyone anxiously fearing the army behind them would arrest them. After an hour, everyone was exhausted. "Village chief, let's take a break. We're all tired." Li Zheng, standing at the back of the group, looked at everyone's tired faces and heard the sound of horse hooves. She felt anxious. She couldn't rest now. She also knew what was happening at Aunt He's house. She had to get on with it and not be left behind.
"No, we can't rest. The army is on horseback, much faster than us. Let's get the elderly and children on the carts, put our belongings on them, and let the adults push the carts together. Let's move on a little further. We'll rest when it gets dark." Everyone followed suit, pushing the carts and gritting their teeth as they continued forward. However, a few families didn't move forward, but decided to sit down and eat something and drink some water before continuing. After the main group had marched for a while, they heard a commotion behind them, and faintly heard "Help, ah!"
The noise of people hurrying by was loud, but everyone still heard it. They stopped for a moment, feeling scared. If they had stopped just now, would...
"Don't make a sound, go to the mountains!" After the village chief said this, no one dared to make a sound and hurried on their way. The old people got off the cars and pushed the carts into the mountains. The branches on the road scratched their clothes and their faces, but no one made a sound because everyone knew that they were trying to escape and no one dared to stop until they got rid of the army.
Under the moonlight, a group of people pushing carts were moving forward like a long dragon. "Okay, let's stop and rest. Don't light a fire tonight. Let's rest quickly and leave at dawn." As soon as the village chief finished speaking, everyone sat down on the ground and pounded their legs.
Li Zheng also sat on the ground, watching everyone become like refugees in less than a day. Their clothes were not very strong and easily torn. "Brother Bao, come and drink some water first." In fact, when they were all entering the mountains, the people behind them did not catch up. Who knows what happened? After Bao Ge'er finished drinking the water, Li Zheng handed Bao Ge'er a pancake with stuffing, "Sister, you eat too." Alas, Bao Ge'er had been pushing the cart all day and had not helped his sister. She was sad. "Okay, sister, eat." After eating, everyone began to lie down to sleep. Li Zheng also put the mattress under her and lay down. In fact, Li Zheng was not too tired, the cart was not heavy, and she had more strength now. So Li Zheng decided to wait until the villagers fell asleep, and then go back to see where the troops were and what the situation was.
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