Chapter 93： test

Chapter 93 Temptation

This night, no matter whether everyone was tossing and turning or whispering excitedly, the night passed quickly.

As soon as there was a glimmer of light in the sky, the whole camp became busy.

The women were busy cooking. Originally, every household had a small pot, but now six or seven are enough to cook it. One can even be used to cook millet porridge for the children.

The men packed their bags, hitched up their carts, and went to the river to load water.

The old men shouted at the young men and trained them like soldiers on how to hit people with sticks and where they hurt the most. The young men were very excited.

Soon, everyone had their meal, packed their bags and hit the road.

This time, although they are still very unfamiliar, the team is obviously different.

There is a mule cart in the front, a donkey cart in the back, and in the middle there are women supporting the old man.

Men carried burdens and walked on both sides, with hatchets and sickles hanging on the baskets, shining brightly in the sun.

The whole team is like an oval egg.

Occasionally, others wanted to intervene, but they were pushed out.

Someone had a bad temper and wanted to curse a few words. The villagers immediately raised their hatchets and the man quickly got out of the way.

The entire day, with only half an hour's rest at noon, everyone held up the sun and kept in this formation for a full fifty miles.

This is much faster than yesterday. Even Hu Laosan and his family, who were originally behind, were also left behind.

There were some smart people who realized that this team was unusual and followed closely dozens of feet away. They were walking by the light, so there was no need to work hard to clear the way.

At sunset, everyone found a place to rest again.

It’s not that everyone can’t bear the hardship, it’s that there are too many old people and children in the team, and traveling at night is too dangerous.

At this time, safety comes first.

When everyone was drinking water and eating solid food at noon, many people were watching from a distance, hesitating whether to step forward.

It is not difficult to guess that these people must be out of food.

Whether they want to pay money to buy food or beg for food, no one wants to pay attention to it.

There was a severe drought, thousands of miles of bare land, and the price of food increased several times.

Except for the wealthy families who had food in store, the rest of the common people almost had empty rice jars.

It is true that some vegetables and beans have been replanted in the ground, but it is impossible to bring them out in such a famine.

Hence, almost all the people fleeing the famine had little food to carry with them.

It has only been a few days, and the adults are fine, but the children are already sallow and thin, and there are even old people leaning on the roadside who cannot get up after sitting down.

Everyone in Qingshui Village hardened their hearts and tried not to look or listen.

The village chief wanted to speak out and told everyone over and over again.

"Put away your good intentions and never give anyone dry food or food. We only have a few dozen people, and those who are traveling with us on the road can easily reach hundreds. If they know that we have food, they will all come running. When the time comes, It’s not begging, it’s robbing!”

"Yes, anyone who dares to cause trouble to everyone will be kicked out directly. It's too late and you can't save your own life. No matter how bad-hearted you are, just go with others!" Li Laosi also echoed loudly.

The Liu brothers were killed earlier, and the sight of him covered in blood was too deeply rooted in people’s hearts.

Now he speaks in the team, but he is more effective than the village chief.

Just beating and admonishing me like this, I walked away in one day, but everything was fine.

But when you have to cook with a pot at night, this is the most dangerous moment.

Everyone deliberately stayed away from the official road and walked an extra two miles to find a small mountain pass.

It is not convenient to get water here, but everyone likes it very much.

Because most of the sightlines are cut off here, it is easy to defend but difficult to attack. As long as the front of the col is protected, there is no need to worry about anyone plotting.

Soon, the mule carts and donkey carts were unloaded and placed across the mountain pass as a simple shield.

  The elderly and children took advantage of the weak skylight left to collect firewood nearby.

Half of the women set fire to boil water, and the other half carried baskets to gather wild vegetables.

It doesn’t matter whether it tastes good or not, as long as it’s poisonous and doesn’t kill anyone, just pick it all back.

Wash it clean, throw it into the porridge pot, add a little salt, and everyone will be half full.

The food tonight is much better than the previous few days.

Because the chickens and ducks brought out from home could only be smeared with a layer of salt in a hurry to prevent them from rotting. The weather in late autumn is not very hot now, but it is not very cool either.

If you put it down any longer, I'm afraid the chickens and ducks will stink.

So, in addition to wild vegetable porridge, there were several pots of chicken and duck stew for dinner.

There are more than 90 people, old and young. Of course, there is not enough food for so few chickens and ducks.

But at this time, even having a sip of broth is a great enjoyment.

The families who brought out the chickens and ducks do not need to go to the big stove to get food tonight or tomorrow.

It can be regarded as everyone’s compensation for them.

We are walking on the same road, and we cannot be absolutely fair in everything, but we should try our best to keep a bowl of water as level as possible.

This is the basis for ensuring unity and overcoming difficulties.

When the night was dark, the men sat outside the donkey and mule carts, lit two bonfires, and chatted while waiting for their meal.

The mountain breeze carried the aroma of chicken soup, making everyone salivate.

These days have been really tiring, especially for the young and strong, who have to carry loads, guard the convoy, and take care of the young and old.

It’s not just physical effort, it’s also mentally tiring.

A kind of tension that wants to be ready to deal with danger at any time.

At this time, smelling the aroma of the food and listening to the grown-ups playing and laughing on the other side of the mule cart, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Thinking of Hu Laosan and his family who had left, they suddenly felt a little lucky.

If they also left, how could they have such leisurely time to wait for dinner.

It’s a pity that there are always people who don’t want them to relax for a while.

Seven or eight children touched me at some point.

They didn’t dare to get close. They only stood a dozen steps away, looking into the col with their feet raised, wiping their saliva from time to time.

Perhaps he was too greedy, and one of the children suddenly started crying.

“I’m hungry, I want to eat meat!”

The other children seemed to have been infected and started crying too, whimpering and complaining of hunger.

Then they moved forward little by little, with timid and pitiful expressions on their faces.

Li Laosan, who was leading the team on duty, quickly stood up.

The others also frowned and wanted to scare him, but they were all five- or six-year-old babies.

It is not good for them to hit or scold.

Just when Li Laosan was about to harden his heart and drive people away, in the mountain col, Uncle Wang, who was responsible for taking care of the half-grown boy, and other three old men, were already shouting at their soldiers.

“Boys, there are people coming from outside and want to steal your chicken soup. What should you do?”

“Fight it out, fight it out!”

The boys all wanted to lie down by the pot, their mouths watering with greed.

As a result, someone came to rob them before they could eat them. How could this happen?

So, each of them was like a chicken blood, howling and screaming, they picked up their own self-defense sticks and rushed out.

Those little kids originally wanted to cry and beg, but before they could open their mouths again, they were chased away by the grown-ups with sticks. They stumbled back crying and howling.

Uncle Wang followed behind, waving half of his arms and shouting loudly to withdraw his troops in time.

The boys came back carrying the wooden sticks in a showy manner, especially Jia Xi Jia An, who imitated the way in the opera to clasp their fists.

“General, when we go out on an expedition and return victorious, will we be rewarded?”

Uncle Wang laughed heartily and patted their heads.

“Of course there is a reward, three more pieces of chicken per person.”

“Oh, it’s time to eat chicken, it’s time to eat chicken!” the boys cheered, and in the blink of an eye they got back into the col.

At this moment, Fourth Uncle Wang glared at Li Laosan and others.

“How many times have I told you that once we set up camp, no one can get close to us? Have you turned a deaf ear?”

(End of this chapter)