Chapter 224: Brook Falls Village Would Flee Too
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
When everyone was sure that most of the villagers had arrived, the village chief began to talk about the main topic.
True enough, he was talking about fleeing the famine.
The village chief, who had previously vowed that he wouldn’t flee, changed his attitude this time.
It was said that many of the surrounding villages had the idea of fleeing. Now, he wanted to ask for the opinions of the villagers and see what they thought.
“What thoughts can we have? Let’s go! There’s nothing to look forward to if we stay!” someone voiced out.
“That’s right! We have almost consumed all the food at home. Notwithstanding the fact it is not easy to buy grain in town, it is also extremely expensive! They are clearly not giving us a way out!” someone else said.
“There’s also the well in our village. The amount of water it is discharging has become less. If this goes on, with so many households in our Brook Falls Village, I’m afraid that we wall die of thirst!”
“We go! This locust plague has already started. Why aren’t we leaving?”
“Let’s leave Hua An Prefecture before winter comes!”
“That’s right! Only by getting out of here can we have a chance of survival!” The villagers were getting more and more agitated.
Most of the people were in favor of leaving.
It was mainly because many people were badly affected by the locust plague.
In addition, the villages nearby were also discussing this matter.
The people within each village were more or less related by blood. When everybody joined forces, the idea of fleeing didn’t seem that scary anymore.
Of course, there were also some who were unwilling to leave.
However, there were too few of them, and their voices were easily drowned out.
The venue was filled with the villagers’ clamor for a while.
After a long time, the village chief finally raised his hand and motioned for everyone to quiet down.
“I am aware of the situation.”
“Since so many people are willing to leave, then let’s leave!” the village chief said outright.
As soon as he said that, the crowd erupted into a heated discussion.
Some people supported the idea, while some people were hesitant.
Previously, many people were filled with righteous indignation and claimed that they wanted to leave. In reality, some of them were simply venting their emotions.
After all, since the beginning of summer, the villagers had not led an easy life.
The recent locust plague had almost driven everyone crazy.
However, now the village chief had spoken and the village had really decided to flee.
Many people started to panic again.
The village chief’s gaze swept across everyone’s faces. He understood the villagers’ worries.
“Everyone, be quiet. Let’s listen to Uncle Village Chief first!” At this moment, a young villager shouted.
The whole place quickly became quiet.
“I understand everyone’s concerns,” the village chief continued.
“But in this situation, I’m afraid we have no choice but to leave!
“Just this morning, I received the actual news. The few villages closest to us, including Brook Rise Village, Reed Flower Village, Paddy Levee Village, and Great Meadows Village, have all decided to leave.
“Among them, Brook Rise Village and Reed Flower Village have already decided to join forces and will leave together tomorrow.
“As for Paddy Levee Village and Great Meadows Village, although they haven’t set a date for departure, they are already making preparations.
“When it comes to fleeing, our journey will be easier if there are more people and we can watch out for each other.
“So, in my opinion, our Brook Falls Village can set off with the people from the Paddy Levee Village and Great Meadows Village. This way, our journey will be safer.”
As soon as he said that, the villagers began discussing heatedly again.
All the villages nearby were going to leave. If they didn’t leave, they would be left behind.
If they decided to leave later, they could only travel together with their own people from the same village.
At that point, there would be fewer people and lower numbers meant less strength. The journey would indeed be more perilous.
At the thought of this, the people who were hesitating stopped hesitating.
“Then let’s go!”
“Right! Let’s go together with the people from Paddy Levee Village and Great Meadows Village!” one villager quickly said.
The village chief nodded in satisfaction.
He raised his hand again, gesturing for everyone to be quiet.
“That’s good!
“Then, let’s begin our preparations.
“Each household, go back and pack your things. Bring along dry food, water bags, farm tools, and the like. As for the luggage, each family will do what they can to the best of their ability.
“The important thing is, don’t forget to bring your household registration certificate.
“When we reach a new place, we will have a proper status and identity if we have the household registration certificate. The government will then give us relief funds and even help us settle down!” the village chief reminded everyone.
“We know!” a villager replied loudly.
The village chief gave some more instructions.
He said that after this, he would discuss with the village chiefs of Paddy Levee Village and Great Meadows Villages to decide on a specific departure time. Then, he dismissed everyone.
The Wang family members also departed with the crowd.
Wang Dashi only stopped when they reached a fork in the road. He called out to Wang Dashan and Wang Laoshuan.
“Are you two really not going to leave with the rest?” He asked the father and son with a grave expression.
The father and son looked at each other.
Wang Dashan spoke up.
“I’m not going. Xiaomei is still in Mountain Spring Town. What will happen to her if we leave?
“Besides, I’m chopping firewood with my father to sell. We have more or less some income. Maybe we can survive.
“It’s not easy to flee the famine, and the journey is perilous. We don want to take the risk.”
Wang Laoshuan also nodded in agreement by the side.
Wang Dashi sighed when he heard this.
“Then, your grandmother…” He directed his words at Wang Dashan.
Wang Laoshuan’s expression changed briefly.
“I’ll go tell Mother,” he said.
His mother would understand.
It was such a pity that though his mother had worried about him her whole life, he didn’t show proper filial piety to her for even a day before he had to part ways with her.
Forget it. He would just take it that he was an unfilial son in this life.
In the future, if his second brother brought his mother back, he would definitely treat her well.
“I’ll go too,” Wang Dashan chimed in.
Grandma doted on him, and they were going to part soon. He didn’t know if they would meet again in the future. He wanted to spend some time with Grandma.
At this moment, Wang Dashan hated himself once again.
If only he could buy a courtyard house in the town like the Liu family, he would definitely ask his father to keep Grandma by their side and live together in town with them.
It would also save Grandma from having to leave her hometown with Second Uncle’s family at such an old age.
Fortunately, Second Uncle’s family had always been filial, and they had a donkey at home, which should be able to save Grandma a fair amount of walking.
Wang Dashi sighed again.
“Alright,” he said.
Only then did he bring the father and son back home.
Then, before long, the sound of scolding came from Old Grandma Wang’s room, followed by crying.
It was only after a long time that the room slowly quieted down.
Wang Dashi was sitting on the steps under the roof eaves outside the hall, smoking a pipe while waiting for his big brother and nephew to come out.
After waiting for almost two hours, the father and son finally emerged from the room.
At this point, the father and son appeared very dejected. One could tell with one look that they were not in a good mood.
“How is it? What did Mother say?” Wang Dashi rushed forward and asked Wang Laoshuan.
“Mother has agreed,” Wang Laoshuan replied, but his tone was very depressed.
Wang Dashan stood at the side and did not speak.
Wang Dashi looked a little disappointed.
“Alright!”
“Your sister-in-law has made dinner. Stay and eat with us!” he said.
Wang Laoshuan quickly refused.
“No! I’ll just go back with Dashan to eat!” After he finished speaking, he lifted his feet and quickly walked out.
Wang Dashan quickly ran after his father. At the same time, he turned around and said to his second uncle, “We won’t be joining you. We have already cooked dinner at home!”
In reality, they had not cooked anything.. There was a shortage of food right now, so how could they eat at Second Uncle’s house?