In the end, it was Mu Shiquan who spoke first to break the heavy atmosphere, "Don't worry, I'll be there for everything."
Qingcao frowned, "Dad, are we preparing to flee? Just like Grandpa and the others."
Their grandparents all fled to Damu Village. Moreover, some of my grandparents’ family members died of illness or starvation while fleeing the desert...
Mu Shiquan let out a breath, "I'll probably run away, but it won't be that fast."
Mu Shiquan smiled comfortingly, "So you don't have to worry too much. When the day comes to escape, I will definitely protect you."
Mu Qinghua was a little scared and frowned, "But dad, grandpa said that there are many bad people on the road to escape. They can steal money, food, and even kill people."
They really escaped. What if they met the bad guys like Grandpa said?
Thinking of this, Mu Qinghua's face turned pale.
Mu Shiquan consoled him: "It's not just our family fleeing the famine. It will definitely be the whole village together. There are many people on the road, so don't worry too much about safety."
"Really?" Mu Qinghua looked at Mu Shiquan in confusion, "Dad, can you not run away?"
"Don't be afraid, dad will protect you." Mu Shiquan patted Mu Qinghua's head.
Mu Qinghua felt her father's warm hands, and her heart settled down.
"Okay, you know the news. Go to bed early." Mu Shiquan rushed the three children back to their room to rest.
After the children left, Mu Shiquan asked, "Arong, how much money do you have at home?"
"There are one hundred and fifty-three taels." Among them, one hundred and twenty taels was the money his son made from selling ginseng. Otherwise, their family wouldn’t have that much money.
"You give me one hundred taels, and tomorrow I will go to the county to buy a bullock cart and some medicine."
Li nodded, "It's good to buy a bullock cart. It can pull things and carry people."
"Not to mention the children at home, my parents are older and having a bullock cart to ride in can also reduce their burden."
"Yes." Mu Shiquan whispered, "If my son hadn't dug up ginseng, I wouldn't have dared to spend so much money on a bullock cart."
If there is no car, my parents will not be able to walk. They can only rely on their brothers to carry it.
The brothers are willing to carry it, but their parents are probably not willing to add to their burden.
If you secretly grit your teeth and insist on not speaking, you may commit suicide in order to relieve their burden.
He didn't want this to happen, so he had to buy a bullock cart.
The two chatted for a long time before blowing out the lamp and taking a rest.
Village chief's house
After Mu Dabin explained his purpose, the village chief immediately asked his sons to invite the village elders.
When the village chief arrived, Mu Shigao informed him of what he had inquired about in the county today.
After hearing the news, the village chief and others discussed for a long time. Finally decided to flee.
The elders in their village have all experienced fleeing famine. Therefore, with experience, you must escape as early as possible. You cannot escape when there are many people.
Because when there are more people, all kinds of bad guys with bad intentions will appear. With more people, diseases will also increase.
So in order to survive, they must leave as soon as possible.
*
Early morning of the second day
The village chief rang the big gong of the village dam.
As soon as the gong rings, the villagers know that something important needs to be announced.
So they all put down what they were doing and went to the village dam.
Wait until everyone in the village arrives. Kida Qiang informed the people of the drought and told everyone to flee.
Hearing that the village chief said he was going to flee, the young people couldn't sit still and started talking about it.
"Village Chief, is the situation really that serious? I think the river in the village is quite deep. There is no need to flee, right?" a villager asked loudly.
Kida Qiang looked serious, "The situation in our county is pretty good, but several neighboring counties have suffered. Crops and well water are gone."
"Although there is still river water in our village, anyone who cares knows that the water level of the river is dropping every day. And it is dropping very fast!"
"If it continues to decline at this rate every day, the river will not be able to sustain it for long. If the weather gets hotter, the river will bottom out in a month."
"So it is imperative to escape."
Luo Shi shouted loudly: "Village Chief, our family is not leaving. If nothing else, the river is not dry yet. Our family can still survive."
"Also, what if it rains later. Then there is no need for us to flee."
"Besides, if we flee the famine now, what will happen to the food we planted? It will be harvested in more than a month."
Luo Shi felt that there was no need to flee the famine. This drought made him so scared that he had to flee. He was really cowardly!
If it's really dry, just leave when the time comes. There's no need to be in such a hurry!
Many villagers felt that Luo Shi's words were very reasonable. They all expressed their agreement.
The food will be harvested in a month, but now they are running away. There is no more food.
Kida Qiang glanced at everyone, raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and waited until everyone was quiet before speaking loudly: "I know everyone is worried about the food in the fields. The village has discussed that we will wait until the food is harvested before escaping."
"As for the time to collect grain, it may have to be brought forward. After ten days, those who want to flee the famine will start collecting grain."
"As for those who won't leave, there's no need to collect food in advance." After speaking, he glanced at Luo Shi and the others.
"Give everyone five days to collect food. Then use two days to pack up."
"Those who want to escape the famine should gather at the entrance of the village at 9 o'clock on the 9th day of the seventh lunar month and set off at 3:00 o'clock. Don't wait if it's late."
Kida Qiang emphasized the time, and then let everyone disperse.
Although the village chief asked everyone to disperse, none of the villagers left. They all asked their close friends if they wanted to escape together.
In some families, because the elders decided to flee, the young people had to obey.
Some people think that Tiangan is no big deal, so they don’t want to leave!
There are also people who don’t want to leave because of their stable life. I feel that after escaping, the road ahead is bleak. They don't have the guts to gamble on the unknown future.
No matter what anyone else thinks. Qingcao and his family are preparing to leave.
After the village chief finished talking about the matter, Mu Shiquan immediately went to find his father and informed him about buying a bullock cart.
Mu Dabin nodded in agreement and asked if the money was enough. If it's not enough, he can give some.
Mu Shiquan told him about selling ginseng and said that the money was enough. And he was going to buy two bullock carts. One carries people and one pulls things.
After Mu Shigao and Mu Shiming heard this, they expressed that they also wanted to buy an ox cart.
The three brothers all wanted to buy a bullock cart, so they went to the county together.
The three of them arrived at the county and went straight to the cattle market. The cowherd greeted them warmly.
Knowing that the three brothers wanted to buy cows, the cowherd brought out the best cows and said they could be cheaper.
After Mu Shiquan and the three of them had made their selections, the cowherd got a discount of 500 yuan for each cow.
Knowing that they still needed a car, the cowherd took them to the wooden shop next door. The wooden store next to the cattle market specializes in selling well-made cars.
Mu Shiquan's two oxen asked for a cart and a covered carriage. As for Mu Shigao and the others, they both wanted carts. Their bullock carts were used to pull things.
