Traveling through ancient times, I led my family to prosperity

Xiaolan's family has been very busy lately. The children practice calligraphy with Xiaowen every day, and the others are either buying lard or making soap at home. Soon it is time for the children to go to school.

Zhang, Fu, and Liu were each packing things for their children to go to school tomorrow, and repeatedly told them to study hard in the Zhao family.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, the family, led by Sheng Xuan, Zhang Qingfeng, and Zhang Qingnian, went to Zhao's home in the county town.

Zhao Dongjia had informed his family in advance, and after the children had paid their respects to the teacher and paid generous tuition, Sheng Xuan and the other two returned.

Xiaolan's life went on in an orderly manner. As the weather grew warmer, there were more and more wild vegetables in the fields, and more and more women and children came to dig wild vegetables.

After Zhao Dong's family took soap from Xiao Lan's house twice, soap gradually became popular, but the demand exceeded the supply and the price was high.

In the middle of the night, Xiaolan suddenly opened her eyes. She turned to look at Xiaoting who was sleeping beside her, but she was rarely suffering from insomnia.

Of course, she was not the only one suffering from insomnia. Zhang Shanfeng also woke up, got off the kang, and lay on the ground to listen carefully. He heard nothing, but he felt uneasy. This was the intuition he developed from traveling all over the country when he was young.

Xiao Lan was just about to close her eyes and continue sleeping when the door to their yard was knocked.

Xiaolan's family was awakened. Sheng Xuan got up and opened the door. "Brother-in-law, why are you here in the middle of the night?"

Zhang Qingfeng said seriously, "Something happened in Xishan Village."

Upon hearing this, Sheng Xuan hurriedly climbed to the rooftop, only to see thick smoke rising from the west and faint flames. "Even if Xishan Village is on fire, it shouldn't be burning so badly. It feels like the whole village is on fire."

"My father said that this was not just a fire. Something else must have happened. He is very worried. You guys hurry up and pack your things."

Sheng Xuan suddenly thought of what Zhao Dongjia said about the Hu people that year, and thought to himself, could he really be exaggerating?

Xiaolan also thought of what Shengxuan was thinking. After Zhang, Xiaolan, and Xiaoting put away their luggage and money, they whispered to Zhang, "Mom, I'll go ask grandpa what's going on."

Zhang said, "No need to go. With such a big fire, it's probably the Hu people coming."

Xiao Lan was shocked. "We have troops stationed in Hedong Prefecture. How come they came so quickly?"

Saving others is saving yourself. There are only dozens of households in Shengjia Village, and there are no more than a hundred young and strong people. Most of them are old people and children. "I will notify the head of the village and ask him to gather all the villagers together so that we can resist the Hu people. We also need to inform the government office of this news and let them notify the garrison in the city. We can't just sit there and wait for death. This place is no longer safe. Let's move away as soon as possible." Xiao Lan said.

When the Hu people plunder, they always leave no one, young or old, alive. Women may survive, but their lives will be worse than death.

After notifying the head of the village, Sheng Xuan said, "Let's go now. It's important to escape."

Ever since Zhao Dongjia informed Xiaolan's family that the Hu people might move south, Xiaolan's family has been making preparations. Some things that cannot be taken away have been hidden early. The family just needs to pack up a little and they are ready to set off.

When the villagers heard about the incident in Xishan Village, some of the girls whose maiden families were in Xishan Village, or the girls who were married in Xishan Village, all cried bitterly. For a while, the village was in great chaos.

The head of the village persuaded them, saying, "Stop crying, stop arguing, the most important thing now is to save your lives. Go back and pack your things, we're leaving now."

However, many people in the village were either reluctant to leave their homes or sat on the ground crying, refusing to leave. Some people even wanted to take all their belongings with them and kept packing.

Xiao Lan stood at the doorstep looking at the messy village, she was furious. She was afraid that they would be in chaos before the Hu people even entered Shengjia Village.

Xiao Lan returned home, put the arrow on her back, and the family got on a horse carriage and an ox cart and started heading towards the provincial capital.

"Stop arguing. Sheng Xuan's family has left. How long are you going to quarrel? Those who want to leave can follow, and those who don't want to leave can find a place to hide. Otherwise, when the barbarians come, you will only die in vain."

The people in the old Sheng family didn't want to leave either. Cui sat on the ground and acted like a fool, refusing to leave no matter what.

"If you don't want to leave, stay. We are going to escape." Grandpa Sheng said, "Leave some of the bedding and food at home to your mother. We will set off as soon as possible."

Cui was immediately dumbfounded. At first she thought that her crying and wailing would be of some use, but when she saw that the eldest, second and fourth brothers and their families were busy loading luggage onto the cart and had no time to pay attention to her, she gradually calmed down.

Grandpa Sheng looked at the families and said to his three sons, "When disaster strikes, everyone flees. Although we are a family, no one knows what will happen on the road. Now we are running for our lives. You families should carry food and money with you. If you are separated, you should try your best to save your lives. When the barbarians retreat, we can come back."

When the old man said these words, Chunhua supported Cui and stood aside. Cui was no longer in a trance and held Chunhua's hand tightly, fearing that old man Sheng would really keep her at home.

Xiao Lan's family got on the horse-drawn carriage and ox-drawn cart and started heading for the city. "We have to hurry to a safe place before everyone comes to their senses. Otherwise, we might get robbed of all the food we have."

The whole family knew that it would be too conspicuous if they brought so much food, so they nodded in agreement.

"The last time the Hu people came south was ten years ago. They robbed Dongshan Village, and the people in the village were burned to death in a fire like this. No one survived. We in Shanxi Village were lucky at that time. The soldiers from the prefecture arrived before they robbed us. Now that Dongshan Village is gone, our Xishan Village has been hit the hardest. I don't know how many people in the village can survive. If we hadn't stayed in your house this time, our whole family would probably have died until today." Xin sighed.

Dongshan Village and Xishan Village are separated by a mountain. There is a small path connecting them in the mountain, which only the people in the village know about. The Hu people only know the main road and not this small path. Otherwise, with the two villages so close to each other, Xishan Village would not have been spared.

"It takes two days to get to the city from here, and that's if the road is easy to travel. If the road is crowded, I don't know how long it will take to get there." Zhang was also a little worried. The Hu people lived in a wild land, burning, killing, and looting. Every time they came out to forage, it was the people who suffered. Moreover, they were all cavalrymen, and the people at the border could not outrun them. Once they were caught up, they would be slaughtered.

"I don't know when the officers and soldiers from the capital will arrive. We have just had a few years of good days, and the border is becoming unstable again." Xin sighed.

Xiao Lan thought to herself, "When a country prospers, the people suffer; when a country perishes, the people suffer. The ancients were not deceiving me." Her family had four cows and two horse-drawn carts to carry supplies, so Xiao Lan and Xiao Wen had to use the cows to drive the carts. The siblings each carried a bow and arrow, and followed Sheng Xuan and his team as they drove the carts while keeping watch on the surroundings.