The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

"Sister Xia, winter is estimated to come in a few days. We want to go out of the mountain and see what's happening outside." This morning, Zhou Chengze and Xiaowu arrived at the Xia family early.

"Why now?" Xia Mianwan was puzzled.

Xiao Wu said: "Although we have a lot of food stored, we also consume a lot. Winter is coming soon. If there is still no income, I will feel uneasy."

Zhou Chengze agreed, "It's been a few months now, and we don't know what the situation is outside. Even if we can't go into the city, if there are villages around that are willing to sell food, it would be good for us to buy some."

Xia Mianwan understood Zhou Chengze and Xiaowu’s concerns. If she didn’t have her own space, she would naturally be worried too.

"Well, I'll go with you."

Xiaowu and Zhou Chengze looked at Xia Mianwan in surprise.

Xia Mianwan explained: "I've been here for so long that I don't know what's going on outside, and I'm also afraid that someone might come looking for me. I'll feel at ease if I go out and take a look."

"Okay, then the three of us will go out together." Xiaowu nodded immediately.

The three of them agreed to set off early tomorrow morning.

Xia Mianwan thought it would be most convenient for the three of them to bring some simple food with them, so she thought of baking some bread to take with them on the road. This oven was built a while ago, Xia Mianwan drew the blueprint, and Zhou Chengze and Xiaowu worked together to figure it out.

Seeing Xia Mianwan was going to make bread, Yu Jieer was very excited, "Mom, I won't go to class today, I'll help you."

"it is good!"

The mother and daughter worked for the whole morning and made two ovens of toast and honey cake.

"Sister Yu, pick some and send them to everyone."

"it is good!"

After packing her luggage, Xia Mianwan went to bed early.

The next day.

Xia Mianwan and the other two headed towards the sealed cave entrance early in the morning.

"Maybe it's because I haven't been out for a long time. I feel a little nervous." Xia Mianwan said as they walked.

Xiao Wu observed his surroundings and said, "I have some too."

After exiting the cave and covering the rock wall with something, the three of them went down the mountain.

The three of them first went to the village nearest to the mountain. Looking at the village that had turned into ruins, the three of them looked very unhappy.

"This village is..."

"It should be that they set fire to the village..." Xia Mianwan's face looked unhappy.

"It seems that the situation is more serious than we thought." Zhou Chengze didn't know whether he should go forward for a moment.

"Are we still leaving?" Xiaowu asked.

Zhou Chengze and Xiaowu both looked at Xia Mianwan. At this time, they would rather listen to Xia Mianwan.

Xia Mianwan thought for a moment and said, "We've already come out, it would be unbearable to not get any information. Let's go to the surrounding villages and then decide whether to go to the city."

Zhou Chengze and Xiaowu had no objection.

The three of them walked hurriedly towards the surrounding villages. The situation in Lotus Village, not far from here, was not much better. There were traces of fire everywhere, and under the ruins there were mutilated corpses burned by the flames.

Xia Mianwan's heart sank, and he said, "Let's go and take a look around!"

"Looking at the burning marks, it doesn't seem to have taken too long." Zhou Chengze said.

The three of them walked around Lotus Village and confirmed that there was no one alive in the entire village...

It’s too difficult. There are nearly 70 permanent residents in Lianhua Village. If they were to disappear, the entire village would be gone…

"What should we do next?" Zhou Chengze asked.

Xia Mianwan thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to Dahuang Village, which is the most remote village. If there is a disaster there, then we don't need to go to the city. Even if we go, we will just be sending ourselves to die."

Xiaowu nodded and led the way.

Xiaowu had been doing donkey cart business in a nearby village for a long time. He would make the trip at least once or twice a day and was very familiar with the roads and paths nearby.

"Follow me, down the path."

Xiao Wu led Xia Mianwan and Zhou Chengze to a small path and arrived at Dahuang Village in less than half an hour. From a distance, there seemed to be no signs of large-scale burning in Dahuang Village.

Xiaowu asked Xia Mianwan and Zhou Chengze to hide in the grass by the roadside, and he ran towards the village.

Xiao Wu didn't meet anyone along the way. After he opened the door, he saw several naked bodies in the room. Judging from the smell, they must have been dead for a while.

Xiaowu took a quick look at the surroundings and returned to the bushes.

"There shouldn't be any rebel troops in the village. Let's go over and take a look." Xiao Wu said.

Upon hearing this, Xia Mianwan and Zhou Chengze stood up and walked towards the village together.

The autumn wind is bleak, and the paths in the village are covered with fallen leaves. When you step on them, they make a crackling sound.

"There must have been a fight in the village. There are corpses in several houses, but the situation is much better than in Lotus Village." Xiao Wu said softly.

Xia Mianwan observed the surroundings vigilantly and said, "Maybe it's because this side is too remote, or maybe something urgent happened."

The three of them walked forward for a while, and at the end of the village road was a dilapidated and abandoned hut. There were no signs of burning in the hut, but it was full of the smell of disrepair.

This should be the abandoned house that was originally in the village.

"It seems that there will be no gain in Dahuang Village." Zhou Chengze said somewhat frustratedly.

Xia Mianwan said: "Let's go to the house in front. It's hidden from view and good. We can go there to rest our feet for a while."

"Row."

The three of them had just approached the shabby house and hadn't pushed the door open when they heard a very crisp noise.

The three of them immediately slowed down. Zhou Chengze and Xia Mianwan squatted on the left side of the house, while Xiaowu took out a knife and moved to the right.

There was silence for a long while. Just when Xia Mianwan thought that the noise just now was an illusion, the door of the dilapidated house was pushed open from the inside to the outside.

A little boy about seven or eight years old appeared in front of the three people tremblingly. The first thing the little boy saw was Xiaowu holding a knife. He was frightened and exclaimed: "Who are you?"

Xia Mianwan saw that although the boy's clothes were dirty, the material was not bad, so she quickly signaled Xiaowu to put down the knife: "Don't be afraid, we are not bad people."

The little boy was obviously relieved when he saw Xiaowu put down the knife, "Do you have anything to eat?"

Zhou Chengze and Xiaowu looked at each other. Xia Mianwan thought for a moment and asked, "Are you alone? What do you need to eat?"

"My grandpa, grandma and sister are inside." There was a glimmer of hope in the little boy's eyes.

Xia Mianwan took out a few buns from the lambskin backpack and handed them to the little boy, "We have buns, but we want to ask you a few questions."

The little boy's eyes were bright. He took the bun and said, "Ask."

Xia Mianwan asked: "Who are you and why are you here?"

The little boy looked at Xia Mianwan and said with some pain and indifference: "I am from this village. Everyone in the village escaped, but we couldn't escape."

"you are lying!"

"Why do you say I lied?"

Xia Mianwan said, "If you talk nicely, I can give you some more food. Your clothes are made of good material. They are not something that ordinary villagers can afford. Besides, everyone else in this village is dead. Why are you still here? This can only mean that you came to this village later."