Traveling through troubled times to escape famine and cultivate crops as a grain merchant

Everyone could hear the fear and panic in it.

"What?! They were caught, by whom? Where were they taken, and why were they caught?" The room was in an uproar. Everyone was panicked and confused. They didn't understand what was going on. They had clearly come to the city to find work, so why were they caught?

Zhou Dacang rushed in with a panic on his face. As soon as he came in, he went straight to Old Man Zhou and Huang, and cried incoherently: "Dad, Mom, my eldest brother and second brother were taken away and sent to the army. Many people were also taken away and sent to the army. They said that a fight had started. I heard that the rebels were about to attack. Many people in the city ran away with their families. What should we do? Let's run too, but what about my eldest brother and second brother? Will they be okay?"

Zhou Guo frowned, looked at the room full of women, children and the young and old, and fell silent.

When the Huang family women heard this, they burst into tears and asked repeatedly, "How do you know? Did you see him? Do you know where he was taken?"

Zhou Da Cang wiped his tears and snot and said, "I followed my eldest and second brothers into the city, hoping to find a job. After wandering around for a long time, no one wanted me to work. Just when I was thinking of looking for my two brothers, I saw the streets in chaos, with people shouting that people were being arrested. When I squeezed out, I saw that my eldest and second brothers and many others were captured by the soldiers. They said they were going to be sent to the army to fight. We couldn't even go forward. When my eldest and second brothers saw me, they desperately signaled to me to come back, so I came back. When I came back, they were still arresting people, saying that there was going to be a war..."

Old man Zhou slumped in the chair, a chill hitting his head, and didn't speak for a long time.

Let’s fight!

The troubled times are coming!!

The children's faces were filled with worry and fear. The oldest, Zhou Gu, said, "Where have Dad and Second Uncle been captured? Let's go find them."

Now that the eldest brother has spoken, the children have also vowed to go and find their father.

Hearing this, Li and the others cried even harder. The children didn't know, but didn't they know clearly that once they were captured and sent to serve in the army, it would not be easy for them to come back. They didn't know when they would be able to come back.

Old man Zhou also understood the reason. He collapsed in his chair and looked like he had aged ten years in an instant, with tears in his eyes.

On the battlefield, swords and knives have no eyes. They were blessed by God to come back alive. What's more likely is that they will never see their son again before he dies.

Unexpectedly, that farewell in the morning might be the last time they see each other in this life.

When everyone saw Old Man Zhou crying, they suddenly lost their backbone and burst into tears.

The timid children were so scared that they cried loudly.

The room suddenly burst into tears.

Zhou Guo pursed her lips and said nothing. In the few times when she was awake, her father had taken great care of her and loved her very much. When she thought about the time when she opened her eyes after she was born, the first thing she vaguely saw was her father's smiling face, and he held her in his arms like a treasure.

She has experienced separation of life and death once, and now she is going to experience such a separation for the second time?

Just as she was lost in thought, her right hand was suddenly held by a warm little hand. She turned around and saw a little boy of about three or four years old with tears on his face. When he saw her looking at him, he did not forget to comfort her and sobbed, "Don't be afraid, sister. I will protect you."

Zhou Guo's eyes softened as she recognized that this was her four-year-old brother, Zhou Suli. The tiny boy was only as tall as the table, and even though she was scared to death, he still didn't forget to protect her.

She couldn't help but reach out to wipe his tears. This child was going to suffer!

Zhou Su wiped away her tears and stared blankly at her always silly sister. She felt that she seemed different.

Zhou Dacang was originally at a loss and came back to ask his parents for advice, but now he saw the room full of old and young women crying and making a mess, but no one could give any advice, and he suddenly fell silent.

He suddenly remembered that his eldest and second brothers had been sent into exile, so he was the eldest in the family and it was time for him to take on the responsibility.

She wiped away her tears and said, "Dad, Mom, now is not the time to cry. We need to work out a plan. When I came back, the county was in chaos. I heard that the rebels were about to attack us. Everyone was packing up their belongings and running for their lives. Let's run too!"

"Escape? Where to escape to? What will happen to your elder brother if we escape? Besides, how can we escape with such a large family? This is our home. Do we want to abandon it?" Huang's heart sank when she heard that they wanted to escape. She was so old, half buried in the ground. If she escaped now, how long would it take for her to come back?

Zhou Dacang said anxiously, "Mom, we are just waiting at home. My elder and second brothers can't come back for the time being. I just found out when I entered the city today that there are more and more refugees outside. I don't know when they will attack us. The rebels are here, and we, the women and children in this house, are one step slower than others in escaping."

Several adults looked at the children in the room. The children had tears on their faces because of fear, fear in their eyes, and confusion as if they didn't know what to do.

Old man Zhou made up his mind. Yes, he still has so many grandchildren. Swords and spears have no eyes. The rebels are not good people. They are a group of inhumane bandits. Who knows what they will do.

You have to make up your mind to make a decision, but I can't say it out loud. When I get old, it's easy to leave, but I'm afraid I won't be able to come back alive.

Li held on to hope and said, "Maybe they can't beat us. We don't know where the rebels are right now. If they can't beat us, then wouldn't our efforts be in vain?"

Li didn't want to leave either. "Yes, Dad, my father has gone to the war. He might come back at any time. If they come back, where can they find us?"

Old man Zhou was hesitant, which was why he was struggling.

Everyone looked at Zhou Dacang, as he had brought back all this information.

Seeing that no one wanted to leave, Zhou Dacang was very anxious. "I'm not the only one going to the city with me. Erzhu and the others have gone. Why don't we go to the village and see what other families think?"

Old Man Zhou nodded decisively, "Okay, let's go. You come with me and see what the villagers think and whether everyone is leaving or not."

Zhou Dacang stood up and helped the old man Zhou, whose legs were a little weak, out, leaving the women and children in the room looking at each other in confusion, not knowing what to do.

Xu asked the old lady, "Mom, we really have to leave, where should we go?"

Li also looked at her, also wanting to know whether she should leave or not.

The old lady looked outside the house without saying anything. She had no idea whether to leave or not. She would wait for the old man to come back.

Zhou Guo held her brother's hand tightly, she felt that there was no way she could escape this disaster.

Sure enough, they came back in a hurry in less than half an hour.

As soon as Old Man Zhou entered the door, he shouted, "Old woman, hurry up, pack up, let's go. I heard that the rebels have reached the next county, and the next county was broken after two attempts without resistance. The rebels are robbing everything and killing everyone they see in the county. Many disaster victims are fleeing this way. Many families in the village are packing up, hurry up, let's pack up too."

Everyone was shocked. They didn't expect it to be true. They had to flee. They didn't understand why a war suddenly broke out and even spread to the next county. They hadn't heard any news about it before.