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

Yes, they are all family members. You can’t just abandon the dead person on the roadside like this. Who can do that?

The head of the village was so worried that his brows were tied in knots. After looking around, he knew that about a dozen people were beaten to death, including men, women, the elderly and children.

We are all from the same village, we can’t just abandon all of this, right?

Seeing this, Zhou Dacang suggested, "Village head, why don't we do this? We are all from the same village anyway. Call a few more people to dig a big pit. Have them put on their family members' clothes and mark the pit. When there is a chance in the future, each family member can come to pick up the remains and move the grave."

The head of the village nodded, "That's the only way."

After all, death is the most important thing, so when everyone heard that they were going to dig a hole to bury the body, they picked up hoes and shovels and went without saying a word.

There was no Feng Shui master in the village, so only the oldest man could choose the site. They chose a flat piece of land facing the mountain that would not be flooded or hit by rolling rocks. Most importantly, it was easy to find. A few feet away there was a century-old pine tree that was so thick that two people could hug it.

The family of the deceased was also very satisfied with the land and had no complaints about being buried together. Being buried together in the desolate mountains and wilderness meant they would have company.

More than forty people were divided into two groups and took turns digging, while the others were busy picking up stones.

There is strength in numbers.

In less than half an hour, the pit was dug.

Everyone helped to move the dressed dead bodies into the pit one by one and laid them out.

The small pit was filled with people who had already fallen silent.

Their families knelt beside the pit and cried their hearts out.

Everyone in the village was moved, and Zhou Guo couldn't help but have tears in his eyes. The greatest suffering in the world is separation from loved ones and death. As for the rest, as long as the family is still together, what else can't they get through?

The mud was poured into the pit shovel by shovel, covering the people's feet, faces, clothes... slowly their entire bodies were completely covered by the mud.

The family members burst into tears. From then on, they would never see them again in this world, nor hear them speak, nor find this person.

The dead body was covered with soil and surrounded by stones, and finally put to rest. The rest of the people had to continue on their journey.

But this time the hearts were not together.

It is obvious that the danger at the back is much greater than anywhere else, so no one wants to go to the back.

The families whose food had been robbed asked everyone to share some food with them, otherwise how would they survive on the journey?

There were also some smart people who felt that they had considerable wealth and were unwilling to follow. They did not want to go to the north. It was so far away. If they wanted to go, they would go to the capital, which was under the feet of the emperor. It was stable and wealthy. Where couldn't they make a living?

I also feel that such a large group of people would make them too conspicuous, and they might be robbed later. Besides, there are so many families who have been robbed, and if they are carrying all these people, if they run out of food later, will they have to ask them for it?

They didn't have much food, and there was no point in sharing it with others. Not only were they unwilling to follow the head of the village, they were also unwilling to carry these burdens.

There are quite a few families like this, at least more than twenty of them, and they all want to go to the capital, where the emperor stays. There are so many rich people there, and any savings they save is enough for their family to eat and drink. Isn't this better than the north?

After this debate, more than a dozen families were persuaded. This is where the emperor lives, who wouldn’t want to see it?

Even Huang from the Zhou family and others began to hesitate.

Xu said longingly: "Why don't we go to the capital too? Even if we have to beg for food, it's better than other places. We don't know how to fight. The emperor is there, who dares to fight there?"

Huang and others nodded. Yes, not fighting a war is better than anything else these days.

Zhou Deli turned to look at his youngest son, "Sanlang, what do you think?"

Zhou Dacang subconsciously looked at Zhou Guo, wanting to know what this girl was thinking.

Zhou Guo shook her head. She was not optimistic. There were so many people fleeing and they all wanted to go to the capital. How could the people above just let them pass? How could there be so many refugees under the feet of the emperor? Maybe they couldn't get through at all and were stopped halfway.

Besides, even if we are lucky enough to make it to Beijing, what then? How will such a large family live? Prices are so expensive that we can’t even afford to rent a house. Are we going to live on the streets?

Isn't the North said to be a rare and stable place? It's vast, sparsely populated, cheap, easy to settle, and a place with great potential.

Zhou Dacang said, "I think we should follow the head of the village. It's not easy to get to the emperor's feet."

Zhou Deli frowned and looked at Zhou Guo. He didn't know when his third son actually listened to his eight-year-old granddaughter's words. He remembered what the child had just done. He stood in front of his family with only a stick in his hand. No matter how many people came up, he never retreated a single step. He was very brave despite his young age.

He is really strong and has his own ideas. It would be great if he was a boy!

He changed his mind and decided that no matter whether the child was a boy or a girl, they were all members of the Zhou family and the glory of the Zhou family. Now that Dalang and Erlang were gone, Sanlang would have someone to talk to and he could rest assured.

He said, "Let's go to the north. Since we have been following the head of the village from the beginning, let's go all the way. Besides, there is Zheng Xiucai. Zheng Xiucai is knowledgeable and experienced. It will be right to follow him."

Now that the old man had spoken, the unconvinced Xu had nothing to say.

What they didn't expect was that Zheng Xiucai was also going to the capital city, which really scared him. He thought it would be better for a weak man like him to go to the capital city, which was safe and better for studying. He decided not to go with these people. Now someone wanted to go to the capital city, which was exactly what he wanted.

The village head was at a loss, looking at Zheng Xiucai who had suddenly changed his mind, and said in embarrassment: "Master Zheng, you are going to the capital now, what should we do?"

Zheng Xiucai thought for a moment and said, "How about we all go to the capital?"

The head of the village: "...We are different from the master. The master has a wealthy family and a reputation. He is respected wherever he goes and can make a living anywhere. We are just ordinary people. We are so poor that we have nothing. I'm afraid we can't survive in a place like the capital." He thought very clearly that people like them were nothing in the eyes of those adults, and they were afraid that they would be beaten to death before they even arrived in the capital.

Zheng Xiucai did not force him. He was determined to go to the capital. He said nonchalantly, "Then you can go back to the north. Although the north is remote and desolate, it is safe and secure." There was already joy in his tone.

The head of the village sighed inwardly, it seemed that the scholar would definitely not follow them.

Even the scholar followed him. When everyone saw this, several other families followed him as well. They thought that the scholar was a capable man and that if they followed him, they would definitely be able to reach the capital.