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

However, now is not the time to worry about these things. She found Zhou Dacang and said, "Uncle, should we clean up the place where we came in? We made such a big noise that the grass was crushed by us. There are also wheel tracks and cow hoof prints. Anyone who is interested can easily find us by following the traces. How can we sleep peacefully?"

When Zhou Dacang heard this, he became serious. The most important thing now was the safety of this group of people, so he hurriedly ran to find someone.

When everyone heard this, they were not happy at first. They had not slept for a whole day and night, and now they were just about to lie on the ground and fall asleep. Who would be willing to move?

But when they heard Zhou Dacang say that if someone else followed the footprints and found the cave, not only would they not be able to sleep peacefully tonight, but they would not be able to sleep peacefully in the future, everyone started to take it seriously and willingly went out of the cave with their tools to deal with the traces.

They are all young guys and no one cares about them.

The men went outside to cut branches and tied them into bundles to make brooms. The women used these simple brooms to sweep out the dirt and dust in the hole. The children cut hay and spread it on the swept ground. This was where the family slept at night.

This small cave has a roof, walls and a door. Except that it is not made of wood but mud, it is almost the same as the house you live in. It can shelter you from wind and rain and provide you with security.

We have been wandering for so long, sleeping in the wild every day, and we dare not fall into a deep sleep, for fear that we will be stolen or taken away by wild animals.

Now, when they go to bed at night, they just need to put some stones at the entrance of this small cave and then push the cart or something against it. With the help of the weeds and vines at the entrance, nothing can sneak in. It is an excellent safe place where they can sleep peacefully.

So everyone got to work, cleaning, mowing the lawn, making the beds, no one was lazy, thinking that they could finally have a good night's sleep tonight, they had endless energy.

Zhou Guo looked around and saw that everyone had a rare smile on their face. Her mood couldn't help but improve. A good mood can infect others. She thought that as long as everyone had food, water and sleep, they would be able to reach their destination safely.

Zhou Dacang and others outside the cave followed the traces to the fork in the road. Looking at the mess on the ground, someone said, "Dacang, it's a good thing you have foresight. If I saw such a big road suddenly appear in the wilderness, I would definitely be curious and want to take a look along the way. Then the trouble would come."

Everyone nodded, yes.

Zhou Dacang was also shocked. The sudden appearance of such a road in the wilderness was indeed eye-catching. Fortunately, his little niece thought a lot, otherwise who knows what so many people would encounter. He also didn't know what was going on in her head and how many ideas came up one after another.

A group of people filled in the footprints and ruts made by tire tracks, straightened the bent grass, and cut off the grass that could not be straightened. They also went to other places to cut some grass as tall as a person, and stuck it on the ground. If you don't look carefully, it really looks like it has grown there, and it is even less visible after dark.

When they were doing this, other refugees passing by saw it, but they just thought that the guys were just cutting grass and making beds for the ground, and didn't pay much attention.

Work until dark.

Zhou Dacang looked around and nodded with satisfaction. Not to mention that it was so dark, even if it was not dark, it would be hard to tell that anyone had walked this road.

When I returned to the cave, it had been tidied and the beds were made.

Everyone was waiting for them to come back so that they could "close the door".

The wild grass and vines at the entrance of the cave were rearranged, a few large stones were moved in to block the entrance, a cart was pushed in front of the cave entrance, and a few bags were found and hung as door curtains. In this way, a door that was isolated from the outside world was made.

As soon as the door was completed, everyone lay down on the straw mats that had been laid out in their homes and went to sleep.

It was dark, and the cave was even darker. Zhou Guo lay next to her mother. She stretched out a hand and waved it in front of her eyes, but she could not see anything!

Listening to the breathing of the people around her, she felt at ease for the past few days as never before as she did tonight. They didn't have to worry about rain, being robbed, or being attacked by wild beasts. She thought this was the meaning of a house to people.

There was no snoring sound around. It seemed that everyone was just like her and couldn't fall asleep yet.

The evening breeze was blowing outside the cave, and the cave was peaceful.

After a while, snoring sounds began to rise one after another.

Zhou Guo listened and fell asleep without knowing when.

When I woke up the next day, it was already bright. Everyone in the family was up, even the two youngest ones, Zhou Tao and Zhou Su, had gone out. The things at the entrance of the cave had been moved away, and light was coming in from the entrance. A new day had begun.

Everyone in the cave began to pack up.

She walked out of the cave. The morning in the mountains was quiet. There were no birds singing or insects chirping, but the air was nice. There was no village or shop nearby, and she didn't know where she was.

Zhou Su and Zhou Tao followed a group of children who came running from behind the mountain, crying and shouting, holding twigs and hay in their hands, chasing each other. She felt very emotional as she watched them. This was probably the happiest and most relaxing morning for the children in such a long time.

Huang from the cave called them to have breakfast.

"Eat, this is the last bit of fried noodles we have. If you want more, there will be no more." Mrs. Li scooped a bowl for everyone.

"Then what are we going to eat later?" Zhou Su asked while eating.

Huang said, "You won't starve. We still have so much food."

Zhou Guo looked at the cart and saw a few bags of wheat on it. How should he eat it? Should he crush it before eating?

She shook her head. She was not used to the fried noodles mixed with wheat bran at first, but now she can eat it deliciously. When she is hungry, everything tastes delicious. She feels that even if a bowl of scorpions is placed in front of her, she can eat it without changing her expression.

After dinner, the team set off.

Everyone looked at the cave that gave them a peaceful night and felt reluctant to leave. This place that felt like home was not home after all.

Xu whispered, "If there were nothing to eat or drink here, it would be nice to live here. There's a roof to protect you from the sky, a wall to block the wind, and a floor to sleep on."

In the past, I dreamed of becoming rich and powerful, eating delicious food and drinking delicious drinks, but now, I am satisfied with just being able to go to bed on time and sleep peacefully every day after dark, and get up on time at dawn.

The people around who heard it couldn't help but nod their heads. They were really scared from running around, and who knew what would happen next.

Huang looked at her and said, "You want to starve to death here? There's no village around here. Wild beasts may come down the mountain and eat you, leaving nothing but bones."

Xu quickly shook her head, and those who nodded silently stopped talking.

The team retreated, and Zhou Guo helped push the cart. The road was rocky and difficult to walk on.

When we walked out onto the main road, we came across rows of skinny and listless refugees.