Travel back to ancient times and open a Sichuan restaurant

Zhong's mother felt equally bad, but she did not cry in front of her daughter-in-law. She secretly wiped away tears twice in private.

"Mom, Shitou and the others will be fine, don't worry!" Zhong Ruyi felt depressed. Seeing her mother's expression, she could only reluctantly give her a few words of advice. But unless the children came back now, no one would feel good.

The room was quiet. Mother Zhong patted the back of her hand gently, and the two of them went into the house.

Zhong Ruyi learned more about the situation from Zhong's mother: the incident in Guangning Prefecture happened in the middle of the night yesterday. It was late at night and everyone was sleeping, so no one was prepared.

The villages that suffered the disaster were all close to the mountains. Since it was the rainy season throughout March, there was too much rain. In addition, local people had arbitrarily cut down trees in recent years, causing the mountains to loosen, and heavy rain for many days led to this disaster.

Mother Zhong choked up and said, "Yuniang's eldest brother said that the floodwaters have risen to the county seat, and the entire Guangning Prefecture is submerged in water. I, I just can't bear the thought of the children who are now in doubt about their lives!"

"The water is taller than people! How big are the rocks?"

The more she spoke, the sadder she became. The tears that had just stopped falling could not help but fall again. Zhong Ruyi comforted her softly. The mother and daughter talked in the room for a long time before Zhong's father came outside and knocked on the door to say that Chen's mother was here.

"Oh no!" Zhong Ruyi immediately stood up and told Mother Zhong not to tell Mother Chen about this, lest she fall ill from excessive worry.

Mother Zhong nodded and said, "The third child has said it, don't worry, your father and the others will never mention this matter in front of her."

When Chen's mother came in carrying Miaomiao, everyone in the room had already calmed down. Now no one knew what the situation was. They should always think positively. What if they had just finished the exam and were on their way back?

"It's not raining outside now, so I decided to take Miaomiao out for a walk." Mother Chen said with a smile. She took the teacup handed to her by Li Guihua, and then she remembered why Li Guihua was not in the workshop at this moment.

Thinking of this, she asked directly. Li Guihua just said that she was not feeling well, so she handed over the matters in the workshop to Aunt Tian and Aunt Zhao.

"Why did Yu Niang come back? Can she handle the business in the store?" Mother Chen nodded and asked Liu Yu Niang who was sitting next to her.

Liu Yu Niang smiled, and the redness in her eyes faded a little. "I took on a wealthy businessman's wedding banquet the day before yesterday, and I was so busy! So I just wanted to take a two-day break and relax."

So that's what happened. Mother Chen didn't think much about it. After her daughter-in-law came out of the house, she mentioned that she wanted to go up the mountain to dig some bamboo mushrooms and skirt mushrooms when it wasn't raining. "There's still some chicken mushroom oil left from Ruyi's cooking last year. I thought Xiaoman would like to eat it, so I'll let him taste it when he comes back."

She touched her nose a little embarrassedly, "It's a pity that my cooking skills are not good. The ones I made before were always bitter or they would go bad within two days. It's such a waste of so much oil!"

Speaking of chicken mushroom oil, Zhong's mother had something to say, "Didn't I always tell you to boil the oil on the same day you dig it up? It would be strange if you always leave it until the next day and it tastes good!"

The two of them started talking about this issue one after another, and the gloomy atmosphere in the room disappeared instantly.

Mr. Zhong took his granddaughter out to see the swallows' nests under the eaves. Li Guihua and others talked with Mother Zhong and the others. Chen Dongzhi and others, who had already driven a mule cart to Jixiang Town, happened to meet some refugees who had escaped from Guangning Prefecture.

*

On the road, Chen Dongzhi stopped an old man with disheveled hair and covered in yellow mud, gave him a cake, and asked him about the situation in Guangning Prefecture.

"It's tragic! It's so tragic!" The old man put the cake into his chest, wanting to save it for his grandchildren who followed behind him. "The mountain collapsed! The trees were also washed down and our house collapsed! Many people didn't get out and disappeared in the blink of an eye! Now there are only me and my two grandchildren left in my family! There are still many people who didn't get out!"

The 60-year-old man recounted the tragic situation of last night with a grief-stricken expression. He only saved two grandchildren and could only watch the rest of his family being swallowed up by the flood.

Chen Dongzhi silently gave another big steamed bun and watched the refugees walk away with a heavy heart.

The old man gave the cakes and steamed buns to his grandchildren when no one was paying attention, and silently prayed that the disaster would pass as soon as possible. Otherwise, how could he, a man half buried in the earth, support two children?

A small hand covered in mud and sand suddenly grabbed the old man's clothes, and the little granddaughter said timidly, "Grandpa, there is this in the steamed bun."

The old man took it and saw that it was a piece of silver!

He suddenly thought of something and looked back with tears in his eyes in the direction where the kind-hearted person had just walked away. He put his arms around the thin shoulders of the two children. At least for a while in the future, the two children should be able to have enough food.

Chen Dongzhi and others asked those who had fled, and they had a general idea of ​​the situation, which could be regarded as a way to give themselves a shot of prevention.

The group quickened their pace, hoping to reach Guangning Prefecture before dark.

When we arrived at the area under the jurisdiction of Guangning Prefecture, the surrounding scenery had changed a lot.

The place where the village was supposed to be is now in ruins. Some of the houses outside are not seriously damaged, with just the roofs or walls collapsed or flooded. Going deeper inside, there are quite a few houses that have been crushed by trees and mud. There is a large area of ​​them. Looking around, there are villagers with numb expressions staring at it all in a daze.

Some people on the roadside were crying while hugging their long-dead family members, with despair in their eyes; some people were asking for some food and water from the passing convoys, begging and flattering.

Along the way, Chen Dongzhi and his companions gave out some food, but as time went by, more and more people came to ask for food. Someone took a fancy to their mule cart and organized four or five refugees to rob it.

After the people who wanted to rob were beaten up, everyone hardened their hearts and refused to give anything to children or the elderly. The purpose of their visit was to take the children back, and these refugees would be taken over and helped by the government.

Fortunately, the closer we got to Guangning Prefecture, the less damaged we were. When the mule cart entered the county government of Guangning Prefecture, there was only water on the ground up to the people's heels, but nothing else, like collapsed houses, was visible.

Everyone felt relieved and started looking for someone.

There were four people coming this time, Chen Dongzhi, Zhong Lao Da, Zhong Lao Er and Li Zhidie.

The four of them separated and went to the inns and pawnbrokers in the county government one by one to ask. Although the possibility of the inn being the one was small, they still had to ask.

Before leaving, Zhong Ruyi told Chen Dongzhi that when Xiaoman came, she would ask them to rent a courtyard to live in. Although the inn was convenient, it was too noisy with people coming and going. The courtyard was quieter and they could study and review well.

When he finally found a brokerage firm, the broker immediately remembered the people he described, "Ah! I remember that the young men who came to sign the house deed were named Chen, and the others shared the rent with him! The yard was rented on Ankang Street!"

Chen Dongzhi took a piece of silver and gave it to the trafficker, asking him to help take him there.

The human trafficker weighed the change in his hand and smiled so hard that his teeth were showing. It was just a matter of leading the way, but this man was so generous.

When they arrived at Ankang Street, the human trafficker diligently knocked on the door for them, but no one opened the door after knocking for a long time.

Anxious Li Zhidie asked directly, "Did you remember it wrongly? Is this really the one?"

The human trafficker was also puzzled. He had a good memory and he was the one who received those people. He was even the one who signed the house deed. How come there was no one in the yard now?

"Maybe he went out?"

The group waited at the gate for a long time. Just when the two brothers of the Zhong family couldn't wait to climb over the wall to get in, someone next door heard the noise and opened the door:

"Who are you looking for?" The person asking the question was a woman in her early thirties. She had a vigilant look on her face and was followed by a little boy of five or six years old, who was sticking his head out from behind the door to look at them.