After fleeing famine, I have thousands of acres of fertile land

No one wanted to go to bed, so they just waited for the rain to come down and cleaned up the gutters at home.

Just as everyone was looking forward to it, the thunder gradually disappeared and the dark clouds in the sky dispersed, and everyone was disappointed once again.

There is less and less water in the well. It used to take a quarter of an hour to draw a bucket of water, but now it only takes half an hour to draw a bucket.

The Ye family now dares not touch the water in the water cellar. They will not touch it until it is absolutely necessary. They also strictly forbid the children in the family from going out and talking about the water cellar.

That day, Ye Sheng returned to the village with an anxious look on his face. He didn't even bother to say hello to everyone and rushed straight to the headman's house.

"Uncle, it's bad. The county government wants to collect summer taxes. The drought is too widespread this time. The court doesn't care about us anymore and hasn't issued an imperial decree to exempt us from taxes. What should we do?"

"Shengzi, what are you talking about? We still want to collect summer taxes? Oh my God, this is really unbearable. There is no harvest in the fields, how can we pay the taxes?" At this moment, I wanted to die.

"Uncle, you still have to come up with a set of rules first. I'm leaving now and have asked for half a day off. I need to go back soon. Please send someone to inform me if there are any rules. All the masters in the county have run away." After saying this, Ye Sheng hurried to the city. There was nothing to eat in the city now and people were in chaos.

Boom~boom~boom

The gong at the entrance of the village rang again, and everyone hurried over here, hoping that the government would come to rescue them.

"What's the matter, head of the village? Has the disaster relief grain arrived?" A pair of eyes full of hope stared at the head of the village.

The village head felt even more upset after hearing this. "I just heard that the imperial court no longer cares about us and is still collecting summer taxes."

There was a loud bang and the atmosphere below exploded. Voices of disbelief, half-belief, and despair were heard all at once.

At that time, some older people began to wipe their tears and said, "Oh my God, this is going to kill me, please give me some way to live."

The elderly feel sad. When people get old, they believe in returning to their roots. Young people can still go out and find a job, but at this age, they can never come back if they go out.

The village head paused and continued, "What do you think? Do you want to pay the tax or not? Or do you have other ideas?"

The discussion started again, with all sorts of things being said, and no one could convince anyone else. "Do you have any rules, village chief? We will listen to you."

The village head stood up and said calmly, "I have watched many of you grow up in my village over the years, so I will speak frankly. There is basically no water in the well. Even if you pay the tax, you won't be able to stay for long. Isn't that right?"

There was silence in the village and the atmosphere became depressing.

The village head continued, "In fact, everyone knows that we have to leave sooner or later. Now it seems better to leave early than later. If we leave together as a village, we will not be bullied even if we have more people. What do you think?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the discussion began again. This time it lasted longer and was louder than the last time.

The village head coughed twice, and the crowd gradually quieted down. He then continued, "My family is going to leave the day after tomorrow. If you are willing to go with us, take your pass and leave the day after tomorrow. If you are not willing to go, we will not force you. Let's go our separate ways."

After hearing what the head of the village said, those with lighter eyelids began to wipe away their tears.

The village is close to the mountains and the water, and the families have never had to worry about food and drink. No matter what they get from the mountains or the water, they can exchange it for some money.

Most of the people in Kaoshan Village have the surname Ye, and they all have the same ancestor. The other half have the surname Wang, and apart from the occasional disputes between the two surnames, there are no major conflicts.

"Okay, everyone go back and discuss with your family whether to leave or stay. Those who want to leave should make preparations early. Gather at the entrance of the village at the beginning of the morning the day after tomorrow."

After saying this, Li Zheng walked away with his hands behind his back, and the crowd slowly dispersed.

Every household took action that very night. All the things that were usually buried in the ground, hidden on the beams, or blocked in the holes in the wall were turned out. At this time, they no longer cared about hiding it from their family members.

Old Man Ye's family also started to get busy. Old Man Ye instructed, "Big brother, you go to Sunjiazhuang tomorrow and tell your sister what they have arranged. Second brother, you check the car at home tomorrow and change parts. Third brother, you go to your uncle's house tomorrow and tell him that we are going to escape the famine. Go buy some oil paper to cover the food. See if there are any other families that need to be informed. Let Chuanzi and the others run errands. Old woman, you take the daughters-in-law to prepare dry food."

Zhou hurriedly took Ye Chenchuan's hand and told him to go to his grandfather's house in the mountains early in the morning.

Shen didn't care. There was no one at home, so she just had to pack up her things.

Wei also instructed Ye Chenyi to go to her mother's home in the next village. Wei's mother's family was a butcher, and all the people in the family were tall and strong, so she naturally hoped that her mother's family would go with her.

Ye Qing reminded his second uncle, "Second uncle, can you help us make some wooden bowls tomorrow? If our porcelain bowls fall on the road, we can still have bowls to eat with. Also, make some wooden sticks with arrowheads, which we can use for self-defense. Also, make some small wooden pots that we can hang on our bodies so that we can carry more water."

Uncle Ye hurriedly said he understood, and went to check the wheelbarrow and cart at home under the moonlight. These were the most important ones, as you could only carry so much in your hands, as everything depended on the cart to be pushed.

Zhou was busy sewing bags. All the food in the house had to be put away, so she needed a lot of them.

Shen was also not idle. She was frying noodles in the kitchen with her daughter Ye Xi.

Just fry the gray flour and leave it for a little longer. If you don’t have time to cook on the road, you can just eat some fried noodles with hot water. What’s more, fried noodles can also cure diarrhea.

Wei took Ye Xiang to knead the dough, trying to make as many steamed buns and pancakes as possible. They could eat them while walking, and it wouldn't take up too much time.

Li was packing dried vegetables and some easy-to-store bacon. She also had a chicken at home, and the rest were sold when the well water was low.

There is also the rabbit that Ye Qing brought back last time. He plans to kill it tomorrow morning and have a good meal together.

Old man Ye was not idle either. He took out the wheat straw that was saved for replacing the grass on the roof and pressed it back and forth with a stone mill several times until the straw became flat.

All of them are used to weave straw raincoats and mats. Although there is no rain now, it is hard to say what will happen in the future. The mats can be used to cover the car and can also be spread on the ground to sleep at night.

Ye Qingzheng pulled Ye Chencong to ask for help. Ye Chencong was already able to do simple carpentry work. Ye Qingzheng asked him to make a few more slingshots and bows and arrows. Since they were children with little strength, they could use slingshots for self-defense, and the older brother could use bows and arrows.

Old Man Ye felt a little relieved when he saw the busy family. As long as the family was together and could survive, it didn't matter where they lived.

Old Man Ye noticed the performance of these children at home, especially after Ye Qing fell, he became obviously smarter and often considered things more comprehensively than himself.