Rebirth of an Old Farmer: Escape from Famine with Children and Grandchildren

Lan Zhen's speech immediately won the sincere approval and applause of many villagers. It not only saved enough face for the old village chief who was about to step down but was still loved and respected, but also greatly boosted the morale of the people, as if a ray of hope was ignited at the end of the long and dark night.

"Yes! Let us unite and overcome these difficulties together! May we all get through this safely and find our ideal habitat soon!"

People responded one after another, and deep down they seemed to be more determined to follow this wise woman and move forward courageously.

In fact, for her, one of the most urgent goals is to be able to maintain stability within the village and rally morale through appropriate words.

After all, the next unknown journey will be extremely long and full of dangers; there are many people in Sujia Village, and if there is no widely recognized authoritative leader to command and coordinate all aspects of the work, the elderly village chief alone may not be able to do it.

Although Lan Zhen had been extremely disappointed with the way he handled the thorny issue of Su Yanyan, she could understand it on second thought - after all, she was her own daughter, and blood ties would inevitably make any father choose to favor the interests of his own family.

Even if the old village chief didn't speak today, she would have proposed choosing a leader, and the old village chief's son would have been the most suitable candidate.

Everyone in the village would listen to him, because in Sujia Village, even if the old village chief was no longer in office, his descendants would take over, and at most they would just have to report to the head of the village in town.

Sun Wan didn't want to stay in Sujia Village because she didn't like to manage others, nor did she want to be managed by others. She only cared about her children, grandchildren and parents at home.

So she spoke directly about her opinion.

Sure enough, everyone agreed that Su Shunde should succeed the old village chief and become the new village chief, leading everyone to escape famine and find a place to settle down and live.

Su Shunde glanced at Sun Wan and knew what she was thinking.

His father is indeed old, and his sister has been making a lot of noise along the way, so he is really exhausted.

So he stood up and said to everyone, "Okay, if everyone agrees that I should be the village chief of Sujia Village, I will take on this responsibility and lead everyone to find a stable place."

Lan Zhen and the others had just finished their meeting when Zhang Kun, Su Yousheng and Su Zhaoxiong came back.

When they saw the villagers sitting in a circle, they knew they were having a meeting.

Su Shunde's eldest son, Su Zhaoxiong, said, "Grandpa, the three of us looked along the road and saw only people fleeing famine. They had little to eat and their clothes were tattered."

The old village chief sighed and said, "Alas, due to natural disasters and man-made calamities, life is really hard for the common people."

Zhang Kun continued, "It seems they're all going from village to village, rarely just one or two people traveling together. They must have run out of food long ago. They're all pale and thin, and their children are crying from hunger."

Su Yousheng also agreed: "Yes, if anyone boils water to cook porridge, they will look on with envy. Before we go down the mountain tomorrow, we must hide the food at home."

Su Zhaoxiong added: "Also, we must not let them see us eating, otherwise they will swarm over and grab the food, and we will be powerless to stop them."

Zhang Kun suggested, "Village Chief, I think we should arrange some specific preventive measures. Every day, send a few young and strong men, armed with knives or sticks, to walk on both sides of the team, and place the elderly and children in the middle. This will provide protection and prevent food from being stolen."

Su Zhaoxiong also nodded and said, "There's another thing you should pay attention to, especially the women in your family. Don't give food to starving children or women who have no food just because you're soft-hearted. Doing so will not only harm your loved ones, but also bring unnecessary trouble."

Su Yousheng nodded and said, "The three of us were lying on the hillside when we witnessed this scene. An old woman on a wealthy family's donkey cart kindly gave half a steamed bun to a starving child. Refugees from both sides of the road rushed over frantically, tearing the family's donkey cart to pieces. I don't know if the family was injured afterwards."

So everyone must pay attention to these two points: first, keep an eye on your own food; second, never give alms casually.

If any of us had compassion and gave away food, the entire Sujia Village would suffer.”

Sun Wan hadn't expected the situation down the mountain to be so dire. She frowned, then nodded in agreement. "Sisters, be careful! Don't be so charitable as to think others are starving to death and want to save them. It's pitiful. If you do that, once the refugees rush in, they'll not only trample you, but they might also capture your children and steal your food and clothes. Then it'll be you, your children, and even the elderly in your family who will suffer."

Listening to their descriptions, everyone felt more and more serious and began to panic.

Su Deshun slowly stood up and said to everyone in a serious tone, "Everyone, please listen carefully. First, we will pass many refugees from famine. Second, most of these people have run out of food and are extremely hungry. Finally, I hope everyone can restrain their sympathy. If you see a refugee about to starve to death and rescue them out of kindness, it is very likely that other refugees will rush to loot them. This will not only fail to solve the problem, but will also bring danger to our Sujia Village. If this happens, I hope the rescuer will leave the team and not bring harm to others."

The protection work along the way was handed over to Zhang Kun.

He will select several strong, brave and reliable villagers to carry pre-prepared machetes and sturdy wooden sticks, and distribute them on both sides of the team to guard and provide necessary security protection for all personnel.

The middle position is reserved for the weaker groups, such as the elderly, children and women, to ensure that they receive maximum care and protection.

Leading the way in the front of the entire migration team was the sturdy and durable donkey cart of Zhang the hunter's family, and the rear was followed by Su Dazhong's family. They also used their own donkey cart as cover to ensure that no one could easily attack from behind.

Su Dazhong responded without hesitation, "I understand, Village Chief. Please rest assured. Let us, the Su family, cover your retreat and protect everyone's safety."

When Sun Wan heard this, she couldn't help but feel curious: Where did these people get the donkey carts?

She remembered very clearly that a few days ago, the only two better vehicles in the family - a large mule cart and another ordinary donkey cart - had been quietly hidden by her in the mysterious space.

So she subconsciously turned her head and carefully observed the surroundings, and sure enough, she saw several cars parked not far away.

But the workmanship looks quite crude, as if it was just barely put together.