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

The two of them munched on their dry food while walking quickly towards the village, their hearts filled with anxiety and restlessness.

Before leaving, Zhang Lao Hu asked Sun Wan to go with him.

Sun Wan is a good hand in the village. Although she is young, she is steady and reliable.

"Lan Zhen, let's go and take a look at the village."

Zhang Lao Hu said to her.

When a group of people found the old village chief, Su Zhaoxiong was not idle either. He went to invite the head of Dongjiazhuang over.

Su Zhaoxiong hurried into Dongjiazhuang, found their leader, and eagerly explained the situation.

Soon, he brought the head of Dongjiazhuang to the old village chief.

When everyone was almost gathered, the old village chief looked at Zhang Lao Hu and said, "Old Zhang, please tell us about it."

Zhang Lao Hu nodded and agreed, "Okay, the situation is not favorable for us. Xiao Su and I walked around the stone forest and later climbed a relatively high mountain to investigate. Looking from the mountain, we found that behind the stone forest were a series of mountains, and the mountains were full of trees. The dense trees covered the entire valley, like an endless green ocean."

But if we speed up, it will probably take five days to get through this forest."

At this point, Zhang Lao Hu wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued, "Time is running out, we must make a decision quickly."

"Then we returned to the main road and walked through the woods to the place where we had seen the victims lying to check on the situation."

At this point, his eyes burned with anger, mixed with regret.

"There's no one alive there now. They've either been killed or taken away. There are many bodies left at the scene, bloodstained. It's a horrible sight."

Su Zhaoxiong added: "We went back and forth on the official road but didn't see any troops. Just before entering the forest, we heard the sound of hurried horse hooves. We quickly hid in the nearby bushes. Soon after, we saw a group of officers and soldiers passing by on horseback. They were wearing standard military uniforms and looked very formal."

Zhang Lao Hu frowned and said, "They're probably here to search for us. There seem to be a lot of these raids around here lately. We all need to be extra careful."

The old village chief sighed and replied, "It seems we can't go out now, and we dare not go near the main road! If we encounter soldiers on the road, the consequences will be disastrous."

After saying this, he looked at Sun Wan gently and asked, "Lan Zhen, take the map and see how far we are from Youzhou now. We must make sure we are heading in the right direction. Otherwise, if we get lost, food and water may become scarce, and it will be difficult to escape then!"

Sun Wan immediately took out a neatly folded map from her arms, and then carefully spread it out on a large rock so that everyone could clearly see the route on it.

Seeing this treasure, the eyes of the Zhou Village elder suddenly lit up, and he said jokingly, "So you also brought a map. No wonder you were able to travel so smoothly."

Hearing this, the old village chief just sneered and did not respond to his joke, as if he was somewhat unhappy.

Su Shunde and Zhang Laohu studied the picture carefully for a while, and finally breathed a sigh of relief, with relieved smiles on their faces.

Su Shunde spoke first, "Fortunately, we haven't deviated from our route! As long as we continue to move forward according to the original plan, we won't make any mistakes."

Zhang Lao Hu continued, "According to the location marked on this map, our destination is about thirty miles away. If we walk at a normal pace on the main road, we should arrive in less than three days."

He paused, "However, we can't take the main road now. We have no choice but to cross this chaotic pile of rocks. Once we pass this obstacle, we'll see a large mountain with lush trees. Once we climb over this mountain, at the foot of it will be our destination—Youzhou City."

Su Shunde also said, "Yes, this is indeed the safest and fastest route. Although we may encounter some unknown difficulties along the way, walking in the mountains can indeed avoid being discovered by the enemy. However, this way, we will probably need five or six days to completely escape from danger."

"We have to be frugal with our food. We can only share a little bit with everyone every day, just enough for the team to survive until we get out of this rocky place."

He spoke in a serious tone, fearing that everyone would not take this issue seriously.

Hearing this, everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that they finally had a clear direction and solution, and were no longer so confused.

Even though it took a little longer, it was great to be able to leave safely.

However, Li Lianzhen's next words were like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads, causing their hearts, which had finally calmed down, to rise again. "Although the food can barely last until then, I'm afraid the water won't last that long! There are only rocks all around here. Forget streams or springs, there's not even a blade of grass to be found. How will we find water? It's a real problem."

If you think about it carefully, it is indeed the case. It is the hottest time of the summer now. The sun above our heads is like a huge fireball scorching the earth, and the rocks under our feet have absorbed a lot of heat after a day of sun exposure.

Walking in such weather conditions is as unbearable as being grilled on both sides of an iron plate.

Everyone's demand for water is much higher than usual, and without sufficient supply, they cannot last long.

The old village chief sighed deeply, his expression somewhat solemn. "No matter what, let's move on. It's better than sitting here and waiting for death. Maybe a miracle will happen halfway. As long as we're alive, there's always hope of solving these problems."

Then he said to everyone, "It's still early, so everyone rest here for a while. We'll set out again around 3 or 4 in the afternoon when the sun is at its strongest. By then, the sun will start to set and the heat will be less intense. We should keep moving as fast as possible. When night falls, as long as you can still see the road clearly, don't stop. Only when the ground cools down during the day can we take a short break to recover our strength."

Then, the old village chief turned to Su Shunde, his eyes filled with pleading. "Shunde, please organize the villagers and explain to them how serious the situation is. Food and water are precious to everyone, and they must control their consumption. Lack of water is more dangerous than running out of food. It can easily cause someone to collapse and never get up again."

Su Shunde nodded heavily, indicating that he would be responsible for conveying this important information.

Seeing this, the others dispersed and made some preparations.

As Sun Wan was walking towards her temporary residence, a small semi-open cave, she was still thinking about what to do if she really had no water to drink.

She shook her head vigorously to try to get rid of the bad thoughts, but this also caused a lot of sweat to fall out, leaving several fine arcs in the air.