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

Unexpectedly, the other party waved his hand and denied it: "Xinghua Village has no village chief. The head of the village is our village. My name is Liu Meng, and I am the youngest son of the head of the village, Liu Li."

After hearing what he said, everyone felt uncomfortable.

Sun Wan's thoughts raced even faster.

Although they came to escape, they were seen off by genuine government soldiers and the matter was handled in an impartial manner.

In this situation, if the village head himself does not come out to receive the guests, it means that he is either too stupid or has someone to rely on.

Looking at the two soldiers' expressions, they were obviously used to it and had no complaints at all. I'm afraid it's the latter without a doubt.

As for Liu Meng's casual attitude towards them, it seems that Xinghua Village is not easy to get close to.

At this moment, Liu Meng, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped.

Only then did everyone realize that they had come to the edge of a narrow river.

It is called a river, but it is more like a stream.

The water flows slowly and the river is not very wide, with only a narrow bridge crossing it.

Liu Meng yawned, raised the lantern high, and pointed to the other side of the river: "Across the river is the shelter prepared for you."

When these words were spoken, everyone was surprised and delighted.

They actually prepared accommodation for them, which was a pleasant surprise!

You know, most of the refugees who fled here can only live in dilapidated caves, and if they want to live in a house, they have to build it themselves.

"Oh, the villagers are so thoughtful, they even prepared housing for us!"

Everyone was talking excitedly, but only Sun Wan noticed a hint of sneer on Liu Meng's lips.

"Okay, okay, it's late at night and everyone is asleep. Stop making noise and let's cross the river together."

"There are about a dozen rooms. Since there are so many of you, you can divide them among yourselves. I won't get involved."

After saying this, Liu Meng walked away slowly with the lantern in his hand.

Given the joy of the new house, no one took his attitude seriously.

As they stepped onto the bridge, a problem arose: "Village Chief, Madam Sun! This bridge is too narrow, the cart simply can't pass through!"

Sun Wan hurried to check and found that the bridge was narrow and shaky, just as he said.

It's probably not appropriate to force your way in.

She reluctantly suggested, "Let's move the food and water over first."

Fortunately, it was a drought and the stream was shallow, so Xiao Fuzi only had to wade through the water up to his calves.

So, everyone worked hard to carry food and water buckets, going back and forth many times, and they were all sweating profusely.

In the cold wind, people are so tired that they want to take off their clothes and get some fresh air.

In the end, it was Su Rongze, Zhang Daniu and others who worked together to carry the cart and carriage across the river.

After finally reaching the other side, I looked up and saw that everything was pitch black, with no sign of any houses.

Do I have to keep going?

Everyone looked at each other in confusion and had no choice but to load the food and water buckets they had just unloaded back onto the car and tentatively move forward.

After walking two miles with great difficulty, everyone finally saw the dozen or so houses that they had been promised.

Right at the foot of the mountain, there are several houses scattered around. Each one is in a dilapidated state, with the roof looking shaky and the wall paint peeling off like a bald head.

This scene left the villagers of Darong Village stunned.

I was sweating all over as I started walking, and then a cold wind blew in, making me shiver with cold.

……

In Xinghua Village, the home of the village chief Liu Dali.

Liu Zhuang stepped into the doorway with a chill all over his body. His wife quickly brought over a hot stove and handed him a bowl of spicy ginger soup.

Village Chief Liu leaned back in his recliner, looked at his son, and asked slowly, "Did you see those people?"

Liu Zhuang nodded, took a sip of the ginger soup, and his eyebrows twisted into a knot because of the spiciness, so he simply gulped it down in one gulp.

"I see them, a bunch of bumpkins."

"There were about twenty people, and only two horses were worth a penny. They were dressed worse than beggars, and the things they brought looked pitifully few."

"About twenty people, huh." Village Chief Liu's face immediately lost all interest. "With just that many people, how big a wave can they cause?"

"I thought that Shen kid would cause a lot of trouble, but it turned out to be just twenty or so rough guys."

Unexpectedly, Liu Zhuang shook his head: "More than that, in fact, there are only about ten men."

"The others are old people, women, and a lot of little kids!"

"Little ones? How old is the youngest one?"

"He's only a few years old. It's dark and I can't see clearly."

Village Chief Liu then sat up straight, and the maid who was pinching his legs quickly withdrew her hand and knelt beside him obediently.

"These people are quite courageous. They even took their women and children with them when they fled. They have some sense."

Liu Zhuang curled his lips and said unconcernedly: "So what? What big deal can a dozen men accomplish?"

Village chief Liu also thought so in his mind, but because he was older and more experienced, he was not as impulsive as his son.

"Tomorrow, find an excuse to get close to them and find out if there are any Kung Fu masters among them."

Liu Zhuang was not willing to run so far, but before he could say anything, his eldest brother Liu Yan, who had been silent all the time, glared at him.

"Just go when you're told to go. It's not like you're dawdling like that!"

Liu Zhuang was most afraid of his elder brother, so he could only respond with a muffled "Oh".

His wife didn't dare to say a word.

Liu Yan glared at his unruly brother, then turned to Village Chief Liu and said, "Dad, now that these people have settled here, they need to find a time to register their household registration with the government. When are you planning to leave?"

Village Chief Liu smacked his lips and said, "No rush."

"First, let's see if these people are easy to pick on. If they obey, fine. If they don't, well..."

He snorted coldly, a fierce look flashing in his eyes.

The room suddenly became quiet, and Liu Yan nodded sensibly.

Without rules, there will be no order.

Once these outsiders arrive in Xinghua Village, they must abide by the rules of Xinghua Village!

Seeing that Village Chief Liu looked tired, the two sons cleverly took their wives and left.

As they walked out of the courtyard, Liu Zhuang curiously pulled his brother aside and said, "Brother, is Dad really not going to give them a permanent residence?"

Liu Yan glanced at his brother and said, "Idiot!"

"How can we not settle down? If we don't settle down, where will the relief food come from?"

"There are more than twenty mouths to feed. Each person needs at least twenty kilograms of food per month. That's enough for half a year. How much food does that give us?"

Liu Zhuang thought about it and his eyes lit up: "Wow! There are so many!"

Liu Yang looked at his brother's silly look and laughed in his heart: "Alright, alright, stop being an eyesore and go back to your bed and sleep!"

……

Over in Darong Village, the villagers were heartbroken as they looked at the dilapidated houses in front of them.

Zhu Xiuqin's voice was filled with tears: "These people...are really going too far!"

They said there were more than a dozen good rooms, but in the end they gave us a pile of broken bricks and tiles!

It would be better to level the land instead of this mess. We will have to clean up the mess before rebuilding our homes.

Even the men had red eyes and their fists were clenched so tightly that they made a crackling sound.

Sun Wan's face was solemn. After a long moment, she slowly spoke, "There's nothing to be sad about."

"No matter how hard it is, can it be worse than when we were fleeing famine?"

"We are outsiders, so it's only natural that they don't like us and exclude us."

"Cuihua, please help me find a few rooms that can shelter me from the wind and rain, and settle the old and the young first."

"Dalong, Dazhu, take the others to see which houses can still be repaired. Save the wood and stones; they will be used to build new houses in the future."