The end of natural disasters: the daily life of child brides in ancient times

Several women nearby were also pleading incessantly.

Uncle Wu's head ached from listening to the women's wailing.

"Alright, stop howling. I'm just guessing."

However, the snowfall this morning wasn't too heavy.

If they really did go out, there should be traces on the road.

Okay, everyone go out and look for it first.

If the people really did head towards the east mountain, then we'll find the villagers to discuss it further!

Hearing this, Big Head Aunt and the others finally had a direction.

The people inside the house split up in several directions and began searching around the village.

Before long, someone discovered footprints at the back of the village.

The person who discovered it followed the footprints outside.

They followed him all the way to the road leading east to the mountain before turning back.

When he finally revealed what had happened, the man who had initially held onto a sliver of hope looked extremely grim.

Big Head Aunt and several other women surrounded Uncle Wu, crying and begging him to send people out to search.

Uncle Wu was also troubled at the moment. Hearing the woman's wailing, he immediately said:

"Nowadays, most of the men in the village have gone out to haul coal."

There weren't many people left at home.

Moreover, it's not an easy task to go into the mountains to find someone in this weather.

Let's discuss this matter first!

After Uncle Wu finished speaking, he ignored the crying and wailing of the others and went out to give orders.

When the women saw that Uncle Wu had left, they gradually stopped crying.

The group whispered among themselves, discussing how to find the child.

Before long, all the men who had run out to look for someone and hadn't returned were called back.

When they heard Uncle Wu say that he saw footprints behind the village, they concluded that these boys had probably sneaked into the mountains to hunt.

Some people have short tempers and immediately start cursing.

"These kids, barely out of their teens, are incredibly audacious!"

Going into the mountains in this weather? Isn't that just asking for death?!

When Big Head Mother heard the man say that her child was courting death, her anxiety turned into anger, and she retorted:

"Geda, how dare you talk like that!"

What do you mean by courting death?!

The two younger brothers of Doctor Zhuang went to the mountains.

Not only did they find the horse, but they also shot down three wild boars!

Geda was called over halfway through his meal, and the first thing he did was look for someone in the village.

Now they have to go into the mountains to find someone again, which makes them very angry.

He immediately retorted without hesitation.

"If you think he's so capable, then don't call me over!"

In this freezing weather, there's no other way but to go out and buy charcoal.

As for going into the mountains to look for someone, that would be asking for trouble, and we might end up getting stuck there too.

"You go yourself, I'm not going!"

A man nearby whispered a word of agreement.

"Although Geda's words are crude, they make sense."

Everyone was hungry, and if they encountered a wild beast in the mountains, they wouldn't have the strength to run away.

I think we should just wait at home.

Those kids might come back if they don't catch anything!

Big Head Granny and several other women glared at the man when they heard this.

"If you won't go out, then we'll go find it ourselves."

"From now on, don't expect us to help with anything in the village!"

As he spoke, he was about to rush out the door.

Uncle Wu slammed his cane heavily on the ground and said sternly:

"Alright, isn't it chaotic enough already?"

The women, who were consumed by rage, sensed the anger in Uncle Wu's words and ultimately dared not go any further out the door.

They all suppressed their anger and went back inside, finding a corner to sit down.

Uncle Wu looked at the group of people in the room, leaned on his cane, came to the table, and sighed.

"I've explained everything to you."

Nowadays, of the boys in our village who are around ten years old, apart from three who are studying in the prefectural city, the rest have all gone out to study.

I know that unless absolutely necessary, no one wants to go out in this kind of weather.

But our Sun family has been passed down from the same lineage since our ancestors.

We can't just stand by and watch those kids perish in the mountains.

As he spoke, Uncle Wu observed the expressions on everyone's faces.

Seeing that besides Geda, several other men also looked unwilling, he continued:

"Of course, we can't let everyone go out to find people for nothing."

However, these days, no family has much food.

I think the families who go out to look for people should be exempted from guard duty for a month.

What do you all think?

After Uncle Wu finished speaking, his eyes lingered on everyone's faces.

Actually, he wasn't sure about himself at that moment.

Given the current situation, if we don't send someone out to search...

Families who lose their children inevitably become estranged from their community.

Besides, if we really don't go looking for them, there's a high chance those kids will die in the mountains.

Therefore, for the sake of the overall situation, we had no choice but to send people to search for them.

Now, all they're discussing is what benefits to give to the men who go out.

Sure enough, the men who had been grumbling about not wanting to go out...

Their attitude softened considerably after hearing that they could be exempted from duty.

Seeing this, Uncle Wu continued to add chips.

He looked at Big Head Granny and the other women, and continued:

"Big Head Auntie, Pole Auntie, the men in the village went out to help look for people, you should also do your part."

You all know the situation outside right now.

How about this, you all discuss it and see how much coal each household can produce.

Ultimately, we can't let people make a wasted trip for you, can we?

This time, Big Head Granny and the other women did not object.

They also know what the situation is like outside.

After discussing it, the women decided to give each of the men who went to find people fifty catties of charcoal.

Upon hearing the amount of coal, some of the men were clearly unwilling.

After some bargaining, they agreed to give each person 100 catties of charcoal.

Uncle Wu counted, and there were a total of nine men who went out to look for people.

The families who lost their children, though heartbroken over the charcoal they had given away, were no longer as distraught as before.

Once the decision was made, Big Head's mother urged everyone to hurry out and find the person, but was stopped by Uncle Fifth.

"This trip has taken a lot of physical exertion. If you haven't finished eating yet, go home and have a full meal first."

In addition, bring some dry food, hot water, and torches.

It's good to be prepared, so that if you find it at night, you won't be caught off guard.

Alright, you have 25 minutes.

Everyone hurry back for dinner, and we'll meet at the village entrance in 15 minutes.

Hearing this, Big Head Granny and the other women finally felt a little relieved.

Fifteen minutes later, the nine men, along with Big Head's wife and three women, set off with their belongings.

Uncle Wu watched them leave, his heart filled with worry.

But in this situation, all he can do is wait.

At this moment, Lu Qingqing and Qin Lang's family were reading at home, unaware of the situation outside.

Ever since Uncle Wu sent someone over to tell them they didn't need to go on duty.

They rarely go out on weekdays.

In addition, there's really nothing much going on these days.

Old Zhuang felt that apart from practicing martial arts every morning, he was out of shape for long periods of time and would get out of breath even with the slightest movement.

So that when we continue our journey next spring, it won't be so arduous.

Fortunately, every day before Mai Sui and her son came to shovel snow, they would clear the snow from the doorway and the yard.

After missing several times, Mai Sui and her daughter realized that Old Man Zhuang really didn't need them to clean, so they stopped.

He didn't have much interaction with the villagers, which led to this.

They knew nothing about the missing boy in the village.

At dusk, on the lookout tower at the entrance of the village on the east side of Fushan Town.

When Ganzi's mother saw someone returning from the village entrance, her eyes widened as she stared intently at that spot.