In a chaotic world of infrastructure development, a woman's path to survival after being reborn

After Zhao Zexuan said this, Su Li didn't ask any further questions. Instead, she explained, "The soldiers arranged for me to stay here. It wasn't my own choice to move in."

Zhao Zexuan understood what Su Li meant and said, "In front of outsiders, we are husband and wife, and it is only natural for husband and wife to live together. Besides, there aren't enough rooms available for other people to live in right now, so I can only ask you to live with me."

Hearing this, Su Li wasn't too surprised, but asked curiously, "After entering the city, I heard that we'll have to stay here for a while. Is that true?"

Zhao Zexuan nodded and explained, "It's true. I'm planning to expand our manpower here; we don't have enough people right now."

Even with the women and children included, there were nearly a thousand people, yet they still felt it wasn't enough.

Su Li found it a bit strange, so she asked curiously, "Is the situation outside not good? Why do you suddenly need to increase manpower? Besides, didn't you say before that it's difficult to manage when there are too many people around?"

Zhao Zexuan naturally understood Su Li's meaning, and said, "The situation is very different now than before. I used to think that although the journey was chaotic, it shouldn't be too dangerous. But after the battle in Tongcheng, I realized that I was wrong."

"If we don't have the right timing, location, and people, it will be very difficult to win this battle. We've encountered such trouble before we've even reached a third of the way, so the rest of the journey will probably be even more difficult. Therefore, I think it's necessary to increase our manpower."

"As for the possibility that these people might be unreliable, I've thought about that too. So I've decided to stay in Tongcheng for a while and wait for them to finish their training before we set off. Also, I'll take this opportunity to learn more about the situation outside."

Su Li nodded in understanding, then said, "Perfect, I'll take this opportunity to set up my oxcart..."

***

The two chatted like this, and soon the next day passed. When Su Li woke up the next day, she looked at the wooden bed not far away and Zhao Zexuan was gone. He must have gotten up long ago.

With Zhao Zexuan away, Su Li felt more at ease on her own. After getting up and having breakfast, she wandered around the prefect's mansion, thinking about what she could do during this time!

……

Su Li didn't know how Zhao Zexuan had arranged things; all she knew was that new disaster victims had been joining the group these past two days, but she hadn't seen them.

Considering the unsafe conditions outside, Su Li has stayed at the prefect's residence for the past few days, not going anywhere else.

That day, unable to stay still any longer, Su Li, led by a soldier, found some of the village women. They didn't need to do anything, just chatted together.

The village women now have their own homes, and they're all bored and chatting together. They're very welcoming to Su Li.

"These days I've been staying in the city just like any other day, which makes me feel like life is still the same as before," Tiger's mother couldn't help but sigh.

Hearing this, the other women chimed in, "Who says otherwise? I wonder how much longer we can live like this."

"When do you think we should set off again? I'm afraid that if we live like this for too long, I won't want to go back to the old days!" Tiger's mother said again.

Hearing this, many women shook their heads and said, "Who knows? It depends on the specific situation. Let's all be content. Our lives are already very good. You didn't see how other people in the city used to live."

Upon hearing this, not only Su Li, but also the other women present became curious and surrounded the woman who had spoken, Aunt Gouzi, asking, "How do you know? Did you see it?"

Seeing everyone staring at her, Aunt Gouzi looked away before speaking, "Don't all look at me. I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I heard my husband mention it a couple of times."

These words piqued everyone's curiosity, and they all asked, "Tell us what exactly happened so that we can all have some idea."

Hearing this, Aunt Gouzi finally spoke up: "As everyone knows, this city used to be occupied by refugees, right? I don't need to tell you how terrifying the refugees were. In the past, the men here were alright, but the women suffered terribly. Those refugees were inhuman, forcibly abducting women in the streets. Most of the women in the city were harmed by those refugees, and their lives were all in a terrible state."

All those present were women, and they were all greatly shocked to hear this news. Imagine if they had encountered such a thing, they would never have been able to accept it.

"These damned beasts are not worthy of being human," a woman spat.

This statement resonated with everyone, but they were even more eager to know what happened next and what the women were doing now.

"And now, what has become of those women?"

Hearing this, Gouzi's mother sighed and said, "What else can we do? Many people were rescued, but they all committed suicide afterward. And some who didn't commit suicide are half dead, living like neither humans nor ghosts."

Upon hearing this news, everyone felt heavy-hearted and unsure how to express their feelings.

This incident also had a significant impact on Su Li, making her realize the constraints placed on women in this era, especially in chaotic times, where the survival of ordinary women was even more difficult.

I wanted to do something for these women, but it seemed like there was no way to get started. The cruelty of this era to women cannot be explained in just a few words!

Even Su Li understood this principle, and the women present certainly did as well. So when they heard the news, they felt only anger, sympathy, and sadness, but even more so, a sense of powerlessness. Putting themselves in her shoes, they realized that if the same thing happened to them, they might have made the same choice.

The topic was too heavy, and the atmosphere became somewhat silent for a moment. Perhaps realizing that she had said something she shouldn't have, Aunt Gouzi couldn't help but change the subject, saying, "Do you think it's going to rain?"

One sentence brought everyone back to reality, especially since the word "rain" is particularly sensitive these days. Many people looked at the sky outside and said in disbelief, "Impossible, it hasn't rained for so many years, how could it rain at this time? You must be dreaming."

Despite being contradicted, Aunt Gouzi wasn't angry. Instead, she said seriously, "Haven't you noticed that there seem to be more dark clouds than usual lately? That's a sure sign that it's going to rain."

Everyone present, except for Su Li, was an experienced farmer and naturally noticed the changes in the dark clouds. However, they couldn't believe it, since it hadn't rained for two or three years.

"This has happened before, and it still didn't rain, so let's not get our hopes up..."