bestfiction Chapter 42 Encountering Obstacles
Chapter 42 Encountering Obstacles
In a solemn and sorrowful atmosphere, Village Chief Wang slowly scattered the last handful of earth at the foot of the mountain where his loved ones were buried, and said with a heavy heart:
“Fellow villagers, the deceased are gone, and those who are alive should fulfill their last wishes.”
Reaching their destination safely and starting a new life is the wish of every villager who fled famine. Tears blurred the eyes of the villagers of Xiaowang Village.
This time, almost every family had someone buried here, including the village chief's family, whose wife, Guo, was also buried there. The villagers choked up as they said:
"Tiedan, rest here for a while. Dad will definitely come back for you later."
"Second brother, Dazhu, Dazhu's wife, Sanshu, Sanshu's wife, rest if you're tired. After you've settled in, I'll have Erzhu and the others come to pick you up and take you home."
"Father, Mother, I don't want to leave you, sob sob sob..."
Suppressing his grief, Village Chief Wang straightened his back and shouted, "Let's go!" With that, he strode forward, the villagers of Xiaowang Village silently following behind him, their firm steps carrying them into the distance.
"Dad, Mom, why don't you go and rest in the car for a while?" Wang Bazhu said with heartache, looking at his father's exhausted face and his mother's sorrowful expression.
The sudden departure of Wang An and the others was like a heavy iron hammer, striking Wang Ping and Wang Wu's hearts hard.
Their once robust bodies seemed to have been bent over by this sudden blow, and the marks of time were instantly etched deeper on their faces; the two elderly people aged considerably overnight.
Wang Ping silently shook his head and said in a hoarse voice, "I can still manage. Old woman, go and rest in the car for a while."
"Okay," Wang Wushi replied softly, then sat on the wheelbarrow. Her eldest son and daughter-in-law were gone, and her eldest grandson was only six years old. She had to take good care of herself and raise her grandson to adulthood.
After a long journey, the villagers gradually slowed down, and many in the crowd began to complain.
"Ugh, I'm so tired and hungry, I can barely walk anymore,"
"Village chief, when can we finally rest? The children and the wounded can't take it anymore!"
……
Village Chief Wang said helplessly, "Hang in there, we're very close to Zhujiang County now. We'll rest when we get there."
Before setting off, he calculated that the village's food supply was only enough for two days. If he pressed on until dark and then rested, eating only one meal a day, he could last for two more days.
"Village chief, please rest for a bit, even just for fifteen minutes. I really can't walk anymore," a woman said with a mournful voice.
After saying that, she sat down on the spot, and surprisingly, she didn't intend to leave. With her leading the way, many villagers also sat down.
"Village chief, I really can't walk anymore. Please have mercy and let us rest for a while!"
Village Chief Wang glanced back at the villagers sitting on the official road, panting heavily, and frowned, saying, "Don't block the way. Go rest by the roadside. We'll set off in half an hour."
As soon as they could rest, the villagers who had been sitting on the ground instantly stood up, rushed to the roadside, and lay down on the ground. Sleep was the most important thing, after all.
Village Chief Wang shook his head helplessly, arranged for his two sons, Wang Gui and Xiao Wang Fu, to keep watch, and had Gou Shi lead several women who hadn't yet gone to bed to cook taro.
"At Yishu's house, cook taro according to the number of people: two for adults, one for the elderly and one for children. Remember to tell everyone that this is the food for the day,"
After finishing his speech, Village Chief Wang sat down next to Wang Ping, looking worried, and said, "Brother, there are only 67 people left in the village. Without food, we don't know how many more days we can survive."
Wang Ping squeezed the gold ingot in his pocket, glancing guiltily at Wen Yuxia, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, and then at Wang Ershu, who was lying flat on the ground.
The villagers of Xiaowang Village had no money or food, and he couldn't bear it. He wanted to take out some money to help them buy food, but the gold and silver had all been found by Wen Yuxia, and it had been agreed that the three families would share them.
"Don't get worked up, just rest," Wang Ping said with a sigh.
He had already made up his mind that, regardless of whether Wen Yuxia and Wang Yishu agreed to use the money to buy grain to help the villagers overcome their difficulties, he would take out his share of the money to buy grain.
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Wen Yuxia was busy in the space. Since Village Chief Wang didn't have a map, she had to take advantage of her rest time to draw out the cities and mountains she would pass through on her way south.
On the official road less than twenty miles from Kongping County, the villagers of Dawan Village and Lijia Village were ambushed from both sides by a group of people and trapped in the middle of the narrow road.
These people looked no different from ordinary refugees, wearing patched and tattered clothes. Some carried baskets on their shoulders, while others carried heavy baskets on their backs.
However, with careful observation, one can detect some subtle yet chilling differences.
The refugees I had encountered in the past were all emaciated and looked as if they could be blown away by a gust of wind.
The group of people before them, though similarly ragged, had remarkably ruddy complexions, and their eyes, in particular, gleamed with a strange, eerie green light.
Knowing that the visitors were up to no good, Yang Lizheng lowered his voice and said, "Get ready."
During their escape from famine, they fought many battles with other fleeing groups, resulting in the deaths and injuries of countless villagers. They also gained considerable experience; the villagers were now able to form battle formations based on Yang Lizheng's instructions.
For example, right now, his shout of "Ready!" has sprung all the villagers from Dawancun and Lijiacun into action, with the elderly leading children to the middle of the line.
The women surrounded the elderly and children with carts, baskets, and backpacks loaded with food and luggage. Then they took out kitchen knives and machetes, staring intently at the group of refugees who had surrounded them.
The able-bodied men, armed with crowbars, hoes, and pitchforks, stood menacingly facing the refugees, waiting only for Yang, the village head, to give the order to pounce and engage in a life-or-death struggle.
"Hand over the grain obediently, and I might consider sparing your lives. Otherwise, don't blame my brothers for their swords being merciless," the burly man with a face full of scars said arrogantly, carrying a large sword.
"We don't have much food left either, brother, please be merciful and let us go," Yang Lizheng said gently, bowing to the burly man with clasped hands.
A man with a pointed face and monkey-like features pointed at Yang Lizheng and said in a sarcastic tone, "Hahaha, you old man, you're not good-looking but you have a lot of dreams. Do you know who our boss is?"
Yang Lizheng's smile remained unchanged as he asked in a cold voice, "Who is it?"
"My boss is the living Yama who makes people flee in terror for miles around. I advise you to obediently hand over the grain, otherwise..." the man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like face said in a sinister tone.