This night, no matter whether everyone was tossing and turning or whispering excitedly, the night passed quickly.
Almost as soon as there was a glimmer of light in the sky, the entire camp became busy.
The women were busy cooking. Originally, every family had a small pot, but now six or seven are enough to cook, and they can even set aside one to cook millet porridge for the children.
The men packed their bags, hitched up their cars, and went to the river to fill up the water.
The old men shouted at the young men and trained them like soldiers on how to hit people with sticks and where it hurt the most. The young men were very excited.
Soon, everyone had dinner, packed their bags and hit the road.
This time, although still very raw, the team is obviously different.
There is a mule cart in the front, a donkey cart in the back, and in the middle there are women supporting the old man.
Men carried burdens and walked on both sides, with hatchets and sickles hanging on the baskets, and the sun shone brightly.
The entire team is like an oval egg.
Occasionally, others wanted to intervene, but they were pushed out.
Someone had a bad temper and wanted to curse a few words. The villagers immediately raised their hatchets and the person quickly got out of the way.
Throughout the whole day, with only a half-hour break at noon, everyone held up the sun and maintained this formation for a full fifty miles.
This was much faster than yesterday. Even Hu Laosan and his family, who were originally behind, were also left behind.
However, there were some smart people who realized that this team was unusual and followed closely dozens of feet away. They were walking together by light, so they didn't have to work hard to clear the way.
At sunset, everyone found a place to rest again.
It's not that everyone can't bear the hardship, it's that there are too many old people and children in the team, and traveling at night is too dangerous.
At this time, safety comes first.
At noon, when everyone was drinking water and eating solid food, many people were watching from a distance, hesitating whether to step forward.
It is not difficult to guess that these people must be out of food.
Whether they want to pay money to buy food or beg for food, no one wants to pay attention to it.
There was a severe drought before, thousands of miles of bare land, and food prices doubled several times.
Except for the wealthy families who had food in storage, the rest of the common people almost had empty rice jars.
On the contrary, some vegetables and beans have been replanted in the ground, but it is impossible to bring them out in this kind of escape.
Therefore, almost all those fleeing the famine had little food to carry.
It has only been a few days, and the adults are fine, but the children are already sallow and thin, and there are even old people leaning on the roadside who cannot get up after sitting down.
Everyone in Qingshui Village hardened their hearts and tried not to look or listen.
The village chief wanted to speak out and told everyone over and over again.
"Put away your good intentions and never give anyone dry food or food. We only have a few dozen people, and those who are traveling with us on the road can easily reach hundreds. If they know that we have food, they will all come running. When the time comes, It's not begging, it's robbing!"
"Yes, anyone who dares to cause trouble to everyone will be kicked out directly. It's time, and you can't save your own life. No matter how bad-hearted you are, just go with others!" Li Laosi Also echoed loudly.
He had killed the Liu brothers earlier, and the way he looked covered in blood was too deeply rooted in people's hearts.
Now he speaks in the team, but he is more effective than the village chief.
Just beating and admonishing me like this, I walked down the road in one day, but everything was fine.
But when you have to cook in the evening, this is the most dangerous moment.
Everyone deliberately stayed away from the official road, walked two miles more, and found a small mountain col.
It is not convenient to get water here, but everyone likes it very much.
Because most of the line of sight is cut off here, it is easy to defend but difficult to attack. As long as the front of the col is protected, there is no need to worry about anyone plotting.
Soon, the mule carts and donkey carts were unloaded and placed across the mountain pass as a simple shield.
The elderly and children took advantage of the weak skylight left to collect firewood nearby.
Half of the women lit a fire to boil water, and the other half carried baskets to pick wild vegetables.
Don't care if it tastes good or not, as long as it's poisonous and doesn't kill anyone, just pick it all back.
Wash it clean, throw it into the porridge pot, add a little salt, and everyone will be half full.
The food tonight is much better than the previous few days.
Because the chickens and ducks brought out from home could only be smeared with a layer of salt in a hurry to prevent them from rotting.
Nowadays, the weather in late autumn is not very hot, but it is not very cool either.
If I put it down any longer, I'm afraid the chickens and ducks will stink.
Therefore, in addition to wild vegetable porridge, there were several pots of chicken and duck stew for dinner.
There are more than 90 people, old and young, sharing so few chickens and ducks, which is certainly not enough to eat.
But at this time, even having a sip of broth is a great enjoyment.
The families who brought out the chickens and ducks don't have to go to the big stove tonight or tomorrow to get food.
It can be regarded as everyone's compensation for them.
We are walking on the same road, and we cannot be absolutely fair in everything, but we should try our best to keep a bowl of water even.
This is the basis for ensuring unity and overcoming difficulties.
When the night was dark, the men sat outside the donkey and mule carts, lit two bonfires, and chatted while waiting for their meal.
The mountain breeze carried the aroma of chicken soup, making everyone salivate.
These past few days have been really tiring, especially for young and strong people like them, who have to carry loads, escort the convoy, and take care of the young and old.
It's not just physical effort, it's also mentally tiring.
A kind of nervousness that wants to have three heads and six arms to deal with danger at any time.
At this time, smelling the aroma of the food and listening to the grown-ups playing and laughing on the other side of the mule cart, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Thinking of Hu Laosan's family who had left, they suddenly felt a little lucky.
If they also left, how could they have such leisurely time waiting for dinner.
Unfortunately, there are always people who don't want them to relax for a while.
Seven or eight children touched me at some point.
They didn't dare to get close. They only stood a dozen steps away, looking into the col with their feet raised, wiping their saliva from time to time.
Maybe he was so greedy that one of the children suddenly started crying.
"I'm hungry, I want to eat meat!"
The other children seemed to be infected and started crying too, all whimpering and complaining of hunger.
Then they moved forward little by little, each with a timid and pitiful look on their faces.
Li Laosan, who was leading the team on duty, quickly stood up.
The others also frowned and wanted to scare him, but they were all five- or six-year-old babies.
It's not okay for them to hit them, and it's not okay for them to scold them.
Just when Li Laosan was about to force his way out, in the mountain col, Uncle Wang, who was responsible for taking care of the half-grown boy, and other three old men, were already shouting at their soldiers.
"Boys, there are people coming from outside and trying to steal your chicken soup. What should you do?"
"Fight them out, fight them out!"
The boys wanted to lie down by the pot, their mouths watering with greed.
As a result, someone came to rob them before they could eat them. How could this happen?
So, each of them screamed, picked up their own self-defense sticks, and rushed out.
Those little kids originally wanted to cry and beg, but before they could speak again, they were beaten back by the grown-ups with sticks, crying and stumbling back.
Fourth Uncle Wang followed behind, waving half of his arms, shouting loudly, and retreating his troops in time.
The boys came back carrying the wooden sticks in a showy manner, especially Jia Xi Jia An, who imitated the way in the opera to clasp their fists.
"General, when we go on an expedition and return victorious, will there be any rewards?"
Fourth Uncle Wang laughed and patted their heads.
"Of course there is a reward, three more pieces of chicken per person."
"Oh, it's time to eat chicken, it's time to eat chicken!" The half-grown boys cheered and ducked back into the col in the blink of an eye.
Fourth Uncle Wang then glared at Li Laosan and others.
"How many times have I told you that once you set up camp, no one can get close to you. Have you turned a deaf ear to it?"