The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.
Everyone who had decided to flee the famine had gotten up early to eat breakfast and prepare for departure.
Su Yunhai had prepared supplies loaded onto two ox carts and two mule carts, along with a horse-drawn carriage.
The carriage was for the women and children in the family, who could take turns resting inside as they traveled.
There were also two extra mule carts, which Su Yunhai lent to his third brother, Su Dalin.
What surprised Su Yunhai was that he had assumed Old Master Su, Old Madam Su, and the entire eldest branch had firmly decided not to leave.
Yet somehow, they had already finished packing.
One by one, they kept out of Su Yunhai’s sight and followed behind at a distance.
At the entrance of Peach Blossom Village, many villagers were already waiting.
The old village chief’s family was at the very front, calling out names one household at a time, afraid that anyone might be left behind.
When he saw Su Yunhai’s family approaching, he quickly sent his eldest son, Li Rui, over to greet them.
“Brother Dahai, come over here. We’ve specially saved you a spot.”
Li Rui waved at Su Yunhai.
Su Yunhai only had to think for a moment to understand the village chief’s intentions.
The village chief had probably noticed that he was skilled, and that he carried the reputation of being a scholar.
On top of that, he had both contributed ideas and fought bravely during yesterday’s battle against the horse bandits, earning himself considerable prestige in the village.
The village chief probably wanted him to help lead the villagers alongside them.
Su Yunhai didn’t stand on ceremony.
He had no intention of entrusting his family’s lives to anyone else.
“Is everyone here?” Su Yunhai asked.
“We’re still calling the names. We counted the households that decided to flee together last night. We didn’t expect several families to refuse to leave. Sigh, there was nothing we could say to change their minds.”
Li Rui sighed.
Su Yunhai said nothing.
Everyone had their own considerations.
He nodded to Li Rui and led his family’s carts to the very front of the group.
Another quarter of an hour passed before everyone had finally arrived.
At that moment, wealthy merchant Zhang Shifu, Zhang Shiwen, walked over.
He had also participated in yesterday’s battle against the horse bandits.
It was just that his entire family were wealthy merchants who had never done any physical labor. Saying they were incapable of even killing a chicken would not have been an exaggeration.
The village chief had wisely avoided putting them on the front lines where they would only get in the way, assigning them tasks such as digging traps instead.
Still, that had allowed Zhang Shiwen to witness just how extraordinary Su Yunhai and Shen Shuli were.
He had been the first person to suggest fleeing the famine this time.
Originally, he had thought that hardly anyone in the village would listen to him and leave together.
Unexpectedly, after what happened yesterday, almost the entire village had decided to flee.
He wanted to find out where these people planned to go and whether their destination matched his own.
“Scholar Su, have you decided where you’re going yet?”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhang Shiwen asked the question directly.
Su Yunhai hadn’t made up his mind either.
According to his thinking, heading south would probably be a good choice.
Throughout history, the south had generally been a land of abundant resources, favorable weather, and prosperous commerce.
But he couldn’t make the decision for the entire village.
For now, they should first leave the dangerous northern borderlands. There would be plenty of time to discuss where to go after that.
“Let’s leave the northern borderlands first and figure out the rest afterward. I can’t make the decision for everyone. Once we’re out of the northern borderlands and temporarily out of danger, we can discuss it together. By then, everyone will probably have a better idea of what they want to do.”
Zhang Shiwen thought about it and agreed.
The farthest places most villagers had ever traveled to were probably the nearby town or county.
If you asked them where they wanted to flee to, how could they possibly know what places existed beyond their little corner of the world?
There was no point asking them prematurely.
“We’ve temporarily decided to head to the capital and see how things are there. It looks like we’ll be traveling together for quite a long way.”
To show his sincerity, Zhang Shiwen directly revealed his destination.
“The capital is a good place. After all, it’s right under the emperor’s feet. No matter how chaotic things become elsewhere, the capital should remain relatively safe for the time being. With your family’s wealth, it would also be suitable for you to settle there.”
Su Yunhai nodded in agreement.
“It’s getting late. Let’s set off while the temperature is still low and get moving early.”
Su Yunhai’s family led the caravan at the very front, with the village chief and Zhang Shiwen following closely behind.
Those households with livestock traveled in the middle.
At the very back were families who couldn’t afford livestock and had to rely entirely on their own strength to pull carts or carry their belongings.
The entire procession stretched a long way.
They hadn’t traveled far when the group encountered people from several nearby villages who had also decided to flee together.
The families who had chosen to follow Peach Blossom Village were all households that had participated in yesterday’s battle against the horse bandits.
The group, which had originally numbered only a little over three hundred people, immediately doubled in size.
Since many of the villagers were carrying their belongings on their backs, the entire procession moved very slowly.
It took a full two hours before they finally reached a three-way intersection.
The villagers from Baishan Village, where Shen Shuli’s maternal family lived, were already waiting there.
“Everyone, stop here! Find something simple to eat and fill your stomachs. We’ll set off again in exactly one hour.”
Su Yunhai called out, and the people farther back passed the message along.
Shen Yuehua was driving one of the carriages.
The moment she saw her parents, she immediately jumped down and hurried over.
“Dad, Mom, sorry to keep you waiting. Our village was moving rather slowly, so we were delayed a little.”
“As long as you’re here, there’s nothing to apologize for.”
Seeing his daughter, son-in-law, and their family, Shen Huai’an finally relaxed slightly.
“You mean the entire village is fleeing together?”
Shen Huai’an asked.
“Yes. Originally, hardly anyone wanted to leave. But then we ran into the horse bandits yesterday, and so many villagers were frightened that they changed their minds.”
Shen Yuehua briefly explained what had happened when the horse bandits raided the village.
“Son-in-law, you’re injured. Why don’t we drive for you? You should rest properly in the carriage. Don’t overexert yourself and make your wounds worse.”
Shen Huai’an looked at his son-in-law with undisguised concern.
“Don’t worry, Dad. My injuries are already healed. They won’t affect me.”
A sincere smile appeared on Su Yunhai’s face.
His father-in-law genuinely cared about him.
And what about his own father?
Not only had he never asked about his injuries, he had even tried to steal his belongings and make his life harder.
No wonder Su Yunhai couldn’t bring himself to be filial toward his own father.
Su Yunhai quickly directed the ox cart driven by his third son, Su Ding’an, over to his father-in-law.
“Dad, there are many people in your family but not enough livestock. I prepared this cart and these supplies specifically for you.”
Shen Huai’an hadn’t expected his son-in-law to be so generous.
He was actually giving him an entire ox cart loaded with supplies.
Just the ox alone was worth thirty or forty taels of silver, let alone the cart piled high with provisions. How much money must all of this have cost?
He didn’t dare accept something so valuable.
He immediately waved his hands and refused, turning around to return to his own ox cart.
Shen Yuehua knew her parents didn’t want to take advantage of her and were worried that her in-laws would make things difficult for her.
“Dad, Mom, don’t worry about me. Our household has prepared a full four carts of supplies. We have plenty. His parents’ side has also stocked up on plenty of grain, so you really don’t need to worry.”
After Shen Yuehua persuaded them again and again, Shen Huai’an finally accepted.
“Second Son, you ungrateful ingrate! You’re giving so much to outsiders while ignoring whether your father and I live or die. We might as well have never raised you!”
When Old Madam Su saw her second son about to give an entire cart of supplies, along with an ox, to his in-laws, her heart ached as though it were bleeding.
Old Madam Su’s ox cart was directly behind Su Yunhai’s.
Although she couldn’t hear their conversation at the front, she could see everything that was happening clearly.
The moment she saw her son about to give so many things away to outsiders, she immediately couldn’t sit still.
She jumped down and came running while shouting at the top of her lungs.
Her voice instantly drew everyone’s attention.