Everyone in the courtyard was startled—could the refugees be arriving so soon?
Fortunately, someone soon called out, "Is Brother Errui still home?"
It was someone from the village.
Xu Errui opened the door, and Jiang Zhi saw a boy wrapped in coarse linen peering timidly inside.
With the memories of the original body, she recognized the person before her and asked in surprise, "Xiao Man, the Village Chief and the others have already left. Why hasn’t your family gone?"
It had to be said—even a broken ship still has three thousand nails, let alone a male protagonist blessed by fate.
Nie Fantian was cunning; even while suffering in the Xu family, he had a few friends. The book also mentioned that he brought some people with him to the military camp.
Xu Xiaoman was one of them, and in the end, he lost his life for Nie Fantian.
But now, with Nie Fantian gone and herself staying behind, he had also stayed.
Xu Xiaoman’s face was pale as he asked, "Aunt Jiang, is your family leaving?"
Jiang Zhi asked in return, "What about your family, Xiao Man? Are you leaving?"
Xiao Man was also fifteen this year, and he came from a poor family.
His family had originally been doing fairly well. Although his parents passed away early, he and his brother were raised by their grandparents.
The year after his elder brother’s wife entered the household, she gave birth to a niece, and the family’s situation improved. Unfortunately, his elder brother, in an effort to earn more money, became exhausted while making charcoal, fell off a cliff, and was left paralyzed.
Not wanting to burden his wife with a life of widowhood, his elder brother sent her back to her parents’ home to remarry but kept the child, who was now three years old.
Now, his family had the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled all in one place, making it far from easy to leave.
Xu Xiaoman shook his head. "My grandparents told me to go!"
His grandparents said they were already great-grandparents, their health wasn’t good, and living to sixty was enough. They would rather die at home than leave.
With his grandparents unwilling to leave and his elder brother disabled and unable to go, he was the only one in the family who could run and jump. There was no way he could abandon his family to flee for his life.
Now, his grandfather wouldn’t listen to reason. Hearing that Xiao Tian had left but Aunt Jiang and Brother Errui had stayed, he had come to ask how they planned to manage.
Understanding Xiao Man’s purpose, Jiang Zhi explained that she planned to go up the mountain to hide in the charcoal shed.
Xiao Man’s spirits lifted at the mention of going up the mountain. "Aunt Jiang, when are you leaving? I’d like to go up the mountain too, but my grandparents won’t go."
"Why won’t they go?" Jiang Zhi asked, puzzled.
It was understandable not to flee the famine, but refusing to even go up the mountain—what was the point? Were they really waiting to die here?
She needed to find out.
In these chaotic times of war and unrest, what was most needed was to find trustworthy people to band together for warmth.
Xiao Man was surprised to see Aunt Jiang wanting to visit his home.
This aunt had a fiery temper, often beat Xiao Tian, and didn’t have good relations with the neighbors. In short, she wasn’t easy to get along with. Yet today, she was taking the initiative to care about his family.
But now, he had no other options and led the way.
In just one day, the once lively village had become somber, with most households already gone.
A few chickens that had escaped their owners’ capture stood on rooftops, cawing in panic.
When Jiang Zhi arrived at Xiao Man’s home, the scene she saw was the same as when she had first transmigrated.
The courtyard was cluttered with belongings, a child was crying, and the elderly were weeping as well.
Xiao Man’s grandfather sat silently on a wooden stool in the yard, his face deeply lined with wrinkles, the hardships rendering him speechless.
He had heard the news from the village—the refugees were truly going to kill, and the rogue soldiers were really going to massacre the village.
But where could his family go?
He and his wife were old; a single day of travel would be too much for them. And his eldest grandson was bedridden, unable to move.
Moreover, he had lived through war and chaos before.
Fleeing recklessly would only lead to death.
Everyone was in the dark, refugees scurrying around like headless flies. Even running into the city wasn’t safe—they might stumble straight onto the battlefield and become vengeful ghosts.
Nearby, Xiaoman’s Grandmother held a three-year-old girl, weeping: "Old man, it doesn’t matter if we die, but let the children find a way to survive. Let Xiao Man take the little one and go!"
Her voice was already hoarse from crying, and strands of gray hair slipped from her headscarf, sticking to her tear-streaked face.
Xiaoman’s grandfather shook his head woodenly: "Letting him go is useless. If Heaven wants to take us, no one can escape!"
As soon as Xiao Man entered the courtyard, he said: "Grandpa, Grandma! Aunt Jiang’s family hasn’t left!"
Jiang Zhi also called out: "Uncle Changgeng!"
Xiaoman’s grandfather looked up at her, and his dull face shifted expression. He had never liked this unreasonable, child-abusing shrew. But at this life-or-death moment, all his temper was gone. Since she was speaking to him politely, he reluctantly nodded: "Er Rui’s mother, you’re not planning to leave either?"
Jiang Zhi said: "My family isn’t leaving. I was just checking how many people are still left in the village and what arrangements are being made for those staying."
Xiaoman’s grandfather said sternly: "There are no arrangements. If it’s time to die, then we die."
Jiang Zhi continued: "Uncle Changgeng, we could hide in the mountains. It’ll be tough, but it’s better than waiting here to die."
Unexpectedly, Xiaoman’s grandfather shook his head without even thinking: "There’s no land to grow food in the mountains. Hiding up there won’t last long. If this war drags on for three to five years, everyone will die sooner or later. So be it—we should have died long ago."
He had considered hiding in the mountains, but aside from inedible charcoal, there was nothing up there—no land to grow crops. Once their stored grain ran out, they’d starve to death anyway, or be killed by marauding soldiers if they came down. Since death was inevitable, better to die sooner than later, so the family could die together.
Jiang Zhi fell silent.
Older people were supposed to be more open-minded, but after enduring too much suffering, once their spirit broke, even situations with room for maneuver could become the last straw that broke the camel’s back. All their thoughts would spiral into a single, narrow obsession.
If he didn’t leave, Xiao Man couldn’t leave either. He seemed resigned to waiting for death with his family.
Thinking of Xiao Man and the little girl held by Xiaoman’s Grandmother, Jiang Zhi patiently said one more thing: "Uncle Changgeng, you should know that no ruler, no matter who sits on the throne, would kill off all the commoners and rule as a bare-bones emperor. Right now, we’re just avoiding the initial wave of refugees and chaos. Once the fighting stabilizes, someone will step in to manage things."
Xiaoman’s Grandmother also chimed in: "Yes, old man. Maybe the government will win soon, capture the rebels, and we can go back home to farm."
If they hid in the mountains for a while, they could still come down occasionally to check on their fields and houses.
Xiaoman’s grandfather remained silent.
She had said her piece. Whether he listened or not was up to him.
Jiang Zhi didn’t linger. She decided to search the village to see how many households were unwilling to abandon their homes and livelihoods.
Sure enough, she found a few more families.
But before Jiang Zhi could finish speaking, two households cursed her out, accusing her of going door-to-door to steal during the chaos.
Jiang Zhi snorted coldly, turned, and walked away, pretending not to see the wardrobes and furniture they had just carried over from other homes.
They were the ones looting during the chaos, yet they pointed fingers at her.
She didn’t bother checking other places.
Behind closed doors didn’t necessarily mean no one was home—they might be hiding in their cellars, unwilling to engage with her.
Since she was unwilling to follow the Village Chief, it meant she had her own plans.
Upon seeing her return, Xu Errui hurried over: "Mother, are we waiting for Xiao Man and the others before we leave?"
In the short time Jiang Zhi had been away, Xu Errui and his daughter-in-law Zhou Qiaoyun had not been idle either.
They had gathered the old earthen pots and jars from the kitchen that were originally meant to be discarded, packing them into baskets.
The half-jar of pickled vegetables in the corner, the dried string beans and shredded radishes under the eaves, the worn-out cloth shoes and tattered brooms—all were still useful items. After gathering these odds and ends, they had filled another basket.
Taking advantage of the fact that the rebel soldiers had not yet arrived and other villagers were still in the village, Jiang Zhi considered for a moment: "No, we won’t wait. We’ll head up the mountain first.
Qiaoyun, stay home and lock the doors. We’ll go check the situation on the mountain first to see if it’s habitable."
Although the village was right at the foot of the mountain, the mountain path was difficult to traverse. From Xu Family Village to the charcoal-burning site, even unburdened, it would take at least two hours, with a mountain ridge to cross along the way.
It was still early in the day, so they needed to go and assess the situation there first.