Thus, Zhou Erlang and Zhou Sanlang—one huffing indifferently, the other with a flushed face and a strained neck—stubbornly argued over who would provide for their little sister in the future.
It continued until Zhou the Third could no longer bear to listen. He gave each of their little heads a smack.
“Go on, get lost, you two smelly brats! Your father is still right here! I will provide for my own daughter myself, and no one better think about snatching her from me!”
Zhou Mianmian listened with quite a bit of helplessness, her little face puckering.
Why is everyone scrambling to provide for Mianmian? Mianmian has a spiritual pool and can support herself.
Just you wait and see in the future!
As the sky grew increasingly dark, the group migrating north to clear the wasteland stopped to rest on the spot.
Having traveled for several days, they could see that they were almost at their destination.
Some of the folks were happy, while others could not help but feel anxious.
“The Third, I heard that place is incredibly desolate. Once we get there, we’ll have to clear the land ourselves, and houses have to be built from scratch.”
After eating a bit of thin porridge to pad his stomach, Blacksmith Li edged closer to grumble to Zhou the Third.
“I also heard that the soil over there is terrible. What if we can’t grow any crops?” The more Blacksmith Li spoke, the more worried he became.
The old wrinkles on his face bunched up so tightly they almost trapped a flying mosquito.
Zhou the Third rubbed the back of his head, sinking into thought for a moment.
He was not as pessimistic as Blacksmith Li. In any case, back in their old village, the Zhou family had the least amount of land, and what they had didn’t grow well either.
“If farming doesn’t work, we’ll hunt and gather wild game on the mountain. As long as we are diligent, we can always carve out a path to survive,” Zhou the Third said, his conviction firm.
As long as they stayed alive, there was hope.
Infected by his resolve, Blacksmith Li felt a bit more at ease.
He bent over, forcefully coughing up a bit of old phlegm.
Then, he patted Zhou the Third’s shoulder. “True enough. At worst, I’ll pick up my old trade and open a blacksmith shop at the entrance of the village. I can always keep food on the table for my woman and the cubs!”
If they were to clear the wasteland in the future, they would certainly need a good amount of farming tools.
Zhou the Third also felt that if the Li family resumed their old trade and opened a blacksmith shop, they truly wouldn’t starve.
“Uncle Li, I think that really works. In the future, whenever I need anything, I will buy it exclusively from your shop.”
“Deal, the Third! We are fellow villagers; we must look out for one another from now on.”
As the two of them were chatting, a heavy thundering of horse hooves suddenly echoed from not far away.
The vibrations were so strong that even the ground trembled.
Zhou the Third instantly grew alert. He stood up, his gaze tightly fixed ahead.
He also had Song Nianxi hold Mianmian and hide behind him.
This area was already extremely remote. They hadn’t seen a single soul along the entire journey, so how could so many people suddenly appear all at once?
Old Mrs. Zhou’s eyes widened. “Could it be bandits coming to rob us of our money?”
“Mother, don’t be afraid,” Zhou the Third said in a low voice, shaking his head.
“Refugees like us are so poor that even beggars wouldn’t bother reaching out a hand. I doubt any bandits would care to target us.”
These words slightly eased Old Mrs. Zhou’s fear.
Nonetheless, she instinctively reached inside her trousers, hiding the twenty-five taels of silver even more securely.
“Mother, what are you scratching at?” Li Chunzhu stared at her blankly, entirely lacking any perception.
Annoyed, Old Mrs. Zhou wished she could give her a kick.
“An old woman like me has an itch, and even that is your business? Move aside!”
Soon, a troop of about fourteen or fifteen burly men riding tall, formidable horses and carrying weapons approached the clearing.
The villagers could not help but panic a little.
It was plain to see that these men were trained fighters and not to be trifled with.
Seeing the opposing side drawing closer step by step, the refugees were not pushovers either; they all reached for the defensive items they carried on themselves.
Just then, the burly man leading the group spoke up.
“Folks, are you heading to the northern lands to clear the wasteland?”
A few refugees nodded at him.
The man instantly smiled. “Then you are the ones. There is no need to fear. My brothers and I are not wicked men; we just wanted to come over and give everyone a heads-up.”
Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and slowly lowered the things in their hands.
The leading man dismounted, took out his own wine flask, and held it out toward the refugees.
“Have a drink of wine first to warm up your bodies. The night dew is heavy.”
To refugees who couldn’t even get enough food to eat, a flask of warm wine was a rare delicacy.
Several of them scrambled forward, competing to take a drink.
However, Zhou the Third felt that something was amiss. He strode over, snatched the wine flask away, and returned it to the man.
“Good hero, we still have to wake up early tomorrow to rush our journey. Drinking wine will mess things up. We thank you for your kindness.”
Zhou the Third’s tone was highly polite, but his attitude was unwavering.
The man looked at Zhou the Third, then at the tense Zhou family behind him. His expression shifted slightly, but he did not show any anger.
“Very well, very well. It was my lack of consideration.”
Cheerfully taking back the wine flask, the man did not drink from it himself either.
Instead, he sat down right on the ground and began chatting with the refugees about everyday matters.
Somehow, the topic turned to their hometown. When the man heard that everyone was from the Quan County region, his face instantly filled with excitement.
“You all came from the Quan County area? What a coincidence! I am also from Quan County. I only came here a few years ago. We are actually fellow townsfolk!”
Having said that, the man seemed to recall something. He knit his brows and let out a sigh.
“My name is Sun Wu. I didn’t want to poke my nose into other people’s business, but since we are fellow townsfolk, I truly cannot bear to see you all get deceived.”
“Deceived by what?” the villagers asked anxiously.
The man named Sun Wu gritted his teeth and said, “Do you know how many people have died before in that place you are going to clear?”
These words landed like a massive boulder upon everyone’s heads.
Each of their heads instantly buzzed, and alarm bells rang wildly in their hearts. They all urged the man before them to elaborate.
With a face full of fury, Sun Wu then recounted the savagery and danger of that place to everyone.
According to him, the wasteland to the north was completely barren, unable to grow even a single blade of wild grass, let alone crops.
Furthermore, there were numerous wolf packs and black bears on the mountain. Even if one were to rely on hunting to survive, they would ultimately only end up falling into the mouths of beasts.
“A few years ago, the government also forcibly sent a group of people to clear that wasteland. In the end, guess what happened?” Sun Wu knitted his brows.
He then shook his head. “In less than half a year, the black bears came down from the mountain and mauled everyone to death. The blood in the crop fields never dried, and the wheat straw was constantly stained bright red!”
What?
Hearing this, the villagers were instantly shocked to the core.
The blood in their veins rushed straight to their heads.
How could it be like this?
If the wild beasts were so ferocious and the land couldn’t grow anything, wouldn’t sending them there be forcing them to seek their own deaths?
“This is simply an atrocity!” a woman wept, clutching her heart.
Another old man cursed bitterly, “Those godforsaken officials are actually sending us to our deaths for nothing. We won’t clear this wasteland anymore!”