From morning to night, we kept on traveling.
The signpost with the three words "Mantou Village" on the road gave them great hope.
"Hurry up, everyone! We're almost there!"
Someone in front spoke loudly, and the people following behind cheered immediately, and all the previous fatigue and tiredness were swept away.
They quickened their pace.
The journey that originally took half an hour was shortened to just over ten minutes.
However, when they actually saw the village, the excited expressions froze on everyone's faces.
The Mantou Village they imagined was just like the one they had seen before.
Clean, tidy, spacious and bright, small villas stand on the roadside.
When they arrive, there will be special rescue workers who will serve them hot food, say thank you for their hard work, and welcome them.
But the reality is not very optimistic for Mantou Village.
Countless houses were destroyed by the earthquake, and the ground was littered with tents built with plastic sheets or other materials.
There was also a newly built grave. It was not possible to hold a grand funeral like in the past. There was only a group of people burning paper in front of the earthen grave.
Who has the time and energy to clean up the volcanic ash that is falling everywhere? Most people have tired and confused looks on their faces.
When they arrived, there was naturally no chance of the courtesy they had imagined.
The moment they appeared at the entrance of the village, people's eyes were filled with vigilance and alertness.
Soon, the middle-aged village chief arrived.
He glanced at the crowd, "You are here to seek refuge. Follow me."
As he spoke, the village chief led them to an open space in the field.
It can be seen that wheat was grown here before, but now it is used as a place to accommodate refugees.
"If you want, you can stay here.
If you don’t want to, there is no extra space in our village.”
The people in Mantou Village are already familiar with how to deal with those who have fled here, and the villagers are no longer willing to let them continue to live in the village.
"Are you guys kidding us?"
They came here with full of hope, but the despair after the hope was unacceptable to them.
"We have nothing to eat or drink, and we don't even have a roof over our heads. Do you want us to die?"
The village chief closed his eyes when he heard this. It was obvious that he had encountered such a situation many times.
“For those who are willing to stay, we will provide one flatbread per person on the first day of their visit to our village.
If you want other things, you can buy them with money or exchange them for other things. If you don't have these two, you can come and work for us.
If you don’t want to, you can just leave.”
Upon hearing this, the fleeing people fell silent.
They had walked for a whole day and finally managed to escape here. Without food or water, where else could they go
##
There are already many refugees here.
People sat in disarray on the dirt floor.
Some people were in better condition and built a small tent with old items. Some people were in worse condition and even just sat on the dirt with a few pieces of paper as cushion.
"Oh, damn it.
I used to be a senior official of a Fortune 500 company, but within a week, I have become a refugee begging for food. "
Some people couldn't stand this huge gap and complained crazily. Holding the phone with no information, they pressed it several times without giving up, and then threw the phone hard in anger.
"Fuck you!"
There are many people who are as desperate as he is.
The children next to them were being pulled by the adults, and they had lost their initial curiosity and innocence. They stood behind their parents, looking around with their eyes wide open, their eyes full of confusion and fear of being influenced by the adults.
(End of this chapter)