Long after Jiang Yunxiu left, Chen was still standing at the gate, as if she could wait for her to come back.
Jiang Yunzhu knew she was sad and didn't bother her.
The sun was slanting slightly, and the autumn sunshine shone on people, making them feel warm. Jiang Yunzhu looked around and saw that the sky was high and the clouds were light, and her heart suddenly became broad. This long-lost sense of freedom really made her extremely happy.
Yes, Jiang Yunzhu was not at all nostalgic for the life in Anping Marquis' Mansion, including her husband Lin Ting'an, who was envied by everyone.
To her, it was like a prison. She had originally thought about how she would escape if she entered the mansion again. Now it was easy.
But right now she also has problems that need to be solved urgently.
Changfeng Prefecture has suffered severe disasters in the past two years. Last year there was a severe drought and no crops were harvested. This year there is a drought and locust plague. How serious is the disaster? Summer is the time when plants are lush, but looking around the fields, there is not a single green leaf. The land is barren for thousands of miles.
People were displaced and countless people died of thirst and starvation.
It was also because of this that Jiang Cheng and Chen, a hardworking and honest couple, were forced to sell their daughter to survive.
Jiang Yunzhu thought that she could no longer stay in Changfeng Mansion.
First, the disaster here is too serious. As the old saying goes, it is better to be a dog in peacetime than a human in troubled times. She thinks this makes sense. If society is stable and people live and work in peace, then every dog may have meat to eat, just like in modern society.
On the contrary, if society is in turmoil and people are poor, no matter how hard a person tries, it will be difficult to live the life he wants.
So if they want to live a good life, they must first move to a wealthy place.
Another point, she remembered that there would still be drought in Changfeng Prefecture next year.
The Jiang family will flee next year when they are at the end of their rope, so in her dream, after she has established herself in the Anping Marquis Mansion, she wants to contact them, but she can’t.
In this case, why not turn passivity into initiative and move ahead
Thinking of this, Jiang Yunzhu started walking around in the yard.
Soon, she found Jiang Cheng, the father of this body, squatting under the eaves of the back room with his head buried.
Fearing that Jiang Cheng would be embarrassed, Jiang Yunzhu stepped back, then deliberately increased her pace as she walked over there.
Jiang Cheng heard footsteps, wiped his eyes quickly and stood up.
"Dad, I know you are sad, but things have come to this. Let's think about what to do in the future. As for Yunxiu, I feel we will meet again in the future." Jiang Yunzhu advised, and she was telling the truth.
Jiang Cheng thought she was comforting him. How could he see his daughter again after she was sold
"Dad is sorry for you." Jiang Cheng said, he was useless.
Jiang Yunzhu didn't want to talk about this topic. In years of famine, people would even exchange their own children for food.
Jiang Cheng was silent for a while, thinking that it was time to think about the future. He had already lost a daughter, and he didn't want to lose another one.
"Don't worry, with these six taels of silver, if we spend them frugally, we should be able to hold on until next year. When next spring comes..."
"What if there is still a severe drought next year?" Jiang Yunzhu asked.
Jiang Cheng was stunned by the question and subconsciously wanted to reply, "How is that possible?" But when he thought about the severe drought last year and the severe drought and locust plague this year, it seemed that a severe drought next year was not impossible.
Yes, what if there is a severe drought next year? He was stunned.
Jiang Yunzhu waited for him to come back to his senses.
After a long while, Jiang Cheng said, "Call your mother and Jiang Lin over here, and let's discuss this matter carefully."
The Jiang family has not only two daughters, Jiang Yunzhu and Jiang Yunxiu, but also two sons and one daughter, Jiang Lin, Jiang Yunxue and Jiang Wu. However, they are too young, and at this age, even if they are given away for free, no one may want them.
Jiang Yunzhu nodded and went to call Chen and others.
Soon, the whole family gathered in the house.
Jiang Yunzhu led Jiang Wu's hand into the house.
Jiang Wu is only six years old this year. He has a chubby face and is very cute.
Jiang Cheng and Chen are both good-looking. Jiang Cheng has a typical square face, while Chen has a bit of the gentleness of the Jiangnan water town and fair skin. Therefore, the children of the Jiang family are all very good-looking. Jiang Yunzhu liked Jiang Wu very much when she saw him.
It’s a pity that in the dream he seemed to have died on the way to escape.
Yes, if the situation in the dream is true, the Jiang family will have to wait until next year when all the money is spent before fleeing. It is normal for Jiang Wu to be unable to hold on at such a young age.
Fortunately, that shouldn't happen now.
Jiang Yunzhu clenched Jiang Wu's hand, and Jiang Wu leaned against her legs, blinking his big round eyes and acting very well. He seemed to know that something happened at home.
"Boss." Chen didn't know what was going on and asked Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng repeated what Jiang Yunzhu had just said and asked her what she thought.
Chen was at a loss. Will there be another drought next year? God is just not giving people a way out! But now it is autumn, and there is no sign of rain. Maybe next year it will really...
She didn’t dare to think about it before, always hoping that things would get better next year. Now that someone pointed it out, she was awakened as if from a dream.
What should I do? She looked at Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng looked at Jiang Yunzhu. He felt that she seemed to have grown up a lot after this incident.
"Dad, Mom, I think we should move, or rather, flee." Jiang Yunzhu said shockingly.
"Move? Where to?" Chen refused subconsciously. She knew the pain of being displaced. She and Old Man Chen had fled to Jinniu Village. It was not easy to settle down here, and she didn't want to leave.
Jiang Yunzhu looked at Jiang Cheng. She felt that he supported her.
Yes, Jiang Cheng also understood those principles: a tree that is moved will die, but a person who moves will live.
He whispered to Chen that if there was another drought next year, they would not be able to hold on. Even if there was no drought, their life would not be easy.
It's already autumn, but there's no sign of rain. Jiang Cheng feels that there's a high chance of drought next year.
The more Chen listened, the redder her eyes became. But she also knew that Jiang Cheng was right.
By the evening, the Jiang family had reached an agreement that they would move.
"Pack up your things and set off in the next two days." Jiang Cheng said.
"In the past two days?" Jiang Yunzhu didn't expect Jiang Cheng to be so anxious.
Jiang Cheng said, "It's already autumn, and the weather will get colder and colder. We'd better find a place to stay before winter." Otherwise, in the coldest days of winter, without a roof over their heads, they would freeze to death.
This is the truth, Jiang Yunzhu understood.
The Jiang family immediately got busy and prepared to leave Changfeng Prefecture.
As for where to go, they wanted to go south. Firstly, there was more rain in the south, and secondly, the further south they went, the warmer the temperature would be. This was the same direction they fled in their dream.
Jiang Cheng repaired the cart at home overnight.
Chen packed up the things at home.
Jiang Yunzhu helped her.
Actually, there was nothing much to pack. Due to the disaster in the past two years, my family had sold everything that could be sold. Now all that was left were some broken tables that no one wanted, which there was nothing to take with them.
"Sister, do I need to take this thing with me?" Jiang Lin asked Jiang Yunzhu while holding a broken clay basin.
"No." Jiang Yunzhu replied firmly.
Jiang Lin turned and ran away.
"Sister, what about this?" Jiang Yunxue asked Jiang Yunzhu while holding a torn bundle.
Jiang Yunzhu looked at the bag, which was too torn to be used as a rag, but now, "Take it with you," she said. After all, it was a piece of cloth, and if it was too cold on the road, she could use it as a cushion or something.
Jiang Yunxue happily folded the torn bag carefully, as if it were a treasure.
Even Jiang Wu came to help, and the children were busy.
Chen watched from the side, feeling both relieved and worried.
They were busy until dark, and then everyone had a meal and rest.
The next morning, Jiang Cheng got up early and went to the town to buy food for the journey. He bought all sorghum rice. In recent years, the price of rice has soared, and poor families cannot afford rice, so they buy this kind of grain. This kind of grain is coarse and hard to swallow. In the past, it was used to make wine, but now it is good to have it.
Just like that, he bought fifty kilograms of sorghum rice, which cost him five hundred coins.
The price was rising too fast, and he felt more and more that it would be a good idea to leave.
Chen went to the village to inquire about the situation, to see which road was easier to travel on, and also whether they needed to go to the county government to apply for a travel permit if they wanted to leave Changfeng Prefecture.
After asking around, she found out that some people in the village had already fled.
Most of them were heading south, but they took different roads. The villagers didn't know which road was better, because only those who had walked the road knew, and those who had walked the road never came back.
As for the pass, some people had asked about it, but the county government would not issue it. If they didn't do it right, they might even be arrested if they angered the officials. After all, if so many people wanted to leave Changfeng Prefecture and the higher-ups knew about it, the officials' jobs might be in jeopardy.
If you want to leave, you can only leave secretly.
At noon, the family gathered together again, talked about what they had gained, and became more determined to leave.
After dinner, Chen immediately got busy. She wanted to mix the sorghum rice with rice bran to make cakes to eat on the road.
Jiang Yunzhu took out all the remaining pickles in the pickle jar, cut them into shreds, and saved them for eating on the road.
She was very quick, and in a short while, six or seven pickles were turned into thin shreds.
There was some sesame oil at home, which was saved for the New Year. Now it was no longer needed, so she poured it all into the pickles.
After doing this, she went to prepare water. There was drought everywhere now, and water was a precious commodity.
There used to be a well in the Jiang family's yard, but like most of the wells in the village, it is now dry. To get water, you can only go to the well at the entrance of the village, which is deep.
Jiang Yunzhu and Jiang Lin waited in line for half an hour and brought back two buckets of water.
The water was muddy yellow.
Jiang Yunzhu frowned as she looked at it. Is this drinkable
"It will be drinkable after leaving it overnight." Chen said as she saw it in the kitchen. As for boiling it, they didn't even have firewood to cook, so how could they do it
"Let's burn the tables, benches and beds at home, or boil the water to drink, otherwise what should we do if we get sick?" said Jiang Yunzhu.
Chen opened her mouth in surprise. Burning the table and the bed? How could this be possible... But then she thought, they were about to leave here, so it seemed that there was nothing wrong with it.
Jiang Cheng and Chen started from scratch, and all the things in their home were collected by them one by one. For example, the bed was bought when they got married, and the table was made by someone Jiang Cheng when she gave birth to Jiang Yunzhu.
All of these things have her memories, but now they have to be burned...
Chen was silent. She knew that this time they really had to burn their boats. She was very scared, but with her family around her, she seemed not to be afraid. She even had to be strong to protect her children from the wind and rain.
Jiang Yunzhu looked at the two buckets of water and thought of something. Now they could boil the water to drink, but what about on the way? The water they encountered might be worse than this. Maybe she should prepare in advance.
After thinking about it, she decided to make a filter to avoid drinking dirty water as much as possible.
This filter is very simple, made of charcoal, pebbles, gravel and cotton cloth.
Jiang Lin and others had nothing to do, and seeing that what she was doing was very interesting, they gathered around her to watch.
Jiang Yunzhu asked them to help, some who washed the stones washed the stones, some who scrubbed the jars scrubbed the jars, and soon, a vase-shaped filter was made.
Pour the water from the bucket into the vase.
A trickle of water flows out from the bottom of the vase, and the water is clear to the bottom.
The three children were all attracted by this magical scene, and Jiang Yunzhu felt relieved and knew it had succeeded.