Chapter 177
177 Travelling Together
Under the leadership of the village chief, the people from Majiagou carried their luggage and pulled the children towards Li Yu’s convoy.
Ah Gui pointed at the carriage moving through the forest and shouted, “Everyone, hurry up and follow them. They’re going out of the forest.”
The group of people ran until they were panting, but they still couldn’t catch up to the carriage. They watched as Li Yu’s convoy passed through the forest and walked forward.
“Aiyo! I’m so tired.” The old woman who had been crying sat on the ground and slapped her legs. “How can two legs catch up to four legs!! I can’t run anymore.”
The village chief looked at the old woman’s roguish appearance and was furious. He pointed at the old woman and shouted, “Old Madam Qin, you can’t even catch up to a child. If you don’t want to leave, fine. Everyone, leave. Let her feed the wolves in this forest.”
The village chief angrily led the villagers and chased after the carriage. Old Madam Qin got up and carried the pickaxe on her back as she chased after the village chief like a rabbit.
When it was almost dark, Li Yu and the others set up tents outside a village.
Xiaoyu and Yang Wei ran to the nearby villagers’ houses and bought some fruits and vegetables. Yang Wei ran to Li Yu with a basket of cucumbers, peaches, and plums. He pointed at the fruits in the basket and said happily, “Madam, look, there are your favorite crispy peaches. The granny said that her peaches are crispy and sweet. I climbed up a tree to pick them. Try them.”
“Thank you, Ah Wei.” Li Yu smiled and took two peaches from the bamboo basket. She said to Yang Wei, “Alright, send the rest to Mr. Qian and the others.”
After everyone ate, they arranged for the people to be on duty at night. After washing up, they went into the tent to rest. Zhou Jia hugged Li Yu and said with some relief, “It seems that the drought has passed. I remember that the last time we passed by here, the road at the village entrance was blocked. The villagers all looked worried. This time, I feel that the worry on their faces has faded.”
Li Yu said softly, “Actually, the commoners’ request is very simple. They just want the government to reduce the exploitation and bullying so that they can steadily support their families. That way, they will be happy.”
Zhou Jia sighed. “Isn’t that so! But some people are just too greedy.”
Ruyi and Tiezhu sat by the fire. Tiezhu pulled a few yams out of the fire and handed them to Ruyi. “Brother Ruyi, come and eat the roasted yam.”
Ruyi pointed ahead and said, “Tiezhu, look. Are those the robbers we encountered in the forest during the day?”
Tiezhu stared at the group of people with their families and pointed at the round-faced man. He said in surprise, “Brother Ruyi, it’s them. Look at the round-faced man in front. He’s the man who blocked the road and tried to rob us during the day. Why do you think they chased after us? Do they still want to rob us?”
Ruyi shook his head. “It looks like they want to follow us.”
The village chief looked at the tent in front of him and heaved a sigh of relief. He had not led everyone all the way in vain and had finally caught up. The village chief pointed at the place where Li Yu’s tent was and said, “Everyone, go over there and stay. We’ll set off tomorrow morning. Ah Qiang, come with me to talk to that young man.”
The round-faced Ah Qiang glanced at Ruyi. “Uncle, let Ah Gui accompany you! I’m afraid.”
“Useless kid.” The village chief pulled Ah Qiang away. The two of them came to Ruyi’s fire. The village chief bent down and said with a smile, “Little brother, I’m sorry.”
Ruyi glanced at Ah Qiang, who was hiding behind the village chief, before he stood up and bowed. “Old man, what’s the matter?”
The village chief looked at Ruyi and said in shame, “Little brother, we were in the wrong during the day, but this is really the first time we’ve done such an outrageous thing. I know that no matter how many excuses we find, it’s our fault. I have a presumptuous request. I hope you can tell your master.”
Ruyi looked at the village chief’s travel-worn appearance and pointed at the stone. “Sir, sit down and let me hear it.”
“Thank you, Little Brother.” Ah Qiang helped the village chief sit on a rock. The village chief looked at Ruyi and sighed. “I’m from Majiagou in Qingzhou City’s Qinghua County. My name is Ma Zecheng, the village chief of Majiagou. Not long after the drought, we were robbed by bandits. I escaped with more than 20 families in the ditch. It was quite smooth at first, sigh!”
The village chief wiped his tears. “When we were robbed by the bandits on the mountain, more than ten people died. I brought the rest of the people and begged along the way. When we reached Qi County, we lived in the city. During the day, everyone went out to find work. At night, we stayed in the dilapidated temple. I went to the county office a few times to look for the registered residence. I didn’t have the money to pay. It was only a few days ago when we were chased out of the city that everyone started having bad intentions. They found the forest and wanted to rob some money to register. The first time they attacked, they encountered you. Knowing that you were going to cross Clear Wind Ridge, we followed you.”
After hearing what Old Ma said, Ruyi felt that Old Ma and the others must have fled early. Back then, when they fled to Qi County, the city gates were closed.
Ruyi picked up a yam and handed it to the village chief. “Grandpa Ma, what are your plans now?”
Village Chief Ma took the yam and looked at Ruyi with a fawning smile. “I want to bring my villagers to follow your master’s convoy and return home through Clear Wind Ridge.”
Ruyi nodded readily. “Okay, I’ll tell my young master tomorrow morning. After he gives the order, I’ll look for you.”
Seeing that Ruyi had agreed readily, Village Chief Ma heaved a sigh of relief. He stood up and bowed. “Thank you, Little Brother. I won’t disturb you anymore.”
Ruyi watched as Ah Qiang helped Old Ma to the place where the Ma family lived. He heard Tiezhu sigh and say, “Brother Ruyi, will Young Master and Madam agree to let them follow? When I fled with my parents, some of the people who escaped with them starved to death, some were killed by bandits, and some finally escaped to Tongzhou and died of illness. My father said that our family is considered lucky that we’re still together. There are many orphans like Ah Wei and Ah Lei in the entire Qingzhou Prefecture!”
Ruyi patted the Tiezhu and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll ask Young Master tomorrow morning.”
The next morning, Ruyi told Zhou Jia about Old Ma coming to find him. After Zhou Jia heard this, he said, “Go and tell them that they can follow behind us. We have to rush to Qingchuan so ask them to walk faster.”
Ruyi smiled and said, “I knew Young Master would agree to them. I’ll tell Old Ma now.”
Half a month later, Old Ma and the others followed Li Yu’s convoy and safely passed Clear Wind Ridge. They passed by Stream Cloud Peak and arrived at Clearwater Town. Ruyi got out of the car and said to them, “Old man, we’re going to West Mountain Village to take a look. You can leave first. We’ll chase after you.”
Old Ma smiled and said, “So you escaped from Clearwater Town! You should go back and take a look. Then we’ll leave first.”