Chapter 76
76 Dear Rain
This night was the most peaceful night these people had slept since they left. Li Yu slept until she woke up naturally. She crawled out of the tent and saw that the grass at the entrance of the cave had been cut. Everyone was still looking for those tender green leaves to cut off and prepare fodder for the livestock.
Zhou Jia walked to Li Yu’s side and looked at her refreshed appearance. He smiled and said, “Looking at them, I’m thinking about staying here.”
Li Yu smiled bitterly. “That’s not realistic. Think about it. What can we do with the little water in the cave? When everyone finishes the food they brought, they will have to eat tree bark!”
Zhou Jia nodded. “You have a point. Go eat something first. We’ll rest here for two days before making plans.”
Li Yu looked at the children’s cheerful smiles. “Yes! Let’s rest here for two days and wait for everyone to recover before leaving.”
While resting on the mountain, Li Yu secretly filled the water vat in her space with water when no one was paying attention.
The party rested on the mountain for two days. When the old man and child recovered, everyone packed their bags and started moving again.
They walked for more than a month without any mishaps. Everyone slowly realized that the grass on the road was no longer withered, and there was no lack of water along the way. There was also no trace of the locusts.
The sky was gloomy at noon, and the wind shook the trees on both sides of the mountain path. The village chief looked at the sky and shouted worriedly, “Everyone, walk faster. I’m afraid it’s going to rain.”
Everyone sped up. As soon as the team descended the mountain, they saw dark clouds hanging above their heads. Boom! Thunder exploded overhead. The village chief shouted from behind, “The rain is coming. Hurry up and find a high ground to stop. The heavy rain is coming soon.”
Ji Xiang drove the mule cart ahead of them and saw a cliff wall that was half hanging out. Ji Xiang pointed at the cliff in front of them and said, “Let’s go under the cliff in front of us and hide from the rain.”
Everyone led the livestock to the bottom of the cliff to take the tarpaulin out of the car. They quickly opened the tent and moved the luggage into the tent to stack it. The heavy rain fell from the sky. Everyone stood under the tarpaulin and looked at the heavy rain that they had not seen in a long time. They raised their heads and enjoyed this rare coolness.
The rain was getting heavier and the fog was spreading. They could not even see the road ahead clearly. Everyone had no choice but to open their luggage and plan to stay.
Laidi looked at the heavy rain and walked to Li Yu’s side. She smiled and whispered, “Cousin, is there anything delicious? Let’s cook something delicious!”
Li Yu looked at her and smiled. “Alright! Go and see what else is delicious in the bamboo basket. We’ll take it out and cook whatever you like.”
“This girl!” Li Mei looked at Laidi, whose face was only the size of a palm. She swallowed the blame on her lips and helped prepare.
Seeing that Li Yu was preparing to cook, everyone smiled and said to Li Yu, “Xiaoyu, eat a big pot of rice.”
“Alright! Let’s eat a big pot of rice.” Li Yu smiled and agreed to let Auntie He take out the last few pieces of pork belly from the bamboo basket. Then, she mixed a handful of red beans and made a fragrant meal of bacon and grain.
At night, Li Yu quietly took out some dried meat from her space and distributed it to Zhaodi, Laidi, and Li Qing. The children held the dried meat and asked Li Yu in surprise, “Sister, you know how to do tricks? Granny He emptied the bamboo baskets today!”
Li Yu smiled. “I forgot to eat it in the bag a few days ago. I only remembered it when I saw that you guys were craving meat.”
The rain did not end until after noon the next day. The mountain path was slippery and muddy, making it difficult to walk. Everyone decided to rest for the night before leaving.
Ji Xiang, Ruyi, and Chen Yaohui went hunting in the mountains. Madam Li and a few women found some wild vegetables, chives, mushrooms, and washed them before waiting for them to return.
Just after 9:00 am, the group carried a wild goat, two mules, a string of pheasants, and a string of hares down the mountain with smiles.
Butcher He and the others found a pond and packed up the wild animals. Everyone set up firewood and iron pots. A goat and two mules were smeared with condiments and salt and roasted on sticks of pine. The pheasant was stewed with leeks and mushrooms. The hare was braised in spicy sauce.
A hundred people surrounded the fire and iron pot and ate until their mouths were covered in oil. Chen Gui wiped the sweat off his forehead and laughed heartily. “Even in my dreams, I didn’t expect that these two difficult months of fleeing were the most interesting days I’ve lived in all these years.”
The village chief sighed. “That’s right! In the past, I used to think about how to dig up food from the ground every day when I opened my eyes. On the day the locusts came, I felt that the sky had collapsed. Looking at Chuanzhou and the others, I gritted my teeth and decided to come out with Xiaoyu and the others to survive. Now that the land here is not dry, is it still dry where we came from? Are there still locusts? How are the chief and granduncle at home? And those villagers, how are they doing?”
Everyone fell silent when they heard that. After a while, Chen Yaohui smiled bitterly and comforted the village chief. “Father, after we settle down, we’ll go back and take a look when we have the time.”
The village chief shook his head and sighed. “Sigh! Who knows if I can wait until that day.”
When Li Yu heard the village chief’s word about how he might never go back, she felt sad.
Seeing Li Yu’s gloomy expression, Zhou Jia thought that she was thinking of her home in West Mountain Village. His heart ached as he squeezed her hand and comforted her with a smile. “We’ll go back and take a look.”
Seeing his worried expression, Li Yu’s heart warmed. She nodded at him. “Alright, we’ll go back and take a look.”
Old Madam Liu and her family returned to West Mountain Village with the villagers. After walking for two days, they returned to the village and realized that many houses in the village had been burned to ruins. There was not a single person in the village.
Everyone was dumbfounded by the situation in front of them. The Xu brothers sighed. “If we had known that this would happen, would we come back?”
The Xu brothers looked at the scorching sun in the sky that did not even have a single cloud. There were locusts flying everywhere. The water storage had been used up and the food they were carrying would decrease. Everyone silently packed their luggage and left the village to join the migration. West Mountain Village fell silent again.
Zhang Defa sat at the entrance of the shop and looked at the empty street with a frown. He thought about how the well at home had already dried up and how there was such a big family. What should he do?
A skinny beggar with a dirty face and dry lips walked to the shop. Zhang Defa was about to chase him away when the beggar looked at him and called, “Brother, I’m back.”
Zhang Defa took a closer look and shouted in surprise, “Second Brother, is that you? Why have you become like this?”
Zhang Decai’s dry lips cracked with blood. He said to Zhang Defa in a hoarse voice, “Brother, quickly find me something to eat. I haven’t touched water or rice for a few days.”
Zhang Defa quickly entered the house and handed a bamboo tube to Zhang Decai. “Drink some water to fill your stomach first. I’ll close the door and we’ll go home.”
Zhang Decai couldn’t wait to take the bamboo tube. He drank a few mouthfuls before he recovered and sat on the ground. Zhang Defa closed the shop and helped Zhang Decai back.