Chapter 251 The Drought Begins to Show Signs

Time flies like flowing water. Half a month has passed since I joined the group of refugees from Hejia Village and fled north and west.

It took a short time to drift down the river, but now it is extremely difficult to walk back on foot. What's more, they have to take a detour and often even get lost, so they are not moving very fast.

Even so, after half a month of traveling, they finally got out of the mountains, but when they got on the official road again, they faced a new crisis.

First, the villagers who went out to look for wild vegetables and fruits to fill their stomachs after sunset every day complained that the food they could find was getting less and less recently. This attracted the attention of the old people in the tribe who had been farming for many years and knew how to observe the weather and seasons.

The old man thought about it and after careful observation and consideration, he felt something was not right. He did not dare to delay and went to the chief when the tribesmen went to rest at night and whispered with them.

"Da Lang, I think something is wrong with the weather today. Look at the surrounding land. The trees are scorched yellow, the weeds on the ground are very dry, and the soil is completely dry. It is completely different from the hilltops a few days ago. Why do I feel like there is going to be a drought?"

The clan leader was shocked when he heard this, "Uncle San, is this true?"

Before the old man could reply, other tribesmen nearby echoed him.

"Clan leader, don't you know what Third Grandpa is capable of? When has he ever made a mistake? Third Grandpa probably meant the drought. Think about it, since we left the mountains, the wild fruits, vegetables and animals in the areas we have passed have become less and less. Why is that?"

As soon as these words came out, without waiting for the tribe leader to speak, the young people who were eavesdropping on the side started to panic: "Oh my God, if the land ahead is really dry, tribe leader uncle, should we continue to go west? We won't finally get there and find that there is no way to survive there, right?"

"Yes, Dad. The food given by kind people is almost gone even if we save it. If we don't have food or water, I'm afraid that all of us will..."

"Shut up! What are you talking about? Your twelfth uncle was doing business there before the Lunar New Year, and everything was fine. Your second grandfather has a big family and a lot of wealth. Don't talk nonsense! Another thing is that the west doesn't get much rain to begin with, so maybe it's normal now."

Having said that, the clan leader was actually unsure. He did not listen to what his subordinates were muttering and worrying about, such as how rising water would lead to water shortage, or what elders said to children to lie. He was only thinking about going to ask his twelfth brother for details later.

When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, the clan leader called Twelve Lang out of the camp and asked him about it behind everyone's back. He learned that this place shouldn't be like this, and that what the clan members had speculated about something wrong with the sky might be true. The clan leader's heart couldn't help but sink.

Turn around and go back?

The village had been burned down when Hu Di wreaked havoc, and they were only alive thanks to the seventeenth son-in-law. Now, even after the flood had receded, the hunting grounds would have been empty of prey. Thinking of the mountain of corpses that the seventeenth son-in-law had told him about, the patriarch understood that plagues were often followed by floods.

And most importantly, they had come so far, for so long, and paid so much. The food they had was no longer enough to support the journey back. The cost was too high! Going forward or backward was a dead end. It was better to keep going forward. Maybe they could still fight.

After weighing the pros and cons in their minds, the clan leader discussed with the elders and finally decided to grit their teeth and move on. They always thought that Xu Gan's territory was not too big, and as long as they could get through this period and reach the place where the clan's relatives were, they would be fine.

With this thought in mind, the patriarch immediately gave an order.

Following behind the Yin family, Li Yaoguang saw that the entire Hejia Village had started to move. Before setting off, everyone divided the work to find a clean water source, and everyone obediently filled up everything that could hold water. Li Yaoguang also noticed something was wrong. Although she was not short of water, she still pretended to fill up her water bag, chopped down two bamboo tubes that could be hung on her body, and after everyone else had filled up their water, she alone, out of sight, filled up all the empty Taiping jars, and filled up everything in the kitchen that could hold water, even the bathtub in the master bedroom.

Clank clang clang, clang clang clang.

At dawn, the familiar sound of a gong rang out, and everyone woke up from their sleep. They all packed up in an orderly manner, and a new day of travel began again.

"Brother Guang, you are short to begin with, and you don't feel the pressure of carrying so much water all the way. Be careful not to grow taller in the future. Come, put your bamboo tube on the cart, and uncle will push it for you."

Li Yaoguang was actually afraid of hard work, so in order to make the play more realistic, she carried two bamboo tubes that were thicker than her arms and longer than her calves, which were actually filled with water. It was not a big deal at first, but it was indeed not easy to carry for a long time.

Uncle Yin was quite strong, and he was pushing a chicken bus. There were not many belongings left on the bus, except for two sets of bedding, and the most important thing was of course water.

After receiving the invitation, someone who wanted to be lazy hurriedly thanked them and put the bamboo tube up, not worrying at all that others would take advantage of her. In order to return the favor, she thought about how to subsidize the Yin family's increasingly empty grain bags along the way.

There is plenty of food and dry goods in the space, even salt. It's just that I encountered Uncle Yin in a hurry when I was escaping, and I didn't have any preparation on me. I was alone and it was inconvenient to take out anything now. If I want to help, I have to find a suitable time.

After making up his mind and planning in his mind, Li Yaoguang took Huang Cancan and followed the women, children and kids who were looking for food along the way. While they were on the road, they tried their best to search for wild vegetables and fruits that they could find on the road.

"Big sister, there are some dandelions here."

"Hush, keep your voice down, where is it?"

"Here, here, big sister, come here."

"coming."

Compared with other children in the Hejia Village, the three children of the Yin family are stronger, but they are at a disadvantage in that they are fewer in number and the male children are not yet grown up. When so many people in the clan are looking for food, they often cannot compete with them.

As for why they fight? People are like this. Even the most friendly ones will have minor conflicts. In the past, relatives in the countryside fought over picking up dung balls, not to mention food.

At times like this, everyone wants to have more food. After all, that could mean more lives. Therefore, there have been many fights and scrambles for food. Especially at a time like this when they are fleeing, naturally the quick hand gets the reward. Even if a fight breaks out, it will be difficult for the clan leader to intervene.

Hearing the shouting, Li Yaoguang saw Cai Huahua beside him grabbing a small wooden shovel and running quickly to the position where the two younger brothers were guarding in front. The three siblings started digging, which immediately attracted the attention of the children around them. They all looked envious and eager to try.

Seeing this, Li Yaoguang stood in front of the three siblings, pulled out the hatchet from his waist and weighed it in his hand. The children of different sizes immediately withdrew their gaze and continued to search with their heads down.

Finally, they finished digging this area and got six or seven wilted dandelions. Cai Huahua showed joy on her lips. She shook off the dirt like a treasure, picked up the dead leaves and put them into the basket on her back. Just then, she saw Li Yaoguang protecting them. Cai Huahua's face turned red, but she didn't dare to step forward to thank him. She just silently remembered Brother Xiaoguang's kindness in her heart and continued to search with her brother.