Sunday 29 January 2023

WLAEF 2.2

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"Father, Mother, I think we should move. More accurately fleeing from disaster." Jiang Yun Zhu’s words were surprising.

"Move? Where will we move to?" Mrs. Chen subconsciously refused. She knew the pain of being displaced. At that time, she and old Father Chen fled to Jinniu Village. After finally taking root here, she didn't want to leave here.

Jiang Yun Zhu turned to Jiang Cheng. She felt that he would support her.

Yes, Jiang Cheng understood the reasons. A tree moves, it dies; a person moves, it’s alive.

He discussed with Mrs. Chen in a hushed voice- if there was another drought next year, they will definitely not be able to hold on. Even if there was no drought, their life will certainly not be easy.

It was already autumn, but there was no sign of rain at all. Jiang Cheng felt that there was a high chance of drought next year.

The more Mrs. Chen listened, the redder her eyes became. She knew that Jiang Cheng was right.

By evening, Jiang Family had reached an agreement that they were going to move.

"Pack up. Let's head out these two days." Jiang Cheng declared.

"These two days?" Jiang Yun Zhu didn't expect Jiang Cheng to be in such a hurry.

Jiang Cheng responded, "It's already autumn. It's going to get colder and colder. We better find a place to stay before winter begins." Otherwise, they’ll freeze to death if there's no roof to cover them in the cold weather.

This was reasonable. Jiang Yun Zhu understood.

Jiang Family immediately got busy and prepared to leave Changfeng.

As for where to go, they wanted to go south. First, there was a lot of rain in the south. Second, the temperature became warmer as they headed south. This was the same direction as they fled in the dream.

The very same night, Jiang Cheng repaired the cart at home.

Mrs. Chen packed up the things at home.

Jiang Yun Zhu helped her.

In fact, there was nothing much to pack. In the past two years of disasters, the family had sold everything that could be sold. Now there were only some broken tables and the likes that no one wanted, which can’t be brought along.

"Elder Sister, do you want to bring this thing?" Jiang Lin asked Jiang Yun Zhu as she held up a broken clay pot.

"Not bringing." Jiang Yun Zhu firmly replied.

Jiang Lin turned to run off.

"Elder Sister, what about this one?" Jiang Yun Xue asked Jiang Yun Zhu while holding a tattered bundle wrap.

Jiang Yun Zhu examined the bundle wrap. One would disdain it even when used as a rag. But now…

"Bring," she answered. At least it was a piece of cloth. In case it was too cold on the road, they could use it as a cushion to sit on or something.

Jiang Yun Xue happily folded the tattered bundle wrap carefully like a treasure.

Even Jiang Wu helped out. The children busied away like fire reaching for the sky.

Mrs. Chen watched from the side, feeling both relieved and worried.

They worked away until dark before everyone ate and rested.

Early the next morning, Jiang Cheng got up early and went to the town to buy food, which they’ll eat on the road. All he bought was sorghum rice. These days, the price of rice had skyrocketed. How can poor people possibly afford rice in these times? They all bought this kind of grain. This kind of grain was rough and difficult to swallow. It used to be used to make wine. Now, having anything to eat was good enough.

He bought fifty jins of sorghum rice, which cost him five hundred wen.

The price had risen too fast. He felt more and more certain about leaving here.

Mrs. Chen went to the village to inquire about the situation, to see which way was easier to travel and if they want to leave Changfeng, do they need to go to the county government office to arrange a guide.

Only after she inquired about it did she know that some in the village had already fled.

Most of them also went south, but the road they took was different. The people in the village didn't know which road was good. After all, only those who have walked knew and they never came back.

As for the road guide, someone had once asked. The county yamen didn’t arrange it at all. And if it wasn’t handled well, it might anger old Master Official and get arrested. After all, so many people want to leave Changfeng. If the higher-ups find out, the official's black hat may not be kept.

If one wants to leave, they can only go secretly.

At noon, the family got together again and discussed what they had gathered. They became more determined to leave here.

After eating, Mrs. Chen immediately became occupied. She wanted to mix the sorghum rice with rice bran to make pancakes for them to eat on the way.

Jiang Yun Zhu took out all the brined veg left in the pickling jar and cut them into shreds. These were also for on the road.

Her speed was very fast. Within a short while, six or seven brined veg turned into thin shredded brined veg.

There was still some sesame oil at home. This was reserved for the New Year. Now it was no longer of use, she poured it all into the pickles.

After finishing this, she went to prepare water. Now that there was a drought everywhere, water was a precious thing.

Initially, there was a well in Jiang's yard. But like most of the wells in the village, it had run out of water now. To get water, one can only go to the well at the head of the village. That well was deep.

Jiang Yun Zhu and Jiang Lin lined up for half an hour and brought back two buckets of water.

The water was muddy yellow.

Jiang Yun Zhu frowned. Was this drinkable?

"It can be drunk after leaving it overnight." In the kitchen, Mrs. Chen noticed this and spoke. As for boiling, they didn't even have firewood for cooking, so how can they boil it?

"Burn the tables, benches, and beds at home. Better boil the water to drink, otherwise what to do if we get sick?" Jiang Yun Zhu said.

Mrs. Chen’s jaw dropped in surprise. Burn the table and bed? How could this do... But after thinking about it, they were about to leave here. It seemed that there was nothing wrong with it.

Jiang Cheng and Mrs. Chen had started from scratch. They accumulated all the things in the house one by one. Such as the bed, which they bought when they got married. And the table, which Jiang Cheng asked someone to make when she gave birth to Jiang Yun Zhu.

Each and every thing contained her memory. But now they were going to be burned...

Mrs. Chen remained silent. She knew that this time they have to burn their boat and bet all the house on one hand.. She was very scared, but with her family by her side, she didn't seem to be afraid. And, she had to be strong to protect her children from wind and rain.

Jiang Yun Zhu looked at the two buckets of water, but thought of one thing. Right now they can boil the water to drink. But what about on the road? The water could be worse than this. Maybe she should prepare for this in advance.

After thinking about it, she decided to make a filter to avoid drinking dirty water as much as possible.

This filter was very simple. It consisted of charcoal, pebbles, gravel, and cotton cloth.

Jiang Lin and the others had nothing to do. Seeing what she was doing was very interesting, they all surrounded her to watch.

Jiang Yun Zhu asked them to help. The tasks of washing the stones and scrubbing the jar was assigned among them. Soon, a vase-shaped filter was ready.

The bucket of water was poured into the vase.

A trickle flows from the bottom of the vase. It was crystal clear.

The three children were all attracted by this miraculous scene. While Jiang Yun Zhu had some confidence in her heart. It worked.

2 comments:

  1. what's the complete novel name?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wonderful life after exchanging fate.

      Delete