Chapter 19: Inform the whole village

Chapter 19: Inform the whole village

At dawn, Lin Xianwen, who had slept for more than three hours, was woken up by his father. He washed his face with cold water, and was dragged around the village, knocking on countless doors.

Half an hour later, Lin Xianwen sat on a small stool in the clan leader's house, while old Lin sat on a long stool smoking a pipe. Old father Lin Youcai stood in the middle of the room, talking about the situation with saliva flying.

"Village head, I'm afraid someone will secretly go to the county government to file a complaint. It's hard to be a good person. Come and discuss this matter with the elders and the heads of each family early in the morning. What do you think about this matter? And whether we should tell the whole village now. My family's plan is still the same. We will leave tomorrow morning. It's better to flee early than late."

"Whoever dares to go to the county government to file a complaint will have his legs broken by me. I'll call a few guys to guard the village entrance later." The speaker was Zhao Daqiang, a butcher in his 40s in the village.

Others were also talking about it, and without exception, they all had frowns and worried looks on their faces.

Lao Lizheng exhaled a puff of smoke and sighed, "Let's go to the village entrance and gather everyone to talk."

The morning mist gradually dissipated.

The great-great-grandson of the village head ran around the village beating a gong. The sound of the gong echoed throughout Nanlin Village. The children were assigned to go to the fields to call for help.

The sun gradually rose, and most of the villagers had arrived. Lin Youcai stood on a large rock in the dirt field in the village and briefly talked about his escape from the war. From the fall of Ancheng to his children being rescued by a noble man and escaping. He talked about the situation in Nan County, the news he got in the county, the geographical location of Nan County, his own analysis, and so on.

The whole village was in an uproar.

"Mr. Lin, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. Everything is fine, but I haven't heard of any war!"

"Yeah! You can't just talk about this kind of thing!"

"That's right! We came all the way here, what are we going to eat and drink along the way? The whole family is going to your house to eat and drink!"

"I just came back from the city yesterday and I haven't heard about it!"

"Hey, look, that guy standing over there, is that Mr. Lin's son?"

"Didn't Mr. Lin's twin children get lost last year?"

"Yes, it really is! Except that he is a little darker and thinner, he is Lin Xianwen's son!"

The villagers below were talking at the same time, the noise was so noisy that it was a headache.

Lao Lizheng took the gong from his great-grandson's hand, "Ding ding ding ding ding! Quiet!!!"

Mrs. Yang from the Zhu family was not convinced and shouted, "Lin family boy, you said there would be a war, so there will be a war! You said to flee south, so flee south! You are trying to scare us! My Mingyuan works in the county government. If there really is a war, he will definitely come back to the village to send us a letter! You have no evidence, just based on the words of two young boys, and you said there would be a war! How can you believe the words of young boys! ! I think you are looking for a child, looking for a demon!"

Yang Pozi's son-in-law is a scholar from another place. He failed the imperial examination and came to Nan County. He married the youngest daughter of the Zhu family and settled here. The Zhu family paid money to let their son-in-law get a small job in the county government. The Zhu family has a small shop in the city and many fields in the village. The family is wealthy and is also a well-known family in Nanlin Village. Yang Pozi can't stand the fourth son of the Lin family showing off here. It's just that he passed the imperial examination and married the daughter of a rich family. Lin Benzhu's family has only had a better life in the past few years. Her family is much better than Lin Benzhu's family. Humph, the head of the village let the fourth son of the Lin family show off because he is a family member.

Lin Benzhu is the name of old man Lin, and the clan leader Li Zheng is Lin Benzhu's uncle. Li Zheng is the younger brother of old man Lin's father, the youngest son of his grandparents, and only 7 years older than old man Lin.

The villagers burst into laughter when they heard what Grandma Yang said. Some people echoed Grandma Yang's words, "Yes! You are talented! The harvest this year is not bad, why do you want to abandon your home and career and run away!"

"Who knows what's going on outside?"

"I'm in an unfamiliar place, where can I escape to?"

"The house and land passed down from generation to generation in our family are gone just like that!"

"I'm old and can't walk anymore. My family has lived here for generations, and I'm not going anywhere!"

"We are so far away from the south! How can we walk there?"

"Mrs. Yang is right. How can we trust a child's words?"

"I don't know what An is up to. He scares people as soon as he comes back!"

"But, with so many people from the Lin family leaving and leaving behind so many fields and houses, it doesn't seem like they are lying!"

"The clan leader asked Mr. Lin to speak out, so he must not be lying!"

"There's nothing we can fool! Mr. Lin is a scholar! He has a courtyard in the city, and he teaches in a school, and he gets a monthly salary. The county government will also give him a monthly salary, and he gets double the salary."

"Yeah! There's no reason to lie to anyone!"

"Mrs. Yang's son-in-law is a scholar and is indeed working in the county government. He must know more than the teacher in the academy. Tao Mingyuan didn't even come back to tell me about this!"

"Yes, her son-in-law has no mother or father, and only has his father-in-law as a relative. If there is any trouble, how can he ignore his father-in-law's family! He must bring his wife and children back to tell them!"

"The Zhu family treats this son-in-law very well!"

Mother Yang listened to what everyone was saying, and she couldn't help but raise her head with pride, squinting her eyes, curling her lips and cursing, "Maybe someone is out there, hiding from his family, owing debts, and has no money to pay them back, and can't make it here anymore! He wants to run away to another place to avoid his debts! But he's afraid that it's not safe for his family to walk on the road, so he wants to trick everyone into going with him!"

"You are a shrew who spits shit and has pus in her brain! Who are you saying is hiding from debt? My Si'er said it very clearly, you have maggots in your ears and can't understand what I say! Believe it or not, leave if you want! You are delaying me from packing my luggage! Si'er, let's go back!" Old Lady Wang said as she tried to pull Lin Youcai away.

Lin Youcai quickly comforted his mother, looked at the villagers, and patiently said, "Don't get excited! Listen to me first! Whether the war is true or not, there is no need to argue. You will know it soon. My ancestors have lived in Nanlin Village, and the villagers are more or less related. As a native of Nanlin Village, I learned about the war and wanted to flee to the south. I told you at the first time. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. If you are willing to flee together, let's flee together. Anyway, my family will leave tomorrow morning! If you stay where you are, it will be bad in nine out of ten cases. If you flee, there will be many dangers on the way to escape. The journey is long, and what to eat, drink, wear, where to sleep, and how to go are all big problems. On the road, you will also encounter refugees and bandits who kill and rob. Whether to leave or stay, how to choose is up to you. It's like gambling. If you win the bet, you live, and if you lose the bet, you die. Life or death is your own choice, don't blame others."

"We all know each other well in this village. We are related and can take care of each other if we flee together. We are a force to be reckoned with. When the refugees and bandits see so many people, they will have to think twice before they can take action. My family will leave tomorrow morning. That's all I have to say. Take care of yourselves. My family will survive and find a good place to go. We will definitely find a way to send someone to bring back a letter. After saying that, he bowed to everyone." Lin Youcai turned around and said, "Village head, time is running out. I will go back to pack my luggage first."

After hearing what Si'er said, Old Lady Wang pulled Si'er away. "Make way! Don't block me!"

"Uncle, there are a lot of things to do at home. Let's go back and get busy." Old Man Lin pulled his grandson Lin Xianwen, followed Old Lady Wang, and squeezed out of the crowd.

Looking at Old Man Lin and his family leaving, the villagers argued even louder.

The head of the village struck the gong again, "Ding ding ding ding ding!! Folks, this is what happened! Lin Youcai has told you the news he got, and he has explained the pros and cons of the matter to everyone clearly. Believe it or not, go or not, it's up to you. Those who don't want to go together, want to go somewhere else, or want to seek refuge with relatives and friends, that's up to you. But there is one thing you must remember! Don't regret the path you have chosen, and don't blame others! Think about it carefully, and go home to discuss it. My family has expressed its position first, and we will leave tomorrow morning! Those who want to go have one day and one night to pack their bags, and we will leave together tomorrow morning! Let's disperse!" After the head of the village finished speaking, he took his family back to prepare.

The villagers on the dirt floor discussed the matter for a while, then went back home to discuss the matter.