Chapter 22 Departure
One bite, the golden crispy skin, the tender and juicy chicken, the delicious taste lingers in your mouth. It's been a long time since I've had fried chicken wings, delicious, and then some French fries and ketchup...
"What are you laughing at, kid? Lin, Zi, Su, wake up. Get up!" Shen Xianglan picked up a wet towel, "Why is one side of your face covered with saliva!" She put the wet towel directly on her face and wiped it.
"Ah, my fried chicken legs..."
"Chicken legs? What chicken legs or duck legs? Chop them all up! Hurry up and get up, it's time to set off!"
"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Lin Zisu, who had passively washed her face, sat up with a confused look on her face.
"Go brush your teeth. Here, here's a towel. Scrub them clean and wipe them again."
Lin Zisu yawned, took the handkerchief, and went to the bathroom to wash up.
"After washing up, get off the car and have breakfast." Shen Xianglan put the sofa back in place, put the blanket and pillow into the wall cabinet, opened the middle door and got out of the car.
Lin Zisu took out her watch from the driver's door pocket and put it on. "5:34???" She opened the curtain, but it was still dark outside.
When I got out of the car, I saw a stool outside the kitchen, and the flashlight on the stool illuminated the yard.
"Sister, come and have some porridge." Lin Cuihe stood at the kitchen door and waved at Lin Zisu.
“Here it comes.” Lin Zisu smacked her lips, recalling the fried chicken wings in her dream. She had never drunk as much porridge in her previous life for more than 20 years as she had in the past ten days. . . .
Lin Zisu was sitting in the yard, drinking porridge with a bowl in hand. Why didn't she see her father and brother? "Mom, where are they? Is there anything left to harvest in the fields?"
Old lady Wang walked alone between the front and back yards, burning incense and paper and placing offerings in one place, and then burning incense and paper in another place, and worshipping here and there.
Shen Xianglan lowered her voice and said, "It's around 4 a.m., and all the men in the Lin family have gone to visit the graves. We'll set off after they come back from paying their respects."
"Oh...what are you doing? How do you know it's past 4 o'clock? Do you have any?"
"No, you always put your watch in your door pocket. Is your grandma praying..."
"I think so. By the way, where's my cell phone?"
"I left your phone at home."
"No wonder we searched everywhere in the RV but couldn't find it."
"What are you two whispering about here?" Old Mrs. Wang walked over and extended her hand to Lin Zisu.
"I asked when dad would be back." Lin Zisu took it, "... Persimmon?" The fruits in the refrigerator were eaten up by the two of them in the first two days of fleeing. "Thank you, grandma." Feeling the gaze from the side, Lin Zisu looked over, and Lin Cuitao immediately looked away.
Old Lady Wang looked up at the sky and said, "They will be back soon."
A ray of light appeared in the sky, and the gray sky gradually brightened.
Shen Xianglan turned off the flashlight, and then there was a noisy sound of talking outside the yard, followed by a knock on the gate.
"They're back." Lu said as she walked towards the courtyard gate.
A big black dog came into the yard, panting, and wagging its tail, with its tongue hanging out.
Mule carts and ox carts were driven into the yard. The men ate breakfast while the women fed the mules and oxen.
Lin Youcai took a bundle of hemp rope, tied one end to the back of the oxcart frame and the other end to the front of the RV, all tied in slipknots. It looked like the oxcart was pulling the RV, although normal people would think it was wrong. The ox was too strong, which ox could pull an oxcart, and such a big car.
It doesn't make sense, but the two cars just moved. It's just so magical, let others use their imagination! You can't care so much on the road to escape!
Everyone looked around the house one last time to see if there was anything they had forgotten to take away. Lin Youcai would not allow anything that was not needed on the road to be put on the car. The car had to hold so many people and things, and the weather was hot, so mules and cows could not stand it. No matter how much Old Lady Wang nagged, it was useless.
Before getting on the bus, Old Lady Wang and Old Man Lin looked at the family property they had accumulated through their lifetime of hard work and couldn't help but burst into tears.
Looking back, after my parents died, my brothers separated. The couple lived on this piece of land and built a house around the yard. The yard was spacious, and the family had many children and grandchildren. In the following years, they built more houses. Finally, all four sons and daughters-in-law had their own houses. The land passed down from our ancestors and the few acres of land we bought later, we thought that unless there was a severe drought or flood, we would always be able to make a living and spend our old age in peace and stability. Who would have thought that there would be a war these days! We can avoid natural disasters but not man-made disasters! It's hard for ordinary people!
Old Man Lin wiped his face, sat on the ox cart, and waved his whip, "Let's go!" The ox cart was the first to step out of the yard, and the RV followed behind the ox cart, moving at the lowest speed. The mule cart was at the end, following behind the RV, moving at a leisurely pace.
Three cars were on the way out of the village. All three cars stopped and waited for the villagers to go together.
Lin Zisu looked at her watch. It was 6:20 and the sky was already bright.
Dad said they would leave at 7 o'clock, so Lin Zisu got off the car to pet the dog and watch the fun, and Shen Xianglan followed suit. Old Lady Wang, Lu, Yang, Feng, Cuihe, Xiatao, and Qiuyue also got off the car.
According to Old Lady Wang and Old Man Lin, the RV should be driven by their children and grandchildren. The Immortal Master said that only Lin Zisu could drive the car, so that was fine. They wanted the grandchildren to sit in the RV, but Si'er jumped out and said that all the women should go to the RV, firstly for safety, and secondly for not attracting attention on the road. If they met bad guys on the road, they would not rush here first when they saw that there were only men in the three cars.
The most important thing is that boys cannot be spoiled. It is great if they can ride in a mule cart or an ox cart. Most villagers go there on foot, or push carts, or carry things on their shoulders or hands, and bring their families with them. Boys need to learn from their grandfathers how to behave, how to survive, and what to do when encountering problems. They can gain experience and learn things while fleeing, blah blah blah. . . .
The two old men were powerless to defend themselves and although they were dissatisfied, they could only follow Lin Youcai's arrangements.
Lin Zisu waved to her father, and Lin Youcai came over, "Daughter, what's wrong?"
"Dad, your bag." Lin Zisu handed over a backpack, which contained a whistle, a water bag, a telescope, etc. The backpack was not very big, and was made of very light waterproof fabric. Although it was black, it was better to sew a layer of linen on the outside.
Lin Youcai reached in and felt around, then said with a smile, "Be careful, and shout if anything happens!"
"Know it!"
It didn't take long before families in the village who wanted to escape came to the village entrance with their families.
First came an ox cart, followed by another ox cart, and then a mule cart.
"Mom, isn't this the Zhu family?" The eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Lu, grinned and turned to say to Old Lady Wang.
"Tsk!" Old Lady Wang rolled her eyes, "Oh! Who was the one who screamed the loudest yesterday morning? And who followed me so happily?" The voice was so loud that people on the village road could hear it.
Mother Yang deliberately sat in the ox cart, and now she could only frown and remain silent.
As soon as the Zhu family parked the car, the head of the village and his family drove a ox cart to the entrance of the village.
The men got off the car and gathered together to discuss. By the time they had finished discussing, most of the villagers who were leaving had also arrived.
At 7 o'clock, the village head waved his hand, and the long team set off, and Nanlin Village gradually moved away.
Old Lady Wang kept turning her head to look at the road leading out of the village, thinking: This road I have walked for most of my life, I will never be able to walk again. In the past, no matter where I went, I always had hope, because I had a home to return to. This time, there is no home to return to! My big yard, my house, my mountain, my fields, in the past, anyone who dared to take more land from my home would have to fight him to death, but now they are all gone, everything is gone!
Dad, Mom, ancestors, Lao Lin and I have no choice. The war is about to reach our doorstep! The knife is on our neck! For the sake of these people at home, we have to leave! If everyone at home is gone, that will be the end! The more she thought about it, the sadder she felt. Old Lady Wang covered her eyes, tears falling through her fingers. She couldn't hold back her sadness, and her shoulders shook from crying!
"Mom, wipe it with a handkerchief!" The eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Lu, handed the handkerchief to Old Lady Wang and started crying. All the women in the car cried sadly, thinking about leaving their hometown and the uncertain future. They probably would never see their parents, brothers and sisters again in this life. The more they thought about it, the sadder they became, and the louder they cried!
Only Lin Zisu and Shen Xianglan did not cry. One pretended to drive the car attentively, and the other sat in the passenger seat pretending to look at the road.
"Ah..." Old Master Lin sighed, smacked his cigarette holder, turned his head and looked at the road ahead.