Chapter 106: Pretend to be sick and leave the city (seeking power generation)
At the south gate of Tong'an County, not many people are leaving the city at this time.
Soon it was everyone's turn, and coughing could be heard from the carriage from time to time. The soldier guarding the city gate took up his knife, lifted the straw curtain on the carriage, and looked inside.
The pale, gray-faced woman covered her mouth and coughed non-stop. The child had a gray face and pale lips, and was nestled in the woman's arms, breathing out more than in. The women and children in the entire carriage all looked like they were dying.
The soldier frowned and turned to report the situation to the tall, thin man with a mustache who was sitting behind the table holding a notebook and looking at this side.
After hearing what the soldier said, the man with a mustache frowned and sent the soldier over to continue checking.
Lin Youcai dragged one leg to the side of the carriage and said to the other soldiers who were checking, "Sir, the women and children at home caught a cold in the cold weather and haven't recovered for a month. They cough day and night, and we finally came to the city for treatment, but the doctor said there is no cure, it's tuberculosis..." As he spoke, he wiped away his tears.
When the soldiers heard that it was tuberculosis, they quickly stepped back and covered their mouths and noses with their hands.
"I'm sorry, sir. We locked them in the carriage because we were afraid that the disease would spread to others." Lin Youcai seemed to be unsteady on his feet. He held onto the carriage, rubbed his right leg, and his face was filled with pain.
Zhao Zhuang, who was driving, suddenly began to breathe rapidly, took a few deep breaths, and then coughed violently. His face turned purple, and he said intermittently: "Ouch... My chest hurts, huhu..."
The other people in the team also looked pale and worried, and someone coughed from time to time.
The man with a mustache sitting at the city gate looked unhappy after hearing the soldier's report and waved his hands.
A long procession passed through the city gate. Coughing could be heard everywhere in the procession. The men outside the cars walked in a limp, and many of them walked with limps or hunched backs.
The tall and thin man with a mustache had a gloomy expression on his face and quickly covered his mouth and nose with his hands. He looked up at the team, then looked at the notebook, his eyes full of gloom.
After everyone finally got out of the city, a long distance from the city gate, people who were limping, hunched over, and barely able to walk, immediately walked briskly. People driving vehicles whipped their whips, and the entire team accelerated forward.
A family of four followed closely behind the team, gasping for breath. The couple held their child and gritted their teeth to keep up.
We left the city gate at noon and walked all afternoon without stopping until dark.
When the gong sounded, everyone sat down on the spot to take a break, gasping for breath from exhaustion.
The women and children got out of the car and prepared dinner.
After coming back from the toilet, there were only four people in the RV. Lin Youcai Ge You was lying on the sofa, too tired to even lift his hands. Lin Zisu poured a glass of warm water for his father and said angrily: "A county town is trafficking people, and it is so blatant. This Tong'an County must be protected by a high official. It is really a sign of troubled times."
Lin Xianwen lay on the big bed and sat in the bathroom of the RV for the whole afternoon, vomiting weakly. When will he stop being carsick? He said angrily: "Officials and businessmen are colluding on such a large scale. It must not just be about money. Women and children are definitely taken away to be concubines, maids, servants, etc. Young and strong men are also taken. I am afraid they will be captured to be soldiers and cannon fodder on the battlefield! These outsiders and refugees are all free population resources."
Lin Youcai: “That’s right.”
"Oh... I have to go through one level after another, and each one is difficult." Shen Xianglan said as she got off the car, picked up a small bucket of water and walked to the back of the team.
Two little girls sat next to their parents, playing with pebbles on the ground. The couple sat on the ground, gasping for breath, not wanting to move at all.
When Liang saw Shen Xianglan coming over, she quickly stood up and said, "Aunt is here."
Shen Xianglan: "There is no water source nearby. Bring you a bucket of water."
"Thank you, auntie." Zhao Mu stood up and took the bucket.
Liang said embarrassedly: "Thank you, auntie. I always trouble you. I don't know how to thank you."
Shen Xianglan: "Everyone has difficult times when they are away from home, so don't be polite."
Zhao Mu grinned and said, "Auntie, when you run out of water, I'll bring you the bucket."
"Okay, you can borrow a fire from them and light a fire for yourself." Shen Xianglan said and turned back.
Zhao Mu nodded repeatedly, "Okay, Auntie, I'll go collect firewood."
After Zhao Mu found some dead wood, he borrowed fire from them and started a bonfire.
Liang was sweet-talking, so she borrowed a small pottery pot from an aunt, boiled some water, and the couple used wooden sticks to string the steamed buns on and heated them up. The four of them had dinner together with the steamed buns and the hot water.
Liang returned the pottery jar and the wooden barrel. After the couple coaxed the two children to sleep, Liang whispered to her husband, "I heard that they came from the north because of the war and went to the south. This group of people are kind and easy to get along with. Why don't we follow them to the south!"
When Zhao Mu heard his wife say this, he thought about it and said nothing.
Seeing that he remained silent, Liang knew what her husband was thinking. She said angrily, "We don't know where our parents, elder brother and his wife have gone. The villagers don't care about us. We have no money or food. It's so dangerous for the two of us to travel with such a young child! What do you think we should do?"
Zhao Mu had thought about this, and he was worried too! But he had never traveled far since he was a child, and for more than 20 years, the farthest he had traveled was with the villagers, and he even left them halfway and followed another team to Tong'an County.
He was only afraid and unfamiliar with the outside world, and he was full of envy when he saw the large group of Aunt Shens. But if you meet someone by chance, you should say a few more words to them if you get along well with them, and they will help you if they can help you, but don't think about it too much.
Liang knew her husband well. They had been working like slaves in the Zhao family for so many years. Her husband only knew how to work hard and could not get anything out of him.
The Zhao family was headed by the mother-in-law Yang, who had the final say. She gave birth to two sons and three daughters. When the three daughters grew up, they were married off with gifts. The eldest brother's wife came first. The eldest sister-in-law was good at coaxing people and had good sense. After she gave birth to two big fat boys, she married into the Zhao family.
The next two girls she gave birth to were both girls, and her parents-in-law didn't like them. It was useless for Zhao Mu and her to work hard. When something happened, they would abandon her family of four.
When Liang thought about the hardships and grievances she had suffered over the years since she got married, she couldn't stop crying.
Zhao Mu felt very uncomfortable. The palms and backs of his hands are all made of flesh, but the flesh on the palms is thicker than that on the backs of his hands. His parents favored his eldest brother's family. He knew that people's hearts were biased. He never blamed his parents. After all, they were his biological parents who gave birth to him.
I grew up, got married and had children, and my life went by in a blur. Suddenly, the world became chaotic, wars broke out everywhere, and they were about to reach my doorstep.
At this critical moment of life and death, the problem that he had been deliberately ignoring was exposed before his eyes and he had to face it.