MTLNOVEL Chapter 351: 351. Leave
They were already quite remote at Qin Village, but the location of Hua Village was even more secluded, nestled against the Qinggu Mountain range.
But because of this, although Hua Village was remote, life there was much better than in other villages.
Secluded enough, it was indeed a good place to go, but even with the connection of having their son, they might not be able to get into Hua Village.
"Brother Shu, Hua Village is a big village and has always been exclusionary. Can we get in?"
"Father, I don't know if I've mentioned it, but a month ago, I ran into Grandpa Hua and his family in town."
The couple exchanged a glance, then decisively shook their heads. Their son definitely hadn't mentioned it before, or they would have had some impression.
It seemed he hadn't mentioned it, so Qin Shu recounted the day he encountered the group from Hua Village.
Although they didn't say much, Sister Huajing mentioned that if there was any difficulty, they could go to Hua Village and that if there was any issue, they could leave a message on a giant stone at the foot of Qinggu Mountain behind the village.
"Are you saying that the people of Hua Village haven't come down from the mountain?"
Qin Dagen was genuinely surprised, unable to understand why the people of Hua Village hadn't come down now that the flood had receded. Staying on the mountain wasn't a long-term solution, and it was more dangerous there.
"Yes, that's what Sister Huajing seemed to imply."
"But staying on the mountain isn't a long-term solution!"
"I don't know," Qin Shu replied.
But based on his understanding of the Hua family, something must be up, or they wouldn't remain on the mountain.
Qin Dagen understood that his son didn't know, it was just a subconscious lament.
However... with this being the case, there's no need to worry; Hua Village is indeed the best option currently. The only downside is that it's a bit distant from their village, making it laborious to look after the crops in the fields.
"Father, what do you think?" Seeing his father deep in thought, Qin Shu asked again.
Better to leave early than late; with more people in the village getting infected, it's better to leave sooner.
"Alright, let's do as you say and go to Hua Village."
Licking his lips, Qin Dagen stood up from the wooden block. His son was right; they couldn't delay any longer.
The head of the family had spoken, so everyone else refrained from saying too much and started preparing.
Leaving wasn't as difficult as imagined. Besides the grain found in the cellar and two old quilts, everything else was as it was. These days they had accumulated some sun-dried wild vegetables, and the rest comprised quilts and daily necessities. With plenty of males in their family, they could manage it all. If not, they could make more trips back and forth.
Once everything was packed, the family decided to leave after nightfall, though it was a pity they had to leave the house they had renovated not long ago.
The men of the family had put in a lot of effort, cutting wood and building. Leaving it behind was a little saddening, and their biggest fear was someone would take over their home after they left, as theirs was one of the few complete houses in the village.
But they couldn't worry about these things now. Hopefully, no one in the village would notice their departure. Perhaps then their house wouldn't be taken by others.
As the sun set, Mrs. Li began preparing dinner with her two younger sons. They would have to walk a long way tonight and needed strength, so the meal was more substantial than usual, with lots of brown rice and a piece of dried salted fish added for some salt and meat to replenish energy.
This was perhaps the most abundant meal they had eaten in days and their fullest meal too, even if it only filled them to eighty percent, it was good enough.
After dinner, once everything was cleaned up, the family sat waiting for the sky to darken and made ready to depart once night fell.
As for whether traveling at night was dangerous, they wouldn't have dared in the past, but with the outbreak of the plague, who would venture out easily?
As the last glimmer of light faded, Qin Dagen led his sons and daughter-in-law, carrying all their belongings, out of Shang Qin Village under the cover of night, avoiding the main road as they headed briskly toward Hua Village.
The distance between Shang Qin Village and Hua Village was more than ten miles, truly not close.
Loaded with all their stuff, Qin Shu's family took more than three hours to reach the foot of Hua Village.
They had even taken the wrong path for over half an hour midway, but fortunately, they realized in time and corrected their course, or it would have taken even longer.
This was mainly because after the flood, the condition of the roads had changed to some extent. In daylight, it was manageable, but at night it was too dark to distinguish anything clearly. If they hadn't visited once before and felt something was off when they took the wrong path, who knows where they might have ended up.
Though tired, they had finally reached Hua Village, and smiles of relief appeared on their faces as they quickly made their way to the village.
Hua Village was very quiet and very dark at night, which surprisingly reassured the Qin Dagen family instead, as it indicated that indeed, Hua Village was an empty village.
The family hurried into the village, headed decisively towards the house of the village chief Hua behind the village.
Under the night sky, it was hard to see clearly, but vaguely they could see that the village, as they had seen before, was full of ruins and broken walls everywhere. Hopefully, the Huas' house was preserved a bit better; it would be their temporary residence for the night.
As for where to live in the future, they'd decide once it was daylight.
Hua Village was really large; it took them nearly half a tea break's length of time to reach the back of the village. When they finally stood behind the Hua family's courtyard, the family heaved a sigh of relief.
Much of the courtyard had collapsed, but fortunately, it was still there, and most importantly, the main structure of the house was still standing. With a bit of tidying, it would be no problem to rest for the night.
They soon discovered that the Hua family had apparently done some cleaning up. In a corner near the wall was a neat pile of scattered bricks and round logs, the yard was level, not littered with various debris and mud like it usually would be post-flood. Inside the roofless house, it was evident that it had been tidied as well, with no mud remaining. One room clearly had a new door, which would be the site for their rest tonight.
In the moonlight, they set up a simple tent using the oilcloth they had brought around the corner, and Qin Shu and his family, having walked for hours, didn't say much. They blocked the door with a large piece of wood and decided to leave everything until daylight to sort out.
Having arrived in a foreign place, they thought it might be difficult to sleep, yet they unexpectedly fell into a deep sleep, waking only when they felt the glaring rays of the sun.
As one family member stirred, the others slowly awoke as well.
"It's daylight," the youngest, Qin Ming, said, rubbing his eyes drowsily.
"Yes, let's get up quickly," Qin Dagen said, giving his youngest son a pat.
They had slept in their clothes and didn't have much to clean up other than the straw mats on the floor.
Seeing the Hua family's house more clearly now, it proved to be as they saw last night, indeed tidied up.
The condition of the house was even better than theirs back home. All four walls were intact, except the roof was gone, and in the corner where they had seen last night, a pile of straight, long wooden beams that were likely roof beams.
Once they opened the door and stepped out to see the cleaned-up yard, though empty, they felt an uncharacteristic sense of relief.
At last, they didn't have to worry about the threat of the plague.
"Mother, tidy up and prepare food; I'm going outside to look around and see if there's another good place to stay," said Qin Dagen.
Last night, it was too dark, and they had no choice but to select a somewhat familiar place to shelter. Now that it's light, it was a bit inappropriate to keep staying at the Hua's place.