MTLNOVEL Chapter 394: 394. Walk
But if they didn't leave, last night some people couldn't help themselves. If they discovered it was just a group of children, it wouldn't end well either.
The kids from Hua'er village were terribly conflicted, unable to make a decision. The days that had just become hopeful were now again filled with confusion.
"But... if we leave, where can we go?" Da Liu said with a heavy heart.
"Da Liu, do you remember that kind older brother?"
"You mean..." Da Liu was startled and then understood.
"That's right." When mentioning the benefactor, Gouzi's eyes lit up, "We can go find that older brother."
"Go find the benefactor?" Da Liu began to think seriously, "But with the weather like this, one can faint from the sun shortly after going out. Can we really do it?"
Looking at his frail younger siblings, Da Liu was very worried.
"But staying here, not only can we not protect the house, but our food will also be lost. The result will be even worse."
Although harsh, it was indeed true.
Having gone through too much darkness, it wasn't that Gouzi didn't believe in humanity; he just had no other choice. In this world, apart from his older brother and siblings, there was only the benefactor he could trust. Everyone else, Gouzi couldn't believe.
Gouzi's words left Da Liu speechless. Precisely because he knew what Gouzi said was true, he was conflicted.
"Da Liu, we have no time left. Once they realize, we won't be able to leave even if we want to. Why are you still hesitating?" Gouzi urged again, giving a sharp push.
Da Liu furrowed his brow, hesitated briefly, then finally looked up and said firmly to Gouzi, "Alright, let's do as you say, we'll leave."
Upon hearing this, Gouzi finally sighed in relief.
"But... we don't even know the way to our benefactor's place?"
Though they decided to leave, a new problem arose. Da Liu frowned and said.
"Don't worry, it's not a problem. I've been to Shanggu Town once before with my father, so I know the general direction. Plus, with the route the benefactor mentioned, I'm confident we can find Shanggu Town."
"Really?" Da Liu was truly overjoyed, not expecting that Gouzi had actually been to Shanggu Town before. This made him more confident.
"If that's the case, let's get ready and set off tonight. Make more flatbreads and rations to bring along," Da Liu pondered and said.
"Da Liu, what about our food?" Grass Root asked hurriedly.
"Take as much as we can carry, and whatever we can't, we'll hide in the cellar. I'll tidy up the cart later. Hua'er and Wan'er, you and Grass Root make as much food as you can."
Since they had already decided to leave, Da Liu quickly made arrangements.
As for the food in the cellar, although hard to part with, what couldn't be taken had to be left behind.
The younger siblings all nodded.
"Da Liu, let me help you," Gouzi said as he followed Da Liu to the shed where the cart was kept.
Thankfully, there was the wooden cart left by the benefactor, otherwise, all that food would have been planted for nothing.
But to travel far, they had to rearrange and reinforce it.
Time flew, and as the sun set and evening arrived, Hua'er and Wan'er had made enough wild vegetable cakes to last them five days. For dinner, they managed to eat their fill for once. All the children then went to bed early, preparing to leave in the depth of the night.
Two hours later, Da Liu woke all the children up. By this time, it was deep into the silent night, the darkness most intense.
The cart was loaded with previously prepared items, mostly food, with the rest being jars, barrels, and a small portion of firewood stacked high. But there was only half a barrel of water.
This was one of the reasons they were prompted to leave.
Each child carried as much food as they could, and Gouzi had an extra water pouch filled with water. The youngest three children squeezed onto the cart.
Da Liu and Gouzi carefully leaned their ears against the main door, and sensing the quiet outside, cautiously opened the door. They pushed the cart and siblings out of the yard where they had lived for months. Closing the door behind them, their reluctance was clear in the moonlight.
"Let's go!" Da Liu motioned with his eyes, urging the siblings to follow.
They had lived here for months, and could walk out with their eyes closed. Fortunately, the outsiders were some distance from their house, and if they were careful, they wouldn't be easily discovered.
And so, they carefully pushed the cart out of the deserted village. Only after walking several dozens of feet away did they breathe a sigh of relief. They took a break by a stream and filled all the containers with water, even the bamboo tubes everyone carried.
The plan was to boil the water when they found a safe place.
In these days, they had gotten used to drinking boiled water; they didn't want to experience that near-death feeling again.
They continued their journey. By the time they found the main road, another incense stick's time had passed, and with difficulty in identifying the direction, the group of children headed toward the unknown Shanggu Town under the moonlight, wearing straw hats.
They walked through the night, none of the children wanted to stop, fearing that if they stopped, they wouldn't be able to go on.
As dawn approached, with faint light on the horizon and the sun peeking through, Da Liu and Gouzi decisively stopped, choosing a densely wooded area as their temporary resting place, not planning to travel again until nightfall.
And so, they traveled by night and rested by day, walking continuously for days, driven by sheer faith toward Shanggu Town.
Meanwhile, in Hua Village, Qin Shu's family had already moved into their own house. Their cellar had been repaired and all the food moved in. Now, outside temperatures were exceeding what the human body could endure, making it impossible to stay outside for long, so Qin Shu's family spent most of the day indoors, handling matters after sunset.
"Husband, if this heat continues, what about the vegetables we planted? I saw early this morning that most of them are already wilting."
Mrs. Li worriedly looked at her husband, hands working on vegetables picked from the garden in the early morning. Were it not for quickly storing them in the cellar after harvesting, they might have dried out by now. She was preparing them for dinner.
The weather was too hot, and now they had switched to eating two meals a day due to the heat sapping their appetite, which was also related to their decreased physical activity.
"I'll water them more at night and observe for a few days. If it doesn't work, we'll pull them out and dry them for storage; at least that's better than them wilting and going bad."
"I'll water with you at night," Mrs. Li suggested, as it seemed like the only option.
After dinner, not only Mrs. Li but everyone in the family, including the three children, took part in either carrying or pouring water, working up a sweat, hoping those vegetables could last a few more days.
The only consolation was the sweet potatoes and potatoes planted in the village. They were sprouting normally, lush and green, not showing signs of wilting.
After watering, the family didn't rest but began cutting sweet potato vines to be planted. They successfully planted over five acres of sweet potatoes overnight.
At the same time, while working, the family was continuously drinking salt and sugar water, as the temperature was so high that even working long hours at night could easily cause heatstroke.
Thanks to Miss Hua Jin, who had not only given them food and Silver over the past few months but also brought salt, sugar, and medicine for heatstroke when she came, otherwise they wouldn't have dared consume it so freely, as it was such a luxury.