It has just rained and the road is muddy and difficult to navigate. Every step will lead to a mud hole, and if you are not careful, you will fall over.
This uncomfortable old man had just finished showing off his granddaughter to the old guys, when he turned around and fell over.
A group of vengeful old men clutched their stomachs and burst into laughter. They did not help him up, but they were still relaxed and kind-hearted. They did not remember the grudge that fueled the fire last night and hurriedly stepped forward to help him.
In this situation, it was impossible to rush on the journey, so the southbound team had to take a day off.
Fortunately, it stopped raining after it stopped. The villagers who had stayed up all night ate breakfast in a hurry, pulled some dry weeds, lit a fire, and fell asleep.
The little cubs had enough sleep at night and were very energetic after eating. They pestered Yan Yan to tell stories.
For half a month, Yan Yan has been working hard every day to tell the story of Tang Monk's Buddhist scriptures, from Gao Laozhuang's subjugation of Zhu Bajie, to Sun Wukong defeating the White Bone Demon three times, to Jade Rabbit's selection of the consort...
Now Qizhou City is in front of us, and her story also tells that the four masters and disciples of Tang Monk successfully arrived at Leiyin Temple in Lingshan, and saw the Buddha taking the scriptures.
"Great, Sun Wukong has defeated so many monsters and finally completed his mission and can become a free Monkey King!" Tang Yueya, a loyal admirer of Sun Wukong, clapped his hands excitedly.
Shu Mingliang still disagreed with her: "Your idea is wrong. Sun Wukong has endured so many grievances in order to pray to the Buddha. Now he has finally come to the Buddha. Is it worthy of himself to seek benefits instead of fame?"
The two had a disagreement and started to fight. Yan Yan squeezed between them, clasped her hands and bowed her head, imitating Tang Monk's tone and said: "Amitabha, please stop arguing, two donors. Please listen to the poor monk continue to speak..."
Xiao Tuanzi kept his hands clasped together and recounted how Tang Monk and his disciples obtained the wordless scripture.
The friends scratched their heads and scratched their heads, clenched their fists and stamped their feet, "Scripture without words? Why is there such an operation? It's so deceptive!"
"It's bad, I don't understand either. It's really hard to guess the thoughts of gods." Old God Yan Yan sighed on the ground. When he looked up, he saw a group of people walking towards the path in the distance.
Some were pushing carts, and some were carrying heavy packages. All of them were ragged and skinny, and at first glance they were refugees from the north.
But along the way, the refugees they saw were all going south, to Qizhou City. Why did this group of people go north?
Yan Yan raised the question in her heart, but how could a group of little kids guess the reason? In the end, led by Yan Yan, a group of people came to the fire and found the village chief who was sleeping soundly.
Xiaotuanzi was afraid of waking up the others, so he squatted down and whispered in the village chief's ear several times, but it had no effect.
At this time, Shu Ziwen, the grandson of the village chief, stood up and said, "My grandfather is the deadliest sleeper. He can't wake up like this. If he does this..."
As he said that, he strode up to his grandfather's head, stuck his butt out, grabbed his ears with both hands, and then gave them a hard squeeze.
The sleeping village chief trembled and woke up, but Shu Ziwen's butt also suffered, and was slapped loudly by the village chief's backhand.
Treason, all treason!
Nothing gives him any peace of mind!
Yan Yan rushed forward to start a fight, "Grandpa, village chief, please stop fighting. We have something big to do with you."
"It turns out to be Yan Yan, what do you want from me?"
Seeing Yan Yan, the village chief's attitude suddenly changed. He kept a smile on his face, and even his tone was gentle, for fear of scaring the little girl in front of him.
Yan Yan raised her arm and pointed at the northbound team in the distance, "Look, there are many people there."
At first, the village chief's mind didn't turn around. He glanced in the direction of her finger. There were crowds of people on the muddy path, like a trickling stream slowly flowing to the north.
What's wrong with this?
Later, after being reminded by Yan Yan, he suddenly realized that the direction was wrong. Could it be that this group of people had the same idea as Old Man Shu, who was unwilling to go south when it started to rain and wanted to change the route back to his hometown?
But Qizhou City is right in front of us, and it can be reached in two days at most. At this juncture, isn't it just a stupid thing to go home and pick up salt from the sea?
Intuition told the village chief that something was wrong. Maybe there was a problem in Qizhou City. It was a matter of great importance. He did not dare to slack off and immediately ran to the northbound team to inquire.
The old man who was stopped by the village chief for questioning had tears falling down before he could open his mouth, "Qizhou City doesn't allow refugees to enter now. We have been working hard for more than a month, but it's all in vain!"
The village chief's heart skipped a beat, "No...did I hear it right? Didn't the imperial court encourage us to go to Qizhou City? What else could we say? If we settle down in Qizhou, we can be exempted from taxes for three years. Is this still a lie?"
“It’s true that relief grains are distributed without tax, but only the first few groups of people can enjoy it. Now they don’t give it anymore!
The officers and soldiers guarding the city said that the houses in Qizhou City that can accommodate refugees are full, and the relief rations have been distributed, and they cannot accommodate those of us who came late, so they asked us to think of other ways."
The uncle cried and wiped his tears, "We are unfamiliar with the place here and have no relatives or acquaintances. What can we do? We might as well go back to our hometown and wait for death!"
The village chief's heart grew colder as he listened, "So... Qizhou City can't be entered now?"
A young man next to him continued: "It's not completely helpless. The officers and soldiers guarding the city said that if there are acquaintances in the city, they can let the acquaintances act as guarantees to lead you into the city. However, if you enter the court, the relief grain will not be distributed."
"If I knew acquaintances, why would I be here to ask you about the situation in Qizhou?" The village chief sighed with a sad face, as if a big stone was weighing on his heart, and he couldn't explain how he felt.
The young man continued: "Actually, there is another way, but judging from your appearance, it probably won't work."
"What can we do?" the village chief asked.
"Pay the money, ten taels of silver per person. After paying the money, you can enter the city. I heard that after entering, you have to buy a house designated by the government. Only then will you settle down in Qizhou."
Obviously, this method is designed for rich people who have money but no place to spend it, and has nothing to do with them, a group of refugees who are so poor that they are about to drink the northwest wind.
The village chief took a deep breath, rubbed his face, steeled himself and continued to ask the young people: "Where are you going? Back to your hometown?"
The young man shook his head, "I don't know. We'll stay wherever we go. We'll stay wherever they want us. If it doesn't work, we can go back to our hometown."
At this point, the young man laughed self-deprecatingly, "We don't have much food anymore. We might starve to death halfway. How can we care about so much food?"
The village chief stared blankly at the old and numb faces in front of him, as if someone had opened a big hole in his heart, and the wind was leaking out.
If the road to the south is the road to life and full of hope, then the road to the north is the road to death and despair...
The laughter and playfulness of the villagers still echoed in his ears, and he couldn't bear it, nor did he want to destroy the hope of this life with his own hands.
But if what the young man said is true, moving forward will be in vain...