Chapter 5 Chaos Journey to the East No.32 Flood
When the sky cleared up, we, a group of disheveled savages, couldn't wait to crawl out of the cave.
Yingchao's injury has almost healed. Although he still limps a little, he can walk now. When we were in the cave, we had already discussed that since the fate of Prince Luo and his men was unknown, and Prince Luo's mansion in Qiuye City was no longer safe, we might as well go to the Fourth Prince and make plans.
We walked out along the valley floor and onto the main road. We realized that the seven days of continuous heavy rain only hindered our journey, but it was a natural disaster for the farmers who depended on the land for their livelihood! Thirty of the forty main rivers of the Later Ming Dynasty were flooded! Floods were rampant, and refugees were everywhere! The three of us, with dishevelled hair and bloodstained faces, were inconspicuous among the even more ragged refugees.
In the past, I saw those refugees fleeing because of floods in TV series as pitiful, but now I find that there are often a lot of robbers and thieves among them! No wonder all the big cities are unwilling to accept refugees, not only is it a waste of money and materials, but it also disturbs public order! Guoer asked us to collect all the valuables and hide them, so that the wealth will not be exposed. Guoer, you are very suitable for managing the household~
The refugee tide was stopped outside Yancheng. The gates of Yancheng were closed, and the guards lined up outside the city to block the refugees. The refugees who had traveled a long distance to seek refuge with relatives or friends were starving and exhausted, but could not get in. They immediately clashed with the guards! I was anxious about how to get into the city, but Guoer led us back in the opposite direction. We walked around for a long time and finally found a farmer's house in the abandoned old city ten miles away from Yancheng to stay temporarily.
This is a remote town, and the neighbors are all very poor. Guoer took out a few pieces of loose silver and made them happy. Although there are no decent clothes or food, after being dirty for so many days, just taking a hot bath makes me feel comfortable from head to toe. Although the coarse cloth clothes are prickly to wear, they are low-key. I don’t know whether the target of the powerful black-clothed men was King Luo or to kill them all . For safety reasons, I asked the uncle to bring me a set of men’s short clothes. Usually Qingqing and Xiaotao serve me, and I usually wear modern sportswear. I don’t know how these complicated pieces of cloth are stacked into clothes. I simply wrapped them randomly, tied them with cloth strips, and pushed the door to find Guoer and Chaochao.
"Minmin, come and eat!" Yingchao sat at the table, waving his chopsticks, teasing the eight-and-a-half-year-old girl, and occasionally throwing a bone to the big black dog rubbing his ankle under the table. The laughter, barking, chewing, every sound was pleasant to the ear...=_=###This guy is really sociable...
I glanced at the table, two plates of green things, a big bowl of tofu soup, a pile of yellow steamed buns - I didn't expect them to be made of white flour. In the middle was a small plate of meat from an unknown animal, braised in red sauce, probably the most presentable thing in this restaurant. The little girl with a dirty face bit her fingers and drooled. To be honest, compared with the meals in Luo Wangfu, it can be described as "hugely inferior". But, however, however! For me, who has been eating white stewed mushrooms and half-cooked barbecued meat without salt for a week, I, I, my eyes are green! ! I stretched out my claws and was about to pounce on the steamed bun! But Cheng Yaojin appeared halfway - Guoer stretched out his hand to stop me.
Without a word, he untied my belt with a single finger, and my pants immediately responded to the call of gravity! I was so scared that I quickly pulled them back!
"What are you doing!? What are you doing!? Molestation! Ah..."
Guoer ignored my nonsense, straightened the belt, bent down and helped me tie it again. I was silent immediately... I watched his slender and beautiful fingers straighten my collar, tuck in my belt, and finally whispered: "Okay, go eat." I suddenly seemed to be back on the stage when he helped me dust off the hem of my clothes. Was he so gentle to me, or was he only gentle to the task? I was confused...
After finishing the meal in a daze, we decided to go southeast. The flood happened in the north, and a large number of refugees fled to the south. We can blend in with them. The Sixth Prince defected to the east, so the Fourth Prince who rushed to capture the rebels should also be there, so going southeast should allow us to meet up with the big fox.
However, in the next few days, even such meals became a dream for me. Mixed in with the refugees, we felt like we were experiencing hell on earth.
The flood area has expanded, and more and more people are fleeing. The national relief grain has not been delivered yet. Local tycoons are hoarding food, and the price of food is soaring! Even the dry food we can get every day is getting less and less, barely enough to fill our stomachs, not to mention the penniless refugees! The mighty team on the road is moving slower and slower, and people are constantly falling down. In a few days, there will be starving people everywhere! We who were born in the 21st century with good weather and good harvests have never experienced such a grand and miserable scene of cannibalism. Every skinny body surrounded by flies on the roadside is a huge shock to us!
This is none of my business, none of my business! I said to myself. It is difficult to protect yourself now, this is not the time for you to feel sorry for others! I said to myself.
When I saw refugees being beaten to death for the third time today after they blocked the road and begged for rice from the convoy of wealthy merchants, I said to myself, this is none of your business, none of your business! This is the business of this time and space!
At noon, when I was hiding under the city wall and eating half a rice cake, a girl with a face so dirty that you couldn't see her features crawled over and grabbed my trouser leg. "...hiss..." Nothing else came out of her throat except a hissing sound. Her cloudy eyes stared at my rice cake.
This is none of your business! I said to myself. This is your only food today. You are not the kind heroine in the fairy tale! I said to myself. Don't bother her! You have no ability to take care of her! Even if you can take care of her, how can you take care of thousands of people?
But I raised my hand to stop Guo'er from leaning over, and let her pull my trouser legs.
After begging for a while, seeing that I didn't move, the child fell face down at my feet in despair and didn't move.
I looked up and saw that except for the young people who were still walking around, the elderly, the sick, and the children had basically all fallen down. The trees outside the city had been completely eaten up! Not a single leaf was left, and even the bark was stripped off! When the wind blew, it could only make a sad humming sound... I suddenly felt a chill all over my body!
I stood up suddenly, helped the girl up, let her lean against the city wall, and gave her half a piece of cake in my hand. She grabbed it and ate it like crazy, choking. I handed her some water and stroked her back to help her breathe.
Yingchao and Guoer looked at me silently, and then handed me their dry food at the same time. I shook my head and didn't take it.
This is none of my business! The voice in my heart kept shouting, there are so many refugees, I can’t save them all, I can’t save them all!
"I want to stay and help them..."
I unfortunately heard my own voice speaking capriciously, a little nervous and hoarse, but firm.
I want to stay and try my best to help, even if I can't do anything, even if Guoer and Yingchao don't want to stay, even if I'm the only one!
I looked at Guo'er and Yingchao's faces firmly. They were all exhausted after running around for days and not having enough food to eat.
"Me too~~" Yingchao squatted on the ground and smiled at me. The sun shone on him and made him shine. For the first time, I found that his smile was so heartwarming. My heart was warm and the corners of my mouth began to bend upwards... He stayed. He was willing to stay with me at this time. Then... what about Guoer?
We both looked at Guo'er at the same time. He didn't say anything. After a long silence, he said, "There are only three of us."
"I know," I said.
Guo Er leaned against the city wall leisurely and said coldly: "We don't have much money on us."
"I know." I looked at him nervously.
Finally, Guoer looked at me with a faint smile in his eyes: "Come here and think about where to get the money."
"Yeah--!!!" Chaochao and I jumped up and cheered at the same time, attracting the attention of people around us.
He stayed. Yes, he would always stand behind me silently, right? Even if I fell off a cliff, even if there were natural disasters or man-made disasters, until... until the mission was over ?
Regardless, I'm still happy...
But the next part was the most difficult. Where could we get the money? Quickly! Lots of it! The three of them racked their brains and thought about it until the sun was setting, but they still couldn't come up with an idea...
Performing for money? Without a stage or costumes, it's not practical.
Go to Luo Wangfu to get the money? How long will it take to go back and forth? Too slow!
Revealing my identity as Miss Minmin, a red-card girl, to borrow money from wealthy merchants? Not to mention that we can't enter the city, even if we enter the city, we can't guarantee that they will believe that I am Minmin. Even if they believe that I am Minmin, it is still unclear whether they are willing to lend me money and food at this time. It is not feasible.
How to do how to do?
I was looking around with a frown on my face, when suddenly Xiao Chaochao slapped his thigh and jumped up!
" I've got an idea!"
"what to do?"
"Hehe..." Chaochao smiled sinisterly, and I felt a chill on my back. This kid has a lot of bad intentions... Could it be...
He waved to us mysteriously, and the three heads came together. Chaochao lowered his voice and said:
"We can -- rob!"
