Good News

When the whole village fled famine, it was to survive. All they had left was the desire to survive, so they had no time to lose focus. But seeing his wife's concerned look, the village chief couldn't say these words and hurriedly pulled her to sit down. He repeated in a low voice what Gulan had said. He had no intention of hiding this matter from his wife, and this was a good opportunity to get her opinion.

"Is Gulan really talking about Yunzhou City?" The village chief's wife was so shocked that her face was wrinkled and her eyes were half enlarged.

"If you don't believe me, ask your sons." The village chief glanced at his sons.

As their mother's gaze came over, the Li Youzhi brothers nodded quickly, fearing that if they answered too slowly, their mother would go straight to the point and let them feel her deepest love.

"So, you were shocked by this good news." The village head's wife finally understood what was going on. Indeed, if this happened to her, she would also be overwhelmed by the surprise.

"Good news?" The village chief looked at his companion.

"Yes! Good news. Isn't this great news? Weren't you worried about where to settle down before? Gu boy has already sent you a place. I don't understand why you have to worry about such a good thing. If it were me, I would definitely go. Anyway, we have to find a place to settle down. It's better to go to Yunzhou City than to go to a place we don't know. At least it's rich and safe there, and most importantly, the whole village can settle down there, so we don't have to worry about being excluded or bullied."

This is also what the village chief's wife cares about the most. Going to a strange place and being excluded and bullied is a certainty, and no one wants to experience that feeling. The old man just thinks too much.

"But Yunzhou City is a long way away, I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of? What is there to be afraid of? I, a woman, am not afraid, so why should you, a man, be afraid? We have walked thousands of miles from Linzhou to Yunzhou, so why are you afraid of a journey of less than a thousand miles? Besides, don't we have Gulan now? And every man in the village has practiced martial arts with Gulan. I believe that the men in our village can definitely protect us."

"I understand what you mean, old man. Are you afraid that the journey is too long and the cost will increase, and more food will be needed, and the villagers will not be able to bear it?"

"We can all endure such a long journey. There is no shortage of water here. Even if there is a shortage of food and vegetables, it is enough for us to get to the destination. Besides, we have all earned a lot of money during these days of being stuck here. We can only walk for another month at most. I believe everyone can hold on. You are just thinking too much."

Maybe it was true as his wife said, he thought too much and ended up getting himself into trouble. Having said that, Village Chief Li knew that what his wife said was right, but he definitely couldn't make such a big decision, so he immediately stood up and walked quickly into the night.

"Old man, where are you going?" the village chief's wife shouted worriedly.

"Talk to the elders." The words of Village Chief Li were heard in the cool breeze.

Upon seeing this, Li Youzhi and his brothers hurriedly followed. It was so dark and they were worried about their father being all alone.

Seeing her two sons following them, the village chief's wife felt relieved.

Gulan, who was hugging her son in the tent, had no idea how supportive the village chief's wife was.

Then, two quarters of an hour after the village chief went to see the two clan elders, the heads of each household in Lijia Village were called over.

…

The next day, everyone got up early and practiced with Gulan as usual. It's just that they seemed a little restless this morning, and their eyes were always involuntarily fixed on Master Gu in front of them. Their minds would always unconsciously emerge with what the elders at home told them last night.

...Follow Master Gu to the provincial capital.

I always thought that Master Gu was not an ordinary person, and it turned out that my feeling was right. I just don't know why such a capable person like Master Gu would end up like them and flee from famine.

Gulan didn't know what everyone was thinking, but she could feel that everyone was not in a mood today and was a little absent-minded. After she coughed loudly, everyone quickly focused their minds, put aside distractions, and started to work seriously.

Seeing this, Gulan was satisfied. Although everyone just practiced martial arts with her spontaneously and did not formally accept them as a disciple, they still had to practice martial arts with the proper seriousness.

Then came another busy day.

After breakfast, only the elderly and the weak were left at the resting place in Lijia Village, while the others resumed their sweaty work. Dozens of bandits were still tied up on the side of the road, each of them collapsed on the ground weakly. In order to prevent them from having the energy to cause trouble, these people only had one meal a day, and each person could only eat until they were 50% to 60% full. After being hungry for so many days, I don't even have the energy to walk, let alone do anything. From the beginning to the end, I never considered using these people to work together. After all, I had no means to control them, and the main reason was that I was afraid of trouble.

As for why they were wasting time on the way after the bandits had already been dealt with, they could have just taken the winding mountain path where there were no bandits. Regarding this, the people of Lijia Village said that it doesn't matter where they go, making money is the most important thing.

As for Guo Yi, on the one hand, the young lady's carriage was large, and the road was narrow and uneven, so it was too bumpy and he was afraid that the young lady's body could not bear it. On the other hand, I don't want to give up halfway. The road has been open for so many days, and more than half of the mountain road has been opened. I believe it won't take long.

Everyone is full of energy.

"Captain, there's something going on. There seems to be a noise coming from the other side." Liu Gao, who was in charge of supervision, quickly ran to Guo Yi.

Hearing this, Guo Yi quickly came to the blocked mountain road. At his gesture, everyone who was busy stopped immediately and the surroundings fell silent.

As the sounds on this side disappeared and became quiet, the movement on the other side became amplified. There was indeed a faint sound coming from the distance. If you listened carefully, you could hear the sound of digging. Guo Yi's eyes lit up with joy. There can't be any movement without reason, which means someone is also finding a way on the other side of the mountain. Although the sound sounds a bit far away, but with the joint efforts of both parties, it shouldn't take long for the road to be open. Guo Yi was really happy. After being trapped here for so long, he finally saw hope. He finally relaxed a little after having a tense face all day, and said to everyone,

"You all heard it, there is a sound on the other side, which means that it's not just us who are working hard, there are also people working hard on the other side, so everyone, hold on, and we will succeed soon."

This was indeed good news. Everyone was very happy and couldn't help but smile even on their tired faces.

Compared to the guards' joy, the men of Lijia Village were happy but also felt a little regretful. Once the road is open, it means that they will not be able to make money for many days. Every day is really tiring, and the tiredness is no less than the annual corvee labor. But the mood is different, tired but happy.

The annual corvée labor was like a heavy stone pressing heavily on people's hearts, and the poor people who had no money could only grit their teeth and persevere. Moreover, it was a month of unpaid labor, and every household had to provide one person. Unless there was a scholar with a good reputation, or someone paid to find a replacement or had official connections, there would be no exceptions.

During the period of corvée labor, except for the necessary rest time, the rest of the time is spent working. If you are weak and sick, you may not be able to come back. It's cruel, but that's the reality.