Mrs. Chen hurriedly pushed the paper bag back: “You can take a look at her. Take this back quickly.”

Shanzi’s mother pushed back persistently: “As an aunt, what’s wrong with giving Xiao Fei some brown sugar? This is nothing. Don’t push me, or I won’t enter your house.”

“Xiao Fei, please stay in the back room, I’ll go in and take a look.”

Shanzi’s mother opened the curtain and walked in.

Gu Fei lay on the Kang and raised her head, then smiled at her: “Aunt Huang.”

“Hey, look at this girl, she still recognizes me even after not seeing me for so many years. It’s not bad that your Aunt Huang is thinking about you.”

“Is your injury still painful?”

Gu Fei nodded.

Aunt Huang said with concern: “We are going to leave the day after tomorrow. Won’t your injury get worse?”

Mrs. Chen followed up: “We have no other choice. I told her to wait a more few days until she recovered from her injuries before leaving. But the village chief already made a decision, so it’s not easy to postpone.”

“Anyway, she will either ride a carriage, or her father and several brothers will take turns carrying her.”

Aunt Huang said hurriedly: “When it comes to escaping from famine, I don’t have courage in my heart.”

“Shanzi’s father is gone. As orphans and widows, I don’t know what to do if something happens to us on the road.”

Mrs. Chen’s eyes flashed. She now understood the purpose of her visit, so she said with a smile: “What is there to be afraid of? You are not going alone. We are all walking together. If you encounter a danger, everyone will take care of it.”

Aunt Huang said hurriedly: “I heard that not many families are willing to leave, except for the village chief, your husband’s brothers, and Old Zhang’s family.”

“They all want to survive this winter and wait until spring next year. If there is rain, we can grow food. As long as we can grow food, we have nothing to worry about.”

Mrs. Chen asked: “That’s right. I also said we could leave when spring begins, but Xiao Fei said that the bugs and other insects come during the spring. The plague may likely occur, so we have to leave quickly.”

Aunt Huang’s eyes flashed. Xiao Fei came from the Marquis Mansion and was knowledgeable.

“By the way, have you made up your mind?”

Aunt Huang nodded: “I’ve discussed it with Shanzi, and we will go.”

“I’m thinking, your husband and the village chief are the two most knowledgeable people in the village. If you want to leave, then we will follow you.”

Gu Fei laughed when she was on the kang. This Aunt Huang was a sensible person.

If you don’t know what to do, just watch what those smart people do and follow them. This was the wisdom of life.

Mrs. Chen patted her hand and said: “Don’t worry too much. My old man even hired a guide to follow us. He said he was a former escort and had been to the south.”

Aunt Huang was overjoyed and said: “Really? It will cost a lot of money to hire such a person.”

Mrs. Chen smiled enigmatically and said nothing.

Aunt Huang whispered: “I bought a mule cart. When the time comes, I will follow your family.”

Mrs. Chen smiled and said: “Okay, you can follow us. My family has nothing but a lot of kids. If you encounter someone who can’t climb the slope, or someone who needs help, just shout out.”

Aunt Huang was waiting for this sentence: “Then I won’t be polite to you.”

The two women laughed.

*

The morning of departure arrived in the blink of an eye.

Mrs. Chen got up at nine o’clock and called all the family members one by one.

“Hurry up, pack all the quilts and everything, and get on the carriage.”

While Gu Fei was still dreaming, the quilt on her body was swept away by her impatient old woman.

Lanzhi pushed her hard: “Xiao Fei, get up. We’re leaving”

 

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