Chapter 146: Refugees Fleeing

         

The group sat on the ox cart, swaying as they entered Qingyan Town.

Although Qingyan Town wasn’t as lively as the capital, the market was still bustling with people.

As soon as they entered, the lively atmosphere infected the group, giving them a sense of finally settling down.

Bai Yi turned his head and noticed the expressions of the Shen family and asked, “Should we stop and rest here?”

They glanced at each other and declined.

Grandma Shen spoke up, “Let’s go to the village first. It will be dark if we delay any longer.”

Bai Yi nodded and led the way, continuing forward.

Passing through Qingyan Town, they reached a series of dirt roads that were often trodden upon, forming a relatively smooth path.

After walking for about five or six miles, the Shen family and their group saw a village in the distance, with a high mountain behind it.

It was noon, and the villagers in the village were squatting at the intersection, eating and chatting while holding their bowls.

Clatter, clatter, clatter~

The sound of the ox cart attracted the people gathered at the entrance of the village, who were having their meal.

The villagers turned their heads and saw a group of people driving an ox cart entering the village.

The group jumped off the cart and walked towards the villagers with smiles.

Shen Rong approached an older man who seemed to be looking at them and asked, “Sir, is this Longxian Village?”

The old man amiably replied, “Yes, this is Longxian Village. Are you here to find someone or for something else?”

The other people holding their bowls also looked over curiously, wondering why these people had come.

Shen Rong explained their identities and the reason for their arrival.

A woman holding a bowl repeated in astonishment, “What? Refugees?”

Everyone looked at the Shen family with astonishment.

They had never seen refugees like this before. Although they might not be educated, they could tell that these people were not trying to deceive them.

Not to mention the shiny cows they were pulling and the belongings on the carts.

Even their clothes, despite being worn, didn’t have patches.

In this day and age, who didn’t have a few patches on their clothes?

Shen Rong smiled kindly at them and affirmed, “Yes, we just arrived here.”

He continued, “Could you kindly inform us of the location where we can settle down?”

The old man stood up and pointed ahead, “Go straight in, take the first right at the first bend, and that will be the house.”

“Thank you, sir,” Shen Rong expressed his gratitude, and the Shen family continued walking ahead.

The people behind them watched as the Shen family entered the village. They quickly finished their meal, then followed behind them.

It was incredibly astonishing that these people were refugees. They couldn’t believe it.

They had to join in the excitement and see what was happening.

The group arrived at the doorstep of the Li family’s house. Before the Shen family could knock on the door, one of the people who had followed them ran ahead and knocked on the door.

“Uncle Li Zheng, there are visitors from our village. Come out and have a look,” someone called from inside.

A slightly aged male voice came from inside the house, “Da Zhuang, what are you doing? You’re about to break the door!”

Upon hearing the person inside calling out the name of the one who knocked, the Shen family took a closer look at him.

His name and appearance were completely mismatched.

The name Da Zhuang gave the impression that he should be a tall and sturdy man, honest and straightforward.

But ironically, this Da Zhuang was thin and looked as if he couldn’t afford a decent meal.

Looking at his face, he also had a shrewd expression.

The door opened, revealing an energetic old man who walked out, followed by a few others.

The Shen family shifted their gaze away from Da Zhuang.

The old man, puzzled by the presence of this group of people outside, asked, “What’s going on? Why have these people come?”

Bai Yi took out the official document with the government seal from his pocket, intending to explain the Shen family’s identity.

However, before Bai Yi could speak, the man called Da Zhuang quickly explained their reason for coming to the village.

“Uncle Li Zheng, these people say they are refugees fleeing the disaster. The government has instructed them to stay in our village.”

Once he stopped speaking, Bai Yi approached the village elder with the official document and handed it over.

The old village elder took the document, glanced at it, and then looked up at the Shen family.

He said, “Since it’s arranged by the government, you can stay in the village as long as you don’t cause any trouble.”

Shen Rong felt relieved seeing that the village elder didn’t give them too much trouble.

However, they couldn’t continue sleeping in tents now that they were in the village. Shen Rong inquired about accommodation and land.

Upon hearing this, the other villagers also perked up their ears and listened attentively.

There weren’t many households in their village, and each household had either rented or sold their land to people from other villages, keeping only the fields in their own hands.

There were some vacant areas where houses could be built, although they were currently unoccupied. However, nearby households had planted vegetables on those lands.

Since those areas were neither inhabited nor had houses built on them, everyone turned a blind eye to it.

Now, no household wanted their land, where vegetables were being grown, to be taken away. They could only wait for the village elder’s response.

The old village elder continued to examine the official document in his hand before looking up.

“It’s written here that the government has allocated two plots of land for you to build houses on. However, if you want farmland, you’ll need to purchase it yourself.”

The Shen family nodded in understanding. They were already aware of the arrangement to have two plots of land for building houses.

However, being native villagers, they felt uneasy without any land in their hands.

The village elder looked at the crowd gathered outside and waved his hand, saying, “If there’s nothing urgent, disperse.”

Then he turned to Shen Rong and said, “Come inside and talk with me.”

Given the large number of people and the presence of the cart, not everyone went inside.

Shen Yu’an, grandpa Shen, Shen Rong, Zhang Man Cang, and Bai Yi entered the house together, while the others stayed outside to keep an eye on things.

It wasn’t surprising to anyone that grandpa Shen and the others went inside, as they were there to discuss matters. However, it was quite unexpected that the beautiful girl followed them inside, causing a bit of disruption.

People couldn’t help but cast a few more glances at Shen Yu’an and couldn’t help but admire her beauty.

While Shen Yu’an and the others were inside, the people outside didn’t disperse either.

They gathered around the remaining members of the Shen family and engaged in lively conversations.