Chapter 43: To enter the city or not

“I shouldn’t have given money, I shouldn’t have given money.”

The women in the Wang family wiped away tears, while the men lowered their heads and remained silent.

Many people in Xinghua Village sighed, pitying the Wang family for their plight.

Su’s mother was frightened for a while, “Yinyin, thank you for stopping me.”

Otherwise, like Aunt Wang, a group of people would have swarmed her and robbed her of her food, bedding, and other items.

“Mom, the world is in chaos now, and sometimes kindness can lead to uncontrollable consequences. When we help others, we must do it while ensuring our own safety.”

Su Yin said this not only to her mother but also so her uncle, aunt, and the others could hear.

Yang Li was gathering the people of Xinghua Village together.

The young and middle-aged men all held weapons and were alert to their surroundings. Anyone who came close would be met with merciless retreat.

In the middle of the team, Yang Li was looking around at several clan elders and young juniors in charge.

“Did you all see what happened to the Wang family just now?”

Everyone nodded.

Out of her kindness, Aunt Wang had given a beggar two pennies. When other people saw this, they came over to beg.

One person and two people could be accommodated, but how could the Wang family afford it for a group of people?

They refused to give, and while they were begging, some began to snatch.

With the first snatch, others followed suit, and more people joined in when they saw it happening.

They didn’t care about propriety, justice, or shame. In the face of life, death, and interests, those concepts meant nothing.

What happened to Aunt Wang’s family taught the people of Xinghua Village a vivid lesson.

Sometimes, you can talk about these things, but people may not fully understand until they see it with their own eyes.

Yang Lizheng continued, “It’s getting late today. According to the previous plan, we will rest outside the city for one night and then go into the city tomorrow to buy the necessary items, but as you have seen, the situation outside is precarious.”

“If you live outside tonight, I’m afraid you won’t be able to do so comfortably. Now there are two options.

The first is to continue camping outside the city according to the original plan. We will enter the city tomorrow, and everyone will take turns watching the night.

The second option is to go into the city tonight and stay at an inn. After shopping tomorrow, we will continue our journey in the afternoon.

“Which one do you think is safer?”

“People with ulterior motives have become greedy again. There are many of us, but more than half are old, weak, women, and children.

If those outside join forces, we can’t resist even with the strength of fifty or so young people.”

“I agree with what Brother Dashan said. I saw several groups of people staring at us, wondering what they were planning behind our backs.”

Yang Dashu then added, “We are all people with families, but those people have nothing.

As the saying goes, ‘Those who are barefoot are not afraid of wearing shoes.’ It’s not worth putting the whole family in danger just to save a few dollars.”

Dad Zhuang disagreed, “Just go in today and have someone guard you. You can’t go shopping, and you’re wasting money for a night in the hotel. The total expenses for a family will cost a lot.”

“Yes, there are more than a dozen people in my family. Even at the cheapest inn, it costs a penny.”

“If they come to snatch from us, we will lose more than just a penny. You may have money, but we don’t have that luxury.”

“There are so many of us, so we can choose a place farther away. A dozen people will keep vigil in the first half of the night, and another dozen will take over in the second half.

If they come, we will fight back together. It’s not like we didn’t drive them away during the day.”

“As long as we are more aggressive, those people won’t dare to come over.”

“Save that money, and you can buy better things. It’s still hot now, but it will soon be autumn, and when the weather cools down, there will be more places to spend money.”

Everyone had different ideas about whether to go or stay.

Yang Lizheng looked around but didn’t see the person he was looking for, “Where’s Su Yatou?”

“I’m not sure,” Yang Dashan replied.

The city gate was about to close, and they had to make a decision quickly.

Yang Lizheng said, “For safety reasons, let’s go into the city.”

“Go into the city? No need!”

“Yeah, it’s so late, it’s not cost-effective to go in.”

Many people chattered, and more people lowered their heads in silence.

Dad Zhuang said, “Li Zheng, it’s not that we don’t listen to you, but now there are more people who want to stay outside for the night.

There are so many of them, if anyone dares to cause trouble, they have to ask the guys in our hands.”

“Yes!”

Several people who were unwilling to pay the rent echoed.

“How about voting to decide and the minority obeys the majority?” Yang Fu suggested.

Su Yin happened to hear this when she came.

She sat next to her uncle and asked in a low voice: “Uncle, what’s going on? Aren’t you going to the city?”

Yang Dashan said in a low voice: “Li Zheng decided to go to the city, but many people opposed it. Now you have to stay in an inn when you go to the city, which is not worth it.”

She nodded clearly.

Yang Lizheng said, “Okay, let’s vote.”

This time, there were twenty-six households in Xinghua Village, plus six families of brothers-in-law in Xinghua Village, including two eldest cousins and Su Yin’s family, a total of thirty-two families. There are more than 200 families, old and young, in total.

At this time, 32 people came to vote. As a result of the voting, 14 families  said they would go to the city and 18 families said they would stay outside for one night.

Everyone knows the pros and cons of going to the city or not.

Every household’s situation is different. Some people are willing to spend money to buy peace of mind, while others think that something may not happen and are unwilling to waste their money.

Many people don’t have much money in their pockets and are confused about the future. Naturally, they don’t dare to spend a penny more and save whatever they can.

Yang Li was looking at the result and sighed.

“Then let’s make a decision. We’ll stay one night outside the city and enter the city as soon as the city gate opens tomorrow.”

“Well…”

Su Yin, who had been silent the whole time, said, “Third Grandfather, I’m going to enter the city. I’ll meet everyone tomorrow. My uncle’s family is also going to the city with me.”

Su Yin was not only going to the city for safety, but she also wanted to have a good sleep and take a bath.

In the middle of summer, she had been sleeping in the wilderness for days, and there was no extra water to wipe her body with. Her body was already smelly, and she felt like she was going rotten.

Butcher Yang had money in his pocket. Seeing what Su Yin said, he hurriedly followed, “I will go to the city today and meet everyone tomorrow.”

“My family will go too.” Yang Dashu and his family followed.

Madam Xu, who had a low sense of presence, whispered, “My family is also moving into the city.”

Her family was simple, consisting only of her, her mother-in-law, and her daughter. She dared to make this decision entirely because of Su Yin.

Their family was all women, and they would have company for everything.

“Okay, if you want to go to the city, then leave quickly. We will meet again tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.”

The matter was decided like this.