TSWPF -Chapter 73 Fleeing

The weather was getting hotter and hotter, without a single drop of rain. The elderly who had lived through a drought before couldn’t stay calm.

Looking at this weather, it seemed like another drought was on the horizon.

The scenes of floating corpses from the previous drought were still vivid in their minds. If it happened again, survival would be impossible.

The elderly man shared his concerns with the village chief, who was also deeply worried. As farmers dependent on the weather, if the rain didn’t come, their crops couldn’t grow, and they would be heading straight toward disaster.

Fearing the drought might really arrive, the village chief gathered everyone and explained his worries. He advised that anyone with money should stock up on food, so that if a drought struck, they could survive on their reserves.

Some villagers heeded the chief’s advice and decided to buy extra food, while others dismissed it, believing rain would come.

But those who went to buy and stockpile food found that prices had already risen unnoticed, which heightened their sense of crisis.

“Do you believe what the village chief said?” Liu Zhimou asked Li Qingling, noticing her calmness and lack of plans to buy extra food.

Li Qingling lowered her head, calculating how much food she still had at home.

When she looked up at Liu Zhimou, she replied calmly, “Yes, I believe him.”

No wonder there’s an old saying: an elder in the house is like a treasure. The experienced elders could sense something was off from the weather, alerting the villagers to prepare in advance.

Hopefully, the villagers would listen to the chief and stock up, so that when the drought arrived, they could survive.

Liu Zhimou looked at her in surprise. “If you believe it, why haven’t you acted?”

That didn’t sound like her at all. Usually, she would have panicked and acted immediately, not remained so calm.

“How do you know I haven’t acted?” Li Qingling smiled faintly and lowered her voice, “I’ve already stocked up on food.”

Thanks to Ah Huang. Without him, she wouldn’t have acted so quickly. By now, food prices would have surely started to rise.

The recent rainless days gave opportunistic sellers a chance to hike prices—unscrupulous merchants!

Liu Zhimou was shocked. “When did you stock up? How come I didn’t know?”

Why stock up food? Did she already know a drought was coming?

Li Qingling finally revealed everything to him.

After hearing it, Liu Zhimou fell silent. He hadn’t expected her to handle so much without telling him, and guilt weighed on him.

Anticipating this reaction, Li Qingling shook her head helplessly and patted his shoulder. “I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I just knew your exams were coming, and I didn’t want to distract you. Besides, I wasn’t sure it was real. If I told you and it turned out false, it would only worry you unnecessarily. Considering all that, I decided to keep it to myself.”

“You’ve worked hard,” Liu Zhimou sighed, “Next time, tell me about anything like this. It wouldn’t take much of my time anyway.” He wanted to be her support, not leave everything on her shoulders and feel useless.

Understanding his concern, Li Qingling nodded in agreement.

“Hopefully, this drought won’t come.”

“Hmm…” Li Qingling knew deep down that with the current heat, a drought was inevitable.

But what arrived even faster than the drought was war.

That day, the shopkeeper of Fumanlou came to the village to find her. Li Qingling assumed he was coming about the rabbits and laughed, “The rabbits haven’t grown up yet. We’ll have to wait.”

The shopkeeper’s expression was serious. He looked at her and said, “Miss Qingling, I’m not here about the rabbits. I have something important to tell you.”

Seeing his serious expression, Li Qingling put away her smile and nodded for him to speak.

“I received news: the King of Southern Yan is rebelling. His first move is through Anyang County.” The shopkeeper sighed. “Fumanlou will close tomorrow. I’m leaving, but before I go, I wanted to inform you so you can prepare yourself.” That was all he could do.

Hearing this, Li Qingling’s heart sank. She knew the shopkeeper wouldn’t joke about such matters. “Thank you, uncle!” She stood and bowed.

The shopkeeper personally bringing this news was a great favor.

“That’s all I can do to help you,” he said, helping her up. “Do you have a plan? If you want to leave, you should do it soon.” Concern for her family weighed heavily on him.

“I need to discuss it with Zhimou first and decide what to do,” she replied.

“Then you must act quickly.”

Li Qingling agreed. After sending the shopkeeper off, she went out to find Liu Zhimou, who was out playing with their two younger sisters.

Upon seeing her serious expression, he immediately gathered the children and went home with her.

Once home, he asked, “What happened?”

Sitting down, Li Qingling sighed. “The King of Southern Yan is rebelling. War has broken out, and Anyang County is first to be affected.” Though she grew up in peaceful times in her previous life, she knew war meant death—cruel and merciless.

Liu Zhimou’s face darkened. “Where did you hear this? Are you sure?”

“The shopkeeper of Fumanlou told me personally,” Li Qingling nodded. “I believe it’s true. He wouldn’t lie.”

Hearing it from the Fumanlou shopkeeper, Liu Zhimou believed her.

Still, his heart sank completely.

After a while, he asked, “What are you thinking?”

“I haven’t decided yet. I’ll think it through.” Li Qingling rubbed her temple, her mind in chaos. “Should we tell the village chief? Since it’s the same village, I can’t ignore him.”

“Then tell him. Whether he believes it or not is up to him.”

“Alright.”

Liu Zhimou immediately found the village chief and told him, emphasizing that the Fumanlou shopkeeper had delivered the message personally.

The chief was shocked—he hadn’t expected war to come.

Without official confirmation, he didn’t know if it was true. Spreading false news could cause panic, which wasn’t a joke.

“Zhimou, don’t spread this until I confirm it. Understood?” The chief instructed, grateful for Zhimou’s concern regardless.

Liu Zhimou understood and nodded.

The next night, the chief urgently gathered the villagers. Everyone wondered why it was so late.

“I wonder what could be so urgent that the chief called us at this hour,” Aunt Huang said to Li Qingling, frowning.

Li Qingling knew the war news was likely confirmed; otherwise, the chief wouldn’t have gathered everyone in such haste.

She discussed it with Liu Zhimou: their children were too young to survive fleeing.

So they decided it was better to move to the cave on Song Mountain. With her stored food, rationing would allow them to survive the war.

They had planned to move the next morning, but unexpectedly, the chief had summoned everyone that night.

“Quiet, everyone! I have important news.” The chief looked gravely at the villagers. “I’ve received word that the King of Southern Yan is rebelling, and his troops are first passing through Anyang County…”

Before he could finish, the villagers erupted in panic. The chief took a deep breath, shouting for silence. Once quiet returned, he continued: “My family plans to flee. Anyone wishing to leave, meet at the village entrance tomorrow morning. We’ll wait half an hour, then depart immediately.” War had reached their doorstep; staying would mean certain death.

He reminded them of a few precautions, then let everyone return home to consider.

Zeng Tietou ran to Liu Zhimou and Li Qingling, asking if they would flee.

Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou exchanged a glance. Liu Zhimou spoke: “Our  household has no adults—only children. We won’t be leaving.”

Hearing this, Zeng Tietou became excited. “Master, come with me! I’ll protect you!” He couldn’t bear to see such good people die.

Seeing this loyal and simple-hearted man, both Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou were moved.

This is what it means: a friend in need is a friend indeed.

“Uncle Zeng, your family already carries many burdens. We can’t add to that. We’ve decided to stay.”

Thinking of his own family, Zeng Tietou fell silent. After a moment, he said, “Then be careful. If it becomes too dangerous, flee into the mountains!” That might give them a slim chance of survival.

Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou thanked him and told him to be careful. With fate permitting, they might meet again.

Zeng Tietou’s eyes were red as he nodded and slouched away.