TFWYH – Chapter 377 Preparing to Flee the Famine

Old Shen looked at the people in front of him clamoring to flee the famine, his expression complicated. What surfaced in his mind instead was the dark experience from his childhood.

He held back again and again, but still patiently tried to persuade them: “Fleeing the famine isn’t necessarily safer than staying home. If you ask me…”

“Village head, what time do you think it is now?” the Shen family man cut him off impatiently. “We’ve got no food left, the crops in the fields have all been eaten by locusts, many houses have collapsed — we’ve got nothing! If we don’t leave, are we supposed to stay here and wait to die? You’re the village head — at a time like this you should lead us out and give us a way to survive!”

Once he started, everyone began talking at once.

“Exactly, village head — we don’t want to die.”

“You’ve got to give us a way to live — you’re the village head!”

“People from Wutong Town have already started fleeing. If we don’t go now, when their refugees get here, it’ll be too late.”

“That’s right — those refugees are like madmen!”

…

The village head looked at the crowd all talking at once, slowly closed his mouth, and began to waver inside.

Aunt Liu didn’t have his patience. Hearing everyone chattering and pressuring her old man to lead the escape, she put down her work, rolled up her sleeves, and walked out.

“What are you all yelling about? Do you have no parents or no legs? If you want to leave, then hurry up and go. Don’t try to push my old man to take the lead.”

Her words immediately stirred dissatisfaction.

A man from the Shen family said at once, “Aunt Liu, the village head hasn’t even spoken yet — you’re just a woman—”

“What’s wrong with being a woman?” Aunt Liu snapped, cutting him off, her attitude firm. “If I say we’re not going, then we’re not going. If you want to flee, go yourselves — why drag him into it? I’ll make this clear: my old man is the head of Huanshan Village. Even if he dies, he’ll die here in Huanshan Village!”

Her forceful stance made everyone look at each other uneasily.

No matter how unhappy they felt, for the moment no one dared to speak.

Seeing them fall silent, Aunt Liu snorted and turned back into the house.

“Ahem… well, my wife’s right,” the village head said, coming to his senses. “As the village head, I can’t leave. If you want to go… then go. I won’t be going.” After saying a few more words, he ushered everyone out.

Hearing the door shut behind them, the group leaving the village head’s home felt deeply dissatisfied.

But there was nothing they could do.

“Shen Ergou, what now? The village head won’t go!”

“Then he won’t go!” the Shen man spat. “He wants to stay here and wait for death — are you going to die with him? I’m leaving anyway. Go back today and count what you have at home. We leave tomorrow!”

The others all nodded and hurried back to pack.

In truth, there wasn’t much to pack.

First the earthquake, then the locust plague.

Under such harsh conditions, very little food had been preserved.

Thinking about the hardships ahead, many villagers wore bitter expressions, constantly worrying things over in their minds.

Meanwhile, Shen Ergou turned his attention to the Ling family.

If anyone in Huanshan Village was still well-off right now, it was the Ling family.

Others might not know, but he did — that old Madam Liu had gotten quite a lot of silver from Ling the eldest son.

His daughter had told him so the last time she came back, and even brought him and his wife plenty of meat.

Thinking of this, Shen Ergou hurried home to tell Madam Shen to have their daughter come back at once.