The rest of the people somewhat doubted the authenticity of this mountain pond.
Wang said rudely: "If you go at your current speed, you won't be able to arrive tomorrow."
Mrs. Tong's face was slightly stiff, but looking at the toddler in her arms who couldn't make a sound while crying, and the dry and white lips of her five-year-old daughter beside her, she just felt guilty.
"Mom, I'm thirsty." Aunt Wang looked at her mother dryly, her eyes lingering on her chest.
My brother can drink milk, and she wants to drink it too.
But where can Tong still have milk?
I could only pretend to be angry and glare at my daughter. Watching my daughter lower her head in despair, my heart ached.
Wang Dayou looked at the team. Everyone fled in a panic and couldn't bring anything with them.
What's more, even before the refugee army arrived, most people already had no food left in their homes.
There are a lot of trees in this deep mountain and old forest, but the leaves on the branches are so dry and fallen that you can't find any fresh leaves even if you try to chew them.
The family holding the dog in their arms struggled to look at the dying yellow dog they had raised for ten years and kept swallowing saliva.
Another person had a goose in his arms. He was so thirsty that he couldn't help but bite the goose's neck and drink the blood to quench his thirst.
It's just that the blood felt refreshing when he first drank it, but after a while, his throat felt as dry as fire and the man couldn't help scratching his throat.
It's okay if you don't eat for one or two meals, but if you don't drink water for a day, let alone humans and animals, they can't stand it.
Everyone Xu is right. If you go on the road in this state, you won't be able to reach the pond tomorrow.
Wang Dayou swallowed his saliva and shouted to the villagers: "Everyone, please work harder. Get there early and you will have water to drink. If you don't think about yourself and the children, you have to hold on even though you gritted your teeth!"
Everyone looked at the child and then at the sun that was almost reaching the center of their heads. They gritted their teeth and nodded.
Wang Dayou sighed, looked at Mrs. Wang, and told her not to worry.
Seeing this, Mrs. Wang's face improved a little and she encouraged: "Everyone, if you keep at it, we are not far from the pond. As long as we are fast enough, we can arrive at noon!"
After receiving Wang's accurate words, everyone worked hard and greatly accelerated their speed.
Even children aged seven or eight puffed up their cheeks and moved their calves vigorously, without falling a step behind the adults.
In today's world, it is not easy for underage children to survive to this day. Xu Yue was carried on her brother's back. She felt very ashamed to see these children trying to keep up with the pace of adults.
Comparing this, I suddenly feel that I am much luckier.
However, when she was about to reach the pond in the hinterland of the mountain, Xu Yue suddenly saw traces of being trampled on a clump of weeds.
At first glance, she thought they were the tracks left by some kind of large beast, but with such tracks appearing one after another, Xu Yue suddenly had a bad feeling.
But she could detect traces, let alone Wang's. After measuring it with her fingers, her face suddenly darkened.
"Someone has been here!" Wang frowned.
Dawangcun and others were startled, their faces numb with hunger and thirst, and they didn't realize what this meant.
Xu Yue and Xu Erniang immediately realized that something was wrong.
Wang subconsciously raised her hand and made a gesture to advance quietly. When she turned around and saw Wang Dayou and others with blank faces, she realized that these were not the soldiers she led. She coughed awkwardly and said in a voice that everyone could hear.
:
"Someone may have already boarded the pond first. Xu Da, please lead everyone forward quietly. I'll go and check the situation first."
With that said, he ordered Wang Dayou again, "You come with me."
Wang Dayou looked at Wang in surprise, then looked at Xu Da, and when he saw him nodding, he hesitated and followed Wang to take the first step.
Seeing Mrs. Wang leaping far away in a few seconds, and always avoiding obstacles such as stones under her feet, although Wang Dayou was just a blacksmith, she also felt the difference between Mrs. Wang and ordinary women.
.
But before he could think about the difference, lively voices reached his ears, and the two of them had already walked out of the forest and arrived at a patch of low grass.
In the center of the grass, there is a circular pond about five meters in diameter.
Seeing the clear water source and feeling the water vapor rushing towards his face, Wang Dayou swallowed hard and almost cried with joy.
However, there were more than twenty people beside the small pond. They were dressed similarly to them. At a glance, they knew that they were villagers from other places who had fled to the mountains because of drought and war.
At this moment, they were gathering around the open space by the pond, lighting a fire and boiling water for cooking, speaking in dialect and chatting with laughter.
Wang looked at Wang Dayou and asked him if he could understand what those people were saying.
It is said that the customs are different in ten miles, and the pronunciation is different in hundreds of miles. The entire Shanyang County is so big, and the accents are also different in different places.
For example, Dawang Village and Giethoorn Village are only ten miles apart, but their accents are different. It's just that the two places often communicate with each other, so you can understand them once you are used to them.
Wang Dayou strained his ears and listened for a while. It seemed that the accent was from the north of Shanyang County. The daughter of a family member in Dawang Village was married there. He even guessed and got a rough guess.
"They seem to have just arrived, and they are planning to occupy this pond to avoid trouble."
The drought situation in the north of Shanyang County is slightly better than in the south. The situation of these people seems to be much better than that in Dawang Village, and there are also many men, including fifteen young adults.
When Mrs. Wang heard Wang Dayou's words, her face darkened.
Wang Dayou looked at the bright pond and swallowed his saliva. He could still endure his hunger and thirst, but now that the water was right in front of him, he couldn't go there and drink happily. The taste was particularly excruciating.
If Wang didn't stop him, Wang Dayou might have been unable to bear it and rushed over.
But judging from the attitude of that group of people, if he rushed over, he would probably be beaten to death.
Mrs. Wang silently wrote down the situation of the group, called Wang Dayou, and the two of them quietly came back.
As soon as the two returned to the team, Wang Dayou told the situation that the pond had been occupied by others, and the villagers of Dawang Village immediately exploded.
Their thirst for water made them show their crazy side. They raised their hoes and sickles and were ready to go all out to grab the pond.
When Xu Da saw this posture, he immediately raised his eyebrows proudly towards Wang. Look, doesn't this show the advantage of having a large number of people?
Mrs. Wang was too lazy to pay attention to him. She stepped forward and stopped the villagers of Dawang Village who were about to grab the water pond with their hoes and sickles.
"The other party has more people than us and is stronger than us. If we rush forward so recklessly, we will definitely lose."
"Then what do you think we should do?" Wang Dahai, a villager holding the goose, said in a very angry tone. Why should you, a woman, care about men's affairs?
Wang was a little offended by the obvious sexism, but soon, as soon as the powerful aura of having experienced many battles was revealed, Wang Dahai felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and the words in his throat were stuck and silenced with just a glance.
Not only Wang Dahai, but other villagers felt this powerful aura and couldn't help but quiet down, looking at Wang in shock.
