Every inch of land we passed along the way and every tree we saw had its bark stripped off, leaving them naked and exposed in the wilderness.
That hard piece of mud can smash someone into a big mess if you use it to hit them.
Not a single grass root could be seen on the slope, it was all bare.
Not only that, I occasionally saw refugees lying motionless on the roadside.
The further we went, the more and more refugees were lying motionless on the roadside. It was really frightening to see people dying of hunger all over the place.
In addition, I also saw the bones of many animals, which should be cattle, mules and donkeys.
There was no need for Old Man Xu to say anything at this time, everyone spontaneously became cautious.
At the same time, everyone felt scared.
Dead people, so many dead people.
These people made up their minds to leave their hometown and wanted to find a way to survive in a distant land, but in the end they failed to survive the fate of dying in the middle of the journey. Their bodies were exposed in the wilderness, their souls were lost in a foreign land, and they could not find peace in death.
For a moment, everyone seemed a little worried.
Xu Yinyin's family of four suddenly saw so many dead people, and they felt a little heavy. Xu Chunshan and Zhang Xiulan were okay. After all, they traveled through Guangdong in those chaotic times and saw with their own eyes that someone would take a knife if they disagreed with each other on the street.
The one who slashed people was the one who had even seen someone shoot someone.
So you can calm down quickly.
But Xu Yinyin and Xu Dajun are different. They grew up under the fluttering red flag. They have not suffered much since childhood and have never lacked food. They have seen dead people before, but this is the first time they have seen such a dead person. And it is so...
There are so many that one can almost feel numb just by looking at them.
Although it is already autumn, some of the corpses exposed on the ground have been dead for unknown days, and the smell is particularly unpleasant.
The group of people had no choice but to grit their teeth and speed up their pace, staying far away from these.
They walked forward for a long time until they reached a forest where no dead people could be seen, and then they stopped to rest.
Others naturally thought the same way. Therefore, when we stopped in this area, we were surrounded by densely packed refugees. Naturally, the families did not dare to take out the wowotou to eat in broad daylight.
Most of the refugees were so weak that they didn't want to move when they fell down. They grabbed whatever they were lying on and stuffed it into their mouths.
There was also a small group of refugees who went deeper into the forest, trying to find some unpeeled bark.
Several families had eaten and drank secretly during their break last night. Can they bear to eat mud now? Of course they couldn't, so they all pretended to have no strength, lying down against each other and closing their eyes.
rest.
After resting for about half an hour, we continued on our way.
They have already discussed that in the future, they will only stop and eat at night, and just go on the road during the day.
Although Old Man Xu told the family to follow the example of other refugees and not attract attention.
But in the eyes of thoughtful people, their line of work is still somewhat different.
Among the refugees in this group, they are the ones who have been away from home for the shortest time. They have been away from home for at least seven or eight days. They have not had anything to eat or drink before they left their hometown to find a way to survive. All of these people have yellow faces and thin bodies, and their steps are sloppy when they walk.
, there is no extra energy, the guy who was brought out has been forced to walk all the way, and now he only has empty clothes hanging loosely on his body.
But the Xu family is different. Yes, their faces are as good as food, and yes, their clothes are baggy and slovenly. But they are still pushing a cart with so many people, which makes people have to take a second look.
.
Interested people have already been secretly targeting them, but these people don't know each other, they are scattered among the refugees, and they are not tangled together to prepare anything. They just pay attention to a few families.
This evening, when we arrived at the campsite, several families settled down according to their positions and took a rest. When there was no movement around, the families had a tacit understanding and began to eat and drink separately without speaking.
The Xu family rested closely together. Old man Xu and Mrs. Xu were in the middle, with the cart behind them. Mrs. Xu remained silent. She looked like she had a torch on her head in the night.
I took out the wowotou and passed half of it to everyone one by one.
Everyone got the steamed buns and ate them silently while lying down without making any noise.
After half of the wotou was finished, Mrs. Xu continued to distribute the bamboo tubes, one on the left and one on the right, and everyone drank one by one and passed them on.
Each person takes a sip and passes it around after drinking.
These are the tacit understandings I have experienced in the past few nights. I know what to do without saying anything.
Several others are like this too.
After everyone had eaten and drank, those who were supposed to keep watch gathered in the middle and began to sit still like a mountain in the dark, staring at the movements around them.
Before going to bed, Xu Chunshan and Xu Dajun worked together as usual to listen to the surroundings and feel for any unusual movements, and then they would watch for half the night and the other for the rest of the night.
There are other people watching the night, so you don't have to sit up and keep watching. You can lie down and take a nap, and just keep an eye on the movement for a while.
During the first pass, Xu Chunshan didn't find anything wrong. After the first pass, he came back and scanned in the direction he originally scanned, and he saw something unusual.
I quickly asked Xu Dajun to go in that direction and listen.
Xu Dajun didn't hear anything obviously wrong. He only heard a slight friction sound in that direction, hidden in the night wind. Because he couldn't see it, he couldn't be sure if there was anything wrong.
But Xu Chunshan stared in that direction and clearly saw a dozen figures gesturing and crawling towards them in the dark night.
Getting closer.
Seeing that there was only one mile away, he lay down on a gentle slope, his wolf-like eyes shooting towards this side through the trees.
The hungry wolf is dormant and ready to attack its prey at any time.
On their side, the six people who were keeping vigil formed a circle side by side.
Deng Dalang and Zheng Tiechui lowered their heads and dozed off, snoring heavily.
Xu Chunlin yawned loudly and slapped his face with his hands to wake himself up.
Zhou Dalang stared left and right for a while, then yawned from exhaustion.
Uncle Zhang was rubbing two mud balls to pass the time. Shi Laoer, perhaps disturbed by Zheng Tiechui's snoring, sat with his legs bent, covering his ears with his hands and resting them on his knees.
No one noticed anything unusual a mile away.
The hungry wolf did not notice the danger and continued to move closer to the target.
Half a mile away...
About twenty steps...
Close...
coming……
Uncle Zhang had just opened his yawn when he was startled by a sharp sound that suddenly sounded in the night, and he almost stopped flashing his tongue.
"Someone stole the child!!!"
In the dark night, this sound was like thunder, waking up all the sleeping people.
When Xu Dajun shouted out, Xu Chunshan had quietly approached the edge of their group.
Those people were also startled by the sudden sound. After half a beat of slow movement, Xu Chunshan swung the hoe over without mercy.
So when Xu Dajun's voice fell, several more screams rang out.
Uncle Zhang and the others who were already awake quickly rushed over to help with their hoes and poles.
Then came Zheng Tiechui, Deng Dalang, and others who were awakened.
Men from several families attacked in groups, and before those with evil intentions could stretch out their evil claws, they were beaten so hard that they fled.