Martial Arts: Start by Obtaining the Wild World

Chapter 25 0025 Hemp Ropes Are Cut at the Thin Part

Cheng Zongyang sighed inwardly, stopped, took out the water bag from his waist, squatted down, took out the lid and handed it to the woman.

"Where are you from?" Cheng Zongyang asked.

"Linchuan Prefecture..."

The woman responded, her eyes showing a look of salvation. She took the water bag and sat up, but without drinking it, she put it to the mouth of the child in her arms.

"Hurry, dog, there's water, mom will feed you..."

However, the child in her arms did not react at all, his eyelids were tightly closed on his skinny little face, and he was not breathing at all.

"Dog, there's water. Open your eyes and look at your mother!"

The woman continued to rock the child with a crying voice, squeezing the water from the water bag and pouring it into the child's mouth.

But water flowed out from the corners of the child's mouth and he still didn't react.

"Dog, we are almost at the county town. There is water. Open your eyes and see if mother is okay... woooo!" The woman couldn't help sobbing softly.

Cheng Zongyang sighed deeply, took out a small cloth bag from his waist and gave it to the woman, then slowly stood up and said:

"There are some sorghum biscuits in the bag, and the county town is just ahead. As long as we're alive, there's hope."

After saying that, he left without looking back, and had no intention of taking the water bag back.

He had seen many tragic things in the year of natural disasters.

The next moment, on the dirt road behind, a woman holding her dead child began to wail uncontrollably.

The reality she had to face completely crushed her last bit of obsession and delusion!

The heart-wrenching cry towards the sky seemed to be complaining about the torture, hunger, and family breakdown he had encountered along the way! It also seemed to be accusing fate of being unfavorable, the cruelty of the world, and the ruthlessness of natural disasters!
The refugees passing by saw this scene without being moved at all.

Alone and helpless, they dragged their exhausted bodies forward in a desperate desire to survive! They had seen too much along the way and had become numb.

But some refugees also set their eyes on the things in the woman's hands!

That's hope!

……

Daliang is divided into nine prefectures, distributed in the shape of nine palaces.

Bac Dinh Prefecture is located in the center of the nine prefectures.

It borders Jiyun in the north, Xiangyang in the south, Xichuan in the west, and Yangzhou in the east; it borders Haining Prefecture in the northwest, Qingfeng Prefecture in the northeast, Linchuan Prefecture in the southwest, and Luoyang Prefecture in the southeast.

Tianduan Mountain spans across four prefectures: Xiangyang, Linchuan, Beiding and Xichuan, and its area is unimaginably vast.

"That woman said she came from Linchuan, and the disaster seems to be much more serious than that in Xiangyang!"

Cheng Zongyang was on the road, feeling heavy-hearted. He had some knowledge of the distribution of continents in this world, but it was mostly limited to Daliang. He knew nothing about other countries outside Daliang.

What he knew was what he heard from chatting with some traveling merchants in the county town.

But the real understanding is limited to the basic situation within Yufeng County.

Even as for the Chiba County above, he only had a vague understanding of it.

Linchuan, which the woman mentioned, was a very far place for him. It was a place that required him to go through the only official road in Tianduan Mountain.

He didn't know how far it was, but Yufeng County was located to the west of Xiangyang, close to Tianduan Mountain, and was one of the counties closest to Linchuan Prefecture.

"If refugees flee from Linchuan, it is normal for them to arrive in Yufeng County after a long journey.

But what is going on? They have come all the way to Xiangyang. Could it be that the disaster in Linchuan is extremely serious?"

Cheng Zongyang felt that the severity of the drought in the past two years and the scope of its impact were beyond his imagination!
He was well aware of farmers' obsession with the land and their attachment to their homeland, and that they would generally not leave their homes unless they had no other choice.

Even if I have to flee, I will make the decision based on the principle of proximity. I hope to return to my homeland in my lifetime.

Now that he had traveled such a long distance to Xiangyang, he thought that place was no longer suitable for living!

"I heard from my second uncle that it has not rained in Luoyang for half a year, and signs of disaster are already evident."

"The situation in Linchuan has become so serious. Is it Xiangyang's turn next?" He thought of the situation in the nearby Hengshui Village.

"It seems that this chaos will not last long!" Cheng Zongyang suppressed his complicated emotions and quickened his pace.

A hemp rope breaks only at the thinnest part. In years of famine, protecting your home is the most important thing.

When we arrived at the entrance of the village, we ignored the refugees we met on the road, continued walking forward for a distance, and then entered the forest.

In the mountains and forests, before it got dark, they entered the wilderness and started working.

About an hour later, when the sun had completely set, he reappeared in the woods, took out a wooden rack, and put out a bag of old rice, a bag of corn flour, and five pounds of brown sugar.

These grains were worth fifteen taels and five cents of silver, which was enough. He also prepared some loose silver and two bags of medicinal herbs, tied them to a wooden frame, and continued to rush home.

However, when he came out of the woods and reached the alley next to the house, he could vaguely see several village elders leaving their homes in the dim light.

Cheng Zongyang immediately stopped and hid in the corner.

"What's going on?" Cheng Zongyang asked puzzledly.

After they walked away, Cheng Zongyang carried the wooden frame and went to the door.

The door happened to be open, so Cheng Zongyang walked in and closed the door.

"Mom, I'm back." Cheng Zongyang shouted.

"Yang'er!" Cheng Zhou, who was in the kitchen, was delighted when she saw her son come back.

"Cauldron!"

When the little girl who was playing in the yard saw her big brother coming back, she was so overjoyed that she dropped the small wooden stick in her hand and ran towards him laughing.

Cheng Zongyang smiled knowingly, put the things carefully in the kitchen, then squatted down, letting the little girl hug his neck affectionately.

"Did you miss me?" Cheng Zongyang kissed the little girl's chubby face, his eyes full of love.

"Yeah, I thought about it."

The little girl giggled and nodded firmly: "Big Pot, are you hungry? There is delicious meat for lunch. Mother said she saved it for you."

"Hahaha, mother still loves us." Cheng Zongyang smiled happily.

At this time, Cheng Guanghai walked out from the dim inner room.

"Dad." Cheng Zongyang shouted.

"Wow, so much rice and flour. And brown sugar. Hey, brother, what are you doing with these packets of medicine?" Cheng Zongliang's voice came from the kitchen.

You don't need to look to know that this kid is stealing from the bag again.

At this time, Cheng Zhou came out with a nervous look on her face and asked hurriedly: "Yang'er, why is there so much food this time? Also, what's the matter with the medicinal herbs? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Girl, go and play." Cheng Zongyang said softly to the little girl.

"Oh." The little girl didn't continue to pester him. She kissed her big brother on the face and continued to play with her little wooden stick.

"How much did those people give you?" Cheng Guanghai also came over. Seeing the amount of food in the kitchen, he had some guesses in his mind.

Cheng Zongyang took out the four taels and five cents of silver he had prepared and handed it to his mother, saying with a smile:
"I got twenty taels. They asked me to sell a lot of things this time. For the sake of long-term cooperation, I agreed to give it to my second uncle..."

Cheng Zongyang briefly recounted the incident, and in front of his parents' shocked eyes, he added:
"I have decided to join them."

After thinking about it, he decided to use this reason to deal with his future harvest problem.

At this point, Cheng Zhou realized from her nearly 1,000 taels of income that she had earned, and quickly said, “No!”

Cheng Zongyang smiled and said, "Mom, I'm hungry. Let's cook first."

Hearing this, Cheng Zhou realized that her son had not eaten lunch. She immediately forgot what had just happened. Feeling sorry for her son, she immediately said:

"I'm already doing it. The village chief and a few others just came to our house, which delayed us for a while. Go wash up first, you'll be ready soon. Tell me about the medicine later."

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(End of this chapter)