Linxia

Chapter 32, Catch Up

The group of villagers in front is the group from Xiaohe Village.

The family finally caught up!

Mr. Fang didn't say anything, but his tense nerves relaxed and the lines on his face softened unconsciously.

"I really caught up." Until this moment, Fang's mother still couldn't believe it.

"Mom, it's true, I really caught up with the villagers!"

Tian Xuan showed a bright smile on her face: "Our family is really amazing."

"Yes!" Fang Lin sighed and felt extremely complicated in his heart.

In the past two days, they have been deeply aware of the discrimination and exclusion suffered by the lone families. The joy of catching up with the villagers and the peace of mind of being together with the villagers at this time are something that cannot be understood without personal experience.

The team from Xiaohe Village also discovered Fang Lin's family, and they were basically happy for the Fang family. This feeling of meeting each other again after being away from home was similar to the feeling of "meeting an old friend in a foreign land".

"Sister-in-law Fang has recovered from her illness, and the Fang family is catching up with us!"

"That's right. It rained the day before yesterday, so we didn't travel much. If you count carefully, they didn't fall behind by much."

"No matter what, all the families in our village are intact, and that's the good thing."

……

"The Fang family is really lucky. They are lucky." Song Kai muttered to himself when he saw the Fang family.

"Isn't it? I thought..." Bai Bao also said in a low voice.

Next to the two of them, Zheng Yu from the Zheng family, as well as several other families that had been recruited by the small group in the past two days, did not say anything. After all, they did not have any major grudges with the Fang family.

Fang Lin also noticed Song Kai and his gang. He glanced over them and paused for a moment on Bai Bao - he thought that he would never see Bai Bao again, but he soon realized that Sister Guihua was very patient and would not act hastily even if she wanted to take revenge.

The Fang family returned to the group of villagers. As the leader of the Xiaohe village group, Qiao Xu also came over and said a few words. This was a good opportunity for the villagers to take a break.

At this time, Geng's young daughter-in-law Su Xiaoqing and Sister Guihua also came over with their daughter Chen Ye and expressed their joy of reunion.

"Aunt, do you remember my dry heaving two days ago? That's because I was pregnant, but the baby came at a wrong time. Fortunately, we were in a hurry and it didn't have much impact." Su Xiaoqing, the wife of the Geng family, touched her lower abdomen and said shyly.

"This was done by Xiao Qiao Cunzheng's wife." Sister Guihua smiled and added, "The Qiao family's sister is also a half-baked expert. She can only recognize the pulse of pregnancy, but she is not very accurate. It took us, who have given birth, two days to confirm it."

"This is a great thing." After congratulating, Fang's mother started talking about what happened in the villagers' team over the past two days.

"Song Kai from the Song family, Bai Bao from the Bai family, and Zheng Yu from the Zheng family got mixed up and made a mess." Sister Guihua sighed, "Just the night before last, Zheng Yu from the Zheng family and Fu Hong from the Fu family found a nest of wild duck eggs and almost had a fight again. In the end, the village voted to let Zheng Yu take it."

"Yes, this has made the villagers start to stick together. Our family and Sister Guihua are getting closer. You Chaodong from the You family and Fu Hong from the Fu family, who are at odds with Song Kai's group, will also cooperate. Sister Fang, your family is here, and we have more people."

Hearing this, Fang Lin seemed to be thinking about something. There was no need to say much about the conflict between the Bai family and Sister Guihua. The Geng family was also involved, probably because they were close to their family and were implicated. They formed a tacit understanding with You Chaodong of the You family and Fu Hong of the Fu family, who also had a grudge against Song Kai and his gang.

While he was thinking, Fang's mother and the other two women changed the subject.

"The other thing happened the day before yesterday. Bai Bao from the Bai family went to fetch water and was bumped by a stranger. When he came back, he found that the bag of silver and money on his body was missing..."

"That's what happened. After all the trouble, we couldn't find the man or get the money back. After that, the villagers became extra careful. Some people said they should sew the money into the clothes, but I thought that wasn't a good idea. What if the clothes got scratched or worn out?" - In that era, the clothes of poor families were mostly made of linen or coarse cotton. They were not very strong and easily torn, so they often had patches.

"Yes, and some say they are sewn into quilts and bedding."

……

People only learn lessons and change after they suffer losses. Isn't it the same for the Fang family?
The three women gossiped for a while, and then continued on their way.

The Fang family reunited with the villagers, and everything went smoothly over the next two or three days. Nothing major happened, and there is no need to elaborate on some trivial matters.

When they were halfway on the road to the city, a disagreement arose in the village again.

……

All the villagers from Xiaohe Village were called to a meeting, and the Fang family was naturally among them.

"This time we asked everyone to come here because Song Kai said there is a small road that can save a lot of time. Let's ask everyone what they think."

As soon as Qiao Xu finished speaking, Song Kai followed up and said, "Taking the small road not only saves most of the day, but also saves two meals of food. This is also in consideration of the fact that everyone is short of food."

In fact, there is another very important point for him, which is that the journey can be shorter and the suffering can be less. To put it bluntly, he just doesn't want to suffer.

There was silence throughout the place, and it was obvious that everyone was thinking about this matter, and many people had expressions of interest on their faces.

At this time, Fang Lin pondered for a moment, and suddenly said: "If we take the small road and leave the official road, will there be any danger? It's better to be safe than sorry!"

Seeing that no one else spoke, Fang Linneng was the first one to jump out and sing a different tune from him. Isn't this obviously targeting him?
New and old hatreds came to his mind at once, and Song Kai immediately retorted: "You have plenty of food, so you don't mind saving one or two meals, but we can't! Besides, it's a peaceful time, what danger can there be?"

"Yes, our village is not the only one that is walking in the team. I heard from a village ahead that they also want to take a shortcut. They are doing fine, so there is no reason that something would get into trouble when it is our turn." As a relative of the Song family, Zheng Yu echoed.

"Fang Lin, if you are afraid of trouble, why don't you just leave by yourself?" Bai Bao still remembered that Fang Lin had pointed out his identity, so he found an opportunity and immediately sneered at him.

"That's enough! We are all from the same village, how can we talk to each other? We called each family here to discuss things, not to quarrel."

Qiao Xu stopped them and said, "Everyone, if you have any other ideas, please share them."

"Everybody listen to me."

Fang Lin has never been a person who would swallow his anger. He spoke again: "This is not about my family having more food, nor is it about whether or not someone will get hurt. This is a real safety issue. If something really happens while walking on the small road, who can take the responsibility?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Song Kai and his group and shook his head slightly. Although he did not continue speaking, everyone instantly understood that he meant that Song Kai and his group were not good enough.

"Hahahaha!" The villagers were simple but not naive. Many men laughed out loud, not knowing what they were thinking.

Song Kai and his gang were so embarrassed that their faces turned red, but they couldn't fight back. After all, the other party didn't mention any names, so if they spoke up now, they would be making an indictment!

Some smart people in the village saw more deeply. Fang Lin's words just now had also dug a big trap for Song Kai and his gang - no matter whether Song Kai accepted the suggestion or not, if they really had to take the small road in the end, if something really happened, the villagers would subconsciously remember Fang Lin's words today and feel resentful towards Song Kai and his gang.

……

(End of this chapter)