Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Forget It, We’ll Talk About It Later

“Everyone, listen to what I have to say.”

The village chief stood up, motioned for everyone not to stand with him, then continued, “I know that no one wants to leave their hometown, but have you thought about why Mrs. Qi’s family insists on leaving?”

“If it were about building houses, they have so many descendants, they would definitely be the first to get their houses built.”

“Yet they are determined to leave now. Aren’t you curious about the reason behind this?”

While speaking, the village chief looked at Qi Zheng, signaling him to explain the reason why they must leave.

Qi Zheng nodded, picked up the conversation, “Think about it, the actions of those rebels, are they any different from bandits? If they treat our small mountain village like this, what about the city? Do you think it can fare any better?”

“Let’s not even talk about whether the city might burn, even if it doesn’t, can the shops there remain?”

“We might not have much to do with the city, but think about it, the salt we eat, the cloth we wear, can any of these be made by us?”

“When the city can start selling these things again, no one can predict. If it’s just three or four months, we can stretch what we have, but what if it takes a year or two, or even three or four years?”

This was the reasoning worked out with Lao Si during the day.

Now, when speaking reason to the villagers, Qi Zheng knew he couldn’t spout big empty slogans about court stability and living peacefully, as they were too removed from the reality of these poor folks.

If the court is stable, the poor families in the mountain valleys may not necessarily live well.

But if the court is unstable, the lives of these poor families will certainly be hard.

Thus, when analyzing the problem from their own interests, it’s easier to gain everyone’s empathy.

Indeed, Qi Zheng’s words immediately made those who wanted to stay give up the idea.

Other matters can be handled, but salt is something that cannot be compromised, not even a little.

People without salt, that’s life-threatening!

After he finished speaking, Qi Zheng looked at the village chief.

The village chief nodded, continued, “The reason for Mrs. Qi’s family wanting to leave is now clear. Everyone should carefully consider whether they want to leave too!”

After speaking to the crowd, the village chief then addressed Qi Zheng, “Old Qi, don’t rush to leave with your family. The forest still has many animals that were burned to death. Before they spoil in the next couple of days, try to collect some back. Whether to eat them or find a way to preserve them, they can be food for the journey later.”

Qi Zheng had planned this, just that he was annoyed by the villagers’ attitude that made him declare he’d leave the next day.

Now that the village chief has given him a step-down, he naturally accepted it, “Alright, listen to the village chief.”

The other villagers were already demoralized, following the village chief’s lead in everything.

Now that the village chief decided to leave, they didn’t say much more.

That night, as usual, they rested like the previous night, but this time there were more patrols.

No need to patrol far, just walking back and forth outside the resting area.

Many fires were set up, and the patrolling people occasionally threw in pieces of wood to keep the fires burning strong, to avoid another incident with the sudden appearance of wolves like yesterday.

Tonight Qi Manman slept in her mother’s arms, wriggled to find a comfortable position, and soon fell into a light snore.

Yi Meng originally wanted to check out the space.

Since having the space, apart from secretly putting items in when packing, there hasn’t been a chance to look inside.

It’s crowded during the day, and at night too.

Last night everyone didn’t rest well, busy all day today, and now the cave was filled with snores.

Mrs. Qi feared Qi Manman would be jostled, so tonight they changed to a corner position.

Near the wall, bags of dry leaves leaned against, offering some insulation against the cold.

Yi Meng stayed at the innermost, leaning against these bags, Qi Manman slept beside, and Mrs. Qi was on the other side.

Other people were sleeping next to Mrs. Qi.

As long as she entered the space, it basically wouldn’t affect others.

Being careful not to press on the little girl when exiting space is all that’s needed.

But now the little girl clung tightly to her, slight movement would cause her to whimper.

Yi Meng couldn’t bear for her daughter to sleep poorly, so she closed her eyes and tried to check the space with her mind.

Since drinking the spring water behind the cottage, the next day she barely left the toilet.

After coming out, she was covered in the stench of the toilet, Yi Meng had Qi Quanjin fetch water for her to wash thoroughly.

But during the wash, she checked and found her skin hadn’t improved much.

Still in the same condition, just more spirited.

It was clear that the spring water didn’t have the magical effect of refining the body.

Not being disappointed would be a lie.

However, not too disappointed either.

Being more spirited, if it’s about fleeing or migrating, is definitely not a bad thing.

The small house, over ten square meters, didn’t have many items inside, primarily because she originally had nothing much, couldn’t leave it all empty.

Just before leaving, she packed all the tables and cabinets from her room. Using the excuse of taking one last glance, she packed cabinets from others’ rooms too.

This operation still earned her strange looks from the sister-in-laws.

Sister-in-laws peeking into each other’s rooms was indeed odd.

But Yi Meng dared not reveal her secret of having a space, so she did her best to appear natural under their strange gazes.

Unable to physically touch, the space’s items remained as they were.

Just then, the little girl in her arms wriggled again, pressing closer.

“Forget it, maybe later!”

Yi Meng abandoned the idea of sneaking into the space at night.

Too many people around, and the little girl sticks too close, definitely not a good chance.

Pulling her mind back from the space, Yi Meng soon fell asleep deeply.

That night, she dreamed a lot.

Scenes of working overtime as a corporate drone in her past life, daily life after transmigrating.

Among the chaotic scenes were some unknown images, flashing too fast to notice in her dream state.

Unbeknownst to Yi Meng, not long after she fell asleep, people began to sit up in the cave.

The thought of soon leaving here made many elders lose sleep.

Fear of disturbing the children’s rest, they kept their eyes shut, waiting until everyone was sound asleep before opening their eyes to silently weep by the fire.

Among them were Mrs. Qi Sr. and Mrs. Qi.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep