Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Heartless!

Just as Mrs. Qi was internally conflicted, unsure of how to comfort her precious granddaughter, she suddenly heard someone exclaim, “They’re back! The water carriers are back!”

Instantly, the entire camp erupted in excitement.

Almost everyone stood up, looking in the same direction.

Mrs. Qi quickly stood up, craning her neck to see if any of her boys managed to bring back water.

But before she could see clearly, she heard someone loudly questioning, “Why didn’t you bring water down?”

“Yeah, why didn’t you bring any water down? The children are so thirsty, don’t you know how to care for them?”

The crowd was noisy, filled with questions.

Some women and the elderly couldn’t help but start crying.

They were out of water, and if they remained thirsty all day, the adults might manage, but the children wouldn’t.

With the atmosphere growing increasingly tense, Qi Quanjin hastily shouted out, “Everyone, quiet down! Quiet, please!”

Though some continued to retort and some cried, most people quieted down, glaring at Qi Quanjin and his group as if they were the culprits who would let them die of thirst.

Qi Quanjin, due to his loud yelling, couldn’t help but cough twice, then endured his discomfort and said loudly, “Everyone, quiet down! Listen to me!”

Someone asked what Qi Quanjin had to say, while others muttered that he probably hadn’t found much water.

Utterances varied widely.

The village head approached the group at this moment, noticing that only the Qi Brothers’ bucket had some water, while the others’ buckets were dry, which weighed heavily on his heart.

Could it be that the water source isn’t as abundant as Ji Hu claimed?

At that moment, the village head really felt like strangling his unreliable younger son.

They found a small stream, and the water was supposedly clear and sweet.

Darn it, they shouldn’t have raised him to this age!

Standing behind Qi Quanjin, Ji Hu suddenly felt a chill down his spine, a coldness he couldn’t explain.

The village head, even if he wanted to strangle his son, wouldn’t choose this moment.

After composing himself, the village head asked, “Quanjin, what’s going on? Did the water flow stop?”

“Village head, the water flow hasn’t stopped. The stream isn’t deep, but the water volume is reliable.”

Qi Quanjin replied with a smile, then addressed everyone, “Listen to me, we haven’t had a proper drink these past days, let alone washed our faces.”

“I’m thinking, since we don’t know what our journey ahead holds, having found this stream, we might as well camp by the water for two days, giving everyone a chance to clean up.”

“Our shabby appearance is partly why that village was so reluctant to let us in.”

“Think about it, if we clean ourselves up, then whether we encounter a village or town, we won’t so easily be mistaken for refugees or vagrants, right?”

Though Qi Quanjin’s voice was loud, his pace of speech was deliberate.

He dared not speak slowly for fear of someone hastily interrupting before he could finish.

He even quickened his breath in between.

Once he clearly communicated his intention, Qi Quanjin couldn’t help but start coughing again.

Yi Meng had returned to the village’s group and went to her place.

Besides the Qi Brothers, Ji Hu was closest to Qi Quanjin.

Seeing Qi Quanjin coughing, Ji Hu hurried forward to pat his back and addressed everyone, “Brother Jin is right! As the saying goes, clothes make the man. Looking ragged, it’s no wonder people wouldn’t let us in to fetch water.”

The men who had come down from the mountain also nodded in agreement.

These men fetching water came from various households.

When they nodded, their family members, though not entirely pleased, didn’t openly disagree.

Only Er Laizi shouted, “We’re just fleeing from famine; no amount of washing will change that!”

“Deep in the mountains, who knows what beasts might be lurking. We shouldn’t go up there. If we encounter beasts, there wouldn’t even be enough of us to fill their teeth!”

Though people usually didn’t think much of Er Laizi, after hearing his words, many agreed with him.

Soon, some began calling their husbands or sons back from fetching water.

They didn’t mind being a little thirsty, but if their strong men met with accidents, they’d truly be without hope.

“Er Laizi, shut up!”

The village head glared harshly at Er Laizi, then addressed everyone, “I think Quanjin is right. But the mountain is indeed less safe than the valley.”

As the village head, he must consider ways to meet all the villagers’ needs.

Especially now, away from home, unity is even more necessary.

The village head paused, then said, “How about this! Those willing to go up the mountain can go with Quanjin. Those unwilling, stay at the bottom. Two days later, we’ll regroup and move out together.”

The village head couldn’t say for sure if this was the right arrangement.

But given the present circumstances, endless arguing wouldn’t solve anything.

Better to split into two groups; the journey wasn’t far, and with fast-footed young people running back and forth, there was no worry of losing contact between groups.

The village head thought this solution was excellent, catering to all sides.

However, not everyone was willing to accept this arrangement.

Those who didn’t want to go up the mountain reacted the strongest.

“Village head, what do you mean by this? If you all go up, and only a few of us are left, what if something happens? We wouldn’t even be able to find you.”

“Yes, village head, it’s clear you don’t want to take us with you!”

“Village head, you can’t just abandon us! You’re our leader; we left our homes following your words. Now you’re deserting us, have you no conscience?”

Those unwilling to go up the mountain grew more agitated, eventually verbally attacking the village head.

The village head, never having been treated this way, turned ashen with anger and even fainted.

The village head’s family panicked.

Especially his sons and grandsons, who were so enraged they wanted to argue with those speaking rudely.

Seeing things weren’t going well, Qi Quanjin hurriedly stepped between the two parties.

The men of the Qi Family rushed over to protect Qi Quanjin.

In this way, the men and boys of the Qi Family became a barrier, separating the emotional village head’s family from the disrespectful villagers.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep