"Xia Ren, have you eaten?"
Li Zheng looked at Xia Ren in front of him, greeting him warmly.
His attitude was very respectful, as if he treated Xia Ren as a friend.
"I have."
Xia Ren nodded indifferently.
Immediately, Li Zheng explained his purpose: "We have informed the Xiao family about yesterday's truth. If they dare to retaliate against you, just tell me, and I will help you severely punish their entire family."
Through Jiang Wan'er's information, Xia Ren already knew about the Xiao family's situation last night.
The Xiao family had six brothers, all of whom were village bullies in Dahe Village. Besides the three who had died, there were also Xiao Laoda, Xiao Laosan, and Xiao Laosi.
"Alright, many thanks, Li Zheng."
Xia Ren cupped his fists, having a good impression of the Li Zheng in front of him.
In response, Li Zheng laughed heartily, patted Xia Ren's shoulder, and then turned to leave with his people.
Li Zheng's words were heard by everyone around.
Presumably, it wouldn't be long before they reached the ears of the Xiao family, making them even more wary of Xia Ren and not daring to act recklessly.
Da Ya first looked at Li Zheng, then looked up at Xia Ren: "Daddy, there's one thing I don't understand. Why is Li Zheng so good to our family?"
Xia Ren, intending to test how clever Er Ya was, said to her: "Er Ya, do you know?"
Er Ya nodded, explaining softly: "I think Li Zheng appreciates Daddy's ability and believes he will need Daddy's help in the future, which is why he is good to our family. After all, last night Daddy shot and killed two bandits with two arrows."
Regarding the compound crossbow, Xia Ren had explained it to his family, but only said that the compound crossbow was found deep in the mountains, and his family believed him implicitly.
"Clever." Xia Ren gave a thumbs up in praise, then asked the three little girls: "Then tell me, why don't we flee alone, but instead flee with everyone?"
Da Ya and San Ya shook their heads, indicating they didn't know.
"Fleeing with everyone allows us to minimize danger. Whether we encounter other Vagrants, mountain bandits, or wild beasts, everyone can advance and retreat together. If our family flees alone, we would easily become fat sheep in others' eyes."
After a pause, Er Ya responded in an orderly manner.
At just six years old, she possessed such intelligence.
This made Xia Ren look at Er Ya in a new light.
"Everything you said is correct, but there's another reason: by going with everyone, we can stick to the main roads and reach the south as quickly as possible."
Xia Ren stroked Er Ya's head, adding with a smile.
Approximately half an hour later.
The number of people gathered at the village entrance reached over eight hundred, nearly one hundred and fifty households.
At this moment, two people walked from the front.
Xia Ren had not inherited the original owner's memories, so he did not recognize these two people, but Jiang Wan'er and Da Ya, upon seeing them, had wary expressions.
"Xia Ren, you're actually not dead?"
One of the young men spoke unkindly to Xia Ren.
"Who are you?"
Seeing the other party's ill-intentioned appearance, Xia Ren responded impolitely.
This made the two people in front of him freeze for a moment, as if they hadn't expected Xia Ren to ask that.
The older man coldly snorted and said, "What's wrong? Now you don't even recognize your second uncle and cousin?"
"My Husband has amnesia, so he doesn't recognize you. Second Uncle, I apologize to you on behalf of my Husband here."
Jiang Wan'er quickly stepped forward to explain.
"No wonder." Second Uncle Xia Zhao sneered, his tone laced with sarcasm, then he saw the crossbow on Xia Ren's back and said in a deep voice: "I heard from others that you found a good crossbow; lend it to me for a few days."
As he said this, he directly reached out to take it.
In his view, this was not a discussion, but an order.
Xia Ren sidestepped to dodge, then pushed Xia Zhao away, took out the compound crossbow, strung an arrow, aimed it at Second Uncle Xia Zhao, who had just stood up, and said with displeasure: "Did I agree to lend it to you? You just directly tried to snatch it. Do you think I'm easy to bully, or do you think I wouldn't dare to touch you?"
Seeing this, Xia Zhao's face turned pale with fright, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and large beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, fearing that Xia Ren would accidentally pull the trigger of the powerful crossbow.
"Misunderstanding, Second Uncle was just joking with you just now, don't take it seriously. Seeing that your family is fine, then we'll go back."
Second Uncle quickly found an excuse and scurried away with his son.
San Ya pursed her lips, her eyes shining, and said to Xia Ren: "Daddy, you were so cool just now."
Even Er Ya chimed in: "Normally, Daddy, in front of that person, no matter how much he was bullied, he would just be angry but dare not speak. Now he dares to fight back. Suddenly, I feel that it's quite good that Daddy lost his memory."
After listening to Er Ya's narration, Xia Ren finally understood the grievances between his family and his Second Uncle's family.
The original owner was too honest and kind, which was why he was constantly bullied by his Second Uncle's family. In the past, his Second Uncle's family not only beat and cursed Xia Ren's family, but also continuously seized Xia Ren's land.
"It's all in the past. From now on, Daddy won't let you be bullied by anyone."
Xia Ren's expression was firm as he bent down and embraced the three little girls.
"Mhm."
The three little girls nodded, believing him implicitly.
Soon, most of the people from Dahe Village arrived at the village entrance.
The number was around nine hundred people, but Xia Ren estimated that there were still nearly a hundred people who hadn't come, and these people were clearly going to wait for death in Dahe Village.
"Depart."
Li Zheng, leaning on his crutch, waved his hand, his voice like a booming bell.
The over nine hundred people from Dahe Village at the village entrance then formed a long line, stretching over six hundred meters, fleeing south.
Xia Ren's family pushed the cart together, positioned in the middle of the procession.
Iron Niu's family, which was Iron Niu and her old mother, pushed a single-wheeled cart and followed behind Xia Ren.
Along the way, all that met their eyes were scenes of drought and famine.
The sky, that once clear blue dome, was now obscured by thick dust. The sunlight piercing through the clouds became pale and weak, as if it were tears of pity shed by a deity.
The earth, cracked under endless scorching.
The fields, patches of scorched earth, like ruins burned by fire, utterly devoid of life.
Those once tall crops were now just withered stalks, swaying in the breeze, as if narrating their lament.
A dull and oppressive atmosphere permeated the air; occasionally, a gust of wind would blow, stirring up a cloud of dust, making people instinctively cover their mouths and noses.
Xia Ren encountered many Vagrants from other villages on the road, each one emaciated and sallow-faced, many collapsed on the ground, and once they fell, there was a high probability they would never stand up again.
Therefore, on both sides of the road, the corpses of starved people who had already died were often seen.
Flies constantly hovered over them, emitting a nauseating, unpleasant odor.
The disaster situation was severe, with over thirty million people in the north becoming Vagrants fleeing south.
But for those who could survive and reach the south, even half would be a good outcome.
The scorching sun grew more intense, and the temperature gradually rose.
Xia Ren then took out five straw hats from the cart, one for each family member, to prevent sunburn and heatstroke.
"Daddy, San Ya is so tired and thirsty, she really can't walk anymore."
San Ya was panting heavily, her body drenched in sweat.
At four years old, being able to walk continuously for two or three hours under the scorching sun while pushing a cart was truly not easy for her.
In response, Xia Ren picked up San Ya and placed her in the empty space at the back of the cart, gave her a water skin, and then said to his family: "If you're tired or thirsty, just let me know, don't force yourselves."
Da Ya wiped the sweat from her forehead and said to Xia Ren: "Daddy, I'm not tired."
Er Ya shook her head and said: "I'm not tired either."
Approaching noon.
Under the organization of Dahe Village Chief, the long procession entered a forest.
"Dong dong dong —"
"The people of Dahe Village will rest here for one hour before departing again."
Li Zheng struck the gong and shouted loudly.
Xia Ren's family rested under a tree, and San Ya took out a water skin, smiling at Xia Ren: "Daddy, drink some water."
"San Ya is so good." Xia Ren felt a warmth in his heart, stroked San Ya's head, and then continued: "Daddy isn't thirsty, you drink first."
"No... Daddy drinks first."
San Ya pouted, looking insistent.
Xia Ren truly couldn't win against San Ya, so he took the water skin, drank a big gulp, and then handed the water skin to Er Ya, after which the water skin was successively passed to Da Ya and Jiang Wan'er.