Quick Travel: After the European Emperor can sign in

Chapter 116 The parents on the road to escape 14

Yuan Xi didn't know that all the well-informed officials in Xizhou had almost fled.

He woke up early in the morning and found out that Magistrate Wang and the wealthy households in the county were on the run. He ate breakfast in a hurry and quickly found an excuse to go to the county.

Arriving at the gate of the county town, an endless stream of carriages were still evacuating from the city. Seeing this scene, Yuan Xi immediately turned around and went back.

"What? All the rich households in the county have ran away?"

Zhang Yuanlin exclaimed in disbelief, sat in a chair and muttered to himself: "Has the situation in Yu County gotten so bad? Is the disaster so serious?"

"It's broken. I need to inform the clan leader immediately."

He stood up suddenly and ran out the door, beckoning Yuan Xi to follow him.

"Third brother, hurry up, come with me to see the clan leader."

Yuan Xi originally wanted to help his second brother, but it turned out that his second brother was walking like flying. He originally imitated the clan leader and held a cane, but now he threw it away because he disliked it and was in the way.

Reluctantly picking up the crutches on the ground, Yuan Xi followed and shouted: "Second brother, run slowly, don't be in a hurry."

Zhang Yuanlin ignored it and ran quickly, "This is a matter of life and death. Third brother, please hurry up."

Today, the villagers of Zhangjia Village saw a strange scene. The elderly clan elder lost his previous stability and ran faster than the young people in the village. His younger brother kept following behind and shouted: Be careful, the two of them ran away in a flash. Gone.

"What happened? The Yuanlin clan always runs so fast."

"I don't know. Looking at this direction, we should be heading to the patriarch's house."

"I don't know why, but I always feel anxious."

"Me too, I feel a little stuffy. Yuan Lin is usually a very stable person, but now... this must be a big deal."

Several villagers on the road were talking a lot.

"Dong dong dong dong~"

"Clan leader, are you at home?"

Zhang Yuanlin slammed the door of the patriarch's house hard.

"Here you go, tap it gently and the door will break."

When the patriarch opened the door, he saw an anxious Zhang Yuanlin and Yuan Xi who had just arrived. He said unhurriedly: "How old are you, and you still imitate that young boy's behavior?"

After opening the door, the clan leader walked back, minding his own business and scolded:

"You two are really good at it. You are still running all the way despite your age."

"Come sit down and take a breath. If you have anything to do, don't be in a hurry. Just talk slowly."

Zhang Yuanlin was extremely anxious, "Head of the clan, this matter cannot be done urgently. The rich households in the county have run away."

"What do you say?"

The patriarch turned around suddenly, almost twisting his waist.

Yuan Xi immediately stepped forward to support the patriarch, "Chief, I saw this with my own eyes. The carriages at the county gate were running out one after another. I heard that the city gate opened before dawn, and there are still no people there. Before we finish walking, all the wealthy households in the county may have fled."

Hearing that it was Yuan Xi who saw it with his own eyes, the clan leader immediately believed it. He was also a little panicked and pretended to be calm: "All the rich households in the county have run away. It seems that the disaster is serious. Go and inform the villagers to hold a meeting in front of the ancestral hall. Our village It’s time to go.”

The patriarch is very decisive. In his opinion, it is right to follow the wealthy family who cherishes his life. That is to say, he doesn't know that the county magistrate has run away, otherwise he would be more anxious.

In front of the ancestral hall, villagers arrived one after another. Basically all the men, women and children in the village came. This kind of scene was rare, and everyone was curious about why the patriarch asked them to come here.

The scene was filled with people, and as the clan leader stepped onto the high stone platform, the sound gradually disappeared.

In the silence, the clan leader's loud voice resounded throughout the audience, "I called you here today because I have something to inform you. We in Zhangjia Village are going to flee from famine, and everyone should go home and get ready. In three days, we will Set off."

The clan leader dismissed everyone with a wave of his hand, but for such a big matter, even if he was the clan leader, the villagers still continued to raise doubts.

The clan leader's eldest son knocked the gong twice, and everyone fell silent.

"I got the news that the rich households in the county have run away. Think about it in yourselves. Even the rich households can't withstand this disaster, let alone us. If the trees are removed, the dead will be moved, and if the lives are lost, there will be nothing. Gone."

"I put my words here. If you want to leave, just follow me. If you don't want to leave, just stay. Life or death depends on your fate."

As soon as these words came out, the villagers fell silent and they cherished their lives. What's more, the patriarch's decades-long prestige in Zhangjiacun is no joke.

Yuan Xi in the audience was a little embarrassed to see the clan leader being so decisive. In fact, the clan leader had done a good job, but Zhangjiacun was unlucky. First, he was severely punished by the remaining officials in the county. Every household did not have much food at all. Then, on the way to escape from the famine, he was scattered by a group of refugees, causing heavy losses. Several members of the original owner's family also died.

Seeing that the matter was a foregone conclusion, Yuan Xi suggested: "Chief, in this case, let's harvest all the crops in the fields. We don't have to worry about having food in our hands. If we leave with the food, everyone will not be hungry."

The villagers' eyes lit up when they heard this. The day to pay taxes to the court hadn't come yet. If they collected the grain and left early, it didn't mean that the grain belonged to them. Although harvesting grain early will lead to a decrease in output, these decreases are nothing compared to the 60% field tax paid to the court.

The clan leader thought about it and nodded: "In this way, we will start harvesting crops from today. Everyone will work together to harvest as much as we can in five days. We will rest for a day on the sixth day and set off on the seventh day."

Cheers rang out and the whole village mobilized to harvest the crops in the fields.

The villagers were heartbroken when they saw the green and yellow crops. These crops would be fully mature in half a month. They were heartbroken, but they were merciless. Not only that, they also cooperated in a tacit understanding, with one person harvesting in front and the other following behind to bind them.

At the end of the day's hard work, Yuan Xi could hardly stand up straight, and the whole family was exhausted. Qi Hu was an Orion and had no land, so he went down to help Yuan Xi's house.

The Zhang family has a total of 12 acres of paddy fields and 28 acres of dry fields, a total of 40 acres of land. Even including Qi Hu and his family, they are all busy.

"Second brother, no, there won't be enough time if we continue like this, and we still have a lot of things to pack at home. Six days is simply not enough."

Zhang Yuanlin was also very tired today and nodded without saying a word.

"Actually, our family is not short of food."

"Third brother, what do you mean..."

Yuan Xi glanced at his second brother and said: "Second brother, we have to make a choice. Aren't there still many people in the village who don't have many acres of land, and some people can harvest it in one day. How about we ask them to come over and help, how many acres of land should we divide? It is better to give it to them than to leave it in the ground."

After hearing this, Zhang Yuanlin was also moved. He was not short of food and was pressed for time. He didn't hesitate and asked his eldest son to discuss with several poor households in the village on the spot, giving them 40% and leasing out the remaining dozens of acres of land.

When the poor households heard this, they immediately agreed and went to work in the fields overnight.

If you work harder at this time, you will have more food rations on your way out.

There were several families in the village who had a lot of land. When they heard the news, they felt cruel and asked for help.