"Into the mountains, Mother, let's hide in the mountains," the eldest declared, gritting his teeth and pulling on the reins to turn the ox cart off the village road.
The riverbed was now drier than stone, but the cart, though tilted, could still move forward.
On the cart, Madam Wang, clutching the two younger boys and a sack of grain tightly, shot glances like knives at Ajiu and her mother.
Who couldn't see the meaning behind those looks?
"This whole family, not a single good one," Cai Lihua grumbled, rolling her eyes. If it weren't for fear of mistreating her daughter, and her own lack of memory of this era, she would have long ago incited her husband to leave on their own.
At this moment, the sounds from Xinghua Village in the distance were no longer just the clatter of hooves, but also a relentless barrage of screams. The wails carried on the wind, filling the air.
Ahead, Meng Shaokang strained with all his might, cracking the ox whip with sharp reports.
Luo Xiuying bit her lip, covering her face and sobbing.
With a loud bang.
"Ouch!"
Ajiu looked up. The ox cart had overturned somewhere in a gully. The cart lay askew, with the sacks, the old woman, and the two children thrown to the ground.
The ox desperately tried to stand, crushed by the weight of the cart's contents.
Panic ensued. The mother and daughter rushed to help lift the cart. It was pitch dark, and they dared not light a lamp for fear of attracting attention.
As they pulled the old woman out from under the sacks in the dark, she let out a strangled gasp and fainted.
"Grandma?" Ajiu felt for her breath. She was gone.
"My son!" Luo Xiuying wailed, rushing over and pulling the two crying children, one in each arm.
"Shitou, Goudan, you two..."
Before she could finish, a voice echoed from the road.
"Damn it, who leaked military intelligence? They're fleeing fast. Search along this route. Take the women back to reward the soldiers, and capture the men for conscription. Those who refuse will be executed."
The sound of scattering hooves from the village road behind them sent a chill through the Meng family, making them hold their breath.
Luo Xiuying bit her lip, covering the children's mouths, her breath coming in heavy gasps.
Only when the hoofbeats faded into the distance, heading south, did Ajiu finally slump to the ground, gasping for air.
For a moment, no one spoke. The silence was so profound one could hear their own heartbeats. Yet, everyone knew the fear that gripped them all.
"I remember there's a cave in there. Let's go hide there for now," Meng Shaode, though rough around the edges, was at heart a scholar. This was a rare moment of thoughtfulness for him.
"Alright, Second Brother, Nanxing, you two go carry Mother over and give her some water. The rest of us will unload the things from the cart. They might come back."
Meng Shaokang had lost the inclination to argue with his siblings' families.
They divided the tasks. Ajiu was too frail. Meng Shaode insisted that her mother and she remain in the cave, not to move.
The cave was not large, and it smelled of animal droppings. However, it was enough for the dozen or so people to huddle together.
Ajiu remembered that her father used to hunt, and he knew the terrain of Qiming Mountain quite well.
After giving Madam Wang some water, she finally seemed to breathe easier. Luo Xiuying lowered her water skin and, in the darkness, looked towards where her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were sitting.
"Sister-in-law, you and your daughter are blessed," she said, her voice tinged with a bitter, self-deprecating laugh.
"Yes, I think I'm quite blessed too. It's just that old woman is hardly approachable," Cai Lihua said, stroking her daughter beside her. Her blessing was this precious girl.
"Ah? Old wo... woman?" Luo Xiuying repeated cautiously. She immediately fell silent. Her sister-in-law dared to curse her mother-in-law like that. She wouldn't dare. If it were overheard, she wouldn't have a good life either.
"Then... how did you manage to keep the two brothers so obedient?"
Luo Xiuying stammered, cautiously changing the subject to inquire.
"Keep them obedient?" Cai Lihua retorted in surprise. Obey her? Was that possible?
"No, nothing."
Luo Xiuying waved her hands repeatedly in surprise, feeling too embarrassed to inquire further.
Ajiu had remained silent, her mind solely focused on how to solve the problem of food. Her grandmother, with her personality, always kept her word.
She couldn't just kill her with a stone. "Mother, are you hungry?" Ajiu thought about taking some grain to eat while her mother was unconscious. By the time she woke up and caused trouble, it would be too late.
Cai Lihua's pupils contracted. She suddenly remembered that her daughter, including today, hadn't eaten for four days. Her heart ached, and she hugged the bony frame in her arms.
"Poor Ajiu, you haven't eaten for four days. You must be starving. It's my fault for making you suffer."
Ajiu was startled. She wasn't hungry, but she was worried about her mother.
She instinctively touched her stomach. She hadn't eaten for four days, had she? Why didn't she feel hungry?
Could it be that water?