Mao Junlan had already started cleaning the two eastern rooms.
She used branches to clear the cobwebs from the room, and casually swept the dusty bed.
"Good child, don't cry. There will be food tomorrow, won't there? Why don't you have another drink of water?"
While Mao Junlan was consoling her two sons with promises until they were almost asleep, Ajiu secretly got out of bed.
Tuoba Yan and Zhao Kun were staying in another room.
Ajiu did not wake Tuoba Yan.
Grandpa had said that due to the case, soldiers would sometimes patrol, and any outsiders caught were taken for questioning.
Secretly shouldering her bamboo basket and bringing the double-flashed black wooden door of the courtyard, Ajiu stumbled onto the village road and looked around.
The barren land here was dry and desolate, just like Xinghua Village.
Ajiu walked two to three li further away. She couldn't possibly plant by the roadside.
Inside the space, Ajiu looked at the seeds and sighed.
She was still too inexperienced and should have been more patient and composed, waiting until the other crops matured before leaving.
Now, there were no more cabbages, no plums, and no apricots.
There was only one pomegranate seed left inside.
She still had the watermelon seeds she had saved last time.
Never mind, she would be able to eat plums and apricots in the future.
Ajiu watered the seeds and planned to wait there. There were still some refugees lingering in the village, and she occasionally heard knocking at doors.
"Is anyone home? Could you spare some food?"
This was unbearable. If her seeds were stolen, Ajiu would have nothing left.
Buzzing sounds swarmed around Ajiu, biting her all over, making her unsure where to scratch first.
Thus, Ajiu walked back and forth, squatting when she got tired, and getting up to walk again when bitten.
She kept looking at the few pits.
As expected, they sprouted quickly after being irrigated with spiritual water.
The distant village was plunged into darkness, likely pretending to be empty to avoid the refugees.
If her father had come today, Ajiu dared not guarantee she wouldn't be beaten out of the village. He looked like a bandit.
Thinking of this, Ajiu hugged her knees, her eyes welling up. She missed her parents.
She wondered if she could think of a good way to enter the city by tomorrow morning.
With this thought, Ajiu, tired, sat on the ground and fell asleep unconsciously.
She was suddenly awakened by a commotion.
Upon closer inspection, someone was riding a horse into the village, holding a torch.
It appeared to be government officials.
"Do not linger in the village. All of you will be taken to Liu County."
"Yes."
Then, the men scattered, and soon, these soldiers gathered on the village road from all alleys, apprehending over a dozen refugees.
"You desperadoes really give me a headache. Gathering you together is for the safety of the common people. Hurry up and go."
Ajiu lay on the ground, afraid of being illuminated by the torchlight.
After a long while, the group, along with the refugees, gradually disappeared at the village entrance.
Several households opened their doors, discussing how fortunate it was to have government officials:
"I was so scared when someone knocked on my door just now."
"Indeed. Especially you, Grandpa Niu. You're an old man living alone, you absolutely must not open the door. What if someone broke in to kill and rob?"
Ajiu quietly looked up and realized that the person called Grandpa Niu was the grandfather who had sheltered her today.
He had also been too scared to sleep all night. He was so poor that only half of his life remained, and he was most afraid of his ox being stolen.
Just then, someone shouted, "Murder! Murder..."
Ajiu's heart sank. She watched as everyone ran home, followed by the sound of doors slamming shut.
Only one woman, running from the east end of the village, rushed towards the village entrance, flailing her arms:
"Officer! Officer, please wait... Murder!"
Ajiu was terrified. She thought she would be safe in Nanming, but she hadn't expected to be so unsettled.
These refugees came from various parts of the north. Remembering that Steward Li in her past life had eaten people out of desperation, she knew how cruel and inhumane the world could be.
The air became quiet. Ajiu didn't know if the aunt had managed to catch up with the officials.
She quickly shook the pomegranate tree haphazardly. A pile fell down, and she quickly picked them up and put them into the basket.