HCB Chapter 28 The Fall of Pingyuan Pass
Chapter 28 The Fall of Pingyuan Pass
Two days later, Wen Yuxia and the others returned to the cave. Wen Linshi said somewhat displeased, "Didn't you go hunting? How come you didn't even bring back a single pheasant feather?"
Wen Dashan glared at Wen Linshi and said gently, "It's good that you're all back safe and sound, Da Ya. Don't listen to your grandma's nonsense."
Granny Li sneered, "Youngest son, you've been out playing for days without doing any work. Hurry up and go pick chestnuts! Don't even think about slacking off; you'll only get food if you pick three bags!"
Li Xiang thought he would have a good hunt with the Wen family, but they returned empty-handed. Granny Li wouldn't let him eat without working, so Li Xiang had to finish all the chores he had missed over the past few days before she would give him a bowl of rice.
The Wen brothers exchanged a glance, then turned around and followed Li Xiang. It was getting dark, and Granny Li still wanted Li Xiang to pick three sacks of chestnuts. Wasn't this clearly an attempt to make things difficult for Li Xiang?
Wen Yuxia and her siblings didn't go to help, mainly because they were young and exhausted from the long journey. All they wanted to do was sleep. Wen Yuxia said softly, "Grandpa, I'm a little tired. Let's sleep for a while."
Then the siblings lay on the ground and closed their eyes. As for Wen Linshi, Wen Yuxia pretended not to see what she thought or said.
The next morning, Village Chief Ding rang the gong and shouted, "Listen up, everyone! Hurry up and pack your supplies this morning, we'll set off at noon!"
Wen Zisong had already braided vines to securely bind the mountain goods he and Wen Dashan had gathered. Wen Yuxia's gathered goods were also tied together with vines by Wen Dashan. The sacks from Wen Zibai and Wen Zihua's families had not yet been unpacked.
The two brothers quickly grabbed their machetes and went outside the cave to cut down the vines. Yang, knowing they had caught a wild buffalo, was overjoyed and followed them around, pulling the cut vines back into the cave.
Wen Dashan called to Wen Zisong to help tie the sacks from both families together with vines.
Wen Yuxia looked at the burlap sacks tied together with vines on the ground, thought for a moment, then quickly walked out of the cave into the woods. She made planks out of branches, embedded wooden wheels in the bottom of the planks, and made four in total.
Then he returned to the cave and told Wen Dashan, "Grandpa, I made four wheeled carts. Hong'er is guarding them. Let's try moving the vine bag over there."
Wen Dashan placed the burlap sacks bound with vines on the wooden board, then split the vines into two strands and threaded them through the two small holes at the front and back of the board.
He walked ahead, pulling on the vines, while Wen Zisong held onto the vines behind to prevent the vehicle from overturning due to excessive speed downhill. The father and son tried this several times.
"Da Ya, this is a good idea. I'll go have a chat with the village chief." Wen Dashan smiled, and the wrinkles on his face instantly doubled.
In previous years, they used vines to tie the burlap sacks together and pull them down the mountain. The burlap sacks were easily worn through and would tear if they weren't careful, so they had to stop to repair the holes. With the wooden planks underneath, they no longer have to worry about the burlap sacks tearing.
At Wen Dashan's suggestion, Village Chief Ding decided to postpone the descent from the mountain until tomorrow, and all the villagers came to see the four wooden planks with wheels belonging to the Wen family.
Wang Tiedan joked, "When we get back, we can just break the branches apart to make firewood, saving time on gathering firewood, and then we can start cooking right away!"
After being away for so many days, the only people left in the village are the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled. It's hard to say whether they've used up all their firewood. This plank made of tree branches might just come in handy in an emergency.
All the villagers who remained in the village gathered at the foot of the mountain. Village Chief Ding, seeing them from afar, smiled and said, "Our families knew we were coming back today, so they've come to pick us up."
Upon closer inspection, he noticed the panic on everyone's faces. "Huh, why is my second brother here too?" Village Chief Ding wondered. Shouldn't his second brother be studying at the county academy at this time?
Village Chief Ding handed the vine in his hand to his fourth brother, Ding Song, and then quickly walked down the mountain. "Second brother, why are you back?"
Ding Qian said urgently, "Brother, something's happened! Pingyuan Pass has fallen, and the barbarians have captured Pingyuan City. The academy is preparing to relocate and will be on a long holiday."
"Wild barbarians" was a general term used by the Xia Dynasty people to refer to their foreign enemies. When Village Chief Ding heard that Pingyuan Pass had fallen, he became anxious. Pingyuan City was less than 3 li away from their Dawan Village, and the wild barbarians could arrive on horseback in just two hours.
"What should we do?" Village Chief Ding muttered to himself.
"Brother, the wealthy families in the county town have all started to flee. Let's flee too. You should go find the village head to get a travel permit. We have to leave tomorrow, or at the latest the day after," Ding Qian said anxiously, afraid that the bandits would catch up with us if we were too late.
"Alright, I'll go back and hitch up the oxcart to go to town and find the village head," Village Chief Ding said decisively. Whether to stay or leave would be discussed after all the villagers had arrived; getting the travel permit was more important right now.
After Wen Yuxia and the others descended the mountain, they learned that the barbarians had attacked. The village chief had gone to the village head to obtain travel permits; they were about to leave their homeland. Sadness appeared on everyone's faces.
The madman was eight feet tall, with an iron tongue and copper teeth. He killed without blinking an eye and even ate people. He had no chance against the madman and his fellow farmers who only knew how to farm.
Seeing that it wasn't good for everyone to stay at the foot of the mountain, Ding Qian raised his arms and shouted, "Don't panic! Pingyuan City is still hundreds of miles away from here. Everyone go back and pack your bags, and be ready to set off at any time!"
Ding Qian repeatedly emphasized that he should only bring essential and valuable items, and nothing else, so that traveling light would allow him to outrun the enemy.
Wen Yuhong tugged at Wen Yuxia's sleeve and whispered, "Sister, let's go tell Grandmother, and the cow too."
Wen Yuxia understood his meaning; she wanted to give a cow to her maternal grandmother and the others. Unfortunately, the three calves in her spatial dimension and the calf at home were not yet adults and were not suitable for pulling a cart.
She needed to hurry to town to sell the calf and quickly buy a mule cart. The silver note her grandmother had returned to her could be used to buy the cart and supplies for her grandmother and the others.
"Second Uncle, Third Uncle, let's go home first," Wen Yuxia said, pulling Man Teng along quickly. Wen Zibai and Wen Zihua also realized what was happening and hurried home.
Back home, before they could even untie the burlap sacks bound with vines, Wen Yuxia and her brother hurriedly led the little wild calf outside.
The Wen brothers lifted the injured bison onto a cart and instructed Yang and Hua to take the children and move the mountain produce from the gate into the yard, including the produce from Wen Yuxia's family.
Bifeng Restaurant is the top choice for selling bison. Manager He is packing his things to run away when he hears that Wen Yuxia is here to sell bison. He doesn't want to buy any other game, but beef is a rare find, so he has to buy the bison.