bayedsolid Chapter 181 Rescuing People from the Frozen River and Moving into a Small Village
Chapter 181 Rescuing People from the Frozen River and Moving into a Small Village
The sudden cries for help from afar threw the large group of people walking on the road into a panic.
To avoid any unexpected situations, Wenwen hurriedly informed her family: "Father, keep the people here calm. My brothers and I will be right back."
Wen Qilin hurriedly stepped forward and shouted, "Everyone, don't panic! Stay where you are! Don't move! Don't move at all!"
There are always some people who won't listen to advice. Not only do they keep moving, but they also push their way towards the Wen family.
Suddenly, a crowd gathered near the Wen family's residence.
Seeing this, Wen Yuanqian quickly reassured everyone, "Don't panic, everyone please don't huddle together. Stop immediately, the ice isn't strong enough to withstand the pressure, and something bad could happen. Just stay where you are..."
After much persuasion from the old man, the people gradually dispersed and stopped crowding around the Wen family.
Out of trust in the Wen family, even though they were filled with fear and their bodies were trembling like leaves, they stayed put and waited without moving or daring to breathe.
A group of people stared nervously into the distance.
As soon as the click sounded, Wenwen rushed to the scene with her two older brothers.
The distance was too far, and before they could get close, the ice on this side completely shattered, and the three children who were lying on the ice all fell into the river.
A slightly older child, in a moment of quick thinking, used all his strength to grab a block of ice with one hand, while trying to pull someone out with the other. Unfortunately, he was too small and his arms were too short. After splashing around in the icy water several times to no avail, he finally crawled onto the ice, crying and shouting, "Second brother, sister, waaaah..."
The other two children, being young and lacking strength, were swept several meters downstream by the current as soon as they entered the river, barely having struggled a few times.
Wenwen watched helplessly as the two children in the water glided past the ice beneath their feet, only to be swept several meters away by the current in the blink of an eye.
In a moment of urgency, Wenwen said, "Second brother, take that child to a safe place and then come back to find us. Eldest brother, let's go."
Wenwen channeled her spiritual power, activated her full detection spell, estimated the direction and location, and ran to a narrow spot downstream of the river.
Thanks to the secluded location, it is not only sheltered by the riverbed but also by some loose rocks.
Wenwen channeled her spiritual energy and unleashed a fireball spell, instantly creating a large hole in front of her.
Those in the distance heard the loud noise coming from this direction and looked at each other in fright, too afraid to move.
The current was swift, and soon the two children were swept away. After some effort, the three siblings pulled them out of the water.
Thankfully, the child was unharmed. After being pulled from the water, he lay on the ground, panting heavily. Looking at his siblings, he hurriedly thanked them, saying, "Thank you, benefactor, for saving my life! Thank you, benefactor..."
My benefactor!
Wenwen: "...Just call me brother or sister..."
Seeing the two children shivering from the cold, the brother and sister quickly took off their fur coats and put them on them.
Wen Chengjian said, "Sister, let's ask after we cross the river."
Wenwen looked at the large group in the middle of the river, then at the two children in front of her, and the slightly older child diagonally in front of her.
He said, "Second brother, take that child and keep walking forward. Wait for us when you get near the wooden stake."
"Big brother, let's take them back to Father's place and then we'll go and meet up with Second Brother."
The two siblings each picked up one child and returned to the main group.
After giving a brief explanation, he shoved the child onto his own cart and told the children to look after each other.
Wenwen walked to the front of the group, using her full detection skills to carefully lead everyone forward.
Soon, when the last person stepped off the ice, Wenwen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Since we've taken charge, we should see it through to the end.
When the two children saw Yang, the constable, who came over to inquire about the situation, they shrank back in fear.
"Don't be afraid, this gentleman is very kind. Just answer whatever he asks you."
After asking the questions, Yang, the constable, turned around and went back to report to Lord Zhu.
"What, Shi'an Village? The village chief's child? Perfect, let's stay in the village tonight."
When the village chief, Grandpa Wang, saw more than two hundred people rushing into the village, he was quite startled.
"Sir, we'd like to stay the night." Yang, the constable, took out his waist token and showed it to the old man, then took out a piece of silver and stuffed it into the old man's hand. The two then negotiated for a while.
It was just past noon, and some of the village's busybodies came out to join in the fun.
After the negotiations were completed, the old man instructed a dark-skinned, thin old man behind him, "Hei Zi, take these gentlemen to Old Zhang's house at the east end and ask Old Zhang to give up his main room for them to stay for the night."
"Dongzi, go to the vicinity of Old Zhang's house and ask everyone to vacate a few side rooms."
"Hua Zi, take some people to clean up the ancestral hall and let everyone move in."
Under the arrangement of Yang, the bailiff, many people followed the villagers and walked away.
Only the Wen family members are still waiting for his arrangements.
Yang, the constable, gave Wen Qilin a wink, then turned to Grandpa Wang and said, "Grandpa, this family is staying at your house. As for the lodging fee, ask them for it."
After finishing his sentence, Yang the constable turned and strode away.
Actually, this village is not big; you can see from the east end of the village to the west end at a glance.
The Wen family pushed the cart and followed Grandpa Wang into the courtyard.
As soon as the courtyard gate closed, Grandpa Wang was about to kneel down to the Wen family, but fortunately Wen Qikang spotted him and helped him up in time.
At the same time, several children's voices came from the cart: "Grandpa..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the three children who had fallen into the water got off the cart.
Seeing that the three children were safe and sound, Grandpa Wang thanked the Wen family profusely.
"Thank you all for saving my life, thank you..."
"Grandpa, it was my sister and brother who saved us..."
The grandfather and grandson thanked the Wen family again.
Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda; this saying is absolutely true.
Grandpa Wang welcomed the Wen family into the main house. The Wen family was quite large, and in the end, Grandpa Wang had to clean up all the side rooms in the house before there was just enough room for them to live in.
The Wen family had only been resting inside for a short while when smoke began to rise from the kitchen of Grandpa Wang's house.
In the kitchen.
Grandpa Wang was adding firewood to the stove when he suddenly heard his wife sigh as she looked at the rice jar, "Dad, there's only this much rice left in the jar, I'm afraid it won't be enough."
Grandpa Wang peered into the rice jar and saw that there was only a layer of rice left at the bottom, which was indeed not enough.
The person outside was his family's savior; it was really unreasonable to give his benefactor only a bowl of thin porridge.
"We've already made it all for them, so what's wrong with us eating less?" Grandpa Wang sighed, then said, "Or, I can go borrow some more."
"Where are you going to borrow from? Who has any spare money?"
Indeed, at this critical juncture, who has any surplus?
This year's famine is severe, and all the able-bodied men in the family are not at home. The autumn harvest was poor, and after paying taxes, there wasn't even enough left to fill our stomachs.
In this world, ordinary people have a hard time, let alone exiled prisoners, some of whom are even their family's benefactors.
Grandpa Wang wiped his face and secretly made up his mind: he would go all out and make sure his benefactors had a good meal. They were old and didn't have many years left to live, so it wouldn't matter if they missed a couple of meals.
The elderly couple painstakingly prepared a thin rice porridge.
Grandpa Wang was carrying a basin when he walked out of the yard. He was suddenly startled by what he saw there.