Chapter 4: Women Carrying Up the Stairs

Mori Zheng sternly addressed the four who had participated in the fight: "You four, come to my house later and sign on my household ledger! The autumn harvest must be repaid!"

Has anyone seen who struck Mr. Gu

Mo Huaixiang angrily said: "Who wants your shepherd's purse? Mr. Gu is the only scholar in our village, a talented individual who has participated in the imperial examination, a man of letters! How can he be compared to you mud-legged people? How can he eat wild vegetables like you? If it were in the past, before Mr. Gu was injured, we wouldn't care what you ate, but this time we accidentally injured Mr. Gu, and he is currently recuperating, so he absolutely cannot eat shepherd's purse."

"Don't! Uncle Mo!" A man nearly fell to his knees, "If I end up in prison, with the autumn harvest approaching, what will happen to the rice in the fields? It will rot in the ground, and my whole family will starve!"

The drought situation is indeed quite severe

The few people lying on the ground all laughed

While they were speaking, Da Gui and Er Gui, who had run back to the village to unload the door panel, returned carrying the door panel. The crowd hurriedly placed him face down on the door panel, and a few people lifted it and walked towards the village. Ning Sanmei accompanied them from the side

Wu Yougen lowered his head and said, "Huai Xiang mentioned that all the vegetables in our backyard garden have withered and turned yellow. If we do not water them soon, they will all die..."

He looked around in a panic, peering through the legs of the crowd, but there was no police car in sight, nor anything from modern society.

Ning Sanmei turned around and squatted down, slowly placing Zhuang Hui's bottom on the edge of the fire pit, and said to Mo Huaixiang: "Sister Huaixiang, please help me support the gentleman"

The last man who fought said with a flushed face: "Although we still have a little grain at home, it is estimated that it will last at most two or three days, and once it is finished, that will be the end of it! It definitely won't be enough for 2 dou. Adding some shepherd's purse would be acceptable..."

Zhuang Hui lay on the ground and listened for quite a while before finally understanding the situation. He couldn't help but smile bitterly as he gazed through the crowd towards the distance, where layers of terraced fields could be seen, all planted with rice. However, the rice was sparse and thin; logically, it should be the time for the ears to emerge, and they should be golden yellow. Yet, most of the rice seedlings were withered, as if they would ignite at the slightest spark. It was evident that there was hardly any water in the rice fields. The crops were indeed not thriving. However, the rice was sparse and thin; logically, it should be the time for the ears to emerge, and they should be golden yellow. Yet, most of the rice seedlings were withered, as if they would ignite at the slightest spark. It was evident that there was hardly any water in the rice fields. The crops were indeed not thriving.

Zhuang Hui faces the village, allowing him to see its appearance. This is an extremely ordinary small mountain village, situated at the foot of a small hill. There are sparsely around one hundred households, almost all of which are stilted houses

Zhuang Hui was unwilling to let a woman carry him upstairs, but he felt completely drained of strength. The pain in the back of his head began to assault him in waves. He could only comply with the arrangements

Wu Yougen, upon hearing this, quickly stood up and walked over. Mori was staring at him: "Why did you rush to draw water first? Didn't I say? This year there is a severe drought, and all the wells in the village have dried up. Only this pond at the village entrance still has a little water. There are many people in the village, and everyone has to line up; each person can only draw one load of water at a time! Why didn't you listen?"

The two women readily agreed

Indeed! My family has also started eating shepherd's purse since a month ago, another child involved in the fight said

The wife of the three pillars said with a flicker in her eyes: "I am not envious, didn't you say that you can't give us shepherd's purse? I just mentioned that your family has rice available, while our family only has shepherd's purse. How about this, you lend us some first, and when the autumn harvest comes, we will return it to you."

At that chaotic moment, Mo Huaixiang muttered, "They were four against one. I couldn't pay attention to anything else. It was only when I discovered that the teacher was injured and lying on the ground that I hurriedly shouted for them to stop, fearing that someone might die. Only then did they cease their actions. I do not know who inflicted the injury."

At this moment, the village head You Shu checked and found that there were a total of five people wielding hoes at that time, including his daughter Mo Huaixiang. His expression grew even more displeased, and he ordered that all the hoes be brought to him for inspection

As these individuals walked through the corridor, the wooden planks beneath their feet emitted various creaking sounds. Ning Sanmei carried Zhuang Hui to the center of the upstairs room, which was a relatively spacious hall. There was a door on the front side, and Mo Huaixiang rushed forward to open it, allowing Ning Sanmei to carry Zhuang Hui inside.

Mori's face immediately darkened as he turned to the man who had been squatting stiffly on the ground and said, "You, why are you squatting there? Come here!"

"We will compensate! We will compensate!" the four participants in the fight with hoes hurriedly agreed

That voice said that the police car is the only opportunity to escape this impending world of destruction, and one can only leave by finding it. But where is the police car

It can only be this way. Mori nodded and said to Ning Sanmei and his daughter Mo Huaixiang: When the time comes, you will deliver the food to the gentleman. The gentleman's injuries are severe, and during this period of recovery, you and Huaixiang will take turns caring for him.

The wife of one of the three pillars involved in the fight muttered, "Does your family have food? Of course, it doesn't matter!"

Well then! You four, along with my Huai Xiang, each shall compensate Mr. Gu with two dou of rice! Whoever fails to do so, I will tie him up and send him to the county office for punishment

Upon hearing this, the four individuals involved in the fight all wore sorrowful expressions and said: "Li Zheng, logically speaking, the reason for injuring the gentleman is due to compensation. Even if it wasn't me who caused the injury, we should still compensate, as we cannot determine who exactly struck him. However, each of us has only two dou of rice, and if it were after the autumn harvest, it would be a different matter. But right now, during this time of scarcity, we truly cannot afford it"

After questioning for quite a while, it was still unclear who had injured Zhuang Hui, the person who borrowed a corpse to return to life. Uncle You thought for a moment and said: "Well then, you five fought, and even when Mr. Gu tried to mediate, you did not listen. Logically, all five of you should be taken to the authorities for punishment!"

Ning Sanmei immediately said, "I will carry him, who can help me pull him up!" Mo Huaixiang quickly came over, assisting Zhuang Hui to sit on the door plank. Ning Sanmei turned around, allowing Zhuang Hui to gently lean on her back, her hands hanging down from her shoulders. With both hands supporting Zhuang Hui's bottom, and amidst the cautious murmurs of the crowd, she began to climb the steep stairs to the stilted building, step by step, with the help of Mo Huaixiang.

Mo Huaixiang glared and said: "The food in my house did not fall from the sky! After you have eaten, what, are you envious of the food in our house?"

The roads in the village are uneven, seemingly once paved with stones, but over time, due to exposure to the elements, the ground has become deformed. The door panels are constantly jolting. Following closely behind Zhuang Hui, Ning Sanmei keeps shouting: "Slow down! Be careful! The gentleman is hurt, it hurts!"

The four men, along with their wives, hurriedly bowed and agreed.

"Go ahead!" Mo Huai Xiang felt quite pleased and agreed, but then thought it inappropriate to respond directly with her father present. She quickly turned to her father and asked, "Father, do you think it's alright?"

"Enough!" Mori interrupted him, "I will not arrest you for the time being until the true murderer is found. However, you must compensate Mr. Gu for his medical expenses!"

A villager angrily exclaimed: "None of my family has anything to drink, yet you go to fetch water to water the vegetables! Moreover, you want to be the first to fetch it. Tell me, should I not hit you for this?"

Another person said: "Yes! Our family has been out of food for more than ten days, and we are relying on the children's mother and others to go up the mountain to pick ferns and shepherd's purse to eat."

The man immediately turned around: "Qibo, that is not how one should speak. After harvesting the rice, we can certainly manage for a while, can't we... ?"

His hand touched the ground again, covered in dust, resembling ash, without a trace of moisture

Wu Yougen muttered, "The pool is already dry. By the time it’s my turn, there’s no water left..."

Mo Huaixiang's rosy cheeks were tinged with guilt: "You mustn't say that, sir. It was our fight that accidentally hurt you, and we feel quite bad about it. If you keep saying that, then we might as well find a crack in the ground to hide in."

He recalled the voice that spoke of the parallel world he had traversed, where various natural and man-made disasters were occurring, leading towards destruction. The drought before him was one such disaster among many

Five hoes were placed in front of Uncle You. He examined them carefully but found no clues, and then said: "Logically speaking, Mr. Gu's back of the head should have bled from this blow, so there should be bloodstains on the hoe. Why are there none? Could it be that it wasn't a hoe that struck him, but rather a brick or something similar?"

"With the drought being this severe, how much can we harvest? If everything is harvested, won't we avoid starvation?" murmured an elderly man who was watching.

The room is very dark, with only a window the size of a basin allowing light to enter. It seems to be a kitchen, but it is quite large, with more than half of it occupied by a wooden-floored hearth that is knee-high. In the center, there is a square hearth, but it is not lit. Above the hearth hangs a blackened iron cauldron.

Zhuang Hui studies traditional Chinese medicine and is very familiar with the ancient Chinese units of measurement. He knows that two dou of rice is approximately equivalent to twenty-four jin, which is roughly enough for one person to eat for a month

Everyone said they only saw Mr. Gu desperately trying to persuade them, and then he fell to the ground, his head bleeding profusely, without clearly seeing who had actually injured Mr. Gu

Zhuang Hui muttered, "Thank you"

Finally, the door panel came to a stop beneath a stilted building. The leader, Da Gui, said: "The stairs are steep, we cannot lift the door panel up!"

On the road, several children followed along to watch the commotion, chattering like little sparrows

Where is the police car

Mo Huai Xiang said: "It won't be, it must be a hoe! Because during fights, we always use hoes, never bricks."

Finally, Ning Sanmei carried Zhuang Hui up to the stilted building. The others also followed them upstairs

Mo Huaixiang stepped onto the fire bed, knelt down, and supported Zhuang Hui. Ning Sanmei nimbly jumped onto the fire bed, spread out a bedding roll that was placed in the corner, smoothed it out, and then came over to assist Zhuang Hui. Mo Huaixiang had already horizontally lifted Zhuang Hui and walked to the bedding, carefully placing him down.