Chapter 180 Preparing to Flee from Qian Village

Chapter 180 Preparing to Flee from Qian Village

"Mom! I was wrong, I was wrong, don't hit me!" Qian hurriedly pleaded for mercy.

While pleading, she tried to hide behind others.

There was no other way. Dealing with this old hag couldn’t be the same as dealing with that wimp Wang Laoshuan.

"I'll beat you, you cheap thing! You hit my son! I’ll beat you to death!" Wang's mother cursed, chasing after Qian despite her unsteady gait.

Qian could only dodge and plead for mercy.

Seeing that she was about to be hit again, the village chief finally arrived.

"Enough."

At the village chief’s command, Wang Dashi stepped forward to support his mother and then comforted her, telling her not to get angry.

As for Qian, no one dared to approach her.

She stood there alone, wiping away tears sadly.

"Village Chief, you must stand up for me! She has already beaten and scolded me. She can't drive me away! Waaah..." Liu quickly appealed to the village chief.

Upon hearing this, the village chief frowned.

Wang's mother angrily stomped her walking stick.

"You deserve to be beaten, you worthless thing! We Wangs don’t want your Qian family’s trash. Go back to your Qian family!"

"Waaah, Mom—!" Qian collapsed to the ground, suddenly weak in the knees.

Just as she was about to start wailing, the village chief spoke again.

"Silence!"

Qian stopped her planned outburst mid-sentence.

"Village Chief—" she pitifully called out.

"If the people of Qian Village won’t take me with them when they flee, I’ll have no way to survive... Waaah..." she continued.

This statement shocked everyone watching, followed by a wave of panic and unease.

Flee? Are all the people from Qian Village leaving? Has it come to this?

The village chief was also surprised.

"What do you mean? Everyone from Qian Village is leaving?" he quickly asked Qian.

Since August, the drought situation had become increasingly severe.

All villages were now severely lacking water.

Just two days ago, their only well in Xiashui Village had started producing less water.

If this continued, the village might not be able to draw any more water from the well.

Then, not only would they lack water for daily use, but even drinking water would have to be fetched from Huanshui River.

However, the condition of Huanshui River wasn’t good either; some sections were already drying up.

If Huanshui River dried up completely, they would be truly finished.

Qian Village, located upstream from Xiashui Village, must be in an even worse situation.

They must have decided to flee because staying in the village seemed hopeless.

What about them? Should they follow suit or at least start preparing?

"Yes, except for a few households with ample food reserves, everyone is leaving! They will depart early tomorrow morning!" Qian quickly responded.

She hoped the village chief would consider her bringing this important news and allow her to stay in Qian Village.

This statement sparked a flurry of discussions among the villagers.

The village chief’s frown deepened.

Leaving home to flee elsewhere wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

It was said that the drought affected a vast area, not just Hua'an Prefecture but also surrounding cities.

In such hot weather, people might collapse on the journey before reaching safety.

But if they didn’t leave, the situation might worsen.

"Village Chief, let’s flee too! Organize the people of Xiashui Village to flee together. With more people, we’ll be safer on the road. I can lead the way; I know which direction the people from Qian Village will go!" Qian quickly added, eager to prove her worth.

This statement intensified the villagers’ discussions.

"Quiet down, stop spreading panic." The village chief intervened again, calming the crowd.

"Our geographical conditions in Xiashui Village are much better than those in Qian Village."

"That coward Qian Youcai, fleeing with an entire village at the first sign of trouble, only shows how small-minded and incapable he is!"

"I, Li Desheng, am not like him."

As he spoke, the village chief's gaze swept over everyone's faces.

"Now, our village well hasn't dried up yet, and we can still get water from the Huanshui River."

"At the very least, we have several mountains behind us. If we search in the mountains, we'll surely find new sources of water."

"As long as we have water, Xiashui Village will survive."

The village chief's voice was firm and powerful, giving the villagers a sense of reassurance.

Everyone felt more at ease in their hearts.

Indeed, their Xiashui Village had a good location and was close to the town. It was far better than Qian Village.

After finishing his speech, the village chief looked at Lady Qian.

"Lady Qian, stop frightening people and stirring up emotions here!"

Lady Qian trembled.

"N-no. Village Chief, I—"

"Oh! If you're not leaving, then don't leave!"

"Village Chief, I just want to return to the Wang family, to be with my husband and Dashi."

"Whether it's fleeing or staying in Xiashui Village, I want to go back to the Wang family!"

"Village Chief, please have mercy on me!" Lady Qian quickly added.

A hint of annoyance flashed in the village chief's eyes.

Amidst the villagers' discussions, he looked at Wang Laoshuan and Wang Dashi.

"What do you think?" he asked.

Lady Qian returning to Xiashui Village and knowing news from Qian Village actually had some value to him.

After all, when he said they weren't leaving, it was just to stabilize everyone's emotions for now.

If it came down to it, Xiashui Village would have to leave as well.

At that time, the information provided by Lady Qian could be useful.

However, taking her in was something the Wang family had to decide.

After all, Lady Qian was returning to rely on the Wang family.

Moreover, given all the harm she had done to the Wang family before, no one could expect them to compromise.

Wang Laoshuan couldn't answer and directly looked at Wang Dashi.

Wang Dashi frowned, wanting to refuse but hesitated due to filial obligations.

"What do we think?! This wretched thing was already expelled from our Wang family; she has nothing to do with us anymore!"

"Oh, now that the Qians have thrown her out, she thinks of our Wang family. Do they take us for trash collectors?!" Old Lady Wang quickly interjected.

Her words won unanimous approval from the villagers.

They had all heard about the grudges between the Wangs and the Qians.

This matter was indeed unjustly handled by Lady Qian.

Now that she had ended up in such a state, it was retribution, and there was no reason for the Wang family to bear the blame again.

The village chief frowned, glanced at Old Lady Wang, but didn't say much.

Lady Qian, however, grew anxious.

"Village Chief, Village Chief, please speak up for me! I—I swear, I'll change for sure! Really!" She even raised four fingers towards the sky.

Old Lady Wang spat on the ground.

"Tsk!"

"Not a single word from your mouth is believable!"

"You want to come back? Fine!"