Chapter 382 Fleeing to the Mountains for Refuge
Ye Mu'en felt relieved, knowing that the family's well wouldn't last much longer and they would soon need to use the water from her sister's space.
"That's good, I hope we won't need the water from the space!"
If they had to use the water from the space, they would have to keep it a secret from many people. They could only fill the water tanks and then pour the water into the well to supply their families.
Now, Ye Shengge filled the Ye family's water bottles with well water from her space every day. She didn't bother with the other families, except for Zi Yi Sheng, who consciously brought his water bottle every day for Ye Shengge to fill.
Zi Yi Sheng originally wanted to find Ye Shengge by the waterhole, but when he heard they were going to bathe, he waited nearby. His handsome, fair face was now stained with dust, turning bronze.
Qi Xuan and Chen Tangtang carried a few buckets of water to a large rock by the shore. One would wash while the other continued to fetch water.
Soap was lathered on their bodies again and again. Because of the heat, both of them had cut their hair to a length that could only be tied into a small bun. They washed twice before they felt their hair was no longer greasy.
Currently, among the women in the families, only Ye Shengge kept her long hair. Even Ye Mama, who would suit long hair, had cut her hair into the currently popular short style.
Ye Shengge was truly reluctant to cut her hair short. Moreover, the dry and yellow hair of the original owner had been nurtured by her into a black, lustrous, and smooth mane. It would be a shame to cut it now, so with the backing of her space, even washing it every day was not a problem.
After the two finished bathing, Ye Shengge still contributed a bottle of after-sun repair lotion in a changed packaging. She couldn't bear to see the faces of the two young girls getting any rougher.
The cool, refreshing cream felt so good on their faces and exposed arms that they wished they could apply more.
"Is this another medicine you made?"
Qi Xuan sniffed the light green cream in the snow cream bottle. She wondered how the faint fragrance was made.
"Mm, I didn't make much. Use it sparingly."
Although she had a lot of skincare products in her space, they were all high-end items customized by her mother for her skin. She wouldn't be able to buy them in the future, so each bottle was one less.
Normally, she only used them for Ye Mama and herself. Today, she was being unusually generous. Last time, when her eldest brother went abroad, he also brought back some products from Mi Sheng, which she had given to her aunt and others.
"Little Aunt, your skin doesn't tan and is still so good. Is it because you use these ointments you made?"
Ye Shengge was quite stingy. She could contribute any resources she could grow in her space at any time, but she was truly reluctant to part with other things that would only decrease with use.
"My good skin is due to natural beauty and the use of sunscreen. If you used sunscreen diligently, you wouldn't have become like this."
She wasn't afraid of giving out sunscreen; it was available for sale in Mi Sheng, and she could buy as much as she wanted.
Qi Xuan and Chen Tangtang exchanged glances, feeling that Ye Shengge wasn't telling the whole truth.
Ye Mu'en watched the interaction between the three young girls and just smiled. Only these three could still discuss their skin. Everyone else was concerned about their stomachs.
"Alright, you should hurry home. Going up the mountain every day won't make crops grow. Don't go out for now."
Chen Tangtang wilted upon hearing such a heavy topic. It was really quick to return to reality.
It was early September, and the crops planted on the mountain indeed did not yield much harvest. The corn planted did not produce any cobs, and only the sweet potatoes grew some, but they were only as thick as two fingers.
Everything edible on the mountain had been dug up, and even wild animals were rarely seen.
"Look, something's going to happen!"
An old voice officially broke the dead silence of Bai Rong Brigade. An elderly villager pointed at the ants on the ground and the jumping grasshoppers, his voice filled with unease.
"This means another disaster is coming. The animals are restless."
The village chief squatted on the ground for a long time, and his heart sank to the bottom.
That evening, each household sent a representative to a meeting at the village branch. Ye Shengge was summoned to the Bai family that night.
Grandpa Bai smiled at his little granddaughter and pointed at the entrance to the cellar.
"Xiao Ge'er, can Grandpa still let you keep things?"
Ye Shengge understood immediately but looked at Grandpa Bai with some doubt. She thought she had kept the secret of her space very well. How did Grandpa find out?
"Grandpa knows you've hidden your treasures on the mountain. We're about to move to the mountain. Can you help Grandpa and Grandma keep them for now?"
Ye Shengge breathed a long sigh of relief. Couldn't he speak without taking her breath away? He scared her to death.
"It's good that Grandpa trusts me. I promise to hide these things well."
Ye Mama smiled from the side. The things her daughter hid were definitely foolproof.
"Also, some treasures that are currently out of town are on their way. People are panicking now, and I'm really uneasy. I've already arranged for people to send them here gradually. It will be hard work for my Xiao Ge'er then."
Grandma Bai pouted, speaking without politeness.
"Since you know it's hard work for Xiao Ge'er, shouldn't you show some appreciation?"
Grandpa Bai closed his eyes with a hint of annoyance. He couldn't afford to offend her, nor did he dare to say anything, so he could only swallow his frustration.
"Am I that petty? Xiao Ge'er, when all the things are sent back, you can pick whatever you like. Just take what you fancy."
Ye Shengge wouldn't want anything. Grandpa and Grandma had already given her so much. She had several properties and land deeds from various places, not to mention the money they had given her.
However, before Ye Shengge could refuse, Grandma Bai once again showed her extreme favoritism.
"You said it yourself, Shengge gets one-tenth. Pick whatever you like. If you don't state the specific amount, it's insincere."
Ye Shengge put her forehead in her hands and quickly left her mother to persuade the two elders. She went to call her father and elder brother to work. The treasures in the cellar had to be moved out before they could be collected.
The uncles and cousins also came out to help. These were not moved back to the Ye family, only to the mountain, and then they stopped.
The uncles and cousins left after they finished moving, without even asking a question.
Under the cover of her elder brother and father, Ye Shengge waved her hand and collected everything into her space. She specifically found an empty room to store the Bai family's assets, as more would be sent in batches later.
The next day, all the families started to get busy. The village had already discussed moving to the highest point of the mountain in the near future to find a temporary place to stay, in case of other disasters.
Hearing that Ye Shengge had a place to hide things on the mountain, everyone secretly handed over many of their belongings to Ye Shengge. Thus, for a consecutive week, Ye Shengge spent every night collecting things in the wilderness.
Even Zi Yi Sheng transported a lot of wealth back from out of town for the little girl. Zi Yi Sheng was very happy that he could let the little girl take charge of his property in advance like this.
Ye Shengge was busy collecting things at night and labeling them in her space during the day. She could proudly say that her space was running out of room for treasures.
There were no more empty rooms in the villa to store them, so they could only be put into the warehouse for supplies.
Ye Mama and the other women started making food that could be stored for a long time. Following the northern custom, they fried some flour. If there was no food on the mountain, they could boil some hot water and mix it with the fried flour.
Some rice was also fried, so it would cook faster when making congee.
Due to the hot weather, meat could only be made into jerky, and even then, they would have to eat it secretly.
Zi Yi Sheng and the others discussed that they could all hide on the mountain, but they would definitely not hide with the villagers. Imagine a thousand people walking together would be shoulder to shoulder, let alone living together.
Asen and the others had already found a place on the mountain, more than twenty li away from where the village chief and the others had chosen. This way, even if villagers came out to find food, they wouldn't easily encounter them.
Moreover, Asen and the others had built a lot of bed boards in the two caves they found. When they moved in, they would have a simple bed to sleep on.
When Ye Shengge heard about this, she had someone find some defective cloth from the black market. Everyone in the family who could sew was busy making bed curtains. If they didn't block the view, it would be inconvenient for men and women to live together.
After the Bai family's assets were all transported back, Ye Shengge and the other women were the first to go up the mountain.
The mountain road was rugged, and the journey was really very long. Like several elderly people, they took turns carrying each other to reach the refuge. Even so, everyone walked for a whole day.
The villagers did not leave so early, mainly because they wanted to gather together to ascend the mountain in case of danger. They also wanted to wait and see if a disaster would truly occur.
Zi Yi Sheng and the others didn't bother with that. They divided into four groups and ascended the mountain in succession. This was mainly because they were still waiting for people from the nearby black market to return.
Originally, the two caves found were to house the thirty-odd people of their family. Now, with the addition of more than twenty brothers from the black market and the personnel from the Xishan mine, it was impossible to house nearly seventy people in two caves.
Asen and the others had to find more places to live. Finally, they found a cave about four to five li away. The cave was large enough to accommodate the brothers from the black market.
Thus, the large group officially began their refuge life on the mountain.
When Ye Shengge arrived at the mountain, she went to another cave with her elder brother. With her elder brother guarding the cave entrance, Ye Shengge released a lot of grain and dried meat.
When the people who came later saw it, they could just push it all onto her elder brother. Originally, the first group who came was supposed to live in the same cave. No one paid attention to how many supplies were prepared in the other cave.
As unmarried young girls, Ye Shengge, Qi Xuan, and Chen Tangtang naturally occupied the three beds at the innermost part of the cave. The three of them formed a separate area around the three beds.
The remaining beds were placed against the mountain wall. The middle of the cave was used as a place for everyone to move around and cook and eat.
It took a whole day. By the time the second group arrived, dozens of beds were surrounded by cloth. Large oil lamps were hung all around the cave. These were made by people Asen and the others hired. As long as they were filled with oil, they would always be lit, so the cave was not dark.
After everyone was settled, they saw dark clouds gathering. The air in the mountains felt thin, making it difficult to breathe.
Zi Yi Sheng also had people prepare a lot of rain tarps. They used very thick tree trunks to prop them up at the entrance of the cave, so that everyone could move under the tarps even if it rained.
Before they came up, they had emptied the family's wells and brought all the water to the mountain in large plastic buckets.
There was a water source near the cave, but it was not much, only a small stream with a slow flow, barely enough for daily washing and cooking.
When the first clap of thunder split the sky, the village finally began to take action. Gong Wentao had wanted to go up the mountain with his parents long ago, but he had a dutiful father who insisted on staying with the villagers.
Helplessly, Gong Wentao had to leave Zi Yi Sheng's group and officially begin his refuge with the villagers.