Chapter 465 Seeking Refuge on the Mountain
A Can stayed behind to wait for Ye Shengge and Ye Ma. The others had already gone up the mountain with their bags and bundles. Ye Shengge gave Ye Ma a look, and Ye Ma understood immediately.
"A Can, you wait for us at the foot of the mountain. I'll take Shengge to tidy up a bit next door."
A Can hesitated, but then remembered Zi Shao's instructions: if the madam needed to be alone, she must be given her freedom.
"Alright, I'll wait for you at the foot of the mountain. Be careful on the way."
As soon as A Can left, Ye Ma guarded the door while Ye Shengge went from room to room, packing everything away.
The two of them then went to the Ye family's house and tidied up as well. As Ye Shengge reached the courtyard gate, she thought of the village elder and his wife. She had to take Uncle Gong's family with them too, as she was afraid Uncle Gong would worry.
"Mom, go to the village elder's house and briefly explain that we're going to visit relatives. I'll go and get Uncle Gong's parents and wife."
"That's right, we can't let them be in any danger."
The two women walked slowly towards the center of the village and then split up. Wang Fengling was quite surprised that Ye Shengge had come. Normally, she was the one who visited the Ye family.
"Shengge, you're here. Is something wrong?"
Wang Fengling warmly helped Ye Shengge into the house. Ye Shengge saw Sun Fangni busy and about to pour water for her.
"Aunt Sun, please don't bother. I'll leave right after I've said what I need to say."
"It's just a cup of water, it's not a bother."
Seeing Aunt Sun's insistence, Ye Shengge didn't stop her anymore.
"Grandma Wang, where is my Grandpa Gong? I have something important to tell him."
Seeing Ye Shengge's serious expression, Wang Fengling's smile faded.
"The old man went to check the fields. Shall I call him?"
"Yes, hurry and call him. We need to leave the village immediately."
Wang Fengling's body tensed. Something had happened, something big.
"Fangni, Fangni, stop pouring water and quickly go call your father back. Hurry!"
"Okay, I'll go right away."
Ye Shengge didn't want to scare the old lady, but if she didn't say anything now, they would only worry more. She could only comfortingly pat Grandma Wang's hand.
"Grandma Wang, this is a crucial time for Uncle Gong and the others. I'm afraid someone might try to harm us. If we fall into the hands of bad people, won't Uncle Gong and the others be at a disadvantage?"
When Wang Fengling heard that her son might be threatened, she forgot her fear.
"We can't be a burden to Wentao and the others. Shengge, what are your plans?"
"We'll hide on the mountain for now. Once we're in the mountains, it won't be easy for them to find us, and Uncle Gong and the others will have no worries."
"Yes, yes, let my old son beat them to death."
Although Wang Fengling didn't know what her old son was doing now, she knew he was definitely not a bad person. After all, considering what her old son used to do, he would never betray his beliefs.
Wang Fengling walked around the room and clapped her hands as if she had thought of something.
"I need to pack quickly. We don't know how long we'll be out!"
"There's plenty of food on the mountain, so don't bring too much. We have to climb the mountain all day, and too much luggage will be a burden."
"We've already transported food up the mountain?"
Ye Shengge nodded with a smile. The food in her spatial dimension would be more than enough to feed these people, and there were also wild vegetables, fruits, and game in the mountains. Their lives would definitely be much better than before when they were fleeing.
"Alright, I'll pack some bedding. It still gets cold on the mountain at night."
Old Village Chief Gong Hua returned, his forehead covered in sweat. Seeing Ye Shengge, he quickly asked.
"Shengge, girl, what exactly happened?"
Ye Shengge repeated what she had said earlier. The old village chief sighed heavily. Ever since his old son went to work, he knew that his life was always on the line.
"Let's go, we'll leave immediately."
Sun Fangni, who was standing nearby, also looked worried. She had been married into the family for almost a year, and the Gong family treated her very well, not rushing her to have children. She had already fallen in love with Gong Wentao.
"Will Wentao be in danger?"
"Bah, Wentao will be careful. Fangni, don't think too much. Besides, they have plenty of people."
Wang Fengling quickly comforted her daughter-in-law. Her old son had finally gotten married, and she didn't want his wife to be scared away.
Ye Shengge also gently comforted her, as Aunt Sun was new to this and it was normal to be worried.
"Yes, Aunt Sun. When men go out to build their careers, it's never smooth sailing, but they are all very experienced, so there's no need to worry at all."
Seeing that everyone wasn't too worried, Sun Fangni stopped asking and quickly went back to her room to pack. Even with a streamlined packing process, each person still carried a large bag.
Ye Ma returned at this moment, and looking at the large luggage, she felt a headache coming on. With their old bones, how could they climb the mountain carrying so much?
"When we reach the meeting point, we'll distribute some of the luggage. Fangni, you'll be responsible for your parents' safety."
"Okay, I will definitely take good care of them."
Ye Shengge saw that Aunt Sun was tense all over and couldn't comfort her any further.
"Everyone, let's go quickly. If we carry our luggage like this, we'll be seen by the villagers. We can't worry about that now."
"I told the village chief that we're taking the old village chief's family out for a while and won't be back for some time."
Ye Ma looked as if she had thought of everything. Ye Shengge gave her mother a thumbs-up. Although they were going to seek refuge, there was no need to scare themselves before anything actually happened.
A Can saw Ye Shengge from afar and quickly ran over to take the luggage from the old village chief and the other two.
"You all walk slowly and try not to have any accidents on the mountain."
"We will. Thank you for your trouble, A Can."
A Can smiled nonchalantly. He walked behind Ye Shengge, afraid she might slip and fall.
Ye Ma also held onto her daughter tightly. She was more than four months pregnant, and another fall could be life-threatening.
Halfway up the mountain, they met A Rong and Wei Liu, who had come to look for them.
"I was just wondering why you were taking so long. Grandpa Ye and the others are waiting ahead."
Ye Shengge usually didn't exercise much and didn't dare to talk much along the way to conserve her energy. After walking for only half an hour, she was already very tired. It seemed that the day's journey would take two days.
"A Rong, send someone to find a place for us to stay tonight. We are all old, weak, and pregnant, so we'll have to stop and rest by evening."
"Wei Jiu has already gone. Let's walk slowly. At worst, it will take us three days."
The old, weak, and pregnant made up half of the group, so they couldn't rush. Especially with Ye Shengge, who was the focus of protection.
Ye Shengge picked up the water bottle she was carrying and handed it to her mother. The water bottle was filled with pure spring water from the spatial dimension, which had the effect of strengthening the body.
Ye Ma didn't say a word and took several large gulps. She immediately felt more relaxed and quickly urged her daughter to drink more.
"Daughter, are you tired? Does your stomach feel uncomfortable?"
"I'm fine, and the baby is fine. It even moved just now."
Ye Ma couldn't be reassured and could only sigh inwardly. She hadn't expected her daughter to have to suffer with a pregnant belly.
After walking for another hour, they finally saw the main group. This time, there were thirty-four adults and two children going up the mountain.
"Shengge, hurry and help your sister."
"Shengge, are you tired?"
Ye Shengge was truly exhausted, and her face was pale as she smiled. She couldn't answer anyone's greeting. She quickly sat down on a rock to rest.
"Let me see. The girl's face isn't good."
Old Fan and Old Dang quickly came forward to take her pulse, then smiled and patted their little disciple's head.
"You're fine, you just lack exercise. You're tired from walking this short distance."
Ye Shengge drank a few more mouthfuls of water and pouted at her master.
"It seems like Master and the others told me not to move around too much, and now you're blaming me for lacking exercise."
"Heh, I say one thing and you say two. You don't know how to respect your elders."
Everyone rearranged their luggage. A Can, A Rong, the four of them, the three Bai family uncles, six brothers, and Chen Tonghua, a total of fourteen people. They were the strong men. They were responsible for carrying the luggage and ensuring safety.
The rest each supported an elder or a pregnant woman. The two children were also carried by turns by A Can and the other fourteen.
Bai Chufan checked his watch and walked up to Ye Shengge.
"Shengge, it's almost four o'clock now. Should we rest here for the night?"
"If Grandpa and Grandma and my sister-in-law can walk, let's try to walk a bit further. Otherwise, it will take us five days to reach the cave."
"They are all fine, they are just worried about you."
Ye Shengge felt much better. She really lacked exercise, but there had to be a process, and she needed to keep trying.
"It's okay, I'm fine. Let's walk for an hour and then rest, and try to stop when it's almost dark."
It was almost eight o'clock when it got dark. They could still walk for another four hours. This way, they would definitely reach their destination by tomorrow.
The group set off again. Little Youyou obediently lay on his third cousin's shoulder, but his eyes were always fixed on his mother.
Ye Shengge smiled and gave her son a thumbs-up. She was afraid that her son would cry and want her to carry him. Fortunately, ever since she became pregnant with her second child, everyone had been constantly brainwashing him, telling him that Mama was carrying a baby sister and couldn't be tired, that he couldn't ask Mama to carry him, and that he couldn't make Mama unhappy.
Little Youyou also grinned at his mother and puffed out his chest.
"Mom, Mom!"
"Yes, Little Youyou is so obedient."
Little Youyou had only just learned to speak a few words, but the first word he uttered was "Mom," which made Ye Shengge so excited that she almost cried.
Bai Chumo, the third eldest son, patted his nephew's chubby bottom.
"Little Youyou, don't move around. Be careful, or your third uncle might accidentally drop you."
"Bad!"
"Hahahaha, it seems Little Youyou knows you're bad."
Grandma Bai poked her third grandson's head. He was the only troublemaker in their family.
"Youyou, have a candy."
Little Hehe was lying on his maternal uncle Chen Tonghua's shoulder. He still reached out to offer a candy to Little Youyou. This little guy was already over two years old and spoke very fluently.
Although they were going to seek refuge, everyone slowly relaxed their moods.
This time, they persevered for two hours before stopping. Wei Jiu, who had gone ahead to find a place for them to stay tonight, had also returned, carrying a few wild chickens and rabbits.
"Hoo, we won't be lacking meat tonight."
Third Brother Bai Chumo saw this and stopped holding his nephew. He kept shouting that he was the best hunter in the Bai family and that the task of hunting would be handed over to him next.
Ye Shengge suddenly felt a craving. Seeing the wild chickens made her think of chicken soup, and her mouth watered.
It was Ye Ma who said that when pregnant women crave something, it means they are lacking it. She quickly told Aunt Zhen to cook a large pot of chicken soup for everyone to drink.
"Did you find a place to stay?"
"Yes, it's about an hour's journey from here. There's a water source near the cave, so it won't affect our cooking tonight."
Bai Chufan checked his watch again. It was already six in the evening. They had to speed up, as the hour that Wei Jiu mentioned was his walking speed.
Ye Shengge quickly gave her son some water and a small piece of cake. Little Youyou was also tired and fell asleep shortly after eating.
Ye Shengge took out two baby carriers. Ye Ma, afraid of revealing too much, had sewn a layer of patterned cloth over the outside of the carriers.
"A Rong, stop carrying Little Youyou. It's easier to carry him on your back."
She also gave one to Chen Tangtang. It would be easier for anyone to carry Little Hehe, no matter who it was. Although the children were not heavy, carrying them for a long time was very tiring.
Ye Ma taught them how to use the carriers. A Rong and Chen Tonghua immediately felt the convenience and ease. The wide straps felt soft on their bodies, and it felt like the child's weight had halved, and their hands were freed.
No one asked where the carriers came from, as Ye Mu En often brought back novelty items from outside. So, the scapegoat Ye Mu En was very useful.
Everyone's footsteps quickened. With Wei Liu and Wei Jiu leading the way, they didn't encounter any large wild animals along the way. They also had the anti-snake and insect repellent packets prepared by Old Fan, so they were at least safe on their journey.
Finally, it was completely dark when they reached the cave that Wei Jiu had found. Wei Jiu had already checked it and found it to be very safe.
Two torches were lit, illuminating the entire cave clearly. Everyone sat directly on the ground. The three pregnant women were not feeling well at the moment, especially Chen Tangtang, who was nearly seven months pregnant.
Xia Hong affectionately wiped the sweat from his wife's forehead and stuffed a caramel into her mouth to sweeten it.
"Mom, please rest. I'm fine, it's just that my belly is too heavy."
Old Mr. Ouyang also sat by his granddaughter-in-law's side, fanning her. With his old bones, there was little else he could do.
A Can and the other three quickly went outside to gather firewood and kill chickens. If they delayed any longer, their madam would go hungry.
Soon, only the elderly, pregnant women, and children were left in the cave, while everyone else went out to prepare dinner. Cooking for over thirty people was not easy, so they used four pots.
Little Youyou and Little Hehe were already playing and exploring in the cave. They were rarely restricted at home. Although many people doted on them, they were never spoiled.
"Shengge, how long do we have to stay on the mountain? I'm afraid it will be dangerous when I give birth."
Chen Tangtang felt very insecure now, especially with her husband not at home. She was even more worried about his safety.
Luo Xueli also sat down. She was only a month younger than Chen Tangtang, and she hadn't yet imagined what it would be like to live on the mountain.
Ye Shengge smiled and held their hands. She had now become the one who could comfort others.
"With two god-level doctors here, and also Aunt and Mom and Grandma, who hasn't given birth to more than two children? They have experience with childbirth.
"And I have prepared all the necessary items for the baby, including formula and bottles. All we need to do is wait for them to solve everything and pick us up."
Chen Tangtang had blind trust in Ye Shengge and didn't even think of going to see the formula or bottles.