The village chief of Little Gu Village had learned to read and write from the village chief of Old Gu Village, so he didn't need anyone else to read the letter for him.
The village chief of Little Gu Village saw that Gu Qingcheng had written in the letter, asking the villagers of Taoyuan Village to move to Fenghuang Village, or to temporarily reside in Fenghuang Village first, and find other ways if opportunities arose.
"Is Gu Qingcheng in your village?" the village chief of Little Gu Village couldn't help but ask.
"Qingcheng is an elder in our village, with a higher status than us," Dai Fa replied truthfully.
The village chief of Little Gu Village was greatly astonished. He never expected Gu Qingcheng to be so capable.
He couldn't even enter other villages in his own locality, yet Gu Qingcheng had built a village on the mountain?
Well, it sounded quite good.
"Yes, our Elder Gu invites you to temporarily reside together. He said that this place will soon be unsettled, and you can set off today if you are willing."
Upon seeing the miserable and desperate state of the villagers of Taoyuan Village, Dai Fa couldn't help but be moved.
Gu Qingcheng had asked Dai Fa to act as her spokesperson to liaise with the villagers of Jiuduoyuan Village, but the villagers of Taoyuan Village didn't know Dai Fa and couldn't trust him completely right away.
The village chief of Little Gu Village was still hesitating, not having made a decision to go or not.
But fortunately, Gu Qingcheng had asked Dai Fa to convey a message to the village chief of Little Gu Village.
Dai Fa said, "Qingcheng said that if I say this, you will trust me."
"What words?" the village chief of Little Gu Village asked curiously.
"She said, 'Are the compressed biscuits still useful?'"
"Ah? It is indeed Qingcheng."
The village chief of Little Gu Village understood immediately. Only he and a few villagers who had helped move things knew about this matter. Outsiders could not possibly have impersonated this knowledge.
As soon as the village chief of Little Gu Village heard this, he immediately believed Dai Fa.
Their situation here was very dire. More than forty villagers were sick or starving, basically struggling on the verge of death every day. To be honest, they had nothing left to lose.
In fact, Dai Fa had already touched his heart when he spoke.
They only had their lives, but their lives were not worth much. If they continued to linger here for another month or two, they would likely be gone.
Now that he had received confirmation from Gu Qingcheng, the village chief of Little Gu Village gritted his teeth and ordered everyone to pack up, preparing to go to Fenghuang Village with Dai Fa.
When they said packing up, there was really nothing much to pack. Most of it was ragged clothes. Only the down jackets given by the Gu family were the most valuable; other than that, there was nothing worth much.
There were also some broken pots and bowls, and nothing else of value.
When it came to packing their belongings, they felt so shabby, like beggars, and very embarrassed.
Dai Fa saw their situation clearly and said:
"Everyone, don't be in a hurry to set off. We've brought rice and some side dishes. Eat your fill before you come with us."
A team as exhausted and hungry as this could not walk fast or far. This was their experience in receiving disaster victims.
Therefore, every time they received disaster victims, they would let them eat a full meal first.
Upon hearing that there was food and drink, the villagers of Taoyuan Village couldn't help but their eyes lit up.
Regardless of whether Dai Fa was lying or not, if they could have a full meal before being tricked to their deaths, it wouldn't matter.
Hunger made everyone's eyes gleam green at the sight of food. They had no rice left at all.
They had been living on wild vegetables every day. Fortunately, there were plenty of wild vegetables in the south, which prevented them from starving to death immediately.
But just eating wild vegetables without staple food, oil, and salt, they were already very weak.
Dai Fa understood their situation and dared not let them eat rich food immediately. He only simmered two large pots of thick rice porridge, letting everyone eat their fill.
Because people who had not eaten oil for a long time suddenly ate meat and oil, and ate too much, it could easily cause diarrhea.
With careful consideration, Dai Fa distributed rice and told them to cook it.
The villagers of Taoyuan Village, smelling the fragrance of the porridge, felt as if their throats had hooks, wishing they could scoop out the raw rice from the pot and eat it directly.
Fortunately, in front of outsiders, they still maintained their last shred of dignity and did not act recklessly.
After a long wait for the thick porridge to cook, the villagers of Taoyuan Village, holding a large bowl of thick porridge, ate with satisfied expressions.
The fragrant and plump rice, and even a small piece of cured meat, gave a salty taste to their mouths. All the cells in their bodies felt like dehydrated sponges meeting water, rapidly expanding and clamoring.
After finishing a large bowl of rice, they immediately felt as if they had been injected with chicken blood and had energy.
Dai Fa was already used to it. After they had eaten their fill, he let them rest for about half an hour before letting them get up and go to Fenghuang Village with him.
Wang Family Village was quite far from Fenghuang Village, about a three-day journey. Dai Fa didn't rush them, stopping and starting along the way.
At this time, the village chief of Little Gu Village also guessed that Gu Qingcheng was disguised as a man in Fenghuang Village. It was not difficult to judge this by the occasional mention of Young Master Gu by Dai Fa.
Qingcheng was clearly a girl, but she was disguised as a man. The village chief of Little Gu Village had a plan in mind:
Gu Qingcheng wanted to conceal her identity, so he naturally had to help her keep it well hidden.
It seemed that Qingcheng held considerable power in the village. If her identity as a woman were suddenly exposed, the village chief of Little Gu Village feared that the villagers would not respect Gu Qingcheng.
And now it was obvious that Fenghuang Village was the future place of survival for their more than 40 people from Taoyuan Village. If Gu Qingcheng's identity were exposed and she lost her power, she would not be able to protect them.
Thinking of the misery of being refused entry into villages, the village chief of Little Gu Village was not foolish. He secretly passed down the word that when anyone from Taoyuan Village mentioned Gu Qingcheng, they must not reveal her gender.
After being ravaged by long-term starvation, the villagers of Taoyuan Village had long learned the survival instinct of avoiding harm and seeking benefits. As soon as they heard the village chief of Little Gu Village give this instruction, their mouths were sealed shut. No one would talk about whether Gu Qingcheng was a man or a woman.
After more than a year of fleeing from famine, those who survived were not stupid and had all become smart.
If Gu Qingcheng's gender were exposed, and if the villagers of Fenghuang Village no longer respected her, then their own lives would also be in danger.
As long as they understood this, not a single one of them would object to the village chief of Little Gu Village's instructions.
After stumbling along for more than three days, the villagers of Taoyuan Village finally arrived at Fenghuang Village.
At first, when they reached the foot of the mountain and were about to ascend, they saw lush grass and overgrown weeds everywhere, and they hesitated, wondering if they had been tricked into a bandit's lair.
But thinking about how Dai Fa had treated them well with food and drink along the way, and spoken with gentle words, if they were to be tricked into a bandit's den and receive such treatment, becoming bandits would be better than being refused entry into villages and being humiliated like beggars.
The village chief of Little Gu Village had the same concerns, but she steeled herself and led the villagers onto the mountain path leading to Fenghuang Village.
This mountain path had been trodden by the villagers of Fenghuang Village over the past six months, forming a path about a meter wide. The surrounding bushes and weeds grew tall and dense, standing on either side of the path like two natural green screens.
Since they were from the same village as Gu Qingcheng, Dai Fa was particularly friendly to these new refugees. He pointed to the path and said with a smile:
"When we first came up the mountain, there was so much debris that there wasn't even a path. You're lucky to be coming now. This path was cut out by us, one sickle strike at a time."