Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 103 Extra Ayu (2)

An old man was very dissatisfied: "We can't even feed ourselves, how can we have extra grain to support them! I object!"

Another middle-aged woman holding a child said, "Exactly! Besides, they're carrying the disease. Who knows if it'll spread? How are we supposed to live then!"

Everyone agreed.

The old man continued, "Who knows what these people are up to? What if we give them grain? Not only will they not return it, but if they're full and strong enough, they might come and rob us. What can we, the old, weak, sick, and disabled, do then? We can't give it to them, absolutely not!"

"But... what if we don't give it to them, and they get angry and try to take it right now? We'd be outmatched then too." The middle-aged woman hugged the child tighter, trembling slightly with fear. "Maybe we should report it to the authorities!"

"Report to the authorities?" The old man sneered. "Have you forgotten that two years ago, Ayu's husband was crippled by the county magistrate for reporting thieves? That corrupt official probably ripped off even more people from us."

Ayu's husband lowered his head and quietly hid his lame leg behind him.

The village chief took several puffs of his cigarette, looking so worried that his beard was almost falling out, without uttering a word.

Ayu slowly rose and stood on the large rock, tears welling in her eyes. "Fellow villagers," she said, "do you remember last year when our village was robbed by the Liao army? Who drove them away? The year before, when bandits came to plunder, who risked their lives to capture them? It was the soldiers of our Great Zhou Kingdom! There are corrupt officials, but there are also patriotic soldiers! Sometimes, what's harder to overcome than disease is prejudice. Though they may be ugly, they once protected our country. These soldiers risked their lives to defend our homeland. Now that they are in trouble, how can we stand by and watch them die? Fellow villagers, let's not let these soldiers lose heart!"

After hearing this, everyone remained silent, feeling a burning sensation on their faces and a sense of shame.

Yes, we must not let our soldiers lose heart!
They have already sacrificed so much for their country!

The village chief took two deep drags on his pipe, stood up, steeled his resolve, and declared loudly, "Here's the deal: each family will contribute one-fifth of their food rations and go into the mountains to dig for wild vegetables these next few days. We'll get through this. As for whether they survive, that's up to fate. We've done our utmost! They're sick, so we won't let them into the village. They'll understand that. We old folks don't mind, though, because we still have children to care for."

The group looked at each other, remaining silent, each with their own plans, hoping to smuggle some grain.

The village chief slammed his pipe against the sole of his shoe, steeling his resolve: "It's decided then. If it weren't for them, would we still be standing here? We must know how to be grateful and set a good example for the children! If I find out anyone hoarding grain, they'll be expelled from Niujia Village! Niujia Village has no such ungrateful people! Disperse!"

Everyone pondered their own plans. Although they were dissatisfied, they dared not protest. In this day and age, if they were driven out of Niujia Village, where would they find a way to survive? The crowd left silently, and no one objected anymore.

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A few days later, Ayu was carrying a basket to deliver medicine and food to the soldiers. When she got to the cave entrance, she heard a lot of noise inside, as if they were having a meeting. Ayu thought she shouldn't disturb them, so she decided to stop at the cave entrance and wait for them to finish their meeting before going in.

Inside the cave, soldiers were scrambling for food, showing absolutely no discipline. The eldest and most respected middle-aged man shouted, ordering everyone to squat down. His shout silenced them. He spoke, but his words were in the Liao language: "Look at you all! Do you have any backbone left as Liao soldiers? We should thank God for letting us live. We must conserve this food, endure it for a while, and once our strength returns, we won't have to worry about getting what the villagers down the mountain have to offer. The final assault is set for five days from now; we'll discuss the details later."

"Do you remember three years ago? How we were treated like plagues and driven out of the army camp. We were able to escape to this place thanks to the gods! Now, our good days are about to begin. Be patient, soldiers! We will make those hypocritical villagers pay the price! This is the price they paid for not letting us into the village! Then the land and houses will all be ours!" The middle-aged leader spoke passionately, and the crowd responded enthusiastically.

The gathering ended, and the soldiers filed out. They immediately spotted Ayu waiting at the cave entrance and, with a beaming smile, teased a man inside the cave, "Awu, your sweetheart has come to see you!"

The man emerged from the cave shyly, slapped the soldier who had led the commotion, and pretended to be angry, saying, "Don't talk nonsense!"

This Ah Wu was the man Ah Yu had saved that day. Ah Yu smiled, handed him the basket, said a few words to Ah Wu, and then left.

Seeing that Ayu had left, the middle-aged leader walked up behind Awu with a serious expression and murderous intent in his eyes: "Did she hear what we were saying just now?"

A Wu felt a chill run down his spine, but pretended to be relaxed: "No, I've tried, she doesn't understand Khitan."

The middle-aged leader remained vigilant: "That's for the best. Sometimes, you can't be too soft-hearted!"

A-Wu nodded in agreement.

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Ayu lives alone. Her parents-in-law passed away years ago, and her husband recently disappeared. Some people speculate that he was conscripted into the army, and his fate is unknown.

Ayu hurriedly got up, quickly tied her hair up in a simple bun with a wooden hairpin, and wanted to go out to check. However, the already flimsy door was kicked open, and Aunt Liu rushed in, carrying her two-year-old son. Blood was streaming down her legs, and Aunt Liu was breathing weakly: "Ayu, run! The Liao people are coming!"

Before Ayu could react, Aunt Liu shoved the simpleton into Ayu's arms: "Please, take care of the simpleton for me. My leg has been cut and I can't go far. You all run!"

Although Ayu didn't know exactly what had happened, in this chaotic world, such vigilance was instinctive. Ayu made a quick decision, picked up Hanwazi and ran out the back door. She ran towards the mountain, the direction of which was the cave where Awu and the others had previously hidden.

Ayu arrived at the cave entrance. The cave was quiet. Had they also been killed? Carrying Hanwazi, Ayu carefully walked inside. The cave was littered with the clothes of the Great Zhou soldiers and some Khitan items. Ayu gradually realized that these soldiers were not Great Zhou soldiers at all, but deserters from the Liao Kingdom!

Ayu quickly turned around and tried to run out, but she heard voices coming from the cave entrance, along with flickering firelight.

They're back!