The village elder arrived just in time.
"What's all this shouting about!"
As soon as Zheng Dayou saw him, he rushed forward and began to cry, "Uncle, you're finally here. Please, you must be fair to our family. We are people of Xiaoshan Village in life and in death, and we will never leave Xiaoshan Village, no matter what."
The village elder was unaware of what had happened yesterday, but he had his own sense of fairness. "Since Dapan wants your family to leave, then leave."
Zheng Dayou was a bit stunned. "Uncle, when you first asked us to escape with the village, you didn't say this. You said we should be of one heart as a village..."
The village elder nodded. "That's right, I did say that. So, tell me yourself, what exactly did you do that made Dapan insist on driving your family away? Tell me the whole story from beginning to end. As long as you are in the right, I will definitely help you."
The onlookers immediately chimed in, "That's right, Dayou, just speak up, don't be afraid. As long as your family is in the right, we can all intercede for you."
Zheng Dayou's face turned ashen, but he dared not utter a sound.
Jiang Pan stepped forward at the opportune moment and said to the villagers, "Although I haven't been village chief for long, everyone knows that I, Jiang Pan, am not unreasonable, nor do I bully people with my position. As long as you haven't done anything wicked or harmful to the villagers, I will certainly not be unfeeling and insist on driving people away at this time! Conversely, even if I bear a bad reputation, I will eliminate the rotten apples to prevent innocent people from being harmed again!"
Although he didn't explicitly state what the Zheng family had done, the implication in his words was clear: the Zheng family had done something harmful, which was why Jiang Pan could not tolerate them.
The villagers' gazes towards the Zheng family immediately changed.
"Zheng Dayou, have you really let dogs eat your conscience! Was it easy for our Xiaoshan Village to get to where it is today? How dare you harm people behind their backs!"
"And you have the nerve to say that Dapan's family bullied you, how shameless!"
"Get out quickly, don't force us to take action!"
Seeing the tide turn against them, Madam Zheng finally burst into tears.
"We were wrong, we truly know we were wrong. We beg everyone to give us another chance and not drive us away."
In this world, if their family was driven away, could they even survive to reach Jiangnan?
The villagers saw them crying pitifully, but they felt no sympathy.
How many hardships had they all endured on this journey? Who would want a companion who would stab them in the back?
What if they were the ones being schemed against next time?
Therefore, even though Zheng Dayou's family cried their hearts out, no one softened their hearts to intercede for them.
In the end, Zheng Dayou's family tearfully packed their belongings and left the Xiaoshan Village caravan with their cart.
However, they did not go far, and shamelessly lingered nearby.
After all, with their family's own abilities, it was impossible to reach Jiangnan safely. Since they had already left the Xiaoshan Village caravan, Jiang Pan had no reason to say anything more. As long as they kept close behind the Xiaoshan Village caravan, there wouldn't be too many problems.
Jiang Pan indeed did not pay any more attention to them. Let them follow if they wished. After all, the road was not his, and he couldn't forbid them from taking it.
Moreover, following them might not necessarily be a good thing.
The Xiaoshan Village had many people, and they supported each other, facing challenges together. Zheng Dayou's family had only a few members. They were too slow to catch up even if there was something good.
When they saw Xiaoshan Village eating well while they couldn't even get a breath of fresh air, they would truly understand what suffering was.
Although Zheng Dayou's family had been expelled from the caravan, the villagers were still very curious about what they had done. They couldn't get any information from the Jiang family, so some villagers took the opportunity to inquire around when they went into town to buy supplies.
Fortunately, there were no unrelated people present that day, and no one else knew what the Zheng family had done. Otherwise, Zheng Cuier would truly not have been able to live.
After a pause of about five or six days, confirming that the road surface had dried up sufficiently, the Xiaoshan Village caravan set off again.
They were not far from Jiangnan now, but the Xiaoshan Village caravan did not travel fast along the way.
This was because the refugee caravans on the road were gradually increasing, and sometimes there were even traffic jams.
With more people, conflicts also increased.
Many refugee caravans, having run out of food, began to target other caravans. Fights between caravans often occurred on the road, and sometimes people were killed on the spot.
Although the villagers of Xiaoshan Village were not living in great comfort, they had not gone hungry, so their complexions looked relatively good. Many people began to set their sights on them.
Jiang Pan simply ordered the men to take out their weapons and be ready to fight at any time.
The people of Xiaoshan Village, regardless of gender or age, were no longer the soft-hearted individuals they were when they first left the village. If anyone dared to approach their caravan, they would glare fiercely, looking as if they were ready to kill anyone.
Although this method could easily lead to friendly fire with people who had no ill intentions, it was very effective. No one dared to approach the Xiaoshan Village caravan lightly, which saved them a lot of trouble.
Zheng Dayou's family was thoroughly terrified along the way. They personally witnessed those who were alone being robbed and beaten. They were so frightened that they lived in constant dread, sticking closely behind the Xiaoshan Village caravan.
But as Jiang Pan had predicted, following the Xiaoshan Village was truly agonizing for Zheng Dayou's family.
Now that the weather was warmer, there were more plants and animals in the fields and forests. Every evening after setting up camp, the Xiaoshan Village would organize a group of men to hunt in the mountains or fish in the river. With Jiang Wan present, everyone had a harvest every day.
Zheng Dayou's family originally had little food. Before, to scheme against Erlang, they had used all their savings to buy that tainted medicine. Now, having been expelled from the caravan, their family had no money, and their food was almost gone. To survive, they had to find ways to hunt and gather wild vegetables.
However, their family of four had only Zheng Dayou as a strong laborer. Hunting was out of the question. Even if Madam Zheng and Zheng Cuier had eight hands, they couldn't compete with the hundreds of women and girls from Xiaoshan Village. Wherever the women of Xiaoshan Village passed, it was like a swarm of locusts, leaving nothing behind.
They didn't dare to go elsewhere to dig, fearing that if they strayed too far from the caravan, they would be dragged away by someone.
They had not worried about food all the way. As they were nearing Jiangnan, the family was starving, their eyes turning green. Meanwhile, the people of Xiaoshan Village ate fresh wild vegetables and game every day. This was no longer a comparison; it was torture!
Zheng Dayou's son cried from hunger, and Madam Zheng couldn't stand it either. Every day, she hid in their makeshift shelter, scolding Zheng Cuier, saying she was useless, couldn't even handle such a small matter, and had even implicated the family in being expelled from the caravan.
Zheng Cuier felt immense grievance. The idea was clearly from her parents, and her father was present at the time. Even her father couldn't stop Jiang Wan, so how could she?
If their family hadn't done that, they wouldn't be in this situation now.
It was clearly her parents' greed that led them to scheme against others. In the end, they tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice, and now they were blaming her for everything!
Why!
She couldn't endure such a life for another day.
Moreover, based on her understanding of her parents, their lives would become even more difficult once they reached Jiangnan. This was because their family had no money left, and if they wanted to settle in Henan, they would definitely have to find a way to make money.
Her parents had no special skills, so there was only one way to make money.
Selling their children!
She had to plan for herself, otherwise, her fate would be ten times, even a hundred times worse than it was now!