CHAPTER 298: 298.. LOOKING FORWARD TO IT

The two old men, each nearly a hundred years old, were very excited and happily approached each other.

Especially the village chief Wang, who really didn’t expect to meet Hua Man from Hua Village in his lifetime,

The two of them had even lived in the city together when they were young.

As they aged, they both settled down, and with increasing responsibilities, they rarely had time to connect unless something came up.

The main reason was that the two villages were quite far apart, almost ten miles between them, making it really difficult to meet up due to their busy lives.

"Hua Man, it’s so great, it’s really so great to see you again." Wang Dashu, overwhelmed with emotion, immediately hugged his old friend, urging his worried son behind him to come forward as well.

Even while speaking, Wang Dashu, a grandfather now, had reddened eyes, tears welling up in his murky eyes.

"Yes! Yes! It’s wonderful," Hua Man also excitedly hugged Wang Dashu back.

"Come, let’s talk over here." Hua Lao Han pointed to a still-living big tree by the roadside.

"Alright," not wanting to leave so soon after meeting an old friend, Wang Dashu called out to the hundred or so men behind him, leading them under the tree Hua Lao Han pointed out. Together with the dozens from Hua Village, this group would make anyone passing by steer clear from a distance.

"You guys... are you all okay?" Hua Lao Han asked, noticing that the people from Wangjia Village were visibly thinner than those in his village.

But... they seemed okay. Although very thin, they weren’t as emaciated as others, and their energy and spirits appeared quite good.

"Still alright, and it’s all thanks to you. If you hadn’t sent word to prepare us in advance, we might not have survived."

Upon mentioning this, village chief Wang became emotional, turning hastily to look at the people from Wangjia Village behind him.

"Everyone, come quickly and thank village chief Hua. He’s our village’s great benefactor. Without him, we couldn’t have survived the long flood and protected our things to stay alive."

Had he not heeded Hua Man’s message to prepare extra weapons alongside grain and salt, using the village’s hoes and kitchen knives, they wouldn’t have been able to protect their village people.

They could have been robbed by bandits or even lost their lives like others, leaving no body behind.

Those were incredibly dark times, but fortunately, their village was united. For the sake of their families and children, the whole village worked tirelessly and fiercely to survive, thanks to Hua Man’s warning. A word of thanks was right.

As soon as village chief Wang finished speaking, the accompanying people from Wangjia Village knelt down without saying a word and kowtowed.

There was no hesitation, no coercion. Instead, everyone’s eyes were filled with gratitude. Their village chief was right, without village chief Hua’s early warning, Wangjia Village might have faced the same fate as other villages.

Of course, they should be most grateful to their village chief. For various reasons combined, Wangjia Village managed to survive relatively unscathed through this catastrophic disaster.

"Thank you, village chief Hua," hundreds of people thanked in unison, creating a grand scene that made even the hurried passers-by stop for a moment, though only for a moment.

The spectacle wasn’t worth watching compared to the seeds on their backs.

"You guys... what are you doing? Hurry and get up," Hua Lao Han was taken aback and signaled to Hua Qiang and his group to help pull up those kneeling on the ground.

"Wang Dashu, why don’t you quickly tell your people to get up, what are you doing?" With so many people, it was impossible to pull them all up, so Hua Lao Han blew his beard and glared at the main culprit, Wang Dashu.

Village chief Wang pretended not to see. He even wanted to kowtow to his good buddy himself.

He didn’t mind his old life, but the nearly a hundred households and nearly a thousand people in Wangjia Village were not just one or two lives, so a kowtow was well deserved.

"Alright, alright," seeing his old brother really getting upset, village chief Wang quickly agreed.

"Everyone, quickly get up."

As expected, the village chief’s words worked. Those whom Hua Lao Han struggled to pull up stood immediately with village chief Wang’s command.

Although they stood up, anyone with eyes could see the gratitude Wangjia Village people had for village chief Hua.

Hua Jin, standing aside with his brother, silently relaxed his grip on the small crossbow.

Though they hadn’t kept in touch much, Hua Lao Han understood Wang Dashu’s emotions after so many years of friendship and gave him a slightly exasperated look.

"You..." he shook his head helplessly.

"Are you guys heading back to Wangjia Village?" Hua Lao Han asserted, knowing this was the way back to Wangjia Village.

"Yeah, it’s been almost half a month since we returned."

"What about you? Did you just come down from the mountain? Earlier I sent my eldest son to your village to find you, but no one was there."

"Yes, we just came down two days ago, planning to visit the town. Didn’t expect to bump into you guys, it’s really great."

They had been wanting to ask about the town’s situation, but everyone was too wary, running off before they could approach.

"Just got down from the mountain, that explains it, quickly head to the town hall. County Magistrate has brought in seeds and is distributing them to all the town’s residents!"

Wang Dashu quickly reminded his old buddy, afraid they would miss today’s queue.

"Seeds?" Hua Lao Han asked in surprise.

He knew the county magistrate, who had a good reputation, especially caring about people’s stomachs.

It was unexpected that, even in such times, he could manage to bring in seeds, truly exhausting himself for the people’s sake.

Honestly, Hua Lao Han admired hearing this.

"Yes, the county magistrate is benevolent, tirelessly working for us. Heard he went through great efforts to obtain some seeds, and has been distributing them for a few days now. You should go quickly before there’s nothing left."

"Have you guys already...?"

"Yes, Wangjia Village is a bit further, got news late, but still made it in time, you should hurry."

"Alright, alright, thanks, Old Brother Wang, I got it. By the way, besides seed distribution, how’s the town now, has it returned to normal? Are shops open?"

This was Hua Lao Han’s biggest concern, wanting to bring the villagers to replenish some essentials.

Village chief Wang shook his head, with frown-lined brows so deep that they could trap flies.

"No, that’s what we’re hoping too. If we could buy food, life would be easier for everyone."

Sighing as he spoke, village chief Wang couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

Never did he imagine a day when having Silver wouldn’t be enough to buy food.

Hua Lao Han also sighed, agreeing with Wang Dashu’s view. A bit regrettable, seemed like they wouldn’t be able to purchase anything today.

It was understandable, he wouldn’t open a shop under these circumstances; after all, food was the key to survival.

Would need to find another way, Hua Lao Han discreetly glanced at his granddaughter.

Not sure if they could find a salt mine, but if they couldn’t, they’d have to take this opportunity to bring the salt the girl had into public view.

"Yes," Hua Lao Han lamented, patting village chief Wang’s shoulder.

"By the way, how are the seeds distributed, are they free, or do we have to buy them, or something else?"