Chapter 50 On the Eve of the Great War

I couldn't sleep all night. When I got up the next morning, there were two black balls hanging under Qiu Yao's eyes.

There was a clean farm woman's dress at the head of the bed, and there was a basin of water on the table. Qiu Yao's heart warmed up. After taking the clothes and changing them, she washed them. She put the changed clothes into the basin and walked out. She happened to come back with a basin of freshly washed clothes.

"Girl, put your clothes here and eat something. I'll wash the clothes."

"It doesn't matter. I can wash it myself." Qiu Yao bent down and put the basin on a nearby stone table. She clumsily washed the clothes. The old woman squeezed her mouth and smiled, put down the clothes at hand for the time being, and went to Qiu Yao to teach her to wash clothes.

Qiu Yao was slightly embarrassed. After traveling for nearly a year, she almost forgot this most basic survival skill. Later, she had to stand aside and watch.

A few months ago, the people of Yancheng should be the same. At sunrise, they lived such a calm and peaceful life. As soon as they thought of the peaceful warmth here, they immediately disappeared, and replaced it with an indescribable worry.

"When the Qin soldiers are under the city, haven't you ever thought of leaving Yingdu and going to a safer place?" Before Yancheng was captured, she saw many exiles and people who left her hometown, but more people chose to stay in place, which made her a little strange.

"In today's world, no matter where you flee, you can only get a moment of safety. Since there are wars everywhere, it's better to just stay here. After all, the root of the family is here. Even if it is difficult to escape, it is better to be buried in the hometown than to die in another country."

Qiu Yao was silent when she heard the words.

She was suddenly a little confused. When Yancheng fell, her homesickness was unprecedented. However, after that, the emotion seemed to recede, leaving only some traces of water on the beach. Modern memories have slowly faded in her mind. Even in dreams, what she sees and hears more is about people and things in this era. The combination of body and mind is getting closer and closer. That feeling of fit brings her not comfort, but endless panic.

She should go back to her own era. When did this idea gradually fade out of her mind?

She thought that she could return to modern times in three years, but what happened in front of her seemed to completely overlap with the little historical knowledge left in her memory. After three years, can she really go back? Or like what is staged in a time-travel TV series, get seriously ill, pass out in this world, and wake up in another world?

"Girl...girl?" The old woman stretched out her hand and waved it in front of Qiu Yao, but saw that she looked like she was waking up from a dream. "What do you think you're so distracted? After washing your clothes, I'll hang them up for you. The girl will go into the house and have some porridge."

There was a lot of heat on the porridge. After eating it, her whole stomach was warm. Qiu Yao consciously cleaned up the table and talked to the old woman who was sewing clothes. During the conversation, she knew that the old woman's surname was Chen. Her ancestors lived in the land of the State of Chu. Listening to her, Qiu Yao knew that Chen's mother-in-law had a grandson, but she I have never seen a young man here. In this way, it seems that most of Mrs. Chen's grandson has joined the army.

When Grandma Chen saw Qiu Yao's doubts, she smiled and asked her, "My son is no longer alive."

Qiu Yao was shocked and apologized in a hurry. Grandma Chen was not angry. She still smiled kindly, but her eyebrows were full of sadness that she couldn't hide. "Speaking of this, Mr. Song took a lot of effort."

Qiu Yao put the washed dishes and chopsticks, sat down and listened carefully.

"When the king was a conscript, he asked men over 16 to join the army. At that time, my grandson had just passed 16, and the child's father had just died in battle, so his mother couldn't get sick. His mother saw that it was not long, so I went to stop the king's car to go out and beg for mercy. At that time, Mr. Song opened the way in front of him. When he saw me blocking the way, he let me Take it aside, ask me what's wrong with me, and then plead with the king. When my poor daughter-in-law closed her eyes, she let my grandson join the army. Grandma Chen sighed secluded, and her dry eyes were full of bitterness. "It's just that in less than two months, my grandson also went with his parents."

Qiu Yao was speechless for a moment. Now the village is full of old people over 60 years old. She has not seen young men and women. It can be seen that most of them are like Grandma Chen. In modern wars, there are still family pensions, but in ancient times, it seems natural for men to die for the country, and the old people who have experienced the pain of losing their children have to be close to their hearts. Live a sour life.

"Don't be sad. Although they have all gone, you two should still live a good life, so that they can sleep peacefully underground." She really didn't know what to say to comfort Grandma Chen. She just felt that she had not experienced any real suffering and was not qualified to say some comforting words at all.

"I understand," Grandma Chen smiled and patted Qiu Yao on the shoulder. "Don't worry, a kind person like Mr. Song will be fine."

When Qiu Yao heard Song Yu's name, her heart suddenly began to tighten again. She answered, but she was so worried. She took Xiao Bai to the backyard for lunch and went out and shook it twice. Finally, she lay on the lawn and watched Xiao Bai eating grass.

In the past, when she knocked on the keyboard crazily in the office, she never thought that she would one day look at the blue sky and white clouds on such a primitive lawn, and she didn't expect that she would be worried like this in such a leisurely environment. Song Yucai was as tall, but she was like Qu Yuan. When she thought of this, she felt It's so uncomfortable.

After taking the horse back in the afternoon, I heard that the king of Chu had demoted Song Yu's official position and given him a nominal official position, but still let him stay in Wangcheng to serve.

It seems that the king of Chu still cherishes his talent. Qiu Yao ate food tastelessly, but saw a strange man coming with a horse and a whip, and went straight into the village and shouted.

"The Qin people entered from the north gate. Everyone quickly packed up and hid!"

Qiu Yao almost choked herself to death, but she heard Grandma Chen next to her say calmly, "It's okay. Just get used to it. They won't be here for a while."

"This is different from before. This time it was Bai Qi who attacked the city," Qiu Yao swallowed the food in her mouth with difficulty. "Thousands of people in Yancheng were killed by him." She didn't know why she was so panicked. "Mother-in-law, I'll get the sword in my room. Hurry up and prepare it. Is there any place nearby where people can hide?"

"There is a hill in the dozens ahead. If it rains heavily during farming, everyone will hide in the cave." As soon as Qiu Yao mentioned Yancheng, Grandma Chen immediately realized the seriousness of the problem.

"Then take everyone there to hide first. I'll go with you with my sword." As soon as Qiu Yao finished speaking, she rushed out, opened the door and went to the bedside to pick up the sword from the pillow, pulled out the sword body hard, looked at the white words hidden in the cold light, and then put away the sword and ran out.