Chapter 487: Chapter 487: Made Up Their Minds
When they arrived at Shangwu Village, the situation wasn’t much better than in Daliu Village. Similarly, it had turned into ruins without exception, yet the surviving villagers, despite the deep night, were still digging unrelentingly.
Their senses were oblivious to the number of people emerging from the darkness until Grandpa Hua spoke.
Seeing dozens of torches slowly illuminate Shangwu Village, the surviving villagers finally realized that someone had come to rescue them.
Here, the thousands of people from Hua Village also spent more than two hours to dig everything out from under the ruins.
The comforting thing was that Shangwu Village survivors were very measured, not saying anything they shouldn’t. Of course, it might also be related to their fear, as the men from Hua Village appeared very strong and serious.
Next was the following village. In this way, from one evening to half of the next day, Grandpa Hua led a team traveling over a dozen miles, aiding several villages, and rescuing nearly a thousand survivors.
Though exhausted, the thought of more people being saved because of them filled their hearts with motivation. Even if some people were careless, they were restrained by their fellow villagers. After all, no one wanted to offend Hua Village; otherwise, no one would be so kind to rescue them next time there was danger.
As for the government, everyone understood that their intentions were greater than their abilities. Given they had less than a hundred people in total, how could they save so many people in the shortest time?
Relying on the government was less dependable than relying on Hua Village.
It rained a fine drizzle all night, finally tapering off by noon the next day. The people of Hua Village, staying at Sun’s Gully, could finally catch a breath and were presently cooking food.
Throughout the whole night plus half a day, they only ate some dry rations they carried and drank cold water they brought themselves. For such a long time, they hadn’t had anything warm, and their stomachs really felt uncomfortable.
Sun’s Gully is a small village with less than forty households altogether. When the earthquake happened, twenty people managed to run out; death and injury numbered over a hundred. Luckily, the timely arrival of Grandpa Hua’s group managed to snatch back over a hundred people from the Palace of King Yan.
The living people were not idle; they endured their grief to bury the dead close by, in the woods next to Song’s Gully. Small graves stood silently among the trees, telling the world the severity of the disaster.
Having eaten a hot meal, the people of Hua Village didn’t hurry to leave and rested at Sun’s Gully for two hours to regain some strength.
"Grandpa, have some chicken soup," Hua Jin looked at her exhausted grandfather with heartache, pulling him into her tent and handing him a bowl of chicken soup, along with two meat buns.
Being busy for a whole day and night, even if his health was good, he still looked pale, with his face looking yellow and white.
Luckily, the heavens weren’t too ruthless. If this earthquake had happened in the freezing depths of winter, it really would have claimed lives.
Grandpa Hua was indeed a bit hungry now. Though he had eaten something two hours ago, it was just coarse rice porridge, merely enough to fill the stomach temporarily and digested quickly.
Without any affectation, smelling the chicken aroma, Grandpa Hua truly craved it, quickly took the food from his granddaughter’s hands, and ate it swiftly, worrying others might notice.
After a bowl of hot chicken soup, he visibly perked up, and with two meat buns, he felt energized.
"Grandpa, how about changing your clothes?" Hua Jin felt a bit distressed looking at her grandfather’s muddy clothes.
"No need. We’ll get dirty again on the way back." Grandpa Hua waved his hand.
Hua Jin nodded, but she couldn’t resist changing. Someone with slight cleanliness like her had already reached her limit enduring it all night. Now that the rescue was over, before resting, Hua Jin couldn’t help but draw water into her tent, using this as a cover to enter the space, wash up, and change into a fresh, practical outfit.
After eating, time was getting on. Grandpa Hua helped his granddaughter pack up the tent and prepared to leave.
"Village Chief Hua..." The village chief of Song’s Gully, dragging his injured body, was supported by his family to come over when he saw this scene.
"Are you... leaving?"
Grandpa Hua nodded: "Yes, we have been away from home for a day and a night. If we don’t go back, the family will be worried."
"But it’s already late. Why not rest for another night?" Village Chief Song tried to keep them.
For some reason, seeing the people from Hua Village here made them feel at ease, making even the grief in their hearts ease a lot.
Grandpa Hua: "No, we’re swift on our feet; we can reach home before nightfall."
Disappointment flashed in Village Chief Song’s eyes, but he still didn’t want to give up. Thinking of his village, with injuries here and limbs broken there, not even a hundred people were intact. If any mishaps happened again, their village really would have no ability to protect itself. He sincerely wished Village Chief Hua and the others wouldn’t leave so soon, even if delaying a few days would allow them to catch their breaths, but... it seemed it wouldn’t happen.
"Village Chief Hua..." Village Chief Song hesitated and looked at Grandpa Hua. Gritting his teeth, he spoke, "Could you... I’m saying, if possible, Village Chief Hua, could you take us in?"
Knowing this was a challenging request and really unprincipled, but their village was too close to the main road, plus a massive crack had split the village in half, which was unsettling to see. Village Chief Song had no other choice but to place his hopes on the seemingly divine people from Hua Village, thickening his face to beg Village Chief Hua.
"Village Chief Hua, rest assured... we have food supplies and absolutely won’t burden Hua Village. We can walk ourselves on the road, just that in the current situation, Song’s Gully really isn’t habitable. I’m also scared... if anything happens, we really won’t have any way to survive. Our request isn’t much... just that you slow your pace a little, and we’ll try our best to keep up, even if you leave us somewhere on the way."
Even on the road, it would be better than the split-in-half Song’s Gully, Village Chief Song thought.
As soon as Village Chief Song spoke, Grandpa Hua already knew what he meant. After all, the tragic state of Song’s Gully was evident.
Among the villages they rescued, only Song’s Gully’s situation was the most severe. A long, wide crack had split the village in half, with countless small cracks; the place indeed was no longer suitable for living, and no one dared stay.
Looking at Village Chief Song, Grandpa Hua was truly in a difficult spot. If it were any other village, he would undoubtedly refuse outright, but in the current situation of Song’s Gully, it indeed was a bit troublesome.
Seeing Village Chief Song’s anxious yet hopeful gaze, along with those distant eyes observing them, Grandpa Hua sighed inwardly.
"Brother Song, taking you all is doable, but make sure you’ve thought it through. Although Song’s Gully is no longer suitable, finding a habitable place nearby isn’t hard. More importantly, rebuilding your home would also be easier, as many things here can be reused. Once you leave, everything will have to start over from the beginning, which will cost more in labor and resources and will be more strenuous."