Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Soon, the people were divided into three groups. One group was against it, mainly because of their daughter-in-lawâs family coming over. Another group was firmly in support, primarily because it was their daughterâs family staying with them, while the majority stayed silent.
âThatâs enough. Shut up. Weâre here to discuss matters, not quarrel.â The village chief knocked on the gong and shouted.
He continued after the crowd had quieted down. âAlright, those who agree to let their relatives stay in the village, raise your hand.â
After hearing this, everyone looked at each other for a moment. In the end, a few people raised their hands.
âIt seems like most people still donât agree,â the village chief affirmed with a nod.
âWait, village chief; weâre the only place with water. If we chase them away, wouldnât we be killing them?â One of the people raised his hand and asked.
âThatâs right, village chief. Itâs our family. We canât just watch them as they starve to death.â
âIndeed, we canât be too extreme in this matter.â
? ?
âWhat are you saying? We arenât even stopping the people from drawing water from our village.â
âThatâs right. The villages within ten miles line up daily to get water from here. Itâs not that we donât allow them to take our resources; we just donât want them to live in our village.â
The village chief saw they were quarreling again, so he struck the gong and reprimanded, âAlright, all of you shut up.
âSince everyone is clear about the pros and cons here, letâs talk about the constable and my opinions.â
âIf you want to keep your relatives in the village, we really canât say much if you are bent on it.
âHowever, whoever stayed had to guarantee these two points.
âFirst, if the people who stayed behind ruined anything, you have to be responsible for the compensation.
âSecond, if thereâs a conflict in your family, donât look for us because we wonât and canât mediate your troubles.
âGo go back and discuss this matter. If youâre willing to vouch for your relatives, come to me and write a contract of promise.â
Everyone fell silent. They could guarantee the first condition, but no one could be sure of the second condition.
After all, those who could be the head of a family were basically the grandfathers of their families.
It was normal to have some friction in any family, let alone in a disaster.
If someone started a fight, would they be able to suppress it?
Even if they could suppress their daughterâs family, being her parents, it was unclear whether they could do the same for their daughter-in-lawâs parents.
At the thought of this, no one was confident that their family would be able to follow this agreement to its absolute.
âVillage chief, what is your familyâs plan?â Someone asked curiously because everyone knew that his daughter had returned home.
The village chief didnât answer his question but said, âThis is precisely why we called everyone over. We want everyone to gather our relatives who have come from afar to live in the warehouse on the dock in town.
âAs for those close to home, just ask them to go home directly. This is for the best. If the family makes a big scene, it wonât look good for everyone.â
âThe warehouse? Thatâs too far.â Someone expressed their dissatisfaction.
âIndeed, itâs at least four to five miles away.â
âIs it far? Donât the townspeople come here every day to get water?â Tian Jing Zhong stated this at the time.
âWeâre all born farmers, and we arenât asking them to water the land. Even a girl can carry two to three small buckets of water from five miles away daily.â The village chief agreed.
âWhy donât we let them build a shack outside the village?â Someone asked.
âYes, isnât it good to build a shack outside the village?â
âA shack?â The village chief asked in return, âIs a shack more comfortable and safer than a warehouse?
âDonât forget how close we are to a mountain. Disregarding all the different kinds of poisonous bugs, letâs talk about the wolf pack from the night before.. Would a shack stop a wild beast if another came down the mountain? If something really happens, whoâs going to be responsible?â