Chapter 517 Confrontation between two parties
March sixteenth.
The sun seems to have finally warmed up. The cold storm and snow of the past five months have faded. The ice in the river has melted and peeled off piece by piece. The rolling waves have brought new food.
The population of Yancheng is now less than 100,000.
Hunger is not the real culprit, those rainstorms and cold winds are.
Datian Village was the first to catch fish for food.
There are five types of fish that are most common in the river, but in the end it was discovered that only two of them are edible.
The other three species all had black gills and a sour taste in their meat for unknown reasons.
Chi Sheng sent the news to the city, and the people who only relied on rice porridge had more food rations.
During this period, some people couldn't bear the hunger and moved their families south to flee. There were also hungry people who secretly caught the rats to feed themselves.
Shen Wenchen, who left the city and went south, did not stop him, but he didn't know whether they could bear the hardships along the way.
The situation in Yancheng is already the best.
There was no case of plague or cannibalism.
In many places, due to food shortages and lack of access to medical treatment, plague has broken out since the New Year's Eve.
People in the villages and towns died one by one, countless rats gnawed at the corpses, the plague spread with the cold wind, and the incompetent officials ordered the massacre of the villages. The villages that originally had the sound of crying completely fell into deathly silence.
The fire burned for a long time, igniting the dead trees and forests, and finally turned into ashes all over the place. The houses and tiles collapsed, burying the bones one after another.
The rat-repelling prescription spread from Yancheng was pocketed by local dignitaries. There was no rat in the house where wine and meat were piled up, and outside the house it was a hell on earth full of hungry people.
Those people wanted to escape, so they fled south to a place where they could have enough to eat.
No one in the city stopped them because they didn't know how long they could last.
The whereabouts of the person hiding on the eaves of the City Lord's Mansion were unknown, but the rag left behind clearly laid the answer in front of everyone.
The fabric is special, not the common cotton and silk.
Unbeknownst to others, Wang Jingzhi swayed after looking at it, his eyes a little dazed.
"Jingzhi, what's wrong with you?"
Miss Zeng saw something was wrong with him and lowered her voice and asked softly.
"No, it's okay."
Wang Jingzhi's face turned pale, and cold sweat broke out on his back. The unbearable scenes from the past impacted his brain, making him almost unable to stand.
"Are you really okay?"
Miss Zeng was worried and patted the back of his hand gently to comfort him.
After everyone dispersed, Wang Jingzhi hesitated for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and entered Shen Wenchen's study.
In the study, Shen Wenchen was reading the letter sent by Dui. When he heard the door being opened, he subconsciously raised his head and put the letter away.
Seeing that the person coming was Wang Jingzhi, Shen Wenchen breathed a sigh of relief and asked with some confusion.
"Jingzhi, what's wrong with you? Do you have a problem with me?"
"Brother Shen, I really have something to come to you for."
Wang Jingzhi took a few deep breaths, then closed the door and entered the study, sitting opposite Shen Wenchen.
"What's wrong?"
Shen Wenchen looked at his serious expression and suppressed the smile on his face.
"Is that piece of cloth still there?"
Shen Wenchen nodded, a little confused, but also handed over the rag.
Wang Jingzhi didn't say anything, but just reached out and took it, rubbing his fingers on the fabric carefully, feeling its material and texture.
"This is a fabric unique to Xincheng, and the dark patterns are different from ordinary styles. They are only found in the city lord's palace in Xincheng."
He closed his eyes, and his mind was filled with the man's disgusting face and disgusting laughter.
This kind of cloth once wrapped his whole body, and he tried to commit suicide with it several times, but he was always saved and humiliated again.
This was the memory he least wanted to mention.
Shen Wenchen was silent, with some shock in his eyes.
He could guess what happened to Wang Jingzhi, but he was even more shocked when he personally pierced the thin window paper.
Nowadays, people all over the country want to establish themselves as kings. Two of the three cities around them have been closed down, and Xincheng is the most rampant.
Not only did they drive most of the people in the city out of the city, they also sent people to burn, kill and loot people's homes in the villages and towns outside the city.
Most of the supplies only provide a small number of the rich and powerful people with enjoyment. Compared with Yancheng, their lives are very comfortable.
If that person is really a spy sent by Xincheng, I'm afraid they will soon run out of ammunition and food, and are already preparing to capture other places.
"Thank you, respect."
Shen Wenchen said solemnly.
"That's what I should do."
Wang Jingzhi shook his head with a wry smile, stood up and left.
Looking at his leaving back, Shen Wenchen pursed his lips tightly, with monstrous anger in his eyes.
Xincheng, he will definitely not let it go.
Aze and Liu Jie organized people to fish for fish in the river, and a team formed spontaneously to sort out the edible fish.
There are so many people in the city that it is impossible to feed a whole city by fishing.
But it is still much better than the days when you can only drink porridge.
The atmosphere in Datian Village was very tense.
The village was suddenly divided into two factions.
On one side are the original residents of the village, and on the other side are the people who have moved down from Qingfeng Village.
During the most difficult period of the famine, people from both sides supported each other and got through the difficulties. Now that the rain has passed and the weather has cleared, the two sides are facing each other.
Zhuzi's death did not cause any waves.
Xiao Qi's death angered everyone in Qingfeng Village.
"Brother Chi, let's talk carefully if we have something to say..."
The person who spoke was the former village chief of Ota Village. Seeing that they were holding something in their hands, they were also a little scared.
"How to say?"
Chi Sheng's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.
Although he didn't seem to like Xiao Qi much at first, after all, Xiao Qi is one of his family members.
People from their village moved to Datian Village, and they put the most effort into exterminating rats, hunting, and protecting the village.
As a result, that crazy woman actually attacked Xiao Qi!
"It's just a child..."
Some people from Ota Village couldn't help but speak.
"Xiaoqi is a child, and he is also a child of our family! He didn't contribute any of the meat you eat! When hunting rats, you all shrink into quails! Isn't he just a child by then?"
There was someone in Qingfeng Village who quickly blocked his mouth.
"What about the pillars of our village..."
Someone in Datian Village whispered.
"What happened to the pillar in your village? Does it have anything to do with our Xiao Qi? We saw that crazy old lady in your village push our Xiao Qi into the river!"
"Some people have said that they saw Xiaoqi pushing the pillar into the river! That pillar was the only one in the family. You, Xiaoqi, killed the person and left an old lady behind!"
"Bring out the evidence! Who said this? Ask him to stand up!"
The people in Datian Village suddenly became quiet.
Someone's eyes quietly fell on Er Niu, who was covered in injuries.
"Let that person come out!"
"That's right, let that person come out!"
Seeing the people from Qingfeng Village pressing closer and closer, someone from Datian Village gritted his teeth and pushed Erniu out.
Seeing him being pushed in front of the crowd, Yuanbao and Yueyue's eyes were dull, and even the people in Qingfeng Village were stunned.