NOVEL NEXT Chapter 483: Tragedy
Only Old Hua quietly pursed his lips, glanced at his obedient granddaughter with some subtlety, and felt relieved only after seeing that the child was normal. At the same time, a sense of sympathy arose in his heart.
This kid Xiaosong is showing it so obviously, but unfortunately, his obedient granddaughter doesn't get it! This can't be blamed on us adults.
Shaking his head, he led the people toward another fork in the path.
This fork connects three villages: Daliu Village, Shangwu Village, and Qiaojia Valley. According to Hu Yatou, people live in all three villages, with a population that's not exactly known, but combined, there must be at least a thousand people.
Let's hope they managed to escape in time during the earthquake. Otherwise, so many people being buried would be a huge blow to any family.
In his thoughts, Old Hua couldn't help but feel grateful that they have their obedient granddaughter, a treasure bestowed by the heavens, so they should understand to cherish their blessings and do more things that benefit future generations as much as possible.
The first stop was Daliu Village. Like Hua Village, most of the villages here are named after surnames, and there are more people with the surname Liu in Daliu Village.
Old Hua knew of Daliu Village, but he had never actually been there, nor had he passed by it. However, a girl from Daliu Village returned to Hua Village not long ago, and many people from the village went to various villages to seek out relatives.
Those who didn't find anyone have lost hope because there is only one possibility. Those who did find relatives mostly sought the village's opinion and settled their family members or relatives in Hua Village. Otherwise, relatives outside after the earthquake would have caused a commotion long ago.
Daliu Village is only about half a tea's time away from the fork in the road. When everyone stood at the entrance of the village and saw the scene inside, their hearts shook. The whole village was almost entirely ruins, except for occasional remnants of broken walls.
Almost every ruin had people on it. There was no sound of crying, maybe because they had already cried dry. Under the drizzling rain, they repeatedly dug, with mud covering their faces and bodies, making their features unrecognizable. Their hands were bleeding profusely, with droplets mixing with rainwater and falling to the ground.
Some clung numbly to the bodies on the ground, letting the rain fall as if shrinking into their small world, unable to hear any words, instinctively holding those in their arms, even if the person had long since stopped breathing.
More people continued the digging action, and almost every face was filled with grief.
The people from Hua Village watched with heartache, imagining that if it were them, they couldn't bear it either.
Old Hua led the people into Daliu Village, saying little, only reminding everyone to stay safe. Then he quietly moved forward with the tools they carried to start digging.
The survivors of Daliu Village initially didn't notice the sudden arrival of people. Some were immersed in their thoughts, others were focused on digging, wanting to rescue those under the ruins as quickly as possible. It wasn't until they reacted that they realized there were many more people around them, stronger ones, and everyone had tools, digging much faster than with bare hands.
The surviving people of Daliu Village were stunned, staring in disbelief at the large group that appeared suddenly.
Shocked, frightened, yet with a flicker of hope, Old Hua promptly stepped out, loudly proclaiming, "Don't be afraid, everyone, we are not bad people. We are from Hua Village. I am Hua Man, the village chief of Hua Village, here to help you."
"Hua Village, really?"
"Of course," Old Hua took off his bamboo hat.
"It really is," someone from Daliu Village shouted.
Despite the hardships over the years, they hadn't affected Old Hua much. Time seemed to have stopped for him. Except for the white hair from worrying too much, even the wrinkles weren't much more, and at a glance, he didn't look like someone over fifty but like a robust man. Plus, the Hua family had always had dignified features, making him appear as a handsome uncle.
Therefore, even after several years, some people could still recognize him, as the village chief of Hua Village was quite famous.
Back then, in order to sell winter vegetables and buy charcoal, many people had visited Hua Village and had a profound impression of this village chief, who was both authoritative and kind.
Knowing they were from Hua Village, the eyes of almost all the responsive people in Daliu Village turned redder.
So... there was hope to save those buried in the village ruins.
When the earthquake occurred, less than fifty people managed to escape Daliu Village, with many others buried almost immediately under their homes.
Except for a few who were numb and seemed soulless, the remaining survivors of Daliu Village watched Old Hua and the men from Hua Village working on the ruins with excitement.
It is unknown who first led the way, but dozens of people kneeled, bowing to Old Hua and his people.
"No need, no need," Old Hua quickly helped the nearest one up, looking at the people in the rain with a complex expression. Finally, there was a glimmer of hope on their faces, not just sorrow.
Supporting this man, Old Hua spoke, "Don't do that, saving lives is the most important. To avoid wasting time, please first tell us where there are people under the ruins."
"Okay, okay," the man nodded continuously, "There are people buried everywhere we're digging." Saying this, the man started to cry, "Village Chief Hua, we've been digging, but..." The man looked at his bleeding fingers and began to sob.
It wasn't that they didn't want to speed up, but the earthquake buried everything in the village under the ruins. With nothing to use but their hands, they had been digging since the earthquake stopped, managing to only uncover a few families while many were still buried beneath.
Just last night, his wife needed to go out because of urgent nature's call and happened to notice something unusual to wake the family up, giving them the chance to escape, only managing to take some personal items and a bag of grain from the kitchen. Although they tried their best to alert the village, urging everyone to escape quickly, the earthquake came too fast. In the end, only dozens managed to escape.
Old Hua had certainly seen their bloodied fingers, and he patted a shoulder for comfort before starting to assign personnel.
Indeed, there is strength in numbers. With the brought tools, they finished excavating the village's dozens of households in less than an hour.
They uncovered over a hundred corpses, each death scene as horrific as the next, smashed beyond recognition, with some even having their internal organs exposed, others folded into piles, and many others as limp as boneless mannequins. The gruesomeness of it all was too much for even Old Hua to witness, and many of the men from Hua Village nearly retched.
Almost instinctively, Old Hua blocked his granddaughter's view, although he knew this action wouldn't make much difference for her.
"Grandpa, I'm fine," Hua Jinchong forced a weak smile at her grandfather.
She really didn't feel scared, just felt a deep sense of powerlessness against nature's destructive force. People who were alive the day before had now become cold corpses, and in such a horrific way. Life truly felt insignificant in the face of nature.