Journey to the South: Youth in Troubled Times

War disasters continued, and the northern land was lost. Foreign enemies burned and killed, the government pressed for help, and rioters ran rampant. If you can't survive, you can only escape. When Lin Wantang woke up, she was already the eldest girl of Linjia Village. In front of him was the burned home, and behind him were his family members crying together. The memory of being an orphan in her previous life made her know better than anyone else: If you don't run away, you will die; if you run away, there may be a glimmer of hope. Thirty-seven families, one hundred and forty-three people, pushing wheelbarrows, carrying poles, and carrying copper coins sewn into the soles of their shoes, embarked on the road to move south. Along the way, they suffered from hunger and cold, and were surrounded by defeated soldiers and bandits. When the grain is gone, they eat the bark of the trees. When the bark is gone, they dig for voles and catch fish and shrimps. Some fell ill, some got separated, and some never woke up. But no one gave up - the old man beat the straggler children with wooden sticks, the women and children huddled together for warmth, and the young adults took turns keeping vigil. Just to stay alive and go to the south. Two thousand miles of blood and tears, three hundred days and nights of suffering. When this group of "invincible little strong men" finally built their first thatched hut on the southern wasteland, Lin Wantang knew: the hardest part was over. The rest of my life will be about making something from scratch and letting this land bloom. Home is where people are.