The Landlord's Family Has No Grain Left

I've started a new story next door! It's a Northern Song Dynasty imperial-exam story, titled Who's Ancestor's Grave Is Smoking? Also known as Going to School with Su Shi, Su Zhe, Su Xun, Zhang Zai, and Zeng Gong, Taking on the Fiercest Imperial Exam Class of the Song Dynasty, and Trying to Live Long Enough to See Wang Anshi's Reforms. The villagers of Houxi have their farmland seized, and those who leave to report it to the authorities die one by one. Thirty-five years later, a chancellor appeals their case, clears their names, and enables them to return to their fields. The surviving villagers of Houxi are so overjoyed that they drop dead. When they open their eyes again, they're back thirty-five years earlier. That "chancellor" may still be stealing birds' eggs and catching loaches. No matter. If they start studying and preparing for the imperial exams now, there's still time. And what if the village has no school? No matter, they can follow the example of Mencius's mother and move three times. What if they can't afford tuition? No matter, they can take turns attending school. Those with talent can enter government service. But later, something seems to go wrong. They've been in school for three or four years, and still can't compose even one widely celebrated poem. After all, this year's imperial exams include the Three Sus, the Two Chengs, Zhang Zai, Zeng Gong... A severe drought struck the southwest, and the crops failed completely. Countless people fled their homes in search of food. Yet the people of Jinxi Village remained in place, calm and orderly. When asked, they explained that a landlord was helping them. The Zhao family's fields were fallow this year, so their losses weren't too bad. With help from the Zhao family, life was hard, but manageable. The Zhao family didn't see it that way. They could see unrest coming, and their clansmen were still doing nothing. They were nearly frantic. One day, the Zhao family opened their granary and led the whole family away first. As soon as they left, the clansmen spread the news: "The landlord's family has no grain left! Hurry and flee!" This is an ancient-era story about fleeing famine. This story will be released as a paid serial on Wednesday, December 27. I hope you'll support it. Theme: Many hands make light work