The villagers hesitated, as they initially planned to pose as refugees to do work, spend a winter doing it, earn some money, and quietly return home in spring next year.
But after hearing Jiao Dalang say this, they became frightened, fearing that Zhao Hanzhang might not let them leave and would even punish them.
"Why don't you wait a bit? Let me go back and ask our County Lord if she still needs people. If she does, I'll come back to get you?"
"Let's go with you. If she doesn't need us, we'll come back." What if he leaves and doesn't return?
"Yes, yes, and we can look out for each other on the road."
Jiao Dalang couldn't think of any reason to object, so he agreed, but said, "I'm leaving today; if you're coming, you'll have to hurry up."
Although they were from two different counties, their villages were not far apart, and it would take less than half a day to walk there.
