My heart sank.
It wasn't the arrival of refugees that was scary, but the fear that they brought with them a disease of unknown origin.
This place was in the middle of nowhere. The town was already in chaos because of the drought. If a real plague broke out then, who would come to treat us? It would be like pouring oil on the fire for this village, which was already barely hanging on.
Fatty Bang, seeing that I was thinking the same thing, said no more. He frowned and said, "Lock your doors carefully at night for the next few days. Be on guard against this group; who knows if they're light-fingered. Come on, let's go down."
I had already reinforced the fence around my house, so I wasn't too worried, only afraid that this group was truly as bad as we imagined.
Fatty Bang and I walked down the slope. Along the way, groups of people were all heading toward the village chief's house.
When Uncle Ba saw me, he sidled up furtively.
"Phuong, when we get there, they'll definitely make us donate food. I heard my daughter, Nguyet, say that group of people doesn't look right."
I grunted in acknowledgment but said nothing more.
A few women farther away pricked up their ears to listen to Uncle Ba. As soon as they heard something was wrong, they exchanged glances, a look of terror faintly appearing on their faces.
Seeing I had no reaction, Uncle Ba grew anxious.
"Don't you believe me? My Nguyet is a medical student. I'm telling you this because I think you're a good kid."
I thanked him, already believing about seventy or eighty percent of it in my heart.
Even Fatty Bang had noticed something was amiss. The village didn't lack perceptive people; how could they not sense the strangeness of this group?
Everyone, lost in their own thoughts, walked with their heads down toward the chief's house.
Even the usual gossips like Auntie Tam were dead silent today, keeping their distance instead of chattering.
Honestly, I wasn't afraid of disease. I was just a little worried that the hard-won peace of the village would be ruined by these people.
I wondered how Khang was doing now.
That guy left without a single word of news. Hoe Village was already in chaos; I didn't know if he was safe out there.
At this thought, a surge of anger rose within me. The person I was at this moment didn't feel like me at all.
Fatty Bang tugged at the hem of my shirt and shot me a look.
I saw a man of about fifty standing ahead of us. He had a long face, dark and gaunt, with pale lips and dull eyes.
He was talking to the village chief.
The village chief's eyes clearly held a hint of a smile, but with everyone here, he didn't dare show it too openly.
The man spoke in a resonant voice, which didn't match his frail appearance.
Fatty Bang leaned close to me and whispered, "That old geezer must have gotten something from them. I'm afraid he's planning to sell us out."
A strange sense of sorrow welled up inside me.
The drought showed no signs of ending, and everyone was already struggling to get by, yet the village chief was determined to sell out his own people.
Although these people had their own thoughts, they still trusted their village chief. It seemed this time, he was bound to break their hearts.
Uncle Ba and a few other old men were smoking from their bamboo pipes, sitting diagonally in front of us.
The old men's cloudy, world-weary eyes stared silently towards the distant mountain range.
The village chief signaled for everyone to be quiet and said with a sanctimonious air, "Everyone knows that times have been tough for the last half-year. We're all relatives and neighbors in these villages. These people are all elderly, women, and children. We can't be so heartless as to turn them away, can we?"
The village chief smiled benevolently at the villagers seated below.
As soon as he said this, a clamor erupted from the crowd.
Cuong couldn't hold back and stood up: "You make it sound so noble, uncle. You know our village is also short on food. We don't even know if we can survive this drought, and now we have to feed these people too? Who's going to look out for us?"
Cuong spoke with indignation. As soon as he finished, the aunts and uncles below began to chime in.
Van also stood up and said, "That group of people doesn't look right at all. Who knows what they might be carrying…"
Van's wife kicked him in the leg. He immediately fell silent and sat down awkwardly.
Hearing this, everyone knew what he was implying.
At that moment, a sense of panic and unease filled the air.
The more timid women began to cry while cursing the times…
All sorts of harsh words were spoken.
The man's expression remained calm, without a trace of anger.
On the contrary, the village chief, seeing the chaotic scene, grew a bit flustered and glanced furtively at the man.
The man pondered for a moment, his voice tinged with emotion: "Fellow villagers, I know everyone is facing hardship. We have come here, begging and wandering from the outside. We truly had no other choice but to ask for your help."
As he spoke, his eyes grew moist.
From somewhere, a group of skinny, dark-skinned children ran out. They said nothing, simply standing beside the man and crying silently.
This time, the crowd grew uneasy.
The women with young children couldn't bear to see children crying so pitifully.
Looking at how thin and dark the children were, some immediately covered their eyes and began to sob.
Those who had lost children of their own cried out loud.
One sister-in-law ran straight up and hugged a child, crying, "I've lost my own child. I can't bear to see children suffer. I'll eat a little less and give my share to them."
Seeing this, several other women began to cry as well.
Fatty Bang sighed: "This man really knows how to find people's weak spots, using these children to deal with us."