In the eighth year of Yongjia, there was a locust plague outside the Great Wall, and the fields were completely barren.

After the autumn, a powerful earthquake struck, and many villages and towns were razed to the ground.

The people were starving and living in poverty. In order to avoid freezing to death in the winter, they had to flee the famine with their families, just to find a way to survive.

As it was getting dark, people who had been traveling all day gradually found a place to rest.

Mrs. Ye was just about to cook dinner with her sisters-in-law when she heard the sound of willow branches whipping and the weak cry of a child not far away.

She looked in the direction of the sound and saw that it was indeed Mrs. Shan from the same village beating her daughter Qingtian.

"You little rascal, you're getting bolder and bolder, you even dare to steal food!

"What else do you want to do? Do you want to go to heaven in the future?"

Madam Shanda became more and more angry as she spoke, and she increased the strength of her hands, completely disregarding whether Qingtian's frail body could withstand such a beating.

On a sunny day, I knelt on the dirt road, and the stones hurt my knees, but the willow branches hitting my back hurt even more.

She was really hungry just now, so she couldn't help but grab a few dry and hard corn kernels.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she put the corn kernels into her mouth, before they could be soaked with saliva, she was discovered by her mother, Mrs. Shan.

"We've all fled the famine, so who wouldn't be hungry? Only you? There's only half a bag of corn left at home, and it's for my son to eat!

"I gave you all the grass roots to eat today, and you even dared to steal corn! I think you're really tired of living!

"I'm so unlucky that I ended up raising a fool like you!"

Qingtian was almost unable to kneel anymore, but he didn't dare to move.

But her head was really dizzy and her body was in pain.

A few days ago, when the earth dragon turned over, she used her thin body to shield her brother, but her head was hit and a bloody hole was left.

When Mrs. Shan came over and saw blood on her son's body, she immediately slapped Qingtian aside without knowing the truth, and went to check if her son was injured, crying and shouting.

After finding out that her son was fine, Mrs. Shan grabbed a handful of incense ash and pressed it on Qingtian's head to stop her bleeding.

The skinny Qingtian was lying on the ground, and even his crying was much weaker than before.

Mrs. Ye tried to hold it in, but finally couldn't help herself and said, "Mrs. Shan, who wouldn't be hungry after fleeing all the way here? The child only ate a few dry corn kernels, why do you want to beat him to death?"

"Hey, where did this living Bodhisattva come from?" Madam Shan looked over with her hands on her hips. "Mr. Ye, you are so kind, then why don't you take her home and raise her? You are so gullible and talk nonsense, it's really easy for you to talk without any hesitation!"

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, Second Sister-in-law Ye quickly came over and pulled Sister-in-law Ye aside, whispering, "Sister-in-law, this family is not easy to deal with. It's better to keep out of trouble!"

"Oh, this mother is too cruel!" Mrs. Ye didn't have any children of her own, and she was so envious of other people's children every day. She couldn't stand seeing children being beaten like this.

Mrs. Ye was also helpless and sighed, "If they are not my biological children, I naturally don't know how to feel sorry for them!"

Everyone in the village knows that Qingtian is not the biological child of the Shan family.

Mrs. Shan had been married for more than ten years but had no children. Later, Mr. Shan went fishing and fished up a bamboo basket from the river. There happened to be a fair and clean baby in the basket.

The kind old man simply took the child home to raise, and told everyone that the child was a gift from God because of his family's good deeds.

Since they picked up Qingtian, the Shan family's life has become more and more prosperous, and the couple treats Qingtian very well.

Who would have thought that last year, for some reason, God was so blind that Mrs. Shan suddenly became pregnant and gave birth to a big fat boy for the Shan family.

Ever since she became pregnant, Qingtian has been unlucky. Not only is he hungry, but he is also always beaten and scolded.

The four-year-old child was treated like an animal by her. Not only did he have to go out to dig wild vegetables, but he also had to help her feed the chickens, pigs and take care of the children when he got home!

The bucket used to feed the pigs was almost as tall as a child. On sunny days, he could only carry less than half a bucket at a time, and he walked with difficulty.

If she accidentally fell, she would be beaten and kicked immediately.

In the past, when they were in the village, Mrs. Ye felt sorry for Qingtian and would often secretly give her some food.

But now no one knows how long the days of fleeing famine will last. The Ye family, including the whole family, including the old and the young, is really not rich in food.

In addition, with the Shan family couple watching over her, Mrs. Ye didn't dare to help Qingtian anymore.

Xiao Qingtian's head injury hasn't healed yet, but he has to help take care of his younger brother and carry food on his back. However, he can only get some grass roots and tree bark when he eats. He is so hungry that he wants to grab a handful of dirt from the ground and stuff it into his mouth.

But the Shan couple now only have their son in their eyes and never thought that Qingtian is only a four-year-old child.

Mrs. Ye sighed and said, "At least they didn't abandon the child. They still have some conscience."

"Shh, stop talking, her husband is back." When Mrs. Ye Er saw Boss Shan coming back, she quickly pulled Mrs. Ye Da away.

When Lady Shanda saw the man coming back, she hurried over to him and asked, "Did you dig any wild vegetables?"

"What a bunch of crap wild vegetables! There's not even a blade of grass left!" said Shan Lao Da, a big, burly man with a face full of flesh. "But I was lucky enough to find a tree that hadn't been damaged by the disaster. I peeled off some tender bark. You can add some corn kernels and cook it to make a meal!"

When she heard the man mention corn kernels, the anger that had just subsided in Mrs. Shanda was ignited again. She said angrily, "Eating corn kernels! If I hadn't discovered it earlier, that damn girl would have eaten up all our corn!"

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!