Chapter 9 On the Road

The only thing that made the driver happy was that the water the young Taoist gave him was salt water, and it was clean green salt.

Sometimes the little Taoist priest would give him a very sweet dessert.

When resting at night, the young Taoist priest would find wild vegetables on the spot, put them on stones, add salt and roast them for the three of them to eat.

Although he didn't get to eat meat, the driver felt he had gained a lot of strength because he had eaten enough salt and sugar.

You have to know that a lowly person like a rickshaw driver, when he had the best income, could only afford to eat salt for ten days a month, and most of the time he had to eat vinegar cloth.

As for sugar, I eat even less.

Five days later, they arrived in Xuchang. The driver could not bear it and advised again: "Old Taoist priest, Luocheng is like the gate of hell now. You'd better not go there first. Wait until the flood is over."

Grandpa Ling thanked the driver for his kindness and said with a smile:

"I do have my reasons for going. If you feel sorry for me, why don't you take less of the final payment?"

When the driver heard this, he immediately put the silver in his pocket and turned away without saying a word.

Jin Sui was amused and speechless. How realistic! But compared to other people she met, this driver was a good person.

The flood in Luocheng has affected water transportation, let alone nearby Xuchang?

Many refugees came to Xuchang. Along the way, they saw women leading their children and old people carrying babies on their shoulders.

There was despair and numbness on everyone's face. It was spring, the time for spring plowing, but these people were forced to leave their homeland and become displaced.

Grandpa Ling knew that his granddaughter was kindhearted, so he repeatedly reminded her: "Don't give away food and water casually. As long as you give it to one person, others will flock to you."

"The most important thing for us now is to find your mother and brother. There are too many pitiful people in the world and we can't help them."

Jin Sui lowered his head and said, "Don't worry, Grandpa. I won't have to worry about it."

When they camped outdoors at night, as soon as their campfire was lit, many beggars would wander around, and further away there were young men with fierce eyes.

Jinsui and Grandpa Ling looked at each other, and didn't dare to take out the cake to eat. They just drank some water.

Quietly hand grandpa an energy bar and chew it slowly.

Grandpa Ling let her sleep and he kept watch.

How could Jinsui sleep? He felt like there were wolves and tigers around him. He and his grandfather wrapped themselves in a blanket and looked around vigilantly.

Perhaps they were sure that the two poor Taoists had little food or money, so the young and strong men gradually left.

The beggars did not leave. As the night deepened and the weather got colder, they all gathered around the fire to warm themselves.

These refugees fled together with one village or several families or friends, but these beggars had lost all their relatives and fled south with the crowd.

It was fine during the day, I could dig wild vegetables, drink stream water, and beg for food to fill my stomach. But at night, I couldn't stand the cold anymore.

They dared not go to crowded places because those people would drive them away. Some evil-minded people would even beat them or tie them up and sell them as slaves.

Perhaps the beggars came over to warm themselves by the fire because they thought Taoist priests and monks were kinder people.

Grandpa Ling said that this was still considered good. When the worst happened and people started eating their own children, these beggars would have no way to survive.

Jinsui looked at this group of children in the future, the oldest of whom was in five or six years old, and the youngest was in kindergarten.

Each of them was as thin as a little monkey. They huddled together, absorbing a little warmth from their companions and the fire.

She faintly heard a little girl, about five years old, whispering to the boy who was hugging her: "Brother, I'm hungry."

The boy hugged his sister tightly and rubbed her shriveled belly: "Just bear with it, big brother will be back with food soon."

Another little beggar cried, "Brother hasn't come back for two days. Could he have been eaten by a wolf?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the beggars all began to sob softly. Perhaps they were afraid of disturbing the Taoist priest, so they were not allowed to warm themselves by the fire.

The second brother quickly scolded in a low voice: "Don't talk nonsense, be quiet, the eldest brother will definitely come back."

But Jinsui could tell that the child's voice was filled with deep uneasiness and worry. Their eldest brother might never come back.

What do children of this age do in the future? They worry about homework, steal their parents' mobile phones, eat too many snacks at home, and never experience hunger or cold...

And what about these children? Just to survive is enough to make them try their best.

Even the fact that they survived is because some people regard them as "reserve food"...

Jinsui didn't dare to think any further. He looked at the energy bar in his hand, then at the dozen or so little beggars, and then at Grandpa Ling.

Although he sat in front of the fire without moving, his mind was obviously full of thoughts.

Grandpa Ling couldn't stand his granddaughter's gaze, so he sighed helplessly and whispered, "Do it quietly. Don't let those young men find out."

Jinsui was overjoyed and really wanted to hug Grandpa Ling, but was afraid of scaring the old man.

The original owner's kindness was obviously inherited from his grandfather.

He hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Grandpa, I'll keep it from being discovered!"

She pressed her palm and a burning sensation came over her, then dissipated along with the colorful halo.

She took out the packaging of the energy bars she had stockpiled over the past few days, put them all in a plastic bag and stuffed them into her sleeves, and then took out a few bags of glucose water.

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When she opened her eyes again, she suddenly said to the boy who called her second brother in a fierce tone: "Hey, you want to warm yourself by the fire for nothing! Go get some firewood."

Several older beggars hurried to collect firewood, fearing that the young Taoist priest would drive them away.

The way the little girl looked at Jinsui made Jinsui unable to bear to look at her.

She had never seen such a look in a child's eyes. She had only felt such despair and sadness in the eyes of abused stray kittens.

When the beggars brought the firewood, Jin Sui suddenly stuffed the bag into the second brother's hand and said quickly:

"Be quiet, hide and eat quietly."

The boy was surprised and delighted, and his dirty face showed infinite gratitude.

His whole body was trembling, and he said in a childish tone:

"Thank you very much! Li Linfeng will never forget the great kindness you have shown me."

Jin Sui felt distressed and amused. Thinking that they were just using other people's fire, he gave him another fire starter and said sincerely, "Stay alive."

The little boy's eyes suddenly became bright, as if he didn't want the Taoist to see him crying, so he lowered his head and returned to the group of beggars.

Soon Jinsui saw a boy named Li Linfeng, in the shade of the fire, breaking the energy bar in half and distributing them to the beggars.

They ate silently, without any chewing sound, but there was a glimmer of light in their desperate and numb eyes.

For children, sweets should be the most luxurious thing when they are extremely hungry!

They are like skinny little animals hiding from ferocious beasts in the mountains, living silently and in fear.

I wonder how long this pack of energy bars can sustain them? I hope their big brother can come back safely.

The night was very long and Jinsui only had a hazy sleep.

As soon as the sky got bright, Grandpa Ling put out the fire and pulled Jinsui on his way.

The beggar who was curled up and sleeping hurriedly stood up and tried to follow the two men. Grandpa Ling waved his hand:

"Go, go, go, don't follow the old Taoist!"

Jin Sui said to Li Lin Feng, "We are going to Luocheng and we can't take you with us."

The two walked a long way and could still see the group of beggars standing there, staring at their backs.

The children were shy and afraid. They probably thought that the young Taoist priest gave them food secretly, and if they thanked him in front of the old Taoist priest, the young Taoist priest would be punished.

Until they parted, they didn't dare to say a word of thanks. They could only watch him leave to let the little Taoist know how grateful they were.

(End of this chapter)