Chapter 39 How about fleeing from the famine?

At noon that day, Chen Qingqing was sorting out the dried herbs, preparing to mix them and make incense in the afternoon so that she could go up the mountain to dig ginseng tomorrow.

Just as I mixed all the medicinal powders together, I saw Chen Zhanshan walking back with his head lowered. Seeing how depressed he was, I felt very distressed.

In this dynasty that values ​​sons over daughters and takes filial piety as its name, her parents could choose to break up with their family for a girl like her.

How could she not be moved by such love and courage?

"Dad, you're back." Chen Qingqing greeted him, "Why are you here so early today?"

Chen Zhanshan nodded. The family’s food supply was almost gone, and he was extremely anxious at the moment.

There are too many idle people in Qingshui Town, including many young and strong men, and quite a few merchants traveling from south to north.

But people of his age don't even look at him. He went to the town to look for work for several days but no one wanted to hire him. He has lost confidence.

But he still managed a smile, "Qing girl, Dad has seen you tinkering with these herbs these past few days, what are they for?"

"I'm making some incense. There are too many mosquitoes in the house."

Chen Zhanshan glanced at the window with a guilty look on his face. This house, which was converted from a cowshed, didn't have windows so much as a few wooden boards. There wasn't even a piece of window paper. It was summer now, so what would the family do when winter came?

"Qing girl, I'm sorry that your father is incompetent and has made you suffer." He sighed and continued, "Our fields are so dry this year that no crops have grown. We can't even harvest a single grain. Winter will be even harder to endure. Why don't we all escape the famine together?"

Chen Qingqing shook her head after hearing this. Fleeing from famine was like begging for food. If you met a kind and generous family, they would give you some food. But if you met a rude and stingy family, not only would they not give you any alms, they would also speak harshly to you. Life would be very difficult that way.

I have found the ginseng king. As long as I dig it up tomorrow, I won’t have to worry about having food to survive the winter.

"Dad, fleeing is not a solution. Give me three days, and I will find a way to make money. If I still can't get the money back after three days, it won't be too late for us to flee again."

Seeing her confident expression, Chen Zhanshan always felt that his daughter was hiding something from him, and frowned.

"Qing girl, Dad knows you're worried, but we should make the money we should make. We can't do anything crooked. You're a little girl, don't let yourself be cheated, okay?"

"Dad, I'm not stupid, don't worry."

"Okay, Dad believes you."

Lin brought a small stool and said, "Boss, you must be tired. Sit down and have a rest."

Chen Zhanshan sat down with his head down, a wry smile on his face. "I didn't work, so I'm not tired. I went up the mountain to collect some firewood this afternoon to sell in the winter."

"Don't be too anxious. Take your time." Lin forced a smile. "Take a break. I'll go cook."

"I'm not hungry, don't make my portion, just let the two kids eat first."

Chen Zhanshan knew the situation of his family. They were about to run out of food. Since he couldn't find a job to earn money, he saved as much as he could. He estimated that he could barely survive for a day or two.

Chen Qingqing knew the pain in his heart and quickly said to Lin, "Mom, Xiaohan and I are not hungry either."

"Yes, I'm not hungry," Chen Han also smiled and waved his hands.

"Okay, since you're not hungry, let's eat in the evening." Lin's eyes turned red, and she felt so uncomfortable that she almost cried.

......

Old Mrs. Chen in the kitchen next door snorted coldly, "You stupid girl, you can barely afford to eat, and you still have the time to make incense."

Sun glanced at Old Lady Chen. Her mother-in-law had been hanging around in the kitchen for the past two days, so she had no chance to save the mixed noodles and dry food.

The Dafang family must be struggling to make ends meet, so we must send them some food today no matter what.

"Mom, the hen in the chicken coop seems to have laid eggs. I heard it clucking."

Old Mrs. Chen stood up quickly. The chicken coop was next to the mountain, and she had to pick up the eggs quickly, otherwise they would be swallowed by snakes. How could she save them for Ruolan and Jiye to nourish their bodies?

"I'm going to be out for a bit. Hurry up and cook the meal. Your father and Zhan Liang will be back from the fields soon."

"Mom, the meal will be ready soon, go get busy!"

Seeing her mother-in-law turned around and went to the chicken coop, Sun hurriedly shoveled out two pieces of dry food, put them in a hidden basket and covered them with vegetable leaves.

Old Mrs. Chen hurried to the chicken coop and found that there were no eggs, not even chicken droppings. She was angry and returned to the house to find that Mrs. Sun had already prepared the meal.

He said coldly, "What are your ears? Which chicken is clucking? I think you want to eat eggs."

"I really heard the rooster crowing, but maybe it was lying." Sun explained casually.

......

At this moment, suddenly a gong sounded in the street.

Chen Han's eyes lit up and he was ecstatic, "The monkey trainer is here, I'm going to see the monkey trainer." He turned around and was about to run out.

"Xiao Han, don't go." Chen Zhanshan hurriedly called him back. "That's not a monkey showman. It's the steward of the wealthy Fan family in Qingshui Town, beating the gong and posting notices."

"I thought a monkey trainer had arrived, and I was so excited for nothing." Chen Han looked disappointed.

Lin was a little curious and couldn't help asking, "Dad, is the Fan family hiring handymen? If so, I can go and work for a few months and our family can survive."

Chen Zhanshan shook his head and said, "No, I heard that Master Fan seems to have some strange disease. He has posted notices everywhere and paid a lot of money to seek medical treatment and medicine!"

"What kind of illness is this? Why is there such a big fuss?"

"Who knows? He must be very ill, otherwise they wouldn't have posted notices everywhere."

Chen Qingqing hadn't paid much attention to it at first, but after hearing their conversation, she suddenly became interested. "Dad, are you saying someone is posting a notice seeking medical help?"

"Yes, it should be under the big locust tree in the village now."

Great, here comes the chance to show off your skills.

Chen Qingqing was overjoyed and quickly put away the herbs for making incense.

After all, there are risks in obtaining ginseng. It is better to make some money now. The ginseng is not going away, so you can go dig it a few days later.

"Dad, Mom, I'm going out to see what's going on."

"Sister, wait for me, I'm going too." Chen Han ran out of the yard right after her.

Chen Zhanshan was stunned. "Qing girl usually doesn't like to go out, why is she joining in the fun today?"

Lin smiled faintly, "The child is grown up now, let her be."

The big locust tree in the village was already crowded with people watching the fun.

Chen Qingqing squeezed into the crowd and saw a short, fat man yelling at the top of his voice, "Everyone, please be quiet. Let me introduce myself first. My last name is Shi Taishou..."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone said, "Your name is quite down-to-earth, but shit stinks! Shit must be smelly. If it wasn't smelly, dogs wouldn't eat it!"

The onlookers couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Chen Qingqing was also amused and laughed out loud.

Shi Taishou's face turned red, and the corners of his mouth twitched with anger. "You have chicken feathers in your ears. What nonsense are you talking about? I said my last name is Shi, and my given name is Taishou. Tai means sun, Shou means longevity, not stinky. Did you hear that? If you dare to make trouble again, I'll cut off your tongue and feed it to the dogs."

The man shrank his neck in fear and dared not say a word...