Chapter 592: Mist. Next Steps

Chu An and Gu Ye looked at each other, because fighting over food was common, and this old man shouldn't be so sad. His crying sounded more than just despair, it was like the collapse of faith and the death of his heart.

When the granddaughter saw her grandfather crying, she started crying too, but she didn’t leave. She cried until she had hiccups.

"Grandpa...hiccup...Grandpa...hiccup..."

She knew that even if she went back, her parents, grandparents would not give her food, they would only give it to her brother.

She opened her palm, which contained three kernels of corn, and held it in front of the old man.

"Grandpa...there are...three more."

The old man suppressed his grief and looked at his granddaughter's palm. His cloudy eyes seemed to have some life. He picked up a corn kernel and handed it to the little girl, "Momo, eat it."

The little girl didn't open her mouth, but pursed her lips.

"Eat it, Grandpa doesn't want it anymore." He was now calm and had no resentment or hatred.

In the past, he scolded his family for being short-sighted, stuffing whatever they grabbed into their mouths, and preferring to die of starvation rather than think about the long-term. But later, they became afraid of being robbed, and if they left anything behind, someone would be interested, and it would be robbed within a few days. They couldn't protect themselves, so they could only eat as much as they could.

However, as the natural disaster progressed, food became increasingly scarce, and the steamed bread provided by the shelter became smaller and smaller, which was only enough to keep him from starving to death. He also wanted to get some seeds to plant crops when he saw that the shelter was going to be moved. Even if it was robbed, if he had only one ear of corn left, it would be enough for his family to eat for a day.

But everything is impossible!

"Grandpa, I don't want to eat." The little girl pouted, "Let's go home, back to Lala Village."

Their village was washed away by the flood and had long been in ruins. They had gone back to scavenge before, but there was nothing left except a few broken wooden boards.

"I can't go back." The old man sighed and tried to stand up from the ground, but his legs went weak and he fell flat on his face again.

The little girl hurried to help, but she was too weak and her face turned red, and she couldn't pull it up. The people around just looked at it a few times, but now there is no one. This kind of thing happens every day, what's so good about it.

Suddenly, the old man felt his feet lighten and someone grabbed him up. Then a large dark shadow enveloped him completely.

The old man's heart skipped a beat, as if there was a giant behind him!

He turned back in fear, only to see a sunny and handsome face. However, his fear had not subsided yet, so he could only open his mouth, not knowing what to say. The little girl was also a little scared, and hugged her grandfather's legs tightly.

Gu Ye lifted the man up and then let go of his hand, "Uncle, don't be afraid, I have no ill intentions."

The old man's body was stiff, how could he not be afraid? Normal people would not even have time to hide from them, how could they possibly talk to him? When they talked, they basically wanted to steal something.

"I... I have nothing left." The old man's voice was trembling. He had just been robbed by his family. He was completely desperate and had no hope of living.

Now he was so frightened that his scalp was numb and his whole body was trembling. If the man in front of him wanted to, he would break his neck in an instant. So, he automatically ignored Gu Ye's words that he had no ill intentions and began to beg for mercy, "Let me go...let me go."

At this time, Chu An also walked up to the old man and the little girl, "You know how to farm, right?"

"Ah!" The old man nodded mechanically.

"How many people in the shelter know how to farm?" Chu An asked again.

The old man looked left and right. No one was paying attention to this place, and the guards in the rich area would not care. Why did he even think of asking them for help just now? He was so stupid.

"Don't be nervous, we really don't mean any harm." Gu Ye suddenly squatted down and gave the little girl what he thought was a bright smile.

The large shadow that had been blocking the old man was gone, and he finally regained some control of his body. "A lot."

After the old man finished answering, he thought of the seeds he had exchanged for the steamed corn bread and winter cotton-padded clothes and shoes he had saved for half a year. He became overwhelmed with sadness and wiped his eyes with his hands.

Chu An smiled and nodded, and asked a few more questions, and the old man answered them sincerely. Before leaving, Gu Ye took out two bags of biscuits from his pocket and gave one bag to the old man and the little girl, and then quickly caught up with her.

"How is it? Where else do you want to go?" Gu Ye asked.

"No need to look at it anymore. Find Li Qing and ask him to talk to Captain Guo about taking over the shelter."

…

After Chu An returned, he talked to Li Qing about taking over the shelter. The next day he went to find Captain Guo, but when he was told to take over everything, the other party hesitated.

Captain Guo used to be the director of the Qing City Culture and Tourism Bureau. He loves his hometown very much. In order to promote Qing City, he paid out of his own pocket to find many Internet celebrities to check in.

After the natural disaster, he could have gone to Beijing with his family to seek refuge with his mother-in-law, but he ultimately chose to take on the task, rescue the victims, and then plan to build a shelter.

One third of the people who stayed with him died, one third left, and one third were replaced. Even the original director of the shelter resigned and went to the Shengtang base.

A year ago, his wife and ten-year-old daughter began to persuade him to return to Beijing. Their life there was not good either. They had been taken care of by the elderly at home and could barely get by. But as the natural disasters became more and more severe, the elderly at home had health problems and could only wait to be taken care of. His wife suddenly became stressed.

After the communication was interrupted, he hardly had a good night's sleep. He was worried every day, afraid that something might happen and it would be too late to regret.

But even so, he never thought of abandoning the shelter. He had planned to bring back the old man and his wife and daughter from Beijing, but he never expected that the higher-ups would abandon this place. Hey, leaving is a matter of helplessness.

"Qingzi, it's not that Brother Guo doesn't trust you, it's just that maintaining a shelter is not as easy as you think."

Although he thought Li Qing was a good person, gangs were definitely not a way out for the people of Qing City, and the refuge could not become a tool for someone to seek personal gain. He did not dare to say it directly, so he could only persuade him in a tactful way.

Li Qing did not hear the hidden meaning, he just said that he was confident that he could manage the base well. If the staff did not want to leave, they could stay. This was Chu An's special instruction. The original team was more familiar with the place and could help them take over the shelter quickly.