Chapter 210 It’s Better to Die

After breaking the lock, Mingli did not open the door to let them out, but continued to smash open the drawers of the convenience store and stole all the money and valuables inside.

Then they left this horrible black shop.

Mingli asked Junlan to take Yang Di and Yang Le to hide in a remote and almost abandoned small temple, and then went to a nearby market to buy a set of "Temin" for Junlan and a set of "Longji" for himself, so that they would look more like local Burmese people.

Mingli: "Ama, from now on I will call you Ama here. Please try not to talk outside. Most of the locals don't like Chinese people."

Jun Lan: "Then how can I explain to them that I don't speak?"

Mingli: "I'll just tell people you're mute."

Junlan nodded.

After they changed their clothes, they left the market. Mingli found a shopkeeper who looked honest. With his hands clasped together, he asked in Burmese, "Excuse me, how do I get to the house of Sudarang, the eldest wife of the Duanmu family?"

The man said to him, "You are from Daqili, right? Want to recognize your relatives? I advise you not to take the risk. Their family never accepts relatives of unknown origin."

Mingli: "Thank you for your advice, but we really have something to discuss with them, so please give us your advice directly." He took out a 200-yuan Myanmar Kyat note and gave it to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper took the kyat and said with a smile, "Since you are not afraid of death, let me tell you, just walk to the left until you reach the fork in the road. There is a Buddha statue on the right, then turn inside and you will find their store."

Mingli clasped his hands together again and said, "Thank you."

The shopkeeper watched them go away, shook his head and sighed, "What a wonderful girl and child! Wouldn't it be better for you to stay at my house and let me provide you with good food and drink? Why did you have to be so desperate as to go to Grandma's house and seek death?"

They came to the Buddha statue that the shop owner mentioned. Mingli had nothing to offer to the Buddha statue and pray for blessings, so he could only wipe its body and clean it.

Then he knelt down before the Buddha statue very devoutly.

Seeing him like this, Jun Lan hurriedly followed him and knelt down devoutly.

After kneeling and praying, the two sat on the side of the road waiting for passers-by to ask for directions.

Junlan brushed Mingli's messy hair and said distressedly, "Thank you for your hard work, kid. You haven't had a good life following me all the way."

Mingli: "Actually, I've wanted to call you Mom for a long time. In my heart, your position far exceeds anyone else's. You're the only one who truly cares about me the most. I'm willing to endure any hardship for you."

Junlan kissed Mingli's forehead: "You are really my good son. Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?"

Mingli said, "I'm not hungry, but my younger brother and sister must be starving. They only drank this little milk today. We'll give them more milk when we find a place to stay."

He thought for a moment and continued, "Mom, I heard from them that the grandmother isn't easy to get along with. You'd better be mentally prepared. We might have to rely on ourselves in the future."

Jun Lan: "We have to meet her in person first."

Mingli: "Okay, let's find her first."

At this time, a farmer carrying vegetables came over.

Mingli whispered in Junlan's ear: "Mom, you must remember what I told you today. Don't make a sound unless absolutely necessary."

Jun Lan nodded firmly at him.

Mingli walked up to the farmer, stopped him, and asked, "Hello, fellow villager. We wanted to go to Master Duanmu's house, but unfortunately we got lost here. Do you know which direction we should go now?"

Farmer: "Oh, so you are going to Master Duanmu's house too. I just came back from selling vegetables to him. Go straight in this direction for about 100 meters. If you see a beautiful house, it must be his family."

Mingli: "Excuse me, are all the people here poor except for the Duanmu family? Why are there so many beggars here than in other places? Are they so poor that they dare to steal offerings from the Buddha statue?"

Farmer: "When I hear you say that, I know you are a country bumpkin from outside the province. Everyone knows that we are the richest place within a hundred miles. These beggars are all beggars because they offended the Duanmu family and were punished to become beggars."

Mingli: "Then why did most of them offend Master Duanmu's family?"

Farmer: "It's because they randomly claimed relatives. Master Duanmu hasn't shown up here recently, and these low-class people thought this was a good opportunity to fish in troubled waters and go to the Duanmu family to randomly claim relatives. As a result, they were either beaten to death by the eldest wife or sentenced to be beggars and low-class people for eternity. What are you going to do at the Duanmu family? Go quickly if you want to, otherwise they will close the door to visitors if you are late."

After hearing what he said just now, Mingli really couldn't tell that they were going to seek refuge with the Duanmu family.

After hesitating for a few minutes, he said, "Thank you."

After seeing the Burmese man leave, Jun Lan asked impatiently, "What did you say to him?"

Mingli: "Mom, let's get out of here!"

Jun Lan: "What's wrong? Did that uncle say anything to you just now? Why did he suddenly stop leaving after coming here?"

Mingli: "You'd better not ask, and don't mention anything about the Duanmu family in the future. Let's not tell others that we were arranged by our uncle to seek refuge with them."

Jun Lan: "Why on earth? If we don't join them, how can we survive?"

Mingli: "Let's think of another way! Their family is not easy to mess with. All these beggars on the street said they were their relatives and then it became like this. Now that my uncle is not with us, why should they believe us? We can't afford to gamble on this."

Jun Lan thought about it and didn't dare to say anything more.

They wandered around nearby villages looking for work for several days, and when they were tired and sleepy, they stayed in a nearby dilapidated temple.

Although Mingli knew Burmese, he was young and a stranger. People in the nearby villages were afraid that these strangers of unknown origin would bring them bad luck, so no one dared to take them in.

In addition, the local economic conditions were not good. There was not even a large workshop, let alone a factory, let alone finding a job. They soon spent all their money.

In the end, they were left with no other options and had to beg for a living like the beggars on the street.

Mingli took out the last remaining biscuit and handed it to Junlan's mouth. Junlan smiled and shook her head, then pushed the biscuit to Mingli's mouth. Mingli refused to eat it and handed it to her again, but Junlan pushed it back again. After this happened several times, Mingli broke the biscuit into two halves, ate the smaller one first, and kept the larger one in Junlan's mouth.

Seeing this, Junlan's tears as big as beans fell on the biscuit in Mingli's hand. She was afraid that Mingli would be sad, so she quickly ate the biscuit that was wet with tears. The biscuit that had been left for a few days and was mixed with tears tasted dry and astringent, but Junlan felt that it was the most delicious biscuit she had ever eaten.