Because we need to engrave something on the box, it takes a relatively long time.

After the Taoist priest and Lu Chuan left, Xu Han took a box and began to carefully carve a cartoon dog.

Although there seem to be a lot of them, the patterns are all very simple.

Xu Han spent the entire afternoon sitting there motionless, meticulously carving the mahjong box.

Xu Han didn't eat dinner. Firstly, she didn't want to eat, and secondly, she was in a good mood and didn't want to stop. She just wanted to finish cooking in one go.

After Xu Han finished carving, the others also finished dinner. Xu Han then went to eat dinner, while Lu Chuan was responsible for finishing the remaining steps.

The four of them worked until 10 p.m. before finally finishing making all the mahjong tiles. But it was already late, so there was no time to play. They would have to wait until tomorrow to try again.

The next morning, after Lu Chuan and the Taoist priest returned from their patrol, the four of them quickly ate breakfast together.

After finishing breakfast, Xu Han couldn't wait to take out the mahjong set. She also put a piece of leather on the table to prevent the sound of playing mahjong from being too noisy.

After Xu Han explained the rules of the game, everyone decided to try out a round.

"I haven't heard the rules clearly yet! How exactly do we play? Did you all understand?" the Taoist priest said, still a little confused.

"I understand, but I don't really understand. Oh well! I'll just have to play it a few more times." Grandpa Zhao said excitedly.

"Let's play one round first, give it a try, and you'll get the hang of it after a few more rounds," Xu Han said.

So the four of them started their first game of mahjong, with Xu Han explaining the rules as she played.

After playing a few rounds, the other three also learned how to play.

“Playing mahjong like this isn’t fun. How about we play for money? We won’t bet big, just a few coins each time, just to have some fun,” Xu Han suggested.

"A few coins per game? Girl, you're too stingy!" the Taoist priest laughed heartily without any politeness.

"You don't understand. If you play too big, it becomes gambling. I'm just prohibiting gambling; it's just for entertainment," Xu Han said playfully.

“Okay, let’s just have fun,” Grandpa Zhao agreed.

So Xu Han went back to her room, took out a handful of copper coins, gave some to each person, and then started a new game.

For several days in a row, Lu Chuan and the Taoist priest would go out to patrol in the morning and evening, and after their afternoon nap, they would get up and play mahjong to pass the time.

I don't know how the people down the mountain are doing now, but the few people up the mountain have been doing pretty well lately.

People living down the mountain must lead completely different lives than those living up in the mountains...

Down the mountain, the weather has been getting hotter and hotter lately. The sun in the sky is getting bigger and bigger, but there is no sign of rain, and the water in the well is getting less and less.

Now, let alone taking a bath, even drinking water has become a problem. We can no longer have water to drink anytime, anywhere like before.

Instead, they would only take a small sip when they were extremely thirsty.

People who originally had no intention of fleeing the famine gradually changed their minds.

As more and more people fled famine from the north to this place, many families could no longer sit still and began to pack their belongings, preparing to embark on their own journeys to escape famine.

Even a dilapidated home can be worth a fortune. You might not feel like you have much at home, but it's all accumulated over generations.

Besides food and water, one cannot lose any of the items acquired over the years on the journey of fleeing famine.

Whether it's pots and pans at home, farm tools and cloth, or even a broken jar, nothing should be thrown away carelessly.

Take everything you can carry with you; as long as you can settle down, you'll find these things useful.

Then there will be no need to waste money buying new things. After all, with more than a year of drought, many families have spent almost all their savings and have nothing left.

Therefore, these things are even more important not to be lost, otherwise it will be unacceptable to have nothing when you settle down.

In just a few days, there were hardly any people left at the foot of the mountain; almost everyone who could leave had already done so.

Only some elderly people or those who have special circumstances that prevent them from leaving remain here.

After these people left, a large group of refugees from the north arrived here.

The two groups of people were clearly distinguishable. Those from the foot of the mountain were carrying large and small bags, and their families were all together.

The people who fled from the north had been on the road for more than a month, and had lost almost everything they owned.

Some people were separated from their families, some were poorly clothed, and some were emaciated and filthy.

But many more people have numb eyes, unable to see any hope for the future.

Like walking corpses, we numbly move forward step by step.

As more and more people fled the famine, the world became increasingly chaotic.

Now, those who are fleeing not only lack food, but even drinking water is a luxury.

Among the fleeing crowd, one horse-drawn carriage stood out, slowly following the procession forward.

There were many children in the carriage, the oldest being eleven or twelve years old, and the youngest only three or four.

These children were all sold by their own parents, not in exchange for money, but for ten pounds of black flour or a large bucket of water.

Most of those who were replaced were girls, but there were also many boys, because some families had many children and some parents had no choice.

In order to allow others to survive, they had no choice but to exchange their own children for food.

The exchanged children at least had a way to survive. Whether they were slaves or servants, they could at least keep their lives. The food they received in exchange could also help their families survive longer.

At first, people despised those who traded their own children for food and provisions. However, as the journey to escape famine became increasingly difficult and more and more situations arose, most families gradually chose to become the ones who were despised.

However, many families would rather go hungry themselves than trade their children for food...

Using children to exchange for food is just the beginning; even more brutal things are yet to come!

As the period of fleeing famine lengthened, social order became increasingly chaotic...

One morning, after people discovered that someone had been murdered, the situation worsened, and from then on, death became the norm.

The reason was that a group of desperados ran rampant among the fleeing crowds, committing arson, murder, robbery, and kidnapping of innocent women, among other evil deeds.