Along the way, you'll see people being robbed and people digging for wild vegetables by the roadside. If it's anything green, they'll swarm and snatch it.
The Su family quickened their pace, not daring to linger.
Liu Huan was glad that she had transported the dried bean curd, tofu, and cured meat she made back home early. The cured meat was made from half a pig she bought in town last year.
If this gets robbed, there will be no one to turn to for help.
Back in the village, you can see people digging for wild vegetables everywhere, and two of them even got into a fight.
It was Aunt Hua and Widow Zhang.
Widow Zhang, clutching her basket, said, "I saw it first, what right do you have to take it?"
Aunt Hua was being unreasonable: "Ha, just because you said you saw it first doesn't mean you saw it first. What, now that no man is willing to help you, you have to come out and dig wild vegetables on your own?"
Widow Zhang was a woman of high moral character and integrity. Naturally, she could not bear such humiliation, so she started fighting with Aunt Hua.
Seeing this, Su's mother stepped forward and pulled the two apart, saying, "What are you doing? If you hurt them, we won't have money to buy medicine. Is it worth it?"
Aunt Hua turned her body away and said, "Hmph, I'm too lazy to argue with you. You're a poor family, just wait to starve to death."
Widow Zhang looked at the Su family in a disheveled state, smoothing the stray hairs from her temples: "Thank you so much, sister-in-law. What brings you back?"
Su's mother spoke frankly: "The town is too chaotic. There are robberies everywhere. When we came back, all our grain had been stolen. It's safer to stay at home."
Several gossipy women nearby eavesdropped and overheard half of the conversation between the two. They went back and spread the word: "You have no idea, a whole cart of grain was stolen."
"They said all the money they earned in town was stolen, and they also lost their food, so they had no choice but to come back."
In the end, the Su family is now destitute.
Several families that were on good terms with the Su family came to ask if it was true after hearing about it.
Su's mother was so angry she laughed: "It was indeed robbed, but we still have some left. It's not as serious as they're making it out to be."
Hearing this, everyone felt it was even more conclusive, and as they left, they told Su's mother to take it easy, their eyes filled with sympathy.
Liu Huan thought this was better, to avoid people saying that her family did business in town and came to borrow grain: "Mother, since they want to spread rumors like this, let them be."
Su's mother nodded, agreeing with their statement.
The day she returned, she went to see the cellar the children had dug, and had the same reaction as Su's father, but she felt more that her children were remarkable.
Inside, there was a table, and the walls were made of wooden planks, making it look like a room.
The ground and surrounding area were covered with straw. Presumably due to the dry weather, there was no dampness inside. Various kinds of grains were placed on the wooden planks, and cured meat was hanging on the wall.
"My goodness, how did you come up with these ideas?"
Da Shi was a little embarrassed when Su's mother wiped his hair. He said shyly, "We thought of it together. We wanted to store the grain because we were afraid that others would see it."
Su's mother praised them one by one.
This is exactly the effect Liu Huan wanted. She didn't want everything to be her idea or her doing. She always remembered her identity as a six-year-old child.
Cao'er smiled brightly: "Mother, do you know how many months it took us to make all this?"
"And this side too,"
Xiao Shi led everyone to the water storage area. "You can't tell, can you? This is all water. We made it all at home."
Stone didn't know how to describe his feelings, as if he were the useless one in this family.
Liu Huan had lived several decades longer than them, and could see through their thoughts at a glance.
She linked arms with him, her eyes crinkling with laughter, and before Shi Tou could understand what was going on, she said, "Shi Tou, you're amazing too. You're the future scholar of our family."
Stone was indeed comforted by her. Yes, it was all for the sake of this family, just that the paths they took were different.
Father Su looked around and was very satisfied. He then warned everyone, "Until there is water in the village, this water must not be touched at all. We don't know when it will rain, so everyone should be careful."
"Forget about eating the vegetables at home, let's go dig for wild vegetables together."
When Changsheng first arrived, he was very apprehensive, but after being taken out every day, he became much more cheerful.
At first, things were alright; every household had food, so there wasn't much panic. But after two months, and still no rain, the villagers started to get irritable.
In particular, those families who sold their grain early on started learning to hunt in the mountains, and at first they were able to catch pheasants and rabbits that came out looking for food.
He was very proud of himself: "Let me tell you, even without food, I can still hunt to support myself."
Excessive joy often leads to sorrow. Just a few days later, news came that one of the men had been killed by wolves and his body was never recovered.
His family went to the village chief and asked him to lead everyone to drive away the wolves, but who would dare to go at this time?
Uncle Su politely declined: "The Da Shan family, no one dares to go in the current situation..."
The Da Shan family felt that this was just an excuse from the village chief to avoid taking care of them, so they went to their maternal brothers.
He led a group of people from the neighboring village into the mountains to avenge the man, but they angered a pack of wolves. Of the ten who went, only three returned.
The Su family members, who were far away at home, heard the mournful cries coming from the mountains.
After Su's father went to find out what was going on, he returned with a sigh: "That Da Shan family is truly a sin. They took their own brothers with them, and they all perished. I don't know how she's going to explain herself back home."
That very night, I heard that Da Shan's family had hanged themselves at home, and before they died, they had poisoned everyone else in their family.
Not a single one was left.
Liu Huan merely sighed at the incident, lamenting the unpredictability of life. Her current worry was that she had provoked the wolves, and they might come down to her. So she had to tie Xiao Hong to the yard and take turns guarding her every night.
Two days later, when everyone in the family thought it was safe, they heard a pitiful scream coming from a neighbor's house far away.
Knowing that the wolf was crying,
The family locked the door and hid in the cellar with Xiaohong.
"Quick, everyone, go inside!"
Little Red seemed to know the danger, and didn't make a sound.
The screams and cries didn't stop until morning. Su's father went up to check alone, and only after finding no trace of the wolves did he call everyone to get up.
When they opened the door and went outside, they saw the yard had been dug up again and there was bloodstains. They realized that the situation was more serious than they had imagined.
Walking through the village, one could hear weeping coming from every house, and the strong smell of blood was like a thorn piercing the heart of every member of the Su family.
After asking a few people, I learned that there were probably about ten wolves last night, and many people were preparing to flee.
They ran to Uncle Su's house and saw them packing their things, their eyes filled with fear: "Da Nian, let's run away."
Liu Huan had no memory of this part. She remembered that the original owner grew up in Maocao Village. Could it be that her appearance changed some things?
Father Su was devastated. "Brother, this is our home. If we leave, where can we go?"
The family, who were initially full of confidence, are now starting to feel uncertain, wondering if they really have to leave to survive.
Wolves are pack animals and vengeful; what happened last night will probably happen again...
Liu Huan felt a chill run down her spine.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com