Not long after Xu Tian and his sister fell asleep, Old Lady Xu felt uncomfortable in her stomach. After trying to hold it in for a while, she could no longer bear it and had to ask awkwardly where the toilet was.
When Old Lady Xu fainted, she was in a very bad state. Old Lady Feng was afraid that she would not be able to hold on, so she used water from the spiritual spring to make her some sugar water. After drinking a bowl of sugar water, Old Lady Xu, who was about to faint, gradually recovered.
At this time, the deep-seated illness in her body was gradually being discharged. Old Mrs. Xu ran to the toilet several times, looked at herself covered in filth, and refused to go in.
"Sister, I'm so dirty and smelly, I really can't go in!"
Old Lady Feng didn't force it.
"I asked Lotus to boil two large pots of water for you. Come to the pot room later, when the firewood is warm, take a bath. I'll give you some clothes to change into."
Old Mrs. Xu took a shower, changed her clothes, and felt much more relaxed. Xu Tian and his sister slept in the straw pile in the kitchen. She fell into a deep sleep in the straw pile, enjoying the residual warmth from the stove.
While Old Lady Xu and the others were asleep, Old Lady Feng found the village chief.
"Village chief, look at the increasing number of refugees fleeing famine. Although our village doesn't have much food, everyone is in good spirits after eating wild vegetables. They all have rosy complexions and don't look hungry at all. I'm afraid these refugees will think we don't lack food. What if..."
The village chief frowned. He'd been wandering the main road east of the village these past few days, and it was clear that there were more people fleeing famine than before. Many had arrived, begging for water or food. Compared to these refugees, the people of Wangjia Village were incredibly energetic! He'd been secretly pleased with himself; not a single person in Wangjia Village had starved to death or gone out begging.
When Old Lady Feng said this today, he was so frightened that he broke out in a sweat. He still remembered the cannibalism of refugees back then. Starving people are not human; they can do anything!
"What should we do? Send someone to stand guard?" The village chief paced back and forth in the yard.
"You think about it yourself, I'm going back first!" Old Mrs. Feng was dizzy from being led around by him, so she clapped her hands and left.
"Hey, Mrs. Feng, don't be so anxious to leave... Didn't our Jiaojiao... give any hints?"
The village chief winked. Old Lady Feng rolled her eyes at him. "It's not enough to just give you a hint. I have to tell you what to do. Who's the village chief anyway?"
The captain sighed and said, "It doesn't matter who becomes the village chief, as long as nothing happens in Wangjia Village!"
In the afternoon, the village loudspeaker sounded, notifying everyone to go to the village for a meeting.
When the villagers of Wangjia Village heard about the meeting, they were very enthusiastic. After eating, they dragged their benches to the village committee.
Because there were strangers at Old Lady Feng's house, they only cooked cornmeal porridge for dinner. Old Lady Xu and Xu Tian and his sister were not in a good mood to eat a lot at the moment, so they each had a bowl of porridge.
Xu Tian and Xu Tian cherished this bowl of porridge especially. They hadn't had it in a long time. On the road, they relied on meeting kind people. If they did, they would have food. If not, they would go hungry.
The brother and sister finished drinking the porridge, and then licked the edge of the bowl clean bit by bit.
Jiaojiao looked at them with her big, twinkling eyes. Xu Tian put down his bowl and, seeing Jiaojiao across from him, a blush crossed his face. He was already seven or eight years old, and had become somewhat sensible.
Xu Tian had no worries at all. She licked the bowl, patted her belly, and said contentedly, "I'm so full!"
Eating hot corn porridge and sleeping in a warm house, this is the life Xu Tian dreams of.
"Grandma, it's great here. Can we live here forever?" Xu Tian was small and only knew that there was food, fun and a good place to sleep here. It would be great if he could live here forever.
Old Mrs. Xu said awkwardly, "Tiantian, this is Jiaojiao's home. We have to leave in the future. Grandma will take you to find another place."
Xu Tian lowered her head in disappointment. Although she was young, she knew that such a place was hard to find.
Old Lady Feng sighed and said, "There's no need to rush to leave. You can stay here for a few days and make plans after your grandma is well."
Old Mrs. Xu said quickly, "Thank you so much! You saved me and gave us two meals. That's a huge favor! My children and I will never forget your kindness!"
When Old Mrs. Xu woke up from her afternoon nap, she felt much better. She'd slept so soundly, and for some reason, all the aches and pains she'd felt were gone. Hope ignited in the old woman, and she felt like maybe she could actually raise the two little ones.
At this time, the kind-hearted old lady Feng wanted to take them in for a few more days, and old lady Xu was filled with gratitude.
After dinner, Old Lady Feng took Jiaojiao to attend the village meeting to discuss how to deal with the refugees.
At the Wangjia Village meeting, Goudan's father and Dashan's father were appointed as patrol team leaders. Each of them led three people to patrol the village every day. If they encountered a situation that they couldn't resolve, they would ring a gong.
In addition, to prevent refugees from entering the village, Wangjia Village decided to set up two water supply points at the entrance of the village, one in the south and one in the north. People traveling from the south and north who needed water could get it directly at the intersection.
Old Mrs. Xu rested at Old Mrs. Feng's house for two days. She felt embarrassed to stay any longer, so she ignored everyone's attempts to keep her and took Xu Tian and his sister to say goodbye to the Feng family.
"Thank you so much for saving my life. I will pray for you every day in my life, praying that you will be safe, healthy, and live a long life."
Old Lady Xu asked Xu Tian and his sister to kowtow to Old Lady Feng and then took them away. Before leaving, Lianhua made them some black-faced vegetable pancakes. If they ate sparingly, it would be enough for them to survive for a few days.
They were heading south, to the land of fish and rice. The weather there had been good for the past two years, and many refugees had fled there.
***
By the end of April, the people of Wangjia Village, in addition to patrolling the village entrance, had also assigned a team to guard their fields. The reason was simply that the sweet potato seedlings they had planted in their private plots were growing exceptionally lushly. The entire field was a sea of lush green sweet potato leaves.
Because the leaves grew so rapidly, and they worried they would rob the sweet potatoes in the soil of nutrients, the villagers of Wangjia Village went to the fields early every morning to pick the sweet potato leaves. A basketful of them was enough for a meal.
The next day, the sweet potato vines were growing wildly all over the ground. The sweet potato leaves alone were enough to keep the people in Wangjia Village from starving.
The ones on the sandy land, though planted earlier, turned out quite normal. Their leaves and growth rate were no different from those of ordinary sweet potato seedlings.
The people of Wangjia Village have their own standards. The sweet potato seedlings in the sandy land were obtained from the county seed station. The sweet potato seedlings in the private plots were exchanged with Old Lady Feng's family.
Thinking of the peach trees in Old Lady Feng's house, the people in Wangjia Village hope that the sweet potatoes in their fields will grow big and abundant. The sweet potato leaves alone can feed them, and the sweet potatoes underneath will definitely allow them to survive the disaster years.
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