The villagers, ashamed, whispered, "They're just a few little kids; we can't really do anything about it."
Uncle Wang sneered, "Those aren't just a few little kids. Someone's testing us! You gave them food this time because you were soft-hearted, but soon even more will come running to play the victim and ask for food. You won't be able to shake them off later!"
The village chief, carrying his pipe, came out and nodded in response.
“Old Wang is right. Besides, it’s not springtime drought, nor is it snowing heavily. Even if we don’t have food, if we’re diligent, there must be wild vegetables on the mountains around here. If we pick some, we won’t starve! They’re just testing us. Once we open the door, it will never end.”
Li Laosan sighed as he recalled his escape from the famine in the north to the capital.
“What Fourth Uncle and the village chief said is right. On our way to Junyang, we were too soft-hearted once and shared some food with the children. As a result, our food was stolen the next day. If it weren’t for our good luck, Fourth Brother could always hunt some pheasants and rabbits, we probably would have starved to death on the road.”
Perhaps sensing that no one believed him, he led them along the direction the children had run off in, and they quietly crept over.
Sure enough, less than fifty or sixty feet away in the woods, there were several men beating and scolding a child.
"Useless things, you can't even beg for food! If they don't give it to you, won't you cry? Cry your heart out, cry until they soften their hearts, and they'll definitely give it to you."
"Exactly. Even if you can't get food, at least you can see what they're eating, what's in the pot, and how much food they brought."
The children would cry when they were hit, which only made the men angrier.
They were about to speak again when they looked up and saw Li Laosan and the others. They immediately shrank back in fear.
Li Laosan and the others looked cold as they slowly raised the machetes in their hands.
The group turned and ran, followed by crying children; it was utter chaos.
Li Laosan and the others did not give chase, but when they returned, they were all heavy-hearted.
This chaotic world was terrifying. At that time, the news had not yet spread completely, and there were still wild vegetables and leaves on the mountain to fill their stomachs.
But they've already schemed and coveted so much.
In another month, when food will be scarce in the mountains and the barbarians will be coming to hunt us down, then…
Everyone felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on their hearts; no one dared to think about it, nor could they come up with an idea.
Let's go! We must hurry on our way; we can't afford to waste a single moment!
In that instant, everyone reached a consensus without needing to discuss it.
As the night deepened, everyone shared most of a bowl of vegetable porridge, with a few pieces of chicken or duck on top, along with some broth.
The boys, who were already a little over 30, were all beaming with joy as they ate.
Even little kids like Jiayin got to eat rice soaked in meat broth.
The Li family members gathered together, each taking a piece of their own chicken and putting it in a bowl.
Grandma Li shredded the chicken into thin strips, mixed them into the vegetable porridge, and fed them to her granddaughter spoonful by spoonful.
The rest of the group, while drinking their porridge and savoring the bones, also found it delicious.
Jiayin felt a pang of sadness and wanted to refuse, but she knew she couldn't refuse at all.
At this time, she should eat and sleep more so that her family can feel more at ease.
Sure enough, she managed to eat most of the bowl of meat porridge, her little belly bulging with fullness.
The whole family was overjoyed to see this.
"Fu Niu is eating so well and it tastes so good. You should eat like this from now on."
"Exactly, eat more and sleep more, it's good to be as fat as a little pig."
"Our lucky girl is so fortunate; she has no worries about what to eat and isn't picky about food."
Jiayin held onto her grandmother's shoulder and wandered around her, treating it as a form of post-meal exercise.
Occasionally, she would run over to hug her second uncle, kiss her parents, and sit in her third aunt's lap, swinging her little legs a couple of times, acting like a little bundle of joy.
Try your best to bring more comfort and joy to your family during times like these.
Uncle Zhao and the other old men sat together with Doctor Zhang, eating and talking at the same time.
Although we were in the wilderness, the night was dark and the darkness seemed like a giant, man-eating beast, making us feel heavy-hearted.
However, they have been fleeing the famine for four or five days now, and have traveled more than a hundred miles. The journey has been relatively smooth, which has given everyone some confidence.
As long as you're not afraid of hardship, stick together like this, and keep going, you'll reach the Jinsha River in a month.
After dinner, everyone tidied up a bit, and those who were supposed to be on night duty went on duty, while those who were supposed to go to sleep went to sleep.
After walking all day, the blisters on my feet burned painfully, but no one paid any attention to them.
If you prick it, it will hurt even more when you walk tomorrow.
You can only wait for the soles of your feet to develop blisters from the daily trek, and for the flesh to quickly turn into calluses as you move forward, so that blisters will never appear again.
Aunt Wu huddled around the campfire, listening to the deafening snores, carefully mending her worn-out cloth shoes.
Old Mrs. Li walked around for a while and, seeing this, said...
"Tomorrow at noon, I'll look for some suitable straw to weave a few pairs of large straw sandals, even just to wear over cloth shoes. Every little bit helps."
Aunt Wu nodded in agreement, "That's what I think too. We still have more than twenty days to go. If this continues, we won't have enough cloth shoes to replace them all."
After exchanging a few words, Old Lady Li returned to the makeshift shack she had built.
Sure enough, her granddaughter was still awake, sitting there eagerly waiting for her.
Beside them, Jia'an and Jiaxi were already fast asleep, snoring softly, with their granddaughter's blanket covering their bellies.
Who wouldn't love such a sensible granddaughter?
Grandma Li hugged her granddaughter, kissed her forehead, and wrapped her granddaughter in her own coat before the two of them fell asleep.
The next day, they set off again at dawn. Everyone had become familiar with their tasks and their cooperation was getting better and better.
The women and old people did indeed find cattails and weaved straw sandals as they walked.
The other refugees who were following not too far away saw this and followed suit.
In no time, the cattails by the roadside were snatched up even earlier than the wild vegetables.
And so, traveling by day and sleeping by night, everyone hardened their hearts and ignored anyone trying to elicit sympathy or strike up a conversation.
Whenever someone approached, he would raise his machete, and they passed each other peacefully for two days.
Finally, at noon on a sweltering autumn day, the group approached the city gate of Jin'an, the first county they had traveled south to.
From about seven or eight miles away, people could see that the city gate was packed with people, making it impossible to move.
There were still quite a few people lingering on the open ground on both sides of the city gate.
Faint cries and angry shouts drifted in the autumn wind, making one's heart clench.
Confused, the villagers discussed the matter with the Li family and then led everyone to find a place to camp.
After traveling for so many days, it's time to rest for an afternoon and check out the situation ahead.
The village chief stayed behind, while Li Laosi took Jiaren, Jiayi, and a few other villagers to the city gate to take a look.
Even if the others were worried, they still had to cut cattails, dig wild vegetables, gather mountain produce and wild fruits, and even do laundry and cook, keeping them so busy they barely had time to rest.
Jiayin was carried on Tao Hongying's back, and the swaying made her dizzy. Seeing that her father was about to leave, she opened her little hands and called out.
"Father, Father!"
Li Laosi turned around and guessed that his daughter wanted to go with him, so he quickly coaxed her.
"Daughter, things don't seem to be going well over there. Dad will go check on it and be right back."
Jiayin refused and insisted on going with them.
Grandma Li was tending the fire when she called out to her granddaughter, feeling sorry for her.
"With Fu Niu by our side, even if something happens, there are so many people here to protect her!"
Li Laosi had no choice but to agree.
Soon, Jiayin was carried on her father's back and they set off towards the city gate.
As the crowd drew closer, the cries and curses became increasingly clear.
Today's third update is here on time! Hua Hua is shamelessly asking for more updates, five-star reviews, and five-star book reviews again. Yesterday's goal of adding one hundred book reviews was not achieved, so Hua Hua will extend the extra update to tomorrow!
If we can get 220 five-star reviews by noon tomorrow (we currently have 126), I'll post an extra chapter at five o'clock! Five-star reviews are important to me and to this book, but I still don't have enough reviews or five-star ratings. Please give me five-star reviews!
If even 100 out of over a thousand people are willing to click, that's enough. For those of you who are willing to follow the latest chapter, please take a moment to give me a five-star review! Love you all~ Group kisses~
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