Fortunately, the two men were also frightened and changed course halfway, voluntarily staying far away from the Li family.
The Li family endured another day of arduous hiking. When they reached the foot of a hill, the sun was about to set.
Old Lady Li immediately stopped the donkey cart and told everyone to take a break.
After a day of being exposed to the scorching sun, the Li family members were parched and thirsty.
The boys, all half-grown, looked wilted from the sun, like a few scallions that had lost their water.
Jiayin was constantly being shielded by Tao Hongying, so she didn't get any sun, but she still felt a bit stuffy and listless.
"Mom, I'll go cook."
Zhao Yuru tidied up the things on the donkey cart, handed the water bottle to Tao Hongying, and then took the millet to cook.
Tao Hongying noticed that Jiayin's little mouth was dry, so she fed her some water to moisten her throat.
"Ugh, why is my head so foggy..."
Seeing that it was time to cook again, Wu Cuihua dawdled by the donkey cart, covering her head and groaning.
Old Mrs. Li tapped the edge of the donkey cart with her pipe and asked her expressionlessly.
"Second son's wife, what's wrong now?"
"Mother, I think I have heatstroke. I need to rest for a while..."
Wu Cuihua's voice was weak as she spoke, and she plopped down in the shadow of the donkey cart, deliberately nudging Tao Hongying.
Old Mrs. Li glared at Wu Cuihua. Couldn't she tell if she was really in pain or just pretending?
I was just thinking about being lazy!
But at this moment, they were on their way to escape famine, and they had no extra energy to discipline their daughter-in-law.
She simply snorted coldly, "If you feel unwell, just sit down. Eat half a bowl less rice later to cleanse your intestines, and you'll feel better!"
Wu Cuihua stiffened, but still groaned and refused to get up.
Anyway, she was exhausted, so let Zhao Yuru do whatever she wanted.
"Mother, I'll go help my third sister-in-law."
Tao Hongying had just finished feeding Jiayin when she saw Wu Cuihua's condition. She immediately got up, carried the well-fed Jiayin on her back, and wrapped her in a cloth bag.
After saying that, without waiting for Old Lady Li to stop her, she went over to help Zhao Yuru.
Jiayin was only a few days old, and Tao Hongying was still in her postpartum period, so naturally she wasn't feeling well.
But there were only three daughters-in-law in the family. Wu Cuihua was lazy and made Zhao Yuru serve her all day long, and she had to cook for her. She felt bad about it.
In this day and age, just being alive is a blessing; there's no point in talking about properly recovering after childbirth.
Tao Hongying had a slight lower abdominal pain, but it wasn't unbearable.
She gently lifted Jiayin's little bottom and squatted down by the fire to add firewood.
Zhao Yuru was already used to Wu Cuihua's lazy and gluttonous behavior. When she saw Tao Hongying coming over to help, she wanted to persuade her to go back, but she swallowed the words back.
It's pointless to say anything; once Tao Hongying comes, she definitely won't go back.
She kept working so that her younger siblings could have an easier time.
“Hongying, you sit here. I’ll go over there and see if I can find any wild vegetables.”
Zhao Yuru found a rock for Tao Hongying to sit on, then took a small shovel and went to search for wild vegetables in the dry grass on the hillside.
Jiayin lay on her mother's back, her big, dark, watery eyes looking around.
At this time, the Li family members were all busy with their own affairs, and no one paid attention to them.
So she started playing dirty tricks again.
She first babbled twice in her mother's ear, and Tao Hongying quickly turned to look at her daughter, reached out and hugged her in front of her, untying the small cloth.
"What's wrong, Fu Niu'er? Did you pee?"
While Jiayin was taking advantage of this moment, she seemed to be waving her little hands randomly, but she was actually secretly sprinkling millet from the space into the pot.
As soon as she finished fiddling with the diaper and made sure it was completely dry, Tao Hongying hugged her back into her arms.
Like a little thief who had just done something naughty, Jiayin quickly reached out to touch Tao Hongying's ear, spitting out two saliva bubbles as she made muffled noises.
"I'm hungry again right after eating. Why are you like a little pig?"
Tao Hongying was amused by her daughter, adjusted her position, lifted her clothes, and breastfed her.
After so many days, Jiayin has long since gotten used to breastfeeding.
Without hesitation, it opened its mouth and began to suckle vigorously.
Zhao Yuru didn't find any wild vegetables. When she returned, she saw Tao Hongying breastfeeding, so she helped her to sit under the shade of a tree.
Then I took a long wooden spoon and stirred the bottom of the pot to prevent it from burning.
As a result, when she dipped the long wooden spoon into the pot and stirred it, she was stunned.
How come the porridge made from half a bowl of millet is so thick?
It's almost like cooked rice, and it's more than half a pot full.
Zhao Yuru looked up at Tao Hongying, who was oblivious and still teasing Fu Niu'er, laughing loudly.
Zhao Yuru, full of doubt, cooked the porridge and distributed it to the Li family members before calling them to eat with a strange expression.
"Mother, how much rice did you give Yuru?"
Why is the porridge so thick today? And it's a huge bowlful!
Li Laosan took the bowl, somewhat surprised, but mostly worried.
There's not much food left at home. If we eat this much in one meal, how will we survive in the future?
Grandma Li was the first to take the bowl of rice, and naturally she noticed something strange about the porridge.
After all, it was only half a bowl of millet that she had personally scooped for Zhao Yuru, which was definitely not enough for each member of the Li family to have a large bowl of thick porridge.
"Shut up and eat your food."
Old Mrs. Li suppressed her excitement, lowered her head to drink a sip of porridge, and scolded her son.
Li Laosan was stunned for a moment, and then he vaguely understood what was going on.
He glanced subconsciously at Jiayin, who was lying to the side playing with her fingers, and quickly lowered his head to drink his porridge in large gulps.
Of course, no one else dared to utter a sound...
This meal was a rare feast for the Li family, but it was also the most silent meal of all.
However, they couldn't help but keep their eyes on the chubby Jiayin's face.
Without prior agreement, everyone blamed this strange occurrence on Fu Niu'er.
This must be another blessing for the child; the whole family is benefiting from it once again.
After the meal, Grandma Li held Jiayin in her arms, adoring her and calling her "my darling" over and over again.
“Lucky girl, my little lucky girl.”
You're so tiny, and Grandma is already enjoying life with you!
Grandma is so happy!
Jiayin danced with delight, making the old lady laugh even harder.
Jiaxi and Jia'an jumped around, both wanting to hug their little sister, hoping they might even find some eggs...
In this way, whenever Tao Hongying helped cook, Jiayin would secretly put the rice stored in the small courtyard into the pot.
Despite the extra food Jia Yin provided, the Li family members, who had been traveling a long way, did not lose weight; in fact, the young men had become quite strong.
"Mother! The dock!"
The dock is just ahead!
Half a month later, the Li family finally arrived at the dock.
Li Lao Er went to find out the news and soon ran back, overjoyed to share the good news with his whole family.
The Li family members breathed a sigh of relief, their eyes reddening. After many days of fleeing famine, they finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
As long as a southbound ship can be found, it will take no more than half a month to reach Kyoto.
Everyone quickened their pace.
But when they actually arrived at the dock, the scene they saw was like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads, leaving them completely chilled.
There were boats at the dock, but there were also countless refugees fleeing famine.
Those boats belonged to wealthy families; they were traveling south by waterway to escape the war.
Seeing the disaster victims by the dock, I wished I could stay far away from them, let alone let them take a boat.
"Sir, please, give us a ride."
We're willing to be slaves, just to survive...
Some disaster victims knelt on the dock, begging the wealthy people on the ships, but the rich were so stingy that they wouldn't even glance at them.
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