Wu Cuihua also jumped out and cursed, "Those ungrateful bastards, they ate our fish last night, and they won't even help us just now."
Li Laosi glared at her coldly, refusing to respond.
The third sister-in-law knew to protect the luggage and his wife and children, while the second sister-in-law would show up whenever there was a benefit, but would hide when there was trouble.
If it weren't for his second brother, he would have loved to slap her so hard she'd be rolling on the floor.
When Old Lady Li and the others rushed back, they were also displeased to hear that the grain had been stolen.
Wu Cuihua jumped around as if she had just done her best to protect the grain.
Old Mrs. Li banged her pipe on the ground.
"Shut your mouth! Everyone in the family knows what kind of person you are! If you dare to say another word, you won't be eating dinner tonight."
"There's no food left, what's the point of eating!"
Wu Cuihua dodged the pipe, muttered something that earned her cold stares from the whole family.
Grandma Li took the swaddling clothes and looked at her little granddaughter's bright eyes, feeling relieved.
"Grandma's lucky girl, were you scared? Grandma's back, we're not afraid."
Jiayin responded with a spit bubble, intending to say something to comfort the old lady, but what came out was just a series of incoherent sounds.
This only made Old Lady Li happier. "So be it, if the food is gone, so be it. As long as the family is safe and sound, that's all that matters. Besides, we still have our little Fu'er. She can share in the good fortune and not go hungry."
Wu Cuihua pouted, wanting to say something to annoy her, but Li Lao Er pulled her aside.
"Go pack your things, we need to get going."
Wu Cuihua rolled her eyes, but didn't dare to say anything more.
Jiayin lay in her mother's arms and set off again on her father's wheelbarrow.
Her brows furrowed as she tried to think of a way to help her family in a way that wasn't too surprising.
Unfortunately, her little brain wasn't fully developed yet; before she could come up with a solution, she fell asleep...
When Jiayin woke up again, it was already noon and time for a rest.
The sun was shining brightly, and Tao Hongying was worried that her daughter would get sunburned, so she asked Jiaxi and Jia'an to pick up some wooden sticks and tie them with strips of cloth.
They covered it with one of Li Laosi's large cloth shirts, making a simple sunshade.
Wu Cuihua would occasionally glance back at Jiayin, muttering something under her breath, which was probably not anything nice.
The grain was stolen, and now there's only half a bag of millet and some sweet potatoes left on the donkey cart.
With such a large family and those few teenagers, this little bit of food won't last long at all.
Old Mrs. Li took two puffs of her pipe, her slightly cloudy eyes filled with sorrow.
"Fourth brother, the millet and sweet potatoes can be stored for now, so keep them. Go up the mountain and see if you can find anything to eat."
Grandma Li turned around and saw that her granddaughter's eyes were still closed and she seemed not to be awake, so she lowered her voice.
Li Laosi readily agreed, slung his bow and arrows over his shoulder, and headed up the mountain.
A few boys wanted to follow, but Li Laosi chased them back.
It's actually harder to hunt with a large group of people. They're all so restless and impatient that they'll scare away any pheasants or rabbits they find.
When Jiayin heard what Grandma Li said, she opened her eyes and looked over, only to see her father's strong back. She was a little worried.
In such a famine year, when there was no food for even people, how could wild animals survive?
Without her by his side, it would be a miracle if her father could hunt anything alive!
Jiayin quickly reached out her little hand and grabbed at Li Laosi, babbling as she tried to call her father back.
Tao Hongying thought Jiayin was hungry, so she quickly hugged her and breastfed her.
Jiayin was suddenly given a mouthful of milk, and her baby instincts made her start to swallow.
With this interruption, Li Laosi was completely gone.
Jiayin sighed silently. Oh well, she'll go with her next time.
Half an hour later, no Jia Yin was seen secretly taking things out of the space. It was obvious that Li Laosi returned empty-handed.
There are many people around here. Not to mention wild game, even the tree bark on the mountain has been almost completely stripped off. There is not a trace of wild fruit or vegetables.
When everyone saw Li Laosi return empty-handed, although they had already prepared themselves mentally, they still felt a little melancholy when they thought about the little food left.
Looking at his younger brother's dark face, which showed a hint of guilt, Li Lao Er raised his hand and gently patted his shoulder, jokingly saying...
"See? You can't do without our Fu Niu'er by your side, can you?"
If you ask me, you should have hugged Fu Niu'er before you set off; maybe you'd have caught a pheasant or a rabbit!
His joke dispelled some of the sorrow that had been lingering around the Li family, and everyone laughed along.
Jiayin agreed with Li Lao Er's words, grinned, and rubbed her two rows of toothless gums together, making babbling sounds in response.
Seeing her like this, Grandma Li laughed even more happily, reaching out to tease her granddaughter by dangling the tobacco pouch hanging from the bottom of her pipe in front of her.
Jiayin was speechless; this action looked just like teasing a puppy.
Despite her thoughts, she resignedly reached out her little hand to grab it, which made Grandma Li and the others laugh again.
"My little sister is not only a lucky girl, but also a source of joy!"
Jia'an grinned so hard his teeth were almost showing, and clapped his hands as he spoke.
Although they didn't find anything good on the mountain, the Li family couldn't afford to go hungry.
Grandma Li grabbed a handful of millet and picked out two small sweet potatoes, handing them to her third daughter-in-law to cook into a porridge.
Zhao Yuru carefully carried the sweet potatoes and millet, put them in a pot, and took them to the river to wash them.
Wu Cuihua craned her neck to look at the half-sack of sweet potatoes, then glanced at the Jiaxi and Jia'an brothers who were milking Jiayin's goat. Her eyes darted around, and it was unclear what she was thinking.
When Zhao Yuru returned with the pot, Wu Cuihua lazily started helping with the chores.
"Hey, is the fourth son's wife producing enough breast milk now?" Wu Cuihua and Zhao Yuru huddled together and asked her in a low voice.
Zhao Yuru was cutting sweet potatoes into small pieces when she heard Wu Cuihua ask her question. She paused and looked at her suspiciously.
Why are you asking this?
Wu Cuihua had never cared much about Tao Hongying, so her sudden question about whether she had enough breast milk seemed to have ulterior motives.
"I was just asking."
Feeling a little guilty, Wu Cuihua wiped her nose and continued to help Zhao Yuru.
A handful of millet, two sweet potatoes, and more than half a pot of water were used, and in the end, everyone was given a bowl of thin sweet potato and millet porridge.
Zhao Yuru, with her sharp eyes, spotted a small clump of green and yellow wild vegetables by the river and added them to the porridge, adding a bit more flavor.
Several grown men and teenagers slurped down a bowl of porridge, but they weren't even half full.
Zhao Yuru drank half a bowl, then calmly poured the rest of her bowl into Li Laosan's bowl.
In this famine-stricken and chaotic world, if their whole family wanted to survive, they still had to rely on these men.
It's okay if she eats less, but her man should eat more.
Li Laosan looked at his wife with a mixture of guilt and heartache, and finally tilted his head back to drink the porridge.
Wu Cuihua seemed not to have noticed Zhao Yuru's actions and finished her porridge in a few gulps.
She glanced furtively at Old Lady Li, and seeing that the old woman's expression was relatively kind, she finally mustered her courage and spoke.
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