The villagers were overjoyed to finally eat cabbage, and they left the freshly picked purslane and bitter greens to dry on the roadside.
After passing through the forest at the foot of the mountain and crossing two more earthen hills, they would reach the territory of Heshun Prefecture. The villagers were all working hard to get there as soon as possible.
As they continued their journey, Lu Qiqi noticed an increasing number of refugees, some of whom had even formed small groups of a dozen or so, staring at their carriages with hostile intent.
Lu Qiqi reminded the villagers to be vigilant and not to secretly eat dry food on the way, so as to avoid attracting refugees to swarm and rob the food.
As noon approached, Lu Qiqi instructed the villagers to take turns eating dry rations in two batches to ensure that someone was always on alert for the refugees' movements and to prevent them from taking advantage of the situation.
After finishing her vegetable pancakes, Lu Qiqi boarded the carriage and checked Liu Tong's injuries. The wounds were healing well, and Zhu Zi changed his master's dressings every day, showing great filial piety and care.
However, Liu Tong hadn't woken up for some reason. It had been three days already, and if he didn't wake up soon, Lu Qiqi wasn't sure if he was alright!
As Lu Qiqi dismounted from the carriage and was about to tell the villagers to continue on their way, she saw a woman with messy hair and tattered clothes secretly take out half a piece of cake from her sleeve. Just as she took a bite, four men surrounded her.
A long-faced man snatched the pancake from her hand. When the woman saw that her pancake had been taken, she started punching and kicking the man while shouting. The man got impatient and pushed her to the ground.
The other three men realized that the long-faced man was grabbing half a piece of bread, so they rushed over to snatch it, and soon the four men were fighting.
The long-faced man was quickly defeated by the three men.
Lu Qiqi frowned, when suddenly she heard the woman shout in terror, "Someone's dead! Someone's dead!"
The refugees, seeing this scene, continued on their way without changing their expressions. People were dying every day in the struggle for food, but it didn't attract their attention at all. Getting on their way was the priority!
The villagers of Lijia Village were shocked to witness a situation where someone was killed over half a piece of bread. They were too horrified to say anything, feeling a mixture of sorrow and relief. They were saddened that half a piece of bread could kill someone, but relieved that they still had food!
An aunt from Lijia Village saw a thin, pale little boy and thought of her grandson, who was about the same age. She felt a pang of pity and wanted to secretly give the little boy half a pancake. Just as she reached out her hand, Lu Qiqi called out, "Let's go!"
The aunt was startled and quickly withdrew her hand. When she looked up, she saw a gaunt refugee staring at her with eyes that looked like they were filled with poison. She was so frightened that she quickly put away the bread and hid in the donkey cart caravan to continue on her way.
The hillside is covered with vines, making it a good hiding place for snakes. Lu Qiqi warned the villagers to watch their step and avoid being bitten by snakes.
After crossing the earthen hill, Lu Qiqi saw two couples ahead with four children, two girls and two boys, standing by the roadside.
It's no wonder Lu Qiqi noticed them; the atmosphere between them was just too strange.
Two ragged women, each holding a girl, wept bitterly. Two haggard, gaunt men talked to each other, occasionally pointing at the girl opposite them.
As Lu Qiqi slowly walked closer, she heard the short man wave his hand and say, "My girl is three years older than your girl. She's eaten for a few more years. It's not worth it."
The tall man said impatiently, "Are you going to change it or not?! If not, I'm finding someone else!"
The short man seemed to consider it for a moment, then made up his mind and made the final decision, "Change!"
At this sound, the two women and the little girl cried even louder.
Lu Qiqi was a little confused. She tightened the reins and moved closer to Song Yanqing, asking, "What are they changing?"
Song Yanqing glanced at Lu Yao in Lu Qiqi's arms and said softly, "Yi Zi."
Exchange children?
Lu Qiqi was somewhat puzzled, when suddenly, an unbelievable thought flashed through her mind.
They exchange their own children to eat them!
Lu Qiqi suddenly looked at Song Yanqing. A hint of reluctance flashed in Song Yanqing's eyes, which she clearly caught. It was indeed a case of exchanging children to eat!
Lu Qiqi turned her head and looked back at the woman and child who had been forcibly separated by two men. She felt a pang of sadness, but there was nothing she could do.
She can't save all the refugees affected by the disaster. She might save one family today, but what about tomorrow? The day after? There are millions of refugees affected by the disaster; she can't possibly take care of them all!
Lu Qiqi gripped the horse's reins tightly and continued on her way.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, Lu Qiqi saw a large patch of wilted vines that looked somewhat familiar.
She skillfully dismounted and handed the reins to Song Yanqing, saying, "You hold the reins, I'll go take a look."
Lu Qiqi walked to the vine and looked closely. The palm-sized, heart-shaped leaves—weren't these yams?!
Lu Qiqi was both happy and sad. She was happy that there were enough yams to feed many refugees, but she was sad because if those two couples had walked for another quarter of an hour, their lives would have been very different.
Lu Qiqi returned to the group and called seven or eight men to take hoes and dig yams. The others stayed put and were not allowed to wander off.
Lu Qiqi told the villagers to dig out its roots along the vines, and that its roots were yams.
It took about 15 minutes and eight people to dig out about 20 kilograms of soil. The soil was dry and hard because it hadn't rained for a long time, making it very difficult to dig.
Many refugees crowded around to watch as Lu Qiqi and her group stopped to dig yams.
They had never seen this before and didn't know if it was edible. Seeing that some refugees had gathered around, Lu Qiqi deliberately shouted loudly, "This yam is a good thing! It can strengthen the spleen and stomach, nourish the kidneys and astringe essence. Most importantly, it can keep people from going hungry. You can eat it by peeling it and boiling it in water, or you can cook it over a fire if you don't have water!"
Upon hearing that what lay beneath the vines was edible, the refugees flocked to the earthen slope and began digging up the wild yams growing underground.
Li Shoucai dug out a yam, held it up and smiled at Lu Qiqi, "Qiqi, this yam is so good, why don't we get more people to dig it? This thing is too hard to dig, the few of us can't dig many."
Lu Qiqi shook her head. Her original intention was not to dig for yams, but to tell the refugees that there were yams to dig and eat here!
Seeing that her goal had been achieved, Lu Qiqi said, "Uncle Shoucai, let's go back. This stuff is hard to dig up. Even if the whole village worked together, we might not be able to dig up much. We should hurry on our way and find a place with fewer refugees to rest properly."
Li Shoucai hesitated. It would be such a waste if he didn't dig up so many yams, otherwise there wouldn't be any left!
But when he saw more and more refugees gathering to dig for yams, he immediately changed his mind.
He feared that if the refugees were to consider looting the food, things would get very serious.
They quickly carried the wild yams they had dug up, called everyone back to the group, and continued on their way.
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