"They're selling snowflakes today, and raindrops in a few days. Will you and I be next?"
Thinking about the Han family's behavior over the past six months, the woman felt a lump in her throat and her eyes sting, but she couldn't cry.
How could she expect those inhuman bastards to care about even a shred of family affection?
She thought the children would at most go hungry, but who would have thought they would want to eat people.
"I... Xue'er, don't worry, your father would rather risk his life than let them sell you."
Han Mingyuan's eyes were sinister, his fists were clenched, and his face was turning blue with anger.
“Dad, I just heard Grandma say that he went to find Fourth Uncle. Fourth Uncle is very strong. How can you and Mom stop him? Besides, I can't always be in front of you. Even if we stop him today, what if I get separated from you one day? They will still kidnap me and sell me.”
"Xue'er, what do you mean?" Han Mingyuan trembled all over, his fists pounding hard on his numb legs. He blamed himself for being useless, unable to even protect his wife and children.
"Grandma and the others have already decided to do this, so they certainly won't let us go. If Father really wants to protect us, he'd better think of another way."
Han Luoxue said urgently, "Grandma and the others are very concerned about their image, Dad, don't you think?"
Han Luoxue's words convinced the man completely. His mind raced, and suddenly he pulled a wolf's tooth from the tattered blanket under his pillow, shoved it into Han Luoxue's hand, and said urgently:
"Xue'er, wrap a piece of cloth around your head so they don't recognize you. Then crawl out through the dog hole behind the cowshed and give this to the village head, Han Qiang, so he can help us get justice and distribute it."
Time was of the essence; Grandma and Fourth Uncle could arrive at any moment. Han Luoxue dared not delay, so she wrapped a tattered cloth around her head, grabbed the strange wolf tooth, and ran.
Seeing her daughter run away, the woman's face turned even paler. She opened her mouth, hesitating slightly:
"Brother Yuan, we don't have a single able-bodied person in our family right now. If we split up the family property, how will we survive?"
She knew there was no way to survive in this family, but if she separated them, a group of old, weak, sick, and disabled people, there would be even less way to survive.
Even if the Han family is no better than humans, they might still occasionally get a bowl of soup. But if they go out, they'll go hungry.
"Yunniang, do you want to watch your two daughters be eaten?"
The woman shook her head upon hearing this, and Han Mingyuan sighed:
"Let them go out. Even if they starve to death, our family will stay together. Xue'er and Yu'er, we raised them with our own hands, they're still so young, how can I bear to watch them be eaten?"
"Besides, God won't leave people without a way to survive. This famine won't last forever. If we just hold on, maybe we'll get through it?"
Han Mingyuan sighed, then struck the numb leg again, cursing through gritted teeth:
"That beast, Fourth Brother! If it weren't for him..."
Thinking of the fourth brother, Han Mingyuan wished he could kill that little bastard.
When the fourth son was a child, he once had a high fever at night and was almost dying. His parents said that if he couldn't be cured, then so be it. So the fourth son carried him on his back and ran for two hours through the night to reach the town.
It was the middle of the night, and there were mountains and forests along the way, where wild wolves were said to roam.
His parents gave up because they were afraid of encountering wild wolves, but he was the older brother and didn't want to see his younger brother still breathing but not help him.
When he arrived in town, he had no money. He kowtowed to the doctor until his forehead bled before the doctor agreed to treat him.
Later, he worked at the doctor's shop for over a month to pay for his medicine.
He saved his own life, but this heartless man, fearing he couldn't escape when he encountered wild wolves, actually pushed him down.
After being rescued, they confronted him, but all three of them claimed they had misjudged the situation and that no one had pushed him. His parents also forbade him to say anything more, fearing it would damage the reputation of the Han family.
What a load of rubbish! You bunch of ingrates!
"Brother Yuan..."
Yunniang put the child down, pressed Han Mingyuan's hands down with both of hers, and said urgently:
"Stop talking."
If they hear this, they'll get angry again.
Han Mingyuan shut his mouth in resentment, wondering if Han Qiang still remembered the life-saving grace he had received.
After becoming paralyzed, he came to understand many people better. It's easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to offer charcoal in the snow; and there are even more people who kick you when you're down.
"Han Luoxue! Third brother, has Luoxue returned?"
Before the two had exchanged more than a few words, they heard Old Mrs. Han's loud shouts from outside the cattle pen.
With a loud "bang," the simple door was rudely kicked open, and Old Lady Han, the fourth son Han Mingxin, and the eldest son's daughter Han Juhua stormed in.
Even though the room was a little dark, the obvious handprint on Han Juhua's face was still visible.
I guess he just got beaten up.
"Mother, Fourth Brother, what brings you here? Didn't Luoxue sleep at your place last night? She's gone?"
Han Mingyuan suppressed his anger and asked with a surprised expression.
"She slept at my place. I was planning to take her to the market today. In the blink of an eye, that little girl Luo Xue has disappeared. Hasn't she come back yet?"
Han Mingyuan's cattle pen was very small, just this small space, you could see it clearly even with your eyes closed.
There was indeed no sign of that brat. Old Mrs. Han muttered to herself, "That brat overheard their conversation yesterday. Could she have run away secretly?"
Thinking of this, she turned her head and glared fiercely at Han Juhua again.
Han Juhua shrank back in fright. She was just curious to see what her fourth uncle was eating, but how did she know that that slut Han Luoxue had run away?
"No, Mother, Luo Xue has always been well-behaved. Could something have happened to her?"
Han Mingyuan tried to get up anxiously, but with both of his legs broken, how could he possibly get up?
Grandma Han looked at her paralyzed third son, then at his ghostly wife, and at her little grandson who was barely bigger than a rat, and thought to herself that she was having a bad time.
This third son's family is a burden; they'll bring ruin upon them in the future.
Once we replace the two girls, we can't keep the third son's family either.
It's too hard to survive in this world; she doesn't want to die.
"Mother, let's go out and look for her."
Seeing Han Mingyuan's incompetence, the fourth son of the Han family didn't want to stay a moment longer.
"Let's go, the world is in such chaos, we need to find that girl quickly, before anything happens to her."
Grandma Han was also afraid that the snow would run away, as it would be their food supply for the next few days.
"Mother, fourth brother, I'll have to trouble you. Please make sure to bring Luoxue back safely."
Han Mingyuan deliberately emphasized the words "peace and safety," causing Old Mrs. Han's face to stiffen. She said irritably:
"know."
Having said that, the group didn't want to stay any longer and turned to leave. But before they even stepped out of the dilapidated doorway, a burst of hearty laughter rang out.
"Oh, Fifth Aunt, you're here too. I happen to have something to tell you today."
It was Han Qiang, and he was leading a timid little girl. Old Mrs. Han narrowed her triangular eyes. Why had that brat Han Luoxue gone to find Han Qiang?
What does she want to do?
Don't want to be replaced? Heh, this is a matter for the Han family. She's their grandmother, and even the village head shouldn't interfere in such family matters.
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