"Fourth brother's wife, you're right. Xue'er must be delivered to Butcher Liu."
There's hardly any food left in the house. The entire Han family is starving.
The eldest son's wife had the best ideas. She found out that there were people at the market who exchanged food for laborers. The third son's family didn't even have a single able-bodied worker; they were all a burden. Why don't we go and ask them?
Besides, Han Luoyu is a cripple, so it won't be easy for her to find a husband when she grows up, and the bride price probably won't be much.
Grandma Han was immediately tempted; the cripple's meat was just as plentiful, and it would definitely be fine for someone else to eat it.
They even went to the market to inquire about how to exchange children.
Then I heard that Butcher Liu wanted to exchange grain for one.
He only asked for good-looking women. His price was fifty catties of corn!
In times of famine, this was an astronomical price.
Although a ten-year-old child weighs forty or fifty pounds, it can only last for three or four days, and isn't enough to satisfy their hunger. But corn is different; fifty pounds can last for more than a month if you're careful with your diet.
Grandma Han was immediately tempted, but Butcher Liu had very high requirements.
However, she wasn't worried. The eldest daughter of the third son's family was incredibly beautiful; she had never seen anyone in the entire town with fairer skin.
That girl is definitely like her mother; Butcher Liu will surely take a liking to her. This is practically a gift of food to their family.
She even went to ask about it, and Butcher Liu promised that if the child was particularly beautiful, he would add 30 jin (15 kg) to the weight.
Whether or not to increase food supplies will depend on how the people look.
Grandma Han was very confident. She had already planned to replace Han Luoxue with Butcher Liu and Han Luoyu with another child. This way, the Han family would have meat and grain and could live for a few more months.
She needed to hurry and deliver the child to Butcher Liu; in this world, there weren't many people willing to exchange food for a child. Who would have thought...
"Mother, let's go over there tonight."
Han Laosi was eager to try his hand at it, wishing he could scare them back right now.
"If we let them come back on their own, the village head won't be able to say anything."
Han Datou rubbed his rumbling stomach; he'd been drinking water to fill his stomach for the past few days and was barely able to keep going.
"That's right, by the way, I heard the village head also gave them some food..."
The second son of the Han family was the most gossipy person in the village; nothing in the village, big or small, escaped his ears.
"What?"
Upon hearing the word "grain," the entire family sat up straight, their eyes gleaming with excitement.
"How many?"
Grandma Han jumped up in a hurry and grabbed Han Lao Er's hand. Because she was anxious, she used a lot of force and gripped Han Lao Er's hand so tightly that it turned purple.
"Ouch, Mother, it hurts."
The second son of the Han family tried hard to break free, but although the old lady Han was old, she was still very strong due to her years of hard work.
He, a grown man, couldn't break free, but Old Mrs. Han loosened her grip a little:
"Tell me quickly, how much did you give them?"
"That Han Qiang is really something. Doesn't he know we haven't seen any food in our house for days? Why give it to that good-for-nothing third son instead of us?"
"Mom, I think it should weigh two or three pounds."
"hiss..."
Everyone swallowed hard. Two or three pounds... that much?
Can they eat this for several days?
"Let's bring the grain back together tonight."
Grandma Han swallowed hard a few times, her stomach growling even hungrier. A rumbling sound filled the room, indistinguishable from whose.
"Grandma, I'll wait at the millstone at the village entrance..."
Han Juhua had just made a mistake today, and she was afraid that Old Lady Han would blame her, so she volunteered to step forward.
"I'll go too..."
"I'll go too..."
Han Yuze and the second son's family also shouted out in unison.
"Alright, alright, you are all my good children. Once we get the grain, I'll let you have half a bowl of porridge."
Half a bowl? The four children's eyes lit up even more, and they even licked their lips.
Half a bowl of porridge; they hadn't had porridge in a long time.
Having received the promise, the children hurriedly ran out to intercept the person.
Han Juhua was the oldest and was assigned tasks. Two of them waited near the courtyard, while the other two waited near the stone mill.
Now that only two girls from Han Laosan's family can come out, the four of them will definitely be able to win the fight.
...
The water tank was difficult to clean, but the two sisters were used to farm work and were very quick and efficient.
Yunniang, who was in the room, placed her son next to Han Mingyuan and instructed him:
"Brother Yuan, I'll go pack my things too."
"Um."
Han Mingyuan now hates his legs even more. Now that the family has separated, there is hope for the future. Everyone in the family is busy, but he is the only one who is useless.
"Yunniang, are you scared?"
Looking at this spacious house, Han Mingyuan never expected that he would live here.
"What's there to be afraid of? As long as my family is together, I'm not afraid of anything."
Yunniang is still feeling lingering fear. If it weren't for Xue'er's quick thinking, their whole family would have been separated forever.
"Yes, it's good that we're together."
When Han Luoxue came in carrying the bucket of water, she overheard her parents' conversation. She smiled and replied:
"Father, Mother, what's so scary about ghosts in this world? What's more terrifying than ghosts is the human heart."
Han Luoxue's words left the two of them feeling uneasy.
They've lived most of their lives, yet they're not as insightful as a little girl.
"Xue'er is right. Aren't those people scarier than ghosts?"
"Back then, Father's leg..."
Han Mingyuan touched his legs, recalling the day he was injured, and also the two days after he returned.
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