Liang Shengdi immediately put the water bottle into her bag and stepped into the mud a few times, making the originally clean surface of her shoes black.
She also smeared some mud on her face, so she didn't need any clothes. The one she was wearing was a tattered cotton-padded jacket from home. After a year and a half, it was torn into shreds.
It was only because the old man just now had sharp eyes, otherwise anyone who saw her clothes would have shouted "beggar".
The escape route was not through the mountains, so she didn't dare walk alone and just followed the crowd. Although the old, weak, and sick walked slower and not as fast as she did when she was alone in the mountains, she didn't dare to be the first to stand out.
Only when he wanted to eat would he sneak into a corner and stuff himself with bread.
The weather was hot and humid, so the cakes couldn't be kept for too long. Within a few days, a few green or white fluffy flowers bloomed on the crust.
At first, Liang Shengdi would pick off the moldy part and then nibble on it, but later on, she just pretended not to see it.
Why scrape it off? Isn't that rice flour cake stuck underneath? It's a waste if I scrape any of it off! Drinking it with water is better than starving to death.
She no longer had to worry about her shoes being "too good" and attracting attention, because they would have holes worn out after just half a month of walking, and after another half a month, the heels would also be broken.
But when she went to bed at night, she would hold her bag tightly and would be woken up by the slightest movement. The long-term lack of sleep, coupled with the fact that she ate less and less as time went by, made her become like a walking corpse when she was traveling during the day.
Liang Shengdi finally understood why those fleeing famine could only walk a few miles a day.
In fact, there are still many mountain roads along the way. At the beginning, she even went into the mountains to find something to eat.
It turned out that everyone thought the same way, and there were just as many people on the mountain as at the foot of the mountain, so I gave up.
After finally arriving at Shunjiang, the county magistrate sent men with guns to block the entrance and refused to let us in.
Outside the city gate sat a crowd of people, all so hungry that their eyes were blurry and they could not walk.
There were people who went out to negotiate with the county head on behalf of the group, and asked to go in, but they were all refused. There were also people standing at the door shouting on behalf of the county government.
"Your demands! Our county government knows! The plight of our fellow Shan County people! Shunjiang County is also very sympathetic! Our county magistrate even went to the provincial capital in person to help the people of Shan County seek justice!
Last month, Chairman Huang of the provincial government issued an order severely punishing officials who colluded with profiteers to smuggle and aid the enemy, and allocated a batch of grain for disaster relief! Shan County should have received the grain by now and is ready to open up the porridge distribution! Everyone, hurry back and get some porridge!
Liang Shengdi: ...Damn it, she's already come this far, and you're asking her to go back? You're just teasing her!
The shouting continued, "It's not easy in Shan County! It's not easy for us in Shunjiang County either! You are suffering from drought! We are suffering from floods! At the turn of spring and summer! Shunjiang just had a flood! Now the epidemic in the city is not completely over yet! Not only is there a shortage of food! There is also a shortage of medicine!
If you really want to go in, I won’t be responsible for your life or death!
Liang Shengdi: ...She really wanted to curse, but she didn’t know how.
Disaster relief, disaster relief, but I haven’t seen a single grain of rice!
Famine plus epidemic, this thing even has stacking buffs?!
For the poor people, contracting an epidemic was no different from dying.
Those who could come here all wanted to survive. When they heard that there was still an epidemic inside, they hurriedly packed up and prepared to leave, either returning to Shan County to get porridge or heading towards the provincial capital.
Liang Shengdi secretly stuffed half a palm-sized piece of bread into her mouth. There was only half a piece of bread left in her bag. She had only eaten half a palm-sized piece every day recently, and the rest had to be swallowed by drinking water.
She was so hungry that she decided to sit down and rest for a while before leaving.
I found a big rock in the corner, sat down with my back against the rock, and took a sip of water when I heard a conversation coming from behind the rock.
"Then you have to give me both of your daughters!"
"Why? You only have one son, why do you want me to give you two?"
"That's my son! He'll carry on the family line!"
"It's almost in the pot, how can it still have half as much meat as the girl?"
…
Liang Shengdi didn't listen any further, but ran away quickly with her water bottle in her arms. She felt vaguely uncomfortable in her stomach, and she didn't know if it was because the cakes she had eaten in the past two days had little flowers on them.
Let’s go further and visit the provincial capital. It is said that the officials in the provincial capital are of a higher rank. Maybe we can really get some relief porridge.
As Liang Shengdi walked, she finally got on a mule cart. Although the mule was so thin that only bones were left, in those days, a family that could still keep a mule alive was considered wealthy.
The driver was a couple. The man was holding a big sword. Liang Shengdi thought it was about the same size as the one Guan Gong held when she watched plays as a child.
On the cart at the back were tables, chairs, benches, pots, pans, quilts and even a spinning wheel. At the end of the cart sat their son and daughter. The girl looked about the same age as Liang Shengdi, while the boy... looked much younger than Liang Shengdi's unfortunate brother, probably only five or six years old.
Liang Shengdi really couldn't walk anymore. Thinking that she still had a dozen copper coins from selling furniture, which could not buy food anyway, she simply gave them to the couple driving the mule cart in front and said that she would sit in the back for a while. If the mule could not pull anymore, she would get off.
The man looked at her, a dirty little girl who didn't pose any danger, so he took the money and let her sit in the back.
"Just sit with my daughter and me. You won't have to lie down even if you're carrying these people. We're going to the capital too. You can get off when we get there."
Liang Shengdi thanked him profusely and sat down on the board at the back, giving a very sunny smile to the little girl who was hugging her brother beside her.
It's just a little dirty and not very nice.
"Thank you family!"
The boy ignored her and just looked at Liang Shengdi with a pout and an unfriendly expression, holding a small piece of cake tightly in his hand. From the crumbs on his thumb, Liang Shengdi concluded that it was a rice cake.
It’s great that we can still eat rice cakes in this situation.
The girl hugged her brother and smiled timidly at her. "It's okay. My dad told you to sit, so you can sit."
"Hey, are you also fleeing from Shan County to the capital? I haven't seen your family along the way."
"We...we are from Shunjiang County."
Shunjiang? It turns out that people from Shunjiang County are also fleeing.
"Are you all moving as a family? There's so much stuff."
"Well, Daddy said that we should go to the provincial capital to seek refuge with my uncle. My uncle is capable and can even let my younger brother study in the academy in the provincial capital."
"Yeah! That's amazing. By the way, my name is Liang Shengdi. What's yours?"
"My name is Qian Lai'er."
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