On the road to fleeing famine, those who still had extra food would tacitly agree to go hungry for a day, and only take out something to eat when it was dark at night.
Of course, sometimes when Liang Shengdi was too hungry to bear it, she would still find a corner to eat something.
Although Liang Shengdi hitchhiked, she still consciously stayed away from the Qian family at night. On the first day, she didn't find the right seat and sat downwind.
As I was lying there, I smelled the aroma of flour.
But damn... making a fire while fleeing famine! This is really killing me!
That is to say, the places Qian Lai'er's father always chose to stay were remote, with few people around. He looked strong and had a knife in his hand. Even if someone saw them and tried to eat them, no one would pounce on them unless they didn't want to live.
For example, Liang Shengdi.
She resisted the urge to take out the small piece of cake from her bag and eat it. Instead, she poured some water into her mouth, smelled the deadly fragrance, closed her eyes and began to hypnotize herself to sleep.
Come soon~ Come soon~
At least she still had twenty dollars in her pocket! They couldn't deny them entry to the capital, could they? She could at least buy some food with that little money. If all else failed, she could just replace it with sweet potatoes, which would last her a long time.
Come soon~ Come soon~
She really doesn't want to be hungry anymore.
Liang Shengdi borrowed the Qian family's mule cart, which made her journey much easier than before, and she progressed much faster.
Moreover, while sitting on the car board, she could talk to Qian Lai'er and tease her younger brother Yaozu. The little brat had similar behavior to her brother, but probably because no matter how annoying he was, he was someone else's brother and had nothing to do with her, so unexpectedly, they got along quite well.
Qian Lai'er said that when she arrived in the provincial capital, her father would probably find someone for her to marry.
She hoped to marry into a wealthy family, even if it meant being a concubine. She just wanted the man to be young, as it would be difficult to have children.
Liang Shengdi didn't laugh at her. This life goal coincided with her original one.
But after what happened at home, Liang Shengdi knew that most wealthy families would not look down on her, and those who did would definitely be old.
She said that her requirements were not high. When she arrived in the provincial capital, she would like to marry a farmer who had his own land and was debt-free, so that at least she could have enough food to eat.
Two girls of similar age were shamelessly looking forward to the future on the mule cart.
Before her butt fell apart, she finally heard Qian Lai'er's father say that they would probably reach the provincial capital the next day or the day after tomorrow.
Thank goodness it's finally almost over.
It was still summer when she left Shan County, and now it is almost late autumn.
As they approached the provincial capital, the number of disaster victims was obviously increasing. Some of them had set out earlier than Liang Shengdi and the others, and were from Shan County and Shandong. Some... seemed to be coming from another direction.
When Mr. Qian parked the car to rest, he went out to ask around and came back to say that they were all from Ji County.
"Ji County?" Qian Lai'er's mother was usually quite quiet, and would do whatever her husband said, but she could still make some analysis at critical moments.
"There are mountains all the way between their place and the provincial capital. It's even more troublesome than coming from Shandong. When there's a disaster, don't people usually flee to the provincial capital? Why are they coming to the provincial capital too?"
Father Qian's brows were furrowed, his head filled with worry. "...They said the Japanese invaders had invaded their area."
"What!" Qian's mother was shocked. The two children clung to their mother tightly, looking terrified.
Liang Shengdi was also a little panicked. Why were there more devils? They were running around all over the place like rats and cockroaches!
"They fled early, more than half a month ago. At that time, they only knew that the Japanese had reached Fuchun. They felt something was wrong. Jixian and Fuchun were not far apart, so they quickly packed up and ran away.
When the people behind us caught up, they said they had already entered from Fuchun and marched straight into their county town, killing, looting, and burning along the way. They also dropped bombs from planes, and the noise could be heard from the distant mountains.
"Then, shall we..." Mother Qian said tremblingly, "Are we still going to the provincial capital? Didn't they fall a long time ago..."
"..." Father Qian wiped his face, "Go! It's been three years since the fall. Those who should be killed and robbed have already been killed and robbed. They shouldn't do this again.
Besides, my brother is in a church school and is protected by foreigners, so he will be fine."
Liang Shengdi squatted beside them and listened silently. The Qian family went to the provincial capital because they had connections there. She thought it would be better for her to stay in the provincial capital. They were almost there anyway.
Liang Shengdi had good thoughts and felt that her Long March was about to succeed.
It’s a pity that she always seems to lack a little luck, and her beautiful dreams always shatter when they are within reach.
As soon as we arrived at the city gate, we saw it was wide open and people were constantly fleeing from inside, shouting, "The devils are coming! The devils are coming!"
There were not only Japanese soldiers in the city, but also soldiers outside the city who were riding horses and driving cars from a distance, with machine guns mounted on the cars and firing all the way.
People in and outside the city were fleeing for their lives.
The world is so big, but it can't accommodate a few small people like them.
The mule cart jolted violently, and the three half-grown children sitting on it were shaken off. Qian Yaozu cried loudly in pain, and Qian Lai'er covered his mouth with his hand.
"Don't scream! Don't cry! Hurry and follow me!"
Father Qian was still driving the mule cart in front, and Mother Qian came from behind to hold her son's hand.
Liang Shengdi followed silently behind, and tried to get to the side as far away from the city gate as possible.
There were constant screams coming from behind, and I could even feel warm liquid splashing onto my body occasionally.
Liang Shengdi didn't dare to stop and just wanted to run. There were cries and screams all along the way. A few Japanese soldiers, relying on their guns and the unarmed civilians, started robbing and killing people on the road.
The Qian family's mule was stolen.
Qian's mother is also gone.
Originally, it should have been Dad Qian who died. He had a big knife in his hand and chopped at the Japanese when they came to rob the mule. As a result, he was shot and knocked to the ground, and a fight broke out between the two sides.
Qian's mother rushed over to help, but was dragged away by the Japanese soldiers nearby.
Qian Dad, bleeding from a stab wound to his arm, watched helplessly as his wife and mule were taken away, unable to do anything. He even had to move aside to avoid being shot.
Qian Lai'er and Qian Yaozu were covered with their mouths by Liang Shengdi, one on each side, and pressed tightly into the bushes, crying silently. They waited until it got dark, until their legs lost feeling from squatting, and until the wave of Japanese soldiers had disappeared, before they dared to sob out loud.
Father Qian also came over, with a rag wrapped around his arm, which was no one knew what corpse it had been torn from. He was covered in dust and looked completely different from the youthful vigor Liang Shengdi had seen on the first day.
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