Both families were dressed in rags and looked emaciated.
The little girl looked to be only seven or eight years old, and she was so thin that she was just skin and bones.
At this moment, the two were crying loudly with fear on their faces, pleading incessantly.
"Little Flower, don't blame your mother for being heartless. If I didn't take you away, our whole family wouldn't be able to survive!"
Although the middle-aged woman was sobbing uncontrollably, she looked at the two even younger children behind her and hardened her heart to pry the girl's hands open.
"Hey, is this the second family to swap babies?"
"It's so pitiful. This girl has been switched; she certainly won't survive tonight."
“They still have children to exchange, but we have no one left, and we don’t know how much longer we can hold on.”
"..."
At this moment, the onlookers began to whisper among themselves, their voices filled with despair.
"I never imagined the situation here was so dire, to the point where people had to resort to cannibalism." The constable couldn't help but shake his head upon hearing this.
Yun Zhourong said in disbelief, "Even tigers don't eat their cubs, how could they do this?"
"There's no food left. If we don't exchange it, people will starve to death, and all that effort will be for nothing."
The constable sighed and said, "They only made the exchange because they couldn't bear to eat their own children."
"No, that child is so young..."
Yun Zhourong's eyes were red, and the thought of them being eaten made her heart ache.
"Alright, there are so many people suffering in the world, can you save them all?"
Seeing this, the constable said with unusual seriousness, "Mind your own business, or if you get targeted, no one can save you."
"But there are more than two right now, Officer, please have mercy and let me save them!" Yun Zhourong pleaded, and stuffed a tael of silver into his hand.
"Please, sir, be lenient." Upon seeing this, Yun Hongcheng stepped forward and bowed, pleading for mercy.
“Father…” Yun Zhourong looked at him in surprise.
Originally, she was worried that her family would think she was too soft-hearted and too willful.
“You did the right thing, child. Although we have limited abilities, saving one person is a great deed.”
Yun Hongcheng patted her head and said supportively, "Besides, I believe that you are kind because you were able to get help from the Snow Demon."
"Father, thank you." Yun Zhourong was deeply moved.
"Oh, whatever you want." Seeing that she insisted, the constable didn't try to persuade her any further.
"Hmph, what nonsense! They're exiled themselves, yet they're still thinking about saving people." Yun Mingzhu said with a mocking expression upon seeing this.
Yun Zhourong ignored her and quickly walked up with Yun Hongcheng.
He addressed the two families, saying, "We are exiled and we are not used to not having maids. We would like to take them with us to serve us. Name your price."
"really!"
Upon hearing this, both families were overjoyed. Immediately, both mothers rushed over and hugged their daughters, bursting into tears, "That's wonderful...my child...that's wonderful..."
This scene brought tears to the eyes of everyone present.
Unless there is absolutely no other choice, how could one bear to send their children to their deaths? They are all flesh and blood of their own flesh and blood!
Finally, the two children were sold to Yun Zhourong for ten taels of silver plus thirty catties of rice each.
This price is already quite high under normal circumstances, let alone in these times when human life is so precious; it was already an extra amount that Yun Zhourong specially gave.
Both families were fully aware of the situation, so they knelt down and kowtowed to Yun Zhourong, and signed a contract stating that the two children would have no further connection with them from then on.
"Little Flower, don't blame your mother. From now on, you must obey Miss's orders and do your best to survive, understand?"
Sun Xiaohua's mother held her hand tightly, tears streaming down her face.
They had all heard how difficult exile was, but compared to starving to death or being exchanged for food, this was the best outcome they could hope for.
"Mother, I know, I will definitely serve Miss well."
Sun Xiaohua nodded while crying, and reached out to wipe the woman's tears. "Xiaohua knows that her mother is doing this for Xiaohua's own good. You and your brother must take good care of yourselves. When Xiaohua grows up and saves enough money to redeem herself, she will come back to find you."
"Wow... Mom's little flower..."
The child's understanding attitude made the woman hug her and burst into tears again.
Finally, under the reluctant gazes of both families, Sun Xiaohua and Wu Dani left with Yun Zhourong.
Both girls were only wearing thin linen clothes, probably because they thought they were going to die, so they took them off.
Later, they were all sold, and I couldn't bear to give the clothes to them.
Fortunately, they hadn't thrown away the paper jackets they wore before, so they gave them to the two little girls to wear.
The two little girls looked satisfied after putting on the clothes. "Thank you, miss, we've never worn such warm clothes before."
"You didn't wear paper jackets at home?" Yun Zhourong asked, puzzled.
Wu Dani shook her head. "No, I usually wear a linen coat. When I go out, the cold wind blows right into my body, it's so cold."
“Paper jackets aren’t cheap either. Their family is so poor they’re considering replacing their child, so they definitely can’t afford one,” Yun Hongcheng said.
“How pitiful…” Yun Zhourong felt a pang of sorrow in her heart.
She had been mistreated in the Earl's mansion, often going hungry, and felt that her life was very difficult. Now, after being exiled, she has finally seen the true suffering of the world.
Compared to others, her life is probably something many poor people can only dream of.
She took a deep breath, then took out a loaf of toast and handed it to the two little girls. “Eat up. You need to be full to have the energy to keep going. You’ll be walking a lot with me, and you’ll be exposed to the cold wind every day. It’ll be very hard.”
Hearing this, the two little girls looked at each other and shook their heads in unison. "We go to work in the fields and collect firewood in the mountains. We walk a lot every day. It's nothing."
"Good, you're all good kids. Don't worry, as long as you follow me, you'll definitely have enough to eat." Yun Zhourong patted their heads affectionately. "Hurry up and eat."
The two little girls then lowered their heads and began to eat.
The moment they tasted it, the incredibly delicious, soft texture with a milky aroma made their eyes widen, and then they began to wolf it down, mouthful after mouthful.
It's delicious, so incredibly delicious!
They had never eaten anything so delicious in their entire lives.
No, I've never even seen one before!
"Don't rush, eat slowly." Yun Zhourong quickly took out water and handed it to them.
But the two little girls couldn't stop eating and didn't even bother to drink water, as if they were afraid someone would take it away from them.
Seeing that made the second wife and her family feel a pang of sadness again.
"Hmph, they treat those two good-for-nothings so well, yet they don't even know how to be filial to their own father. They really are ingrates!"
Seeing this, Qin, who was walking behind, said in a sarcastic tone.
"Who said Ruan Ruan doesn't know how to be filial?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Zhao immediately retorted with a smile, "Ruanruan is now our second wife's child. She always gives me and her father the best things. You people who are not related to her, stop trying to get close to her!"
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