Chapter 156
Jiaojiao gave the insect eggs she picked up to Tiedan, but she didn't forget to leave some for Aunt Chen. Aunt Chen also had chickens. Tiedan said that chickens would grow fat after eating insects and lay more eggs. Aunt Chen had also given him eggs to eat before, so the insect eggs had to be shared with Aunt Chen as well.
Jiaojiao ran to Chen's side with a small backpack on her back, tilted the small backpack on her back to show Chen: "Auntie, give it to me. You can use it to feed the chickens."
Knowing that Jiaojiao's family didn't have any chickens, Chen didn't hesitate. She poured the shallow layer of insect eggs from Jiaojiao's small backpack into the basket, then smiled and handed the small backpack to Jiaojiao. "Thank you. Tomorrow when the chickens lay eggs, I'll make you a boiled egg."
"You're welcome." Jiaojiao waved her little hand, her eyes curiously falling on Chen's big belly.
Chen, noticing his gaze, smiled and touched her belly: "Where's this little brother!"
Jiaojiao: "Brother?"
"Hmm." Seeing his curiosity, Chen said, "Do you want to touch it?"
"May I?"
"Just gently."
Hearing this, Jiaojiao cautiously and curiously reached out her hand, and gently touched Chen's belly with her little fleshy hand. As soon as she put it on, she felt the belly under her hand suddenly move. Jiaojiao quickly withdrew her hand, her eyes wide open and she looked frightened, which made Chen laugh happily. The sadness in her heart was relieved a lot. "Brother likes you and is saying hello to you. Do you want to touch it again?"
Jiaojiao covered her hands and shook her head. When she heard her aunt say that her brother liked her, she lowered her head, took out a piece of candy from her pocket and put it into her aunt's hand: "Give it to your brother." After she finished speaking, she happily ran to pick up insect eggs with the small basket on her back.
Chen originally wanted to return it to Jiaojiao, but suddenly she thought of something and gave up the idea. She carefully put the candy in her hand. Her mother-in-law and father-in-law both said that Jiaojiao was the little lucky baby, and that they were blessed to have conceived this child. She was a little skeptical at first, but after her three sisters-in-law and Yulan became pregnant, she believed it completely.
She thought that if she put the candy into the water and had the whole family drink a sip, perhaps they would be able to survive this disaster year safely.
Jiaojiao ran to her father's side, carrying a small backpack and looking up curiously at her father's belly.
Noticing his gaze, Yin Zheng stopped swinging his hoe and lowered his head to meet Jiaojiao's gaze: "What's the matter?"
Jiaojiao nodded, and Yin Zheng squatted down: "What's the matter?"
Just as Jiaojiao was about to say something, Yin Dazhu and Wu appeared out of nowhere and interrupted them.
"Busy?" Mrs. Wu smiled and glanced at Jiaojiao: "Why doesn't this child call for help? I am your grandmother."
Jiaojiao still remembered that these two people had bullied her father. Her little face turned serious and she ran to her father with open arms to protect him behind her.
Yin Dazhu and Wu were a little embarrassed by this and glared at Jiaojiao secretly.
The purpose of their visit this time was to ask Yin Zheng for food or silver. Although the villagers would store a certain amount of food every autumn harvest to eat until the next autumn harvest, this year the autumn harvest was about to be hit by a locust plague, and the food stored in every household could only last for two more months at most.
The family was about to run out of food, and there was no food to buy in the town. In addition, they heard from people in the town that the price of food was very high. Reluctant to spend money to buy food in the county, Yin Dazhu and his wife turned their attention to their second son who had been separated from them.
Although there is still no harvest from Yin Zheng's land, and even if there is a harvest, the two acres of land will not yield much, but doesn't Yin Zheng know how to hunt? Others don't know how much money Yin Zheng can make from hunting, but as his parents, don't they know it?
In the past six months, Yin Dazhu and Wu had already guessed that Yin Zheng must have saved a lot of money, and they had been envious of him. However, they had no excuse before. Now that they have suffered a disaster, Yin Zheng can't just watch them starve to death, right?
Unexpectedly, Yin Zheng looked at them gravely and said directly: "No!"
The two who had not expected Yin Zheng to refuse were stunned for a moment. Yin Dazhu's face fell, and Wu Shi even cursed loudly. Seeing that Yin Zheng did not respond, she sat on the ground and started to rage: "Unfilial son! Unfilial son! I raised you with my own hard work since you were a child, and you raised an unfilial son like you who is ungrateful and ungrateful..."
Jiaojiao, who had been remembering them, saw them yelling at their father again. She gritted her teeth, shook her hands, and was about to rush up to confront them. However, she had only run two steps when Yin Zheng grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up into his arms.
Even though Jiaojiao was held in her father's arms, she still didn't stop. She flapped her short legs and bared her teeth at them fiercely: "Don't bully my daddy!"
Although this wasn't the first time Jiaojiao had protected him, Yin Zheng's heart inevitably softened, and his entire mood brightened. He poked Jiaojiao's chubby face and asked, "Where did you learn how to butt people with your head?"
"I learned it from Youyou." Jiaojiao, whose face was pinched, spoke a little vaguely.
Qin Mianmian, who ran over, touched his butt when he heard this. He had angered Youyou last night and was chased and hit on the butt by Youyou. It still hurts a little now!
Yin Zheng's gloomy gaze relaxed a little. He ignored Wu and Yin Dazhu and turned around and left with Jiaojiao in his arms.
They are his parents. No matter what he says at this time, it will be inappropriate. Ignoring them is the best option.
Aunt Ma couldn't bear to watch this anymore and wanted to step forward to persuade Yin Zheng, but was stopped by Aunt Feng who was standing beside her.
Aunt Feng: "Why are you interfering in their family affairs?"
Ma Da Niang disagreed: "Even if these parents are not good, as a son, you can't really sit back and watch your parents starve to death, right?"
"Mrs. Wu said earlier that she and Yin Dazhu hadn't eaten in almost two days. If they continue to starve, it will be disastrous!"
Aunt Feng looked at Yin Dazhu and Wu with disdain: "Look at how full of energy they are. They don't look like people who are about to starve to death. It's obvious that they are deliberately trying to blackmail Yin."
Ma looked at Wu. Although she was a little darker and thinner, her tantrum was certainly not what someone who hadn't eaten for two days would do. She said awkwardly, "It's a bit exaggerated for parents to ask their son for things, but it's not extortion at all."
Having said that, he no longer had the urge to persuade Yin Zheng.
Come to think of it, Yin Dazhu and Wu have more than one son, Yin Zheng. Why are they like leeches in the mud, sucking the blood of Yin Zheng?
Others who wanted to persuade Yin Zheng were also stopped by their spouses, daughters-in-law or sons.
This resulted in Wu, who was sitting on the ground and throwing a tantrum, and Yin Dazhu, who was cursing at the side, being a little dumbfounded when they saw Yin Zheng really leave.
Originally, they expected that the villagers would try to persuade Yin Zheng, the unfilial son. After a while, for the sake of the village's reputation, the elders would definitely force Yin Zheng to take out food or silver to support them.
You have to know that if an unfilial son appears in a village, it will have a huge impact on the reputation of the entire village.
Chen, who was not far away, rolled her eyes, turned away, and continued to work. They had watched the family division from beginning to end. What Yin Dazhu and his wife had done would chill even the most filial person. Now they were asking for money and food, and they were expecting them to persuade Yin Zheng, using the village's reputation to pressure him into being filial to them. What kind of nonsense were they thinking?
Not to mention that there is a disaster now, food is equivalent to life. Even in normal times, the elders of the clan would not do such a thing. The elders of their Lijia Village are not the old and pedantic ones. Compared with the elders of other villages, they are the most clear-headed and fair. All the villagers respect them from the bottom of their hearts.
Moreover, now that we've suffered a disaster and everyone is short of food, asking the elders to force Yin Zheng, one of the poorest people in the village, to give food to Yin Dazhu and his wife, wouldn't that clearly make Yin Zheng bear a grudge? Who would be so foolish as to do that?
After returning home and having lunch, Jiaojiao and her father lay on the recliner to spend the leisurely afternoon.
After Qin Mianmian came, Yin Zheng also made a small recliner for him. Now there are three recliners in the house, but Jiaojiao always likes to squeeze on one recliner with her father, so his recliner is left empty and occupied by Youyou who follows their example and lies on the recliner.
Jiaojiao, lying in her father's arms, reached out and poked his hard belly. She tilted her fair little face up and asked, "Dad, did Jiaojiao come out of your belly?"
There was undisguised curiosity and anticipation in the soft voice.
Yin Zheng was about to say no, but when he looked down and saw the expectation in Jiaojiao's eyes, the words on his lips could not come out.
Seeing that her father didn't speak, Jiaojiao tilted her head in confusion: "Dad?"
The sunlight fell on Jiaojiao's fair face, illuminating the expectation in Jiaojiao's eyes clearly. Yin Zheng blinked slowly, and nodded stiffly under Jiaojiao's gaze.
The moment he nodded, Jiaojiao's already clear eyes became even brighter, like the sunlight on the snow-capped mountains, like clear glass.
Jiaojiao used her hands and feet to crawl to her father's chest, put her hands on his shoulders, and rubbed her little face against his face lovingly and happily. Her little voice sounded soft and sticky: "Dad!"
"Yeah." Seeing him so happy, the little awkwardness in Yin Zheng's heart disappeared completely. He responded in a low voice, raised his hand and gently patted the little ball in his arms.
"dad!"
"Um."
"dad!"
"Um."
"dad!"
"Yeah." Yin Zheng responded again and again, his fierce face did not show a trace of impatience, and his dark eyes were filled with deep tenderness.
Jiaojiao's little heart was bulging. He buried his head in his father's arms and rubbed it for a while, then curled himself up into a small ball and hid himself in his father's arms.
Jiaojiao was born by my father, she wasn’t picked up!
The afternoon sunlight fell in patches between the trees, spreading lightly through Jiaojiao's hair. Yin Zheng looked down at the little ball sleeping in his arms, and caught a glimpse of the transparent, fine hairs on Jiaojiao's chubby face.
He tried to touch it with his hand, and accidentally poked a hole in Jiaojiao's chubby face.
Yin Zheng, who was a little frozen, moved his eyes and saw that Jiaojiao was not awakened by him, then he moved his fingers away.
After a while, he reached out and gently poked Jiaojiao's other cheek, then retracted his hand, circled the little ball in his arms, and rested his chin on his furry head.
Qin Mianmian, who watched the whole process from the side, shook his head like a little adult. He didn't expect that Uncle Yin would do such a childish thing with such an expressionless and fierce face. Now he didn't find him scary at all.
The breeze rustled through the leaves, the village dogs barked occasionally, the birdsong from the distant mountains came crisply, and Jiaojiao's little belly rose and fell with the sound of shallow breathing.
The days are peaceful and fulfilling.
It took three days, and even the land along the river was thoroughly searched, before the village-wide insect egg eradication activity came to an end.
During this period, Yin Yuanzhi and Yin Youcai returned to the village. After the disaster, it became increasingly difficult to stay in the town, so they had no choice but to return to the village.
After the two came back, Yin Dazhu and his wife came to Yin Zheng to make trouble again, but Yin Zheng maintained his original attitude and ignored them. Seeing this, the old people in the village who were dissatisfied with Yin Zheng because of the Li Ergou incident couldn't help but stand up and persuade Yin Zheng with a look of wanting good for Yin Zheng.
"Family ties are made of flesh and blood. Even if the bones are broken, they are still connected by tendons. How can we say that there is no love left if we separate them? Besides, there are no parents who are not good, and there is no child who would hate his parents."
"You've already raised Jiaojiao, a child who has no blood relationship with you. How can you be so indifferent to your parents?"
"Now that the village has suffered a disaster, children who are able should take better care of their parents."
"If your reputation for being unfilial gets out, it will be even harder for you to find a wife in the future."
Aunt Feng, who was disgusted by these words, spoke up to fight back on Yin Zheng's behalf: "His great aunt, I remember that you and Uncle Genmao have been holding a grudge against Grandma and Father-in-law for over ten years because you were given three acres less of prime land when the family split up. You never visit them during festivals or even just visit them. Why are you trying to persuade this kid Yin not to hold a grudge against his parents?"
"His second aunt, what you said is even more wrong..."
Aunt Feng was one of the most eloquent women in the village, holding her own against three opponents. The crowd was watching with great interest, and the dull atmosphere of the past few days, which had been plagued by disasters, was greatly alleviated. However, the lively atmosphere dissipated completely after the village chief and the people who had gone to the county to buy grain returned, replaced by an increasingly oppressive and dull atmosphere.
There is grain in the county grain store, but the price has increased by more than five times compared to usual.
The village chief was mentally prepared for food prices to rise, but he didn't expect it to rise so much. The money he brought was only enough to buy food for two months at most.
Thinking the price might go up, the village chief gritted his teeth and bought the food. However, most of the villagers who followed him were reluctant to buy. It was simply too expensive. Even with the little money they brought, they couldn't buy enough food for their families for a month. Rather than grit their teeth and buy that little food, they decided to wait a little longer. They were anxious and worried that the government would not ignore ordinary people like them.
In the seventh year of De Zheng, the north suffered from severe drought and locust plague, resulting in the people having no harvest. The court argued about disaster relief for half a month before formulating a series of regulations related to disaster relief. However, before the relief grain left the city, an express delivery from the border checkpoint of 800 miles away broke into the capital.
"Eight hundred miles, rush! Eight hundred miles, rush!"
Yellow dust rolled, the sound of horses' hooves was like thunder, and the post soldiers shouted "800 miles in a hurry" as they galloped by, waking up the mansions near Yonghe Street one after another, and each mansion lit up its candles one by one.
The palace gates were wide open, and the Chongde Hall was as bright as day. The post soldiers dismounted and galloped along, shouting, "The Khitan and Turkic peoples have joined forces to invade our border..."
At midnight, all ministers above the third rank came out of their mansions in a hurry and hurried to Chongde Hall.
In the blink of an eye, another two months passed. As the stored food was eaten up, the famine in the north became more and more severe.
The country had already suffered a disaster, and now war broke out on the border. The price of supplies was soaring that the common people could not afford it even if they spent all their money.
The villagers who had gone to the county with the village chief but did not buy grain were immediately upset. They were anxious and irritated all day long, and soon many blisters appeared on their mouths.
Jiaojiao was a little hesitant while eating pancakes in the yard: "Dad, can Jiaojiao give a small half of the pancake to Tiedan? He is crying because of hunger!"
"No." Yin Zheng stuffed a piece of biscuit into his mouth and spoke slowly and patiently, "If others knew we had food at home, they would come to borrow it. If they couldn't borrow, they would steal it. If they couldn't steal it, they would rob it. So we can't let others know that we don't lack food."
Jiaojiao bit the cake in her hand and nodded, not quite understanding what she was saying.
Yin Zheng looked at Youyou who was standing beside him and said, "Don't take Youyou out for the time being... Forget it, you and Qin Mianmian, don't go out for the time being, just stay by my side."
Yin Zheng had personally experienced how inhumane people could be when they were extremely hungry. It was far beyond the imagination of a normal person.
Although she didn't understand why she couldn't go out, Jiaojiao nodded obediently: "Okay, I won't go out."
Yin Zheng took the unfinished pancake from Jiaojiao's hand and finished it in two bites. Then he took Jiaojiao's small backpack and put it on his back. Meeting Jiaojiao's confused gaze, Yin Zheng picked him up and said, "If we can't give him the pancake, we can go dig some wild vegetable roots for Tiedan."
"Potherb root?"
"Um."
"Is it delicious?" Jiaojiao's eyes were full of curiosity.
“It’s bitter.”
"oh."
There are many people digging wild vegetable roots at the foot of Wushan Mountain. In addition to the foot of Wushan Mountain, there are also many people on Wushan Mountain, but they all dig in the middle and outer areas and dare not go deeper.
Someone went in a few days ago and never came out again. I guess he was eaten by a big tiger or a blind bear.
Yin Zheng, Jiaojiao and Qin Mianmian joined the team digging wild vegetable roots.
Jiaojiao was digging very hard with her small hoe. Qin Mianmian, who had no tools, found a thicker branch to dig.
The locusts had eaten almost all the leaves and bark on the mountain, leaving only some scattered wild vegetables and vegetable roots in the fields. These were the few edible things the locusts could find after passing through.
The villagers had a meal of wild vegetable porridge every day. It was called porridge, but it was so thin that you could see your reflection in it. It was only slightly better than water. In just two months, their cheeks became sunken due to hunger, and the children cried all day long due to hunger.
The fair and tender, plump-looking Jiaojiao and Qin Mianmian seemed a bit out of place among them. The villagers looked at them unconsciously and said to Yin Zheng, "You two little ones are really well-fed. They don't look thin at all."
Yin Zheng, who had overlooked this, glanced at Jiaojiao's chubby face and nodded, "Well, humans can't eat much, so they're easy to raise."
When the villagers thought about it, it was true. Yin Zheng's family didn't have many people, just him and two little kids. The two kids were still young and not old enough to eat their parents out of money. Their combined weight was less than that of an adult, so it really didn't cost much food.
Only after careful consideration did I believe his lies. No matter how young the children were, they had not lost any weight in the past two months, which meant that they were full every meal. In a year of disaster, if you did not carefully conserve food and dared to let the children eat every meal, you must be either stupid or you must not be short of food.
The villagers' eyes fell on Yin Zheng, but Yin Zheng ignored them calmly.
Jiaojiao and her father dug up some wild vegetable roots and secretly gave them to Tiedan.
When they came back, Jiaojiao lay in his father's arms, feeling a little depressed. Tiedan was so thin that he was lying on the bed crying because of hunger when he and his father went there.
After having dinner and digesting the food, Jiaojiao lay on the bed, playing with her little feet, and frowning as she thought, wild vegetables can fill the stomach, it would be great if there were lots of wild vegetables.
After playing enough, Jiaojiao rolled into her father's arms and fell asleep.
Late at night, it started to drizzle in Lijia Village. As the rain fell, some green plants emerged at an abnormal growth rate, stretching their branches and leaves.
Promoting the pre-collected article "The Sickly Male Insect Breaks the Steel Armor with His Bare Hands" also known as "Today I Also Play the Male Insect Well"
What is a male insect?
After going through a calamity, he turned into a demon in the blink of an eye... Oh no, the sword cultivator Li Qing turned into a male insect. At this time, he was sitting at the table with a small notebook, concentrating on studying what a male insect is?
The so-called male insects are weak, arrogant, and have female insects around them. For the time being, the new male insect here, Ernes Li Qing, carries a small notebook with him and does everything recorded in it in a rigid manner, trying his best to play the role of a male insect and wait for the owner of this body to come back.
First of all, he must be weak, especially since the owner of this body was born with a disease in his bones, and is much weaker than other male insects.
The second thing is arrogance. Li Qing, who has always been low-key, feels that this is more difficult than pretending to be sick, but he still suppresses the discomfort in his heart and pretends to be extremely arrogant.
Finally, you have to find a female insect to follow you and take care of you at all times.
But who should I look for?
I heard that there are standards for male insects to choose female insects. Li Qing, who didn't quite understand these standards, was confused for a while, and suddenly an idea came to him. He turned his attention to the female servants who were squeezed dry by the male insects and thrown out.
These female insects have been chosen by other male insects, which means they must meet the male insects' criteria for selecting female insects.
Li Qing, fearing that he would reveal his flaws and be noticed by other Zergs, buried his head in searching among these abandoned female Zergs.
——Double Purity
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