Chapter 72: Free Porridge
“Da da da…”
Familiar footsteps were heard, and a chubby little kid staggered out from the city gate.
The villagers of Dahuai Village saw it clearly this time.
The little girl has two cute little buns on her forehead and wears a pink blouse and panties. Her round face is under her fluffy bangs, her big black eyes are blinking cutely, her arms and legs are white and tender, and her whole body is clean and spotless, as cute as a fairy doll in a painting.
The villagers of Dahuai Village had seen so many tragedies of people exchanging their own children for food and families being broken up while fleeing famine that their hearts had long been numb.
Suddenly seeing such a cute little baby, they were in a trance for a moment. Are they dreaming?
In a year of disaster with starvation everywhere, how could Heihe Village raise such a plump, fair and tender baby with no trace of sadness in his eyes?
"Sister, run slower, don't fall!"
"Xiaojiu, wait for the brothers!"
Calls came one after another, "dong dong dong", and eight boys ran out behind.
These dolls are some dark, some tall, some strong, and some short, but not one of them is thin.
Each doll is not only strong, but also has a face filled with innocence and happiness that knows nothing of sorrow.
The villagers of Dahuai Village were extremely shocked and could not help but look at the children of their own village.
All of them were emaciated, terrified, barely breathing, and crying...
The contrast between the two is so strong that at this moment, all the villagers in Dahuai Village have only one thought in their minds: if their children can live like the children in Heihe Village, they will die with peace of mind!
The little dumpling ran up to them and stopped, tilting his little head, looking at everyone curiously with his pair of pure and clear big eyes.
Liu Dacheng forced a smile on his worried face, "Little kid, your name is Xiaojiu, right?"
"Yes!" Little Dumpling answered decisively.
"Xiaojiu, it was you who saved Gou Wa just now. Everyone in Dahuai Village wants to thank you!"
"Wood element!"
The little dumpling waved his two little hands, as if it was a trivial matter not worth mentioning.
Such a clever and cute doll would surely amuse countless people on ordinary days, but no one was in the mood at the moment. They hugged their dolls and cried even more sadly.
At this time, the village head came running over, panting, "My little ancestor, how come you run so fast?"
As he said that, he picked up Xiaojiu.
"Zhuang Lizheng..."
Liu Dacheng looked at him anxiously, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the head of the village.
The village head panted and said, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting! I just went back and gathered the whole village for a meeting. All the villagers in Heihe Village are of the same opinion. Now, let's have our response!"
As the head of the village had just finished speaking, a group of men appeared at the city gate, dragging mud bricks on carts.
"This is……"
The villagers of Dahuai Village were confused.
Does this mean that we need to build a wall to separate them further?
Then, women carrying firewood appeared.
"Is this... is this going to set us on fire?"
The people in Dahuai Village cried.
Then, men carrying big pots appeared.
Dahuai Village: "..."
This... can't be the intention of stewing us in an iron pot, right?
The crying in Dahuai Village stopped. Something came to their mind, but they didn't dare to believe it!
Finally, the men appeared carrying several sacks full of food.
"This is Heihe Village's answer!" the village head shouted. "Every household in the village has donated food. From today on, our village has decided to provide free porridge to save lives!"
"Zhuang Lizheng!" Liu Dacheng was so excited that tears streamed down his face. "I wasn't wrong about you! I only wanted you to give the baby a bite to eat, I didn't expect you to do this!"
"Zhuanglizheng, please accept Liu's greetings!"
As Liu Dacheng said this, he was about to kneel down and worship.
"Brother Liu, you can't do that!"
The village head quickly helped Liu Dacheng up.
The villagers of Dahuai Village were ecstatic and knelt down in unison, shouting: "Thank you, Zhuang Lizheng! Thank you, Heihe Village!"
"The kindness of distributing porridge today will be remembered by generations to come in Dahuai Village!"
The villagers of Heihe Village standing on the city wall were in tears.
"Wow, this is so touching..." Black Pot's mother cried and blew her nose, "When this rice is used up, my family will continue to donate..."
Tietou's mother also wiped her tears, "My family is the same! I would rather let my Tietou eat less than save a few more people..."
Tietou: ???
The village head raised his hand and the whole place finally quieted down.
"Everyone, please don't rush to thank us! Heihe Village was lucky this year and escaped the locust plague, and the harvest was not affected. But even if our entire village gave up food and drink and donated all the rice, it would not be able to save all of you! So, if one day, Heihe Village no longer provides porridge, please don't blame us!"
"The village is too serious!" Liu Dacheng said, "We are not the kind of people who don't know what's good for us. The ancestors of Dahuai Village will remember the good deeds of Heihe Village today!"
The villagers also expressed their opinions, "Please rest assured, Mr. Zhuangli, we are not greedy people!"
"We won't just wait for food, we'll also make a living!"
"Great, great!" The village head's eyes were full of admiration. "Brother Liu, every villager in Dahuai Village is sensible and reasonable. They are truly extraordinary!"
Liu Dacheng said, "Hey! That's because the tides wash away the sands. After experiencing droughts, locust plagues, and fleeing famine, those who didn't obey brought their own destruction upon themselves!"
The village head suddenly realized, "So that's how it is! There's a family like this in my village too! They're not far from death!"
"Yeah!" The little dumpling in his arms agreed.
Liu Dacheng patted the little girl's head and looked at the village head with envy. "Is this your granddaughter? She's so adorable! I didn't even see how she saved Gou Wa before!"
The village head said cheerfully, "I wish she were my granddaughter, but unfortunately she isn't. How could a little kid save someone? It was just an accident. Gou Wa is lucky!"
…
The men were quick and efficient and quickly set up the stove.
The men stepped aside and the women came on stage.
There were four stoves and four large iron pots. The flames were burning and the water in the pots was boiling quickly. The women poured the white new rice into the pots and stirred it slowly with a large spoon.
Soon, the rich aroma of porridge penetrated people's noses.
The stomachs of the people in Dahuai Village were rumbling, and the children were staring at the big iron pot with their mouths watering, shouting for food.
The village head held Xiaojiu in his arms and peered into the pot. He said to the women cooking porridge, "That's about it. They're all starving. Let's eat it like this today and simmer it on low heat tomorrow."
"Qiangzi, let everyone line up to get porridge." Liu Dacheng ordered.
The people from Dahuai Village came here to beg for food, so they all brought bowls with them and started lining up with their bowls.
Soon, the four large pots of porridge were divided.
Apart from the slurping of porridge and the sighs of satisfaction, nothing else could be heard in the entire venue.
They couldn't remember how long it had been since they had drunk such sweet and soft white porridge, and they couldn't help but shed tears as they drank.
"The people of Heihe Village are truly kind-hearted people!"
"We are not related, yet you are willing to give us such delicious rice porridge!"
They were extremely grateful that they listened to the old village head.
After drinking the porridge, the villagers finally recovered.
I felt stronger and talked more.
"Zhuanglizheng, we can't eat your rice for free. If the village needs any help, just ask!"
"We'll carry the firewood for cooking porridge tomorrow, and we can cook the porridge ourselves!"
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