Chapter 24: The Jerky Was Stolen
The dilapidated temple was covered with dust. There were several large holes on the roof. The cold moonlight poured through the holes, and the ground in the temple was covered with mottled shadows.
This temple occupies a large area, with three halls in total. In the middle one is a statue of Nuwa. Several pieces of Nuwa's snake body have been lost, revealing the filling inside.
There is a side hall on each side, but there are holes of varying sizes on each side hall.
Old Mrs. Wan, her family and the Zhao family occupied the best position, inside the statue in the middle of the dilapidated temple. Above their heads was probably the most intact roof in the entire dilapidated temple. Even if it rained at night, they would not get wet.
And the most important thing is that it is concealed. This location is right behind the statue of Nuwa, so it is convenient for them to secretly share the dried meat.
Zhou Qiang left a few soldiers to guard the prisoners, and he took a few people to the town to buy some food.
Although he was reluctant to take care of the prisoners' food and drink, he couldn't just watch them starve to death. If he did that, he would be held accountable if the higher-ups investigated.
As soon as Zhou Qiang left, the officers and soldiers found a place to sit down and rest. They had been walking for a whole day and were exhausted.
Now that they can rest, they are too lazy to move.
Old Mrs. Wan took out the bag that Old Fourth Wan was carrying, took out a small bag of dried meat from it, and gave it to Second Sister-in-law Wan.
"Second son's wife, you can give it to everyone."
Mrs. Wan took the dried meat and was about to distribute it to the Zhao family first, but was stopped by Old Mrs. Wan.
"Just take care of our family. I'll prepare food for the general's family."
After hearing this, Wan Ersao quickly turned around and gave the food to the first wife first, then to the second wife, and so on, in that order.
Although Mrs. Wan's eyes lit up when she saw the food, she was seriously injured and had difficulty moving. She had gritted her teeth and persevered through the journey, and now she was lying on the ground like a noodle.
Mrs. Wan Er grabbed a handful of dried meat and handed it to Mrs. Wan Da, who stuffed it all into her mouth.
The dried meat was a bit hard and Mrs. Wan almost choked to death. After being silently warned by Boss Wan, she retracted her neck and continued to lie down.
If it were in the past when she was in good health, she would have definitely tried to snatch the dried meat from Wan Ersao's hand. But now things are different, she can only watch Wan Ersao continue to share the food.
Old Mrs. Wan took out a bag of dried meat wrapped in white cloth from her bag and handed it to Zhao.
"Niece-in-law, this is the food I prepared for your family. Don't mind that it's rough. I've wrapped it in the cleanest cloth."
Zhao hurriedly took it with both hands and was deeply moved. She had just seen the small package in Wan Ersao's hand. Apart from the difference in the fabric used, the amount of food was almost the same.
But there are only five people in their family, and Mrs. Wan's family is three times as large, but there is no difference in the amount of food they eat.
"Aunt, isn't this a bit too much? Please give some to the children. We can't eat so much."
Zhao persuaded in a low voice.
The commotion here has attracted the attention of people outside. They know that Old Lady Wan and her family had collected all the wolf meat last night.
They also knew that there were so many wolves, how could their family kill them all at once? They must have hidden themselves.
Old Lady Wan pushed the meat back and whispered, "Don't push it away, niece-in-law. I don't think there is much meat left. Eat as much as you can. The general is still injured, so it's good for him to nourish himself."
Zhao knew that what Old Lady Wan said was right, so she did not refuse and took the dried meat to share with the whole family.
Although they were extremely hungry, the Zhao family still maintained an elegant posture when eating, which was in stark contrast to the country people's gorging themselves.
Old Mrs. Wan glanced at her children and grandchildren. Which one of them was not like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey?
Only Xiao Fubao, who couldn't eat the dried meat, fed her the only remaining egg.
Old Mrs. Wan took out another bag of dried meat and handed it to Second Sister Wan, saying, "Share these too. Even if you don't eat them, who knows who will end up with them later."
Wan Ersao had just finished feeding little Fubao, and hurriedly took the dried meat and distributed it out.
It seems that each person gets a small amount of dried meat, just two handfuls, but it is very filling and can help to keep you full.
After the Wan family ate two handfuls of dried meat, the burning feeling in their hearts gradually disappeared, and they gradually regained some strength.
Old Mrs. Wan glanced outside secretly and saw Wan Jinzhe limping up to the officers and soldiers and whispering something to them.
The officers and soldiers looked in the direction of Old Lady Wan and others from time to time.
Old Mrs. Wan acted decisively and distributed the dried meat in the bag and stuffed some into the bags of everyone in the Wan family.
The Zhao family only had one bag, and Old Lady Wan stuffed three packages of dried meat into it, and hid most of the dried meat inside the statue. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
At this time, several officers and soldiers had stood up and walked towards Mrs. Wan's family.
Old Mrs. Wan hurriedly urged everyone to stuff the dried meat into their mouths or hide it in their sleeves.
"Old woman, hand over your bag to me!" the soldiers shouted at Old Lady Wan in a stern voice.
Just as Wan Xingmo was about to stand up to protect Old Lady Wan, he was pushed down hard by Old Lady Wan.
She stood up tremblingly, hugged the bag tightly in her arms, and had a flattering smile on her face.
"Sir, what do you want this bundle for? It's filled with old, worthless clothes."
The soldier looked impatient and snatched the bag from Old Lady Wan's hand. Old Lady Wan staggered and almost fell. Fortunately, Old Man Wan was quick to support her.
"Mom, are you okay?" Wan Laoer glanced at the soldiers angrily, then hurriedly pulled Wan Laotai behind him and blocked her with his body.
The officer held the bundle with one hand and roughly untied the knot with the other.
With a "crash", the things in the bundle lost their restraints and immediately scattered all over the ground.
Wan Jinzhe was also joining in the fun behind the officers and soldiers. At this moment, he noticed several packages of dried meat on the ground.
"Sir, that's dried meat. How dare they hide food!" Wan Jinzhe shouted, fell to the ground, and started to pull the small bag wrapped in dried meat.
"Get out of here, who told you to do that?"
The soldier kicked Wan Jinzhe, causing him to roll on the ground and fall on his back in the dust.
The soldier then bent down and picked up the bulging package on the ground, which still exuded an enticing aroma of barbecue. He weighed it in his hand and a sly sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"You old woman, you're really good at hiding, aren't you? Do you have any more? Hand them all over to me, and don't force me to do anything, or you'll suffer the consequences."
The officer signaled to the others, who then slowly approached Grandma Wan's family from one side.
The children huddled together in fear, trembling as they looked at the ferocious faces of the officers and soldiers.
Little Fubao was so scared that he curled up in Liu's arms, looking at the soldiers timidly.
"Sir, there really is no more. The wolves didn't produce much meat last night. We ate a lot last night, and this is all that's left."
Old Mrs. Wan said nervously behind Old Second Wan.
The officers and soldiers took a look at the bags of the other members of the Wan family, stepped forward and roughly snatched them all away, and shook them open, causing the dried meat wrapped inside to fall to the ground.
The officers and soldiers gathered all the dried meat into their arms, looked at Old Lady Wan coldly, and said, "Old woman, are you dishonest? What are these? It seems that you have lived enough."
As they said this, the soldiers were about to step forward to drag Old Lady Wan out and give her a whip, but Wan Xingmo stood in the way.
The officers and soldiers were a little afraid of Wan Xingmo, especially the sword in his hand. During the day, Zhou Qiang wanted to snatch it away, but after Wan Xingmo gave him a cold glance, he never mentioned the matter again.
In the end, the officers and soldiers had no choice but to say something harsh and left with the dried meat.
Old Mrs. Wan and the rest of the Wan family breathed a sigh of relief. Although they lost a small amount of dried meat, they saved most of their food rations, so it was worth it.
After the officers and soldiers left, Old Lady Wan did not immediately take the dried meat hidden in the statue, but asked everyone to rest quickly.
Wan Laoer said he was going out to relieve himself. The children were frightened and followed Wan Laoer out of the temple to relieve himself.
Several people came to a big tree and urinated in a circle.
After finishing his work, Wan Laoer looked down and saw a plant that looked somewhat similar to a sweet potato.
But the moonlight was dim and he couldn't see clearly.
The officers and soldiers over there were urging them to go back quickly.
Wan Laoer didn't dare to delay and planned to go back first and come back to check at night.
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