When Gao Shuzhen and her son returned home, they blamed each other.
"Why did you sign that kind of agreement with Si Cheng's father before? You didn't sign any agreement with my biological father either, did you?" Gao Dongxing looked at his mother suspiciously.
“Your father is heartless, much worse than Si Cheng’s father. At least he compensated me with a large sum of money, while your father not only spent all my money but also abandoned you to me and just disappeared. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have suffered so much at the Lian family.” Gao Shuzhen was also furious when she heard Gao Dongxing mention his father.
"Who knows if you're telling the truth or not? You used to tell me that Si Cheng's father kicked you out of the house, without mentioning that the other party had already paid you so much money in one lump sum, and that you even signed such an agreement."
“I didn’t say anything wrong. He really did kick me out of the house. As for that money, it was basically all swindled away by your own father. Besides, I didn’t know that Si Zhengwei and his gang were so despicable as to reveal all these things. If Si Cheng didn’t know these things, he definitely wouldn’t have treated me like this.” Gao Shuzhen shifted all the blame onto others again.
"What do we do now? They don't care about you anymore. You'll have to come with me to work in the fields from now on. Otherwise, with my speed and the current harvest, it won't be enough for us to survive." Gao Dongxing used to have some hope for his adopted older brother Si Cheng, but after signing the agreement today, he was filled with panic.
This family will still have to rely on itself to support itself in the future. My mother is still so young, she will definitely have to work in the fields too, otherwise the drought will become more and more severe, and food will become increasingly scarce in the future.
Gao Shuzhen immediately looked miserable. These past few days, she had been working in the fields with Ma Dongxing, and her back ached every night. Thinking about how she would be living like this in the future, she cursed Si Cheng and his wife in her heart again.
"Dongxing, why don't you find a wife soon? That way, someone can help share the burden." Gao Shuzhen thought about how many weddings had been taking place in Gaojia Village recently, and having more people meant having more help, which seemed like a good deal no matter how you looked at it.
"It's not that simple. With our family's circumstances, who would want to marry us? Besides, do you think adding another person means we won't have to make any sacrifices? And what if we have a child? With our family in this state, how can we afford to raise one?" If Gao Dongxing had ever thought about finding someone to marry before, he has now basically given up on that idea. Given his family's situation, he'd better stay single.
When Yunqi and the others returned to the lakeside, it was already getting dark. The two dared not delay any longer and headed straight back to the village via a side path.
"Qi Bao, come on, I'll carry you." Si Cheng saw that it was getting darker and darker. He was worried that the elderly at home would be concerned, and he also felt sorry for Yun Qi who had followed him all day. So he squatted down in front of her.
Yun Qi first took out a flashlight from his spatial storage, then climbed onto Si Cheng's back.
"Brother Cheng, I'm afraid I'll have to put in a lot of work for you now." Yunqi didn't actually feel tired at all, but she wanted to enjoy the intimacy between the two of them in private.
"You won't get tired carrying me all the time." When no one was around, Si Cheng's sweet words came out without hesitation.
"Brother Cheng, will you blame me for bringing up those things today?" Yunqi asked him softly, leaning on his shoulder. Yunqi knew that by reopening those wounds in front of everyone today, although it hurt Gao Shuzhen, it also exposed the unbearable suffering that Sicheng had endured to everyone.
“Silly Qi Bao, those are all things of the past. Your husband isn’t that fragile. I was thinking of giving them some food to get rid of them if things got really bad, but this is undoubtedly the best way to handle it. At least for the next ten years or so, they won’t have any reason to bother us anymore.” Si Cheng had gone there expecting to be taken advantage of, but he didn’t expect his wife to be so supportive and give him a chance to vent his anger.
"But after handling it this way, life will be even harder for the mother and son in Gaojia Village." Yun Qi could see the contempt in the eyes of those villagers, and he believed that he would not associate with them in the future.
"Don't worry about them. Many of the people in Gaojia Village are her elders. Although she may not like them very much, she won't ostracize them either." Si Cheng understood this better than Yun Qi. Sometimes, the older generation values blood ties more.
Si Cheng originally wanted to carry Yun Qi back to the village as soon as possible, but when he actually picked him up, he slowed down. It was rare for the two of them to be alone together like this. Although there was no moonlight, he still liked the feeling.
Yunqi sensed it the moment he slowed down, so she gently rested her head on his back and lightly drew a heart on his back with her hand.
They didn't exchange many words along the way, enjoying the silence.
While they lived in peace and tranquility, elsewhere, numerous battles erupted over water resources. In this environment of scarce medicinal herbs, even minor injuries could be fatal. Moreover, the scarcity of water caused many to lose their will to survive, leading to a rapid decline in population.
At this time, some people organized a southward migration, but migrating south was now much more difficult. Transportation and routes were completely disrupted, and even wild animals from the mountains began to come down to compete for water. Along the way, people had to guard against not only people but also wild animals. People were dying and disappearing every day, and many people began to lose their humanity in order to continue to survive.
When Si Cheng and his group returned to the village, they told the village chief about the needs of Gaojia Village as they passed by his house.
Yun Mingwu told them what had happened that day.
"Some people from the village came today, wanting to borrow some seeds from us, saying they'd have to return them in a year. To be honest, we really don't want to lend them. It's getting drier and drier everywhere now. Although the army is providing support, we don't know if they'll be able to get them back later." Yun Mingwu's words reflected the opinion of most of the villagers. In fact, most people were unwilling to lend out the seeds.
Si Cheng understood the village's decision from his words; the villagers were kind and honest. Although he knew that lending the money might be a waste, seeing how hard the other side had worked to cultivate the terraced fields, he knew that if they were left to lie fallow due to a lack of seeds, all their previous efforts would be in vain, and they might even go hungry. Despite some resentment, he still lent the money.
"What kind of seeds is the village going to provide?" Si Cheng calculated in his mind the village's harvest over this period.
"In this situation, we definitely need those drought-resistant ones. Fortunately, our village planted peanuts and soybeans this time, so we can share some of the corn and potatoes with them first, and also harvest some sweet potatoes. If all else fails, we can provide them with some sweet potato seedlings." Yun Mingwu was glad that they came earlier, otherwise the village would have been preparing to dry potato slices during this period, and every household was currently making sweet potato wine. Because of the need to lend out these seeds, every household has reduced their sweet potato wine making quota by more than half.
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