Li clutched the small change from her inner pocket. She had borrowed two taels of silver from her brother, intending to save 200 wen a month for her daughter's medicine. Since the family didn't eat much, the rest would be used for family utilities. Now, after hearing the doctor say the medicine was so expensive, she selfishly wanted to secretly keep it, but subconsciously felt that was wrong.
She took a deep breath and walked to her mother-in-law. She gave her the money she borrowed from her parents' home and told her about the little food she had taken.
Old Mrs. Jiang sighed and patted her hands soothingly, and the wrinkles on her worried face deepened.
"Don't worry, Sanni's medicine can't be interrupted. Tomorrow I'll ask Shihu to go to town and prescribe her half a week's worth of medicine. Don't blame mother. There are so many mouths to feed at home, and we're almost starving. This money must be saved for food. We'll think of a solution later."
"I'll listen to you, mother." Li felt relieved. In fact, people were starving to death these days, and it was really not easy for her mother-in-law to still take care of her daughter.
Liu Yuhan was talking to Liu Yun, a small, eight-year-old boy who was still quite thin, comparable in size to Xiao Wu. He spoke in a very low voice, his hair was dry and thin, and his complexion was an unhealthy grayish-white.
She was very good-looking, having inherited Li's almond-shaped eyes and high nose bridge. Since she rarely went out as a child, she was very shy.
Mrs. Li came over and asked about Liu Yuhan's health. When she learned that she was well, she was very happy for her.
"Auntie, Sanni will be fine, don't worry too much." Mrs. Li touched Liu Yun's head. "Hey, don't worry, Sanni will be fine."
Old Mrs. Jiang asked Mrs. Li to organize the things they brought back and discuss how to use them and what to eat in the evening.
The old couple went to the town to find Liu Shiliu and Yang Nianhua. The couple invited them to dinner, gave them two taels of silver, and packed twenty kilograms of brown rice and thirty kilograms of white flour.
The weather is getting worse these days. Because of the drought in the past two years, the price of grain has risen rapidly.
There is no need to think about white rice and white flour. The price has increased from ten cents to twenty-five cents per catty. The cheapest brown rice has increased from five cents to ten cents per catty. Even coarse grains with 70% bran, which used to be sold at one cent per catty mainly to feed chickens, have now increased to five cents per catty. However, some people are still scrambling to buy them and mix them with brown rice and wild vegetables to cook, which is the so-called eating bran and vegetables.
Even with this, not everyone could afford to eat it. They took wild vegetable roots, grass roots, tree bark, and anything edible home.
If you can only eat one meal a day and stay alive, you are already very lucky.
The water shortage is even more serious this year. Even the wells with abundant water sources are showing signs of drying up.
You can go without food for three days, but you can’t go without water for a day. In such a famine year, it is really difficult for ordinary people! !
The imperial court was busy resisting the Huns in the north and guarding against riots by bandits. How could it care about the lives of ordinary people?
The town had become much more desolate. The wealthy families with carriages and connections had all fled south or to the capital...
Around 5 p.m., scattered sunlight filtered through the trees. Seeing that the group who had gone up the mountain had not yet returned, Old Lady Jiang, Mrs. Li, and the others grew anxious.
When Old Lady Jiang and others came back from the town, Liu Yuhan was still asleep, so Liu took Xiao Si and carried a few water bags into the mountains to fetch water, and met Liu Shinan and others by the way.
After waiting for about another quarter of an hour (fifteen minutes), accompanied by Xiaosi's clear childish voice, a group of people came back, some carrying baskets, some carrying firewood, and some holding things in their hands.
"Grandma, Auntie, and Sister, we are back. Come and see, I found some bird eggs. I am going to leave them for Sisters 1 and 3."
This little guy knew that there was a long-term patient at home, so all the delicious food was given to Liu Yun, and besides, she was sick.
Liu Yuhan looked at the excited Xiaosi and asked him to run slower.
When Xiao Si came in, it was Uncle Liu Shihu. Liu Yuhan called him "Uncle" and he smiled at her. He was a tall man wearing a shabby shorts, with a simple and shy look on his face.
The next person to come in was Liu Shinan. Before she could say anything, Liu Shinan hurriedly put down the things in his hands and the firewood behind him and walked towards her quickly. "Xiaohan, Bodhisattva bless you, I'm so glad you're okay."
Liu Yuhan smiled and said, "Dad, I'm fine. Thank you for your hard work."
"It's not hard, it's not hard. Dad also hunted a pheasant and will make soup for you to nourish yourself in the evening." After saying that, he went to work.
As Liu entered the room, Liu Yang, Liu Guang, Liu Lu, Liu Yao, and Liu Wu behind her all affectionately called her "big sister."
Liu Yuhan looked at them and felt both familiar and unfamiliar.
Liu Yang takes after his father, growing tall at 15. He's been incredibly strong since childhood, a gift he could be said to possess. Often hiking in the mountains with his brother Liu Shihu, his skin is tanned and shiny, and his smile is as simple and shy as his father's.
Liu Guang and his eldest brother Liu Lu are both smart and intelligent. They look like their mother and are very delicate. They love reading. Before, they had time to learn a lot of words from Liu, and memorized the Three Character Classic, Hundred Family Surnames, and Thousand Character Classic.
Before selling herself, Liu must have come from a prominent family, as few women could read in those days. She was also quite strong and knew some martial arts.
Liu was reluctant to say more about the past.
Before she was sold, she had suffered a head injury, and she felt she was missing a crucial part of her memory, but she couldn't recall it. Her family tacitly agreed not to ask any further questions.
Despite their poverty and lack of paper and ink, Liu Guang and Liu Lu persisted in practicing calligraphy on the ground. The 11-year-old Liu Yao was the youngest sister, a rather heroic-looking, diligent and forthright girl, with a touch of Liu's personality.
Liu Yao often followed the original owner with her two younger brothers. If anyone in the village dared to bully them, she would definitely give them a lot of advice and make them think they were autistic.
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