Chapter 161 Daddy (Besieged, Depressing, Tragic, Please Choose to Buy or Skip)
When people are extremely hungry, their minds are filled with nothing but the desire for food.
Shen San devoured the food voraciously, not even afraid of being scalded to death.
The three brothers in the shack smiled at each other, and Wang Meiniang shrank back into the corner of the bed, buried her head between her knees, and curled up into a ball.
Chen San did not pay much attention to the child from the Wang family in the same village, except that when she asked for a bowl of meat soup to make friends with her at the beginning and he looked at her twice when she served the soup, other than that, his whole attention was on the bowl of meat soup until another man from this family came back with a bundle in his hands.
Shen San had already finished the big bowl of soup and meat. His stomach was finally full and he felt satisfied and comfortable, a long-lost feeling.
After finishing his meal, he was able to shift his attention away from the only two intertwined thoughts: hunger and meat. Then, he saw the man.
The man squinted at him and asked what was going on with his brothers at home. After listening to a few meaningful words from his brothers, he also laughed, and then, he untied the bundle in front of Shen San.
…
Shen San rushed out of the shack, holding onto someone's wall, and vomited all over the place.
His steps were unsteady, and when he returned home it was already dark. However, the surroundings were not quiet at all, as there were groans of hunger everywhere.
Tianya cried like a kitten: "Mom, I'm hungry, I'm so hungry... I want to eat earth cakes."
Shen Tie: "Mom, I'm hungry too."
Li's voice was also weak, but she still coaxed softly: "Be patient, you won't be hungry when you fall asleep. Don't eat too much earth cakes, or you'll bloat to death. Be obedient, close your eyes and go to sleep. Ah, it will be good if we win the battle, then we can go into the mountains to dig up wild vegetables to eat, and then catch a pheasant, and mother will make pheasant soup for you, ah."
However, this could not comfort the hungry child. Tian Yaer was too young, a three-year-old child. She only felt hungry, very hungry, and cried with hunger. But because she had been hungry for too long, she could not cry very loudly, and could only hum like a cat.
Chen Tie, who had not been crying at first, started crying: "When will we win? I'm so hungry."
Shen San returned to the shack like a wandering soul. He could not hear the crying of his children or the coaxing of his wife. His mind was filled with only the scene he had just seen and the laughter of the four brothers.
His stomach was churning and he was still in extreme fear. However, he couldn't tell anyone about this fear and didn't dare let anyone share it. He curled up in his sleeping spot, afraid that even his trembling would be noticed by Shen Jin, who was lying next to him and comforting Shen Tie.
Shen San was worrying too much. No one had the energy to notice anything. Fighting hunger itself had already consumed all their will and energy.
…
In the dilapidated house of the Xu family in the west of the city, the old servant Xu Shu finally returned home, his steps were so fast that he almost ran.
The courtyard gate was still locked from the outside. He tried to open the door with trembling hands, but failed to get the key into the keyhole after several attempts. Finally, he opened the courtyard gate, fastened the upper and lower bolts, and then quickly went to unlock the main house.
The Xu family members who were busy in the tunnel heard the noise at this moment. They stopped what they were doing and went out to greet them. Before they reached the tunnel entrance with the oil lamp in their hands, Uncle Xu had already come in.
The dim warm light of the oil lamp could not warm Uncle Xu's extremely pale face.
Shopkeeper Xu was startled. He held up the oil lamp and looked Uncle Xu up and down. He was relieved to find that he was not injured. "Uncle Xu, what happened to you? Did we arrange for you to go up to the tower?"
Uncle Xu shook his head: "No, no."
"So what are you doing?"
Uncle Xu grabbed Shopkeeper Xu's arm with such force that it hurt a little. Shopkeeper Xu looked at him in surprise, and it was then that he noticed that Uncle Xu's breathing was unusually heavy.
"Uncle Xu."
Uncle Xu didn't wait for him to finish, he grabbed his arm tightly and said: "Ah Lang, hurry up, there are people in the city who eat human flesh and dead bodies."
After he told what he had seen, Wei Lingzhen, who was behind Manager Xu, started to dry heave, holding onto the wall of the tunnel.
Uncle Xu's assigned job was to carry the wounded, which naturally also included carrying corpses.
On his last trip before returning today, he saw with his own eyes a man who had been replaced from the army that had been drafted to guard the city squatting in front of the pile of corpses that were about to be burned, and he did not leave until a long time later.
He felt something was wrong, and when the man left, he went closer to take a look, only to find that the soldier had just died on the tower. With a terrible intuition, he lifted the man's collar with shaking hands...
Uncle Xu was breathing heavily. "More than one, more than one, more than one family is eating human flesh. We have to leave quickly. We can't stay here for long. Dig a tunnel quickly."
…
The fact that the bodies of those who died in the defense of the city had their flesh cut into large pieces was discovered by a soldier on the morning of the second day. The man who cut the flesh was caught at the scene and was beheaded on the spot by the defending general who came after hearing the news. His head rolled far away, and then his men hung the dismembered bodies in the East Market, rang gongs to inform the people, and then he was executed by slicing.
One of the four brothers from Wang Meiniang's husband's family was the one who was drafted into the army. When he arrived for shift change, he saw this scene and had a very grim look on his face.
Shen San stayed in his shack that day.
Since no one came to conscript men, there was no need to rush to hide.
But he didn't stay there for long as he heard the sound of a gong outside. Before he could hear clearly what the other party was saying, Shen San fled like a frightened bird.
Li and Shen Jin and Shen Yin stuck their heads out to see. When the soldier beating the gong got closer and they heard clearly what the other party was saying, Li felt as if struck by lightning. His ears were buzzing, his teeth were chattering, and his face was as pale as a ghost.
She clutched her clothes and opened her mouth wide to breathe. From her ears to the back of her head, she felt a string so tight that it became painful and seemed to be broken with a bang if she put a little more pressure on it. However, she did not hold her head. Instead, she hugged Shen Jin and Shen Yin, who were shivering beside her, and retreated with her two children, trying to hug the younger Shen Yin and Shen Tian.
They gave up their livelihood in the mountains and hid in the county town, fearing that they would become meat in someone else's pot, but now, the people in the county town appeared first.
Shen Jin, who heard the words of the soldiers outside together with Li, seemed to be frightened. He wanted to ask something, but his teeth were clenched tightly and could not open. Shen Yin had already started crying: "Mother, mother..."
Li hugged the children and was shaking herself. "Xiaojin, Xiaoyin, take good care of Xiaotie and Tianya. Don't leave the shack. Don't take a single step out of it. The people in the city are going crazy. They're starving."
She panted quickly, let go of the child, and turned to look for something.
Kitchen knife, axe, machete, sickle, scissors. He held the axe himself and stuffed the kitchen knife to Shen Jin. He stuffed the others to the other children one by one: "Hold these things at all times. If anyone takes you away, you must shout and chop them with knives or axes. Do you understand?"
She handed the smallest pair of scissors to Tian Yaer, but then she realized that the child was too small and was afraid that she would prick herself, so she took the scissors back in her own hands with red eyes.
There was a lot of commotion outside, so some people went to the East Market to take a look. Soon the word spread that the man who cut human flesh lived in the area around the county school. The news also spread about which village and which family he lived in.
The area around the county school was in a state of panic. Everyone looked at their neighbors in the shacks on both sides and were afraid that anyone would be the next evil ghost, so they became even more wary of each other.
On this day, Li did not dare to leave the shack or leave her children. As for Shen San, who ran away at the slightest noise, she had no hope for him at all.
…
Li doesn't count on Shen San, but Shen San counts on Li.
He had nothing to eat and only ate one meal a day, which was just a thin piece of earth cake the size of a child's palm. He had a full meal last night, but afterwards he probably vomited out all the dirt he had eaten during the day.
I haven't eaten anything today.
I'm hungry. I'm really hungry.
When the gongs stopped ringing everywhere, he groped his way back to the shack. Li was tense, but he relaxed only after he found out that the person who came in was Shen San.
Shen San didn't notice anything wrong and asked Li: "Are you not arresting soldiers?"
Li didn't want to bother with him.
Shen San knew that Li had a problem with him not being a laborer, but he didn't care. He just urged, "Hurry up and get something to eat. I'm so hungry."
Who isn’t hungry?
Perhaps Shen Jin and Shen Yin were frightened by what they heard in the morning and their attention was distracted, so they didn't feel particularly hungry. However, Shen Tie and Shen Tian were so hungry that they were faint. Even so, when they heard the word "eat", the two children opened their eyes one after another and looked at Li.
Li originally wanted to wait until noon before doing it, but now she didn't dare to do it anymore.
If you eat too much soil, you will bloat to death, but if you don't eat for a long time, you will starve to death. She closed her eyes, turned around and started to cook.
The largest portion of today's food is rice straw for building huts, and as little fine mud as possible is used.
The one given to Shen San was a small piece, but the ones given to the children were even smaller, especially Shen Tie and Tian Ya, who were so hungry that they couldn't control themselves. They were only given a small piece made up of three or four copper coins.
"Don't eat in a hurry, eat slowly, eat a little and save it for later when you are hungry."
But it was all in vain, if Li and Shen Jin hadn't reacted quickly and grabbed the biscuits in Shen Tie and Tian Ya's hands, the two children would have been able to stuff them in big mouthfuls.
Shen San ignored the child. He was so hungry that he finished a piece of bread that was not even as big as a child's palm in just a few bites, but it didn't even satisfy one-tenth of his hunger.
There felt like an empty black hole in my stomach that couldn't be filled.
Unable to control himself, Shen San thought of the bowl of meat soup he drank last night.
My stomach still felt uncomfortable and churning, but more than that, I felt hungry and a faint desire...
…
When you are hungry, every moment of time seems to be stretched out extremely long, and your will retreats little by little in this long torment until it collapses.
When Shen San realized it, he had already left the shack and the county school area, and was heading in the direction where Wang Meiniang's family lived as if he was familiar with the route.
Yes, he didn't realize what he was doing until he was halfway there, but his feet were no longer under his control.
About the same time as yesterday, same clay pot, same aroma of meat.
Shen San was sticking outside the shack of the brothers from Wang Meiniang's husband's family again.
The three brothers who were quite talkative yesterday didn't have a smile on their faces today. When they saw Shen San coming, their faces became even colder. They sneered and said sarcastically, "We're giving you a taste. We brothers are here to watch the fun, and we're eating so much that you recognize our home, right?"
Shen San swallowed his saliva and smiled smugly: "Nephew, I'm so hungry, can I just give you some soup?"
The boss of this family, Wang Meiniang's man, stared at Shen San for a long time, then suddenly smiled and nodded: "Okay, I'll even give you a piece of meat."
Chen San's eyes lit up, and he walked into the shack in a familiar manner. However, before he could get close to the pottery cauldron, Wang Meiniang's man pulled him and tied his hands behind his back, pressing him to the floor.
Shen San was not prepared for this and cried out. Wang Meiniang's husband freed his hands and stuffed a piece of cloth into his mouth. He also took out a kitchen knife from somewhere and put it on Shen San's arm, sneering: "Do you think our meat is blown by the wind? You want to eat meat? Fine, I'll cut a piece from you now, slice it thinly, and put it in the pot. It will be cooked in a while."
The third and fourth sons of the family's eyes immediately lit up.
The two brothers put down their bowls and moved over.
That was when he really started to look at which piece of meat on Shen San's body tasted better.
Chen San had never experienced such a scene before. He was so scared that he kept struggling and whimpering. The cloth towel was just stuffed in his mouth casually and was not very tight. He spat it out in a few seconds and begged for mercy. One moment he said he didn't want to eat the meat, the next he said please let me go, and then he called Meiniang, Meiniang, my niece, please plead for me.
Wang Meiniang didn't seem to be very lively. When Shen San called her, she seemed to be completely deaf to his calls. She only twitched her eyelashes, but she didn't move, and she didn't even turn her eyes towards Shen San.
Shen San’s sleeves had been pulled up by the third oldest of the family, and that rough hand even pinched his upper and lower arms.
After kneading him, he was a little disgusted: "You are so skinny, your bones can be used as firewood."
He was about to lift up the hem of Shen San's clothes again. Shen San was frightened to death. In just a short while, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"No, no, I really don't want to eat anymore. I don't want to eat anymore."
Wang Meiniang's husband looked at Wang Meiniang, who was huddled in a corner, and asked, "You are neighbors. At his age, he has children, right?"
Wang Meiniang, who was originally as stiff as a dead log, trembled violently and shook her head.
The man laughed, threw the kitchen knife aside, let go of Shen San, lifted him up, straightened his clothes, patted him, and said with a smile: "Why don't you eat? Are you starving? Or are you eating dirt and bloating yourself to death?"
Then he raised his chin towards his brother and said, "Go, serve him a bowl and pick out two pieces of good meat."
Chen San tried to lean back, trying to get away from Wang Meiniang's man. His nostrils flared, and the only sounds in the shack were the gurgling sound of the clay pot and his heavy, rapid breathing.
A bowl of meat soup was handed to Wang Meiniang's husband. He held it and passed it under Shen San's nose. The steaming hot air hit Shen San's face. The bowl was then stuffed into Shen San's hand: "Eat it. It's delicious. Eat our two meals. Remember to bring us a piece of good meat tomorrow."
Shen San's hands were shaking like a sieve, but the man smiled and patted Shen San's face three times, saying, "Hold it steady, this thing is not easy to get, don't blame me if you spill it."
…
The night fell silent.
Shen San walked back, accompanied by the two men who had "sent" him off, Wang Meiniang's husband and his third son.
The closer they got to the shack, the more Shen San's legs shook.
He stopped at the alley where his shack was built and swallowed, "I, I'm here."
The two men didn't leave either. The eldest brother raised his chin and said, "Go in. We'll watch you go in."
The third brother reminded: "Don't forget tomorrow. If you don't have it, we brothers will target you." He glanced at Shen San meaningfully.
Shen San's breathing became heavy again.
…
In the shack, there was no one crying or shouting for hunger today.
Li took three soybeans, crushed them into crumbs and boiled the soy residue water. She and Shen Jin were crying and feeding the water to Chen Tie and Tian Ya.
Chen San stood at the entrance of the shack, and with the light of a fire from the stone stove, he looked at the two listless little ones. The youngest, Tian Ya, could barely open her eyes. The words of the brothers echoed in his mind again.
"Why think so much? Maybe he'll starve to death tonight. If he doesn't die today, he might still be alive tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Death is death anyway. It won't be in vain if you, as a father, can survive."
"There are many more bandits outside than soldiers in the city. Did we win? When the city is breached, only those with strength can escape."
"As for children, how many did you give birth to while you were still alive?"
…
He just stood there, unable to move.
Li and Shen Jin were all focused on Shen Tie and Tian Ya. Only Shen Yin saw Shen San, with red eyes, and called out weakly, "Dad."
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