Chapter 163 Don't Look at the Bed (In the City, Choose Your Own)
When he returned to the shack, Shen San was lying with his back to the shack entrance.
Li stood at the entrance of the shack and stared at him. The pain of losing her daughter pierced her heart, and she no longer even thought about why when she looked at Chen San.
Redundant.
She just looked at the back, the neck, the head...
Shen San turned around and met Li's gaze.
My eyes and face were swollen, and my whole body felt numb and dazed.
He looked behind Li and Shen Jin and said, "Didn't find it?"
It seemed that if I looked behind me, I might really see Tian Ya.
Li said nothing and went straight into the shack, sitting down on the corner of the bed. Shen Jin also buried his head. Shen Yin saw that there was no one behind him, and tears fell. She asked in a weak voice: "Brother, where is Tianya?"
Shen Jin wiped her tears and said nothing, and Shen Yin knew that she had not found it. Even the youngest, Chen Tie, had no strength left and lay there with tears in his eyes.
Chen San felt a little embarrassed, feeling uncomfortable because he didn't fit in. He could only try his best to look sad and keep his head down in silence.
Neither Shen Yin nor Shen Tie complained of being hungry today. Li sat there in a daze for a long time without moving, until her body began to go limp and she broke out in a cold sweat. Shen Jin sensed something was wrong and fed her some leftover soybean dregs water from yesterday. Only then did she finally remember to eat.
Shen Jin had already gone to pound the rice straw, filter the soil, and boil the soil. Li recovered a little and went over to take over the work from her son.
She made two large and four small pancakes. After she finished pinching them, she realized something. Big tears fell on the pancakes. Li turned around and pinched two more big ones.
Shen San felt uncomfortable for a moment when he saw the four small earth cakes, and then saw Li pinch two more large ones, and asked, “Why are you making so many today?”
Li just said, "I was distracted."
His voice was very hoarse, and he didn't say another word after saying this.
When distributing the earth cakes, Li handed the three brothers Shen Jin very small pieces. She was a little hesitant when handing them over, and reminded them: "If you can still bear the hunger, don't eat it."
When he handed it to Shen San, it was the same size as usual. Shen San calculated the number of days his family had to eat earth cakes, and hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take it.
Li looked at him and asked, "Aren't you hungry?"
Shen San was naturally hungry. He hadn't eaten anything today and wasn't planning on going out to eat. After all, she was his own daughter, and he wasn't so cruel as to say that. He could just endure it for a day and go there tomorrow.
But he was definitely not as hungry as Li and the others. Li and the others must have been so hungry that they had difficulty talking. He had eaten a lot of good food in the past few days, so he was still full.
But this was unacceptable, Shen San's eyelids trembled, and he said: "Isn't this counting that we have been eating dirt cakes for a few days? That year, when we were fleeing from famine, the family that followed us ate dirt for ten days, and only four of the ten people in the family died."
At this point, he recalled what happened back then, and with a lingering fear, he said, "I'll bear with it for a while."
Li looked at the dirt cake in her hand and said, "Yes, eating dirt will kill you."
So you have lost your conscience and even eat the flesh of a child!
With shaking hands, she took a piece of earth cake for herself and took a bite. She chewed it again and again, and her mouth was full of earth foam mixed with grass fragments. She didn't dare to drink water at this moment. Once the water and mud were mixed in her stomach, that would be the end of it. So she swallowed it dry if she could.
The person who used to be restrained and would only eat half a cake and not a whole one, seemed to be distracted today and finished the earth cake in his hand while eating.
After finishing the meal, he took the small piece that was made at the beginning, looked at it in a daze for a long time, then brought it to his mouth and started eating it in small bites.
Seeing that she was still eating a second piece, Shen San's eyes flickered as he thought she was afraid of starvation but not death, but he didn't try to persuade her.
It was Shen Jin who held Li's hand and said, "Mom, you can't eat too much."
Li paused while eating, then said, "I'm too hungry. I won't have the energy if I don't eat more."
His voice was extremely weak. He had just recovered from a long-term illness, and had been hungry for several months. Coming to the city made things even worse. Today, he was relying on his strong will to find Tian Ya.
Shen San looked at Li and thought of the family that was on the verge of death when they fled from famine. They were so similar.
So she didn't think there was anything wrong with Li's eating style.
Shen Jin's heart trembled when he heard this.
Shen Jin, who was nine years old this year, didn't quite understand what Li told him before returning to the shack. He just knew that his mother would not harm him and he just had to listen.
At this moment, watching her mother put the earthen cakes that she would never eat in the past into her mouth with an expressionless face, and swallowing them slowly bite by bite, and then hearing her say that she would not have the strength if she didn't eat, her heart was inexplicably filled with fear and panic.
A nine-year-old child could not imagine some things due to his age, but Shen Jin felt panicked. He held Li's hand and said, "Mom, even if you are hungry, you can still eat."
Li nodded: "I know, I will just eat this one more piece."
…
The Shen family's shack was dead silent that day, and Shen Lie in the shelter outside the city became more and more anxious during the days of waiting.
Several days had passed, but the person he was waiting for still hadn't shown up. What's more, there was a fierce battle going on inside and outside the city. He had no other choice. The longer the time dragged on, the more uneasy he felt.
It was very dark in the shelter, with only some faint light coming in from the vents disguised as dead tree stumps. In the darkness, he couldn't help but wonder what the current situation in Qiyang County was like, and whether the children trapped inside were still safe. Did Xiao Jin hide the dried meat he gave him and the soybeans that Shopkeeper Xu secretly asked someone pretending to be a peddler to exchange for him?
At this time, Chen Lie didn't even care whether those things were also taken advantage of by Chen San and Li. He just hoped that these two people could at least protect the food and hold on for a little longer with the little ones.
Even now, neither Chen Lie nor Chen Dashan were as sure as they were at the beginning. Would Shopkeeper Xu really think of digging a tunnel? Even if he did, could he really find a suitable and sheltered place to dig?
It’s just that no one wants to give up.
…
In the Xu family tunnel in the west of the city, Wei Lingzhen felt a tightness in his chest and a little dizzy.
"Yuanchang." She grabbed her husband who was digging a tunnel beside her and whispered, "Get out quickly. It's a bit suffocating in here."
Shopkeeper Xu was startled, and quickly put down his hoe, supported Wei Lingzhen, and patted Xu Wenqing: "Get out first."
The family of three retreated out of the tunnel together. Xu Wenhong had just delivered a basket of soil. Now, except for this room that had been dug into a mess, all the other rooms were full of soil.
He saw his father, mother, and brother retreating from the tunnel with bad complexions. His mother's face was especially pale. He asked anxiously, "What happened?"
Shopkeeper Xu said, "The tunnel is too deep, and it's not very breathable inside. Maybe she's been there for too long. Go get your mother a glass of water."
In fact, Shopkeeper Xu knew in his heart that there was another reason for his fear.
They do heavy physical work every day, almost working day and night, and only take turns to rest for one or two hours.
But he ate too little, only two bowls of clear rice soup with not much rice in it a day, and his body could not take it. If he had not been given some bacon or something like that from the Dongfulou warehouse to cut and add a little to the diet, I am afraid that not only his wife, but also his father and son who were in better health would have collapsed by now.
Xu Wenhong handed over a glass of water, and Shopkeeper Xu took it and personally held it to Wei Lingzhen. He watched her drink it bit by bit and her complexion looked a little better, and then he felt relieved.
"Don't go in the back. Sit outside for a while. Wen Qing and Wen Hong and I will go dig."
Wei Lingzhen nodded and said, "The other three are at the back, a few steps away. If you feel uncomfortable, speak up immediately so that we can help you out."
Xu Yuanchang nodded and said, "Don't worry. If things get really bad, the oil lamp will go out. We can dig and transport the soil out by ourselves, so we won't be inside for a long time. Be careful and it should be fine. I estimate that we are very close to the base of the city wall. As long as we can dig out of the city wall, we can find a way to get two bamboo tubes with the core connected, and make two small ventilation holes along the outer wall foundation at night."
Seeing that he had a plan, Wei Lingzhen felt a little relieved and said, "Go ahead, I'll go and make some rice soup for everyone to drink later."
Wei Lingzhen took a rest, and Xu Wenhong took over the hoe she left behind. The father and his two sons were busy in the tunnel. Just as Manager Xu said, they dug for a while and then carried the soil out. It was fine for a while and no one felt shortness of breath.
After digging for more than an hour, when Shopkeeper Xu was carrying soil back to the tunnel, before he was halfway there, Xu Wenhong ran out excitedly and said in a low voice, "Dad, come and see, have we dug to the foundation of the city wall?"
Shopkeeper Xu was overjoyed. He put down the dustpan in his hand and ran inside with his second son. Xu Wenqing was holding an oil lamp, shining it on a spot on the top of the innermost tunnel. Hearing the footsteps, he excitedly waved to Shopkeeper Xu.
The father and his two sons came over together and saw a small piece of stone that had been dug out from the top, and they could indeed see a stone that was different from the soil around it.
Shopkeeper Xu's whole spirit was lifted and he nodded vigorously. This is the foundation of the city wall.
They were already under the city wall. There were many soldiers walking around the wall. None of the father and his two sons dared to speak loudly. Manager Xu almost whispered to his two sons, "Be careful, don't dig into the foundation above, and make this section narrower."
The father and his two sons worked very hard until Uncle Xu opened the lock of the courtyard gate from outside and knocked on the door using his body as a cover. Wei Lingzhen closed the door of the main house, confirmed that it was Uncle Xu who came back, opened the courtyard gate, welcomed the man in and bolted the door again, then called the father and his two sons inside to come out for food.
Uncle Xu took out half a steamed bun from his arms.
He was conscripted to carry the wounded and was given one steamed bun a day. When he was extremely hungry during the day, he would eat half of it. He would bring back the majority of it, tear it into pieces, and soak it in rice soup to dissolve it. Then each of the five bowls of the master and his servants could scoop out some paste, which was better than drinking clear rice soup.
As soon as the three Xu family members came out, Uncle Xu could see joy on their faces. His tired expression brightened and he pointed inside the main house. The three Xu family members all smiled and nodded.
The yard was not a place to talk, so Wei Lingzhen took the half bun and went to the kitchen. Manager Xu then led Uncle Xu back to the tunnel.
Seeing the small exposed piece of wall foundation that was obviously different from the soil layer next to it, Uncle Xu's hands were shaking with excitement: "Can we leave tonight?"
Shopkeeper Xu shook his head and said, "Dig a little further and get out of the city wall. When there are more tree roots, it will be safe to dig a hole through a big tree to cover it."
He then mentioned that he wanted to find a bamboo pole. Uncle Xu had been walking outside every day these days, so he actually knew where one was. After eating, the master and servant asked Wei Lingzhen to bolt the door from the inside, and they locked it from the outside, and went out to get the bamboo pole.
At midnight that day, two small holes appeared at the edge of the outer wall of Qiyang County, which no one would notice. In places where there are snakes and rats, such small holes are very common, and it is not surprising to see many of them on the road.
To be honest, outside the city wall of Qiyang, if the situation is urgent, we can dig a hole and get up at any time regardless of the danger. Everyone felt relieved.
"We have dug more than half a meter out of the city now. Wenqing and I will continue digging. Uncle Xu, you go upstairs and take a rest. Be careful when you go up to the city wall tomorrow. We should be able to leave at night tomorrow."
Nothing must happen at this moment.
Uncle Xu nodded: "I will be careful."
Having said this, he hesitated and did not move forward immediately.
He had not forgotten what he had seen in the morning.
During the day he chose to keep the matter secret, pretending that he had not seen it, and he did not mention it when he got home because he was too busy to take care of himself.
But now they have dug their way outside the city and can leave at night tomorrow. Once they get out, they won't have to starve like they do now. That's why Uncle Xu felt a little conflicted and wavering.
He had seen the four children from the third branch of the Xu family many times, almost every one or two days. But the child named Tian Ya was just lost. He could actually guess the ending without having to listen or ask.
Thinking of the other three children, Uncle Xu hesitated for a moment.
But it was only for a moment.
When Shopkeeper Xu saw that he was still standing, he asked him if he had anything else to do. Uncle Xu shook his head and said, "No, I'm going to take a nap and come back to take over for you later."
Turned around and left.
The current situation is no longer a simple exchange of food for the children. He really despises the behavior of the couple in the third branch of the Shen family, especially Shen San, who is willing to sell his children. Will he be lenient when it comes to cheating others?
At such a dangerous moment, he didn't want Alang to be involved in their family affairs anymore.
As he walked out of the tunnel, Uncle Xu's steps were steady, but his hands were shaking slightly.
The child who was deep in gold and silver was always hiding at the entrance of the mountain road waiting for him, calling him Grandpa Peddler.
If it was just a child, he shouldn't be so cruel, but with parents like that... he has people he wants to protect more.
After walking out of the tunnel, he went to sleep on the floor of the kitchen. He opened the closed door of the main room and found that the moon hanging in the sky was mostly covered by clouds. He didn't know if it was his eyes were blurry, but the clouds and the moon were faintly red.
…
In the shanty area of the county school.
Shen Yin and Shen Tie were lying half asleep outside the shack. Shen Jin, who had been moved outside after falling asleep, was awakened by some noise. When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a piece of hay outside the shack, with Xiao Yin and Xiao Tie on one side.
The moon had just peeked out from behind the clouds, and when I first opened my eyes and looked over there, it was faintly red.
Shen Jin's heart was beating wildly, and he felt an indescribable panic in his heart. He groped his way up, holding onto the entrance of the shack and looking inside in the moonlight.
The shack was very quiet. A person was half-sitting on the edge of the bed. Shen Jin could only smell a very strong fishy sweetness when he breathed. He called out with a trembling voice: "Mom?"
Li had been frozen there for who knows how long, and it was only when she heard the call that she seemed to come back to her senses.
"Don't come in."
The voice was trembling, with a hint of sobbing that was difficult to discern.
She trembled for a while before finally standing up with her body hunched. She wanted to walk towards Shen Jin, but she took one step, two steps, but each step seemed extremely difficult.
Shen Jin finally realized something was wrong and ran over.
Seeing that he had already come in, Li could only say, "Don't look at the bed."
He struggled to get out the last twenty or so soybeans from his body and stuffed them into Shen Jin's pockets. Then he put his hand on his shoulder to support him and said, "Come on, you guys, you have to find another place to hide. It's not safe here."
you?
Shen Jin felt that this was not right. Before he could ask, the next moment Li, who was supported by him, seemed to lose her strength. She staggered and then slid down.
Shen Jin screamed in fear, the soybeans in his hand fell to the ground, and tears rolled down his cheeks: "Mom, Mom."
He was too small and couldn't even support Li. It was not until Li sat on the ground under the moonlight that Shen Jin saw a pair of scissors stuck in her belly. Not only the pair of scissors, but his mother's clothes were also covered in shocking red patches.
"Mother, mother..." Shen Jin was so scared that his hands were shaking. He tried his best to drag Li: "Let's go to the clinic."
Li held him back, shook her head, and panted for a moment before saying, "It's useless, mother is useless, I don't have enough strength."
At this point, she looked at Shen Jin and the direction of the shack entrance, tears rolling down her cheeks: "What are you going to do?"
She was wrong. She should have let Xiao Jin run away and hide in the cave. At least one of them could survive.
The author has something to say:
The chapter title is "Don't Look at the Bed", which should make sense, right? I can't write about the process.
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