Chapter 165 Follow Your Heart
When Uncle Xu changed his clothes and went out, Shen Jin also followed Xu Wenhong into the main house. He stared blankly at the entrance to the tunnel in the main house.
He was very familiar with underground holes. He had dug many holes in the ground. However, in this county town, there were people and shacks everywhere, so he didn't even have the chance to dig a hole.
Thinking of the city wall he saw on the way back just now, Shen Jin held his breath.
When he was brought back by the Xu family, he knew that he, Xiaoyin and Xiaotie were temporarily out of danger. But when he saw the tunnel in front of him, he realized that not only were they out of danger, they might also be able to leave the county.
He looked at the tunnel entrance excitedly, while Xu Wenhong, who led him in, looked at him curiously.
He was very thin, with sunken cheeks and eyes swollen like peaches. He looked like he was crying miserably. He was a very small child, at least three or four years younger than him, with a small bag on his back and a kitchen knife in his hand. He was staring at the entrance of the tunnel. His eyes, which were so red and swollen that there were almost slits left, could still shine.
This image is quite curious. I don't know who it is and why my father led him directly here. However, he should be trustworthy, so he whispered: "Don't make any noise, and don't speak loudly in this room."
Shen Jin further confirmed his guess and nodded repeatedly.
Shopkeeper Xu and Wei Lingzhen brought in three shallow bowls of salt and sugar water, put one bowl on the table, and called Shen Jin and Xu Wenhong to come over to help.
Shen Jin ran over in a hurry, but only realized what was happening after he ran over. The kitchen knife was still in his hand. He glanced at the shopkeeper Xu and his wife, then carefully put it down and put it aside.
Fortunately, Shen Yin was still conscious. After waking him up, he was fed salt and sugar water. Although he was weak, he was still able to cooperate. He drank it a little at a time at first, and then he became more eager to drink it mouthful by mouthful.
Chen Tie's condition was very bad and it was difficult to wake him up. However, Shen Jin had fed him soybean water by himself last night, so with Wei Lingzhen here, the feeding went relatively smoothly, except for the first five or six spoonfuls that couldn't be poured in as most of it leaked out. Shen Jin was so distressed that he held the bowl under Shen Tie's chin to catch the water.
Fortunately, it was only the first five or six spoonfuls. Gradually, Chen Tie could taste the flavor, and his survival instinct made him swallow it subconsciously.
Wei Lingzhen really felt sad just watching this. She somewhat understood why her husband would bring back three such young children at such a dangerous moment. They would not be able to survive without bringing them back. The youngest one might never wake up again while sleeping.
She thought about the state of the world, and then thought of her children who were now hiding in the mountains, her parents who were living in the Wang family mansion in Shezhou, and the situation of her own family, and her nose felt a little sore.
Xu Wenqing heard some strange noises outside, and saw his younger brother carrying soil out and not coming back for a long time. He was puzzled, and when he went out to check, he found that there were new people in the house, three children at that.
He was a little confused and came over: "Dad, Mom, what is this?"
Shopkeeper Xu continued to feed Shen Yin salt and sugar water, saying, "Your elder brother Shen Lie's cousins, Xiao Jin, Xiao Yin, and Xiao Tie."
Afraid that the three Shen Jin brothers would be sad again, he did not mention the matter of the Shen couple and the youngest daughter Tian Ya.
When Xu Wenqing heard that he was Chen Lie's cousin, he understood.
From the letters sent back home by my second brother and father, everyone in their family knew about Chen Lie and Sang Luo, even knowing that Chen Lie had twin brothers and sisters named Shen An and Shen Ning.
Seeing that the children were not in good condition, he greeted Shen Jin, who was still relatively sober, introduced himself, went to the next door to dump the soil, and continued digging the tunnel.
We can't delay this matter for even a moment.
After each of the two children was fed a small bowl of salt and sugar water, Shen Yinren was obviously better, at least he could open his eyes a little. As for Shen Tie, he was able to swallow, which was a good thing.
Shen Jin looked at his shallow bowl of salt and sugar water, unwilling to drink it, and tried to pass it over to Shen Tie to feed him some more, but was stopped by Wei Lingzhen, who said, "The sugar is not used up yet, you can drink a few more times, you are not much better, drink it, we can't let all three brothers fall down, I'm afraid we won't be able to take care of them then."
Just one sentence made Shen Jin give up. Yes, he couldn't fall down.
Uncle Xu's family is kind-hearted. They saved them for the sake of his eldest brother, so he couldn't bring any more trouble to the Xu family.
Shen Jin nodded, without saying anything, he picked up the bowl and drank the salt and sugar water bit by bit carefully.
After finishing the drink, he was reluctant to give the bowl to Wei Lingzhen to rinse it, and said, "Aunt Xu, can you add some more water to this bowl and shake it? We can drink it later."
That nervousness is because he is afraid of being hungry.
Wei Lingzhen nodded: "Okay, I'll bring a pitcher of water, and if you want more water, just pour it into your bowl yourself."
Shen Jin thanked him repeatedly. Seeing Xu Wenhong also went into the tunnel, he did not dare to just stand there and wanted to go in to help. However, Shopkeeper Xu stopped him and said, "Just take a rest here and keep an eye on your brother."
With such a small body, no matter how much trouble it goes through, it won't be bad enough.
…
Wei Lingzhen went out to get the water jar, and the couple went to the kitchen together. Only then did Manager Xu have the opportunity to tell his wife about the affairs of the third branch of the Shen family.
Shopkeeper Xu said it very tactfully. After Wei Lingzhen understood what Shen San had done, she still inevitably felt sick to her stomach. She looked in the direction of the main house, and then at her husband: "Those children?"
Shopkeeper Xu knew what she was worried about. She was afraid that the children's temperament would be like that of their father, Shen San. He said, "The children are good. Uncle Xu has been to that village a lot. He has inquired and observed them privately and has often come into contact with them. He can still judge their temperament. Moreover, if they were not good, given the relationship between the first and third branches of the Shen family, Shen Lie would not have asked me to take care of them out of personal favor."
At this point, it was inevitable to briefly talk about the relationship between the Shen family's first and third houses. After listening, Wei Lingzhen said, "The people in the Shen family's first and third houses are kind-hearted. They didn't vent their anger on these children."
But if you calculate Chen Lie's age, it makes sense. He was brought up by the family. The two younger ones are drowsy and you can't tell. The older one looked fine when he just touched them. His body may not be that strong. He even wanted to save a bowl of sugar water for his younger brother. He might feel uncomfortable when he just came here and wanted to find work to do.
Wei Lingzhen asked: "Are the children going with us tonight? What about the future?"
Qiyang County was surrounded, so of course they couldn't go to Shezhou, which was closer to the north, so the family actually had nowhere to go.
Shopkeeper Xu pondered for a moment, then sighed and said, "Take them with you first. Go out at night. This exit is far from the city gate, and there is a forest outside. Pay attention to the situation outside before you go out. Hide in the shelter that Chen Lie helped us dig at night. I have hidden a lot of food and salt there. We'll see what happens then. We can decide whether to hide for a few days or find a chance to carry some food and escape to the mountains."
From the moment he bent down and picked up Shen Yin in the shack, Shopkeeper Xu knew that the road ahead would be even more difficult.
The two children were so hungry that they needed to be carefully cared for. They would probably have to be carried on someone's back for several days. It would be fine if they hid in the shelter, but if they wanted to escape to the mountains quickly, with the addition of these two children, the amount of food they could take away would be much less. If they didn't have enough food later, they would have to take the risk of sneaking back to the shelter to get more.
But still saved.
He said to Wei Lingzhen, "Our mother, Wenbo, Wenyin, Yunzheng and Qinghe have been protected by the Shen and Chen families these days so that they can hide safely in the mountains and escape this disaster. Chen Lie asked me to take care of four children, and now there are only these three. If I really don't take care of them, I'm afraid these three children won't survive for more than three days."
He shook his wife's hand and said, "Lingzhen, if we save them, it will be harder for us to go on. But we have shelters and food storage, so we should be safe. If we don't save them, we can go on more easily. But if we don't encounter these fates, it would be fine. But if I see the situation of these children, I'm afraid I won't be at peace in the future if I ignore it."
"Besides, I'm being utilitarian. We have nowhere to go later. We can hide in the shelter temporarily, but it's close to the county town, so we can only hide temporarily. We can't stay there for a long time. My original plan was to hide in the cave where I communicated with Shen Lie. The cave is quite hidden. If Shen Lie and Chen Dashan come out to see if there is any letter, it would be safest for us to follow them if we can meet them."
Taking these children with me can be considered as returning some humanity to Chen Lie.
Although he knew that given their current relationship with the Shen and Chen families, they would have nowhere to stay in the situation outside, and their family had already moved into a shelter, the food sent in was enough for him to take his wife and children with him, not to mention that there was a lot of food stored in the shelter. Even if he didn't save these children, Shen Lie and Chen Dashan would probably agree to take them with them.
But it is still different. He feels guilty about it, and in this lifetime, he probably won't dare to tell Shen Lie the truth that he knew several children were in trouble but did not help them.
Wei Lingzhen had been married to him for sixteen years, so she knew what kind of person her husband was. She smiled and said, "I have no objection. You have a plan for the rest of the road. Saving people will not put our family in too much danger. That's all."
Shopkeeper Xu was very happy to have his wife's understanding. He said, "I will go dig the tunnel. You should pay more attention to the three children. The main thing is their food. I will give them some salt and sugar water later."
Wei Lingzhen nodded: "Don't worry, I know everything."
…
While the Xu family was digging a tunnel at their old house, Uncle Xu also arrived at the city wall. He privately found the soldier in charge and stuffed a heavy gold bracelet into his hand.
The soldier looked down and his eyelids twitched.
Gold bracelet.
He looked at Uncle Xu: "What do you want to ask for?"
Uncle Xu rubbed his waist, called the third branch of the Shen family his relatives, and told them about the tragic death of the couple. He said he wanted to ask the trustee to help send two people to retrieve the bodies and cremate them.
The manager looked at him carefully and said, "Isn't this what you did yourself? You can just quietly find someone to help you and do it. Why do you want me to arrange it for you at this cost?"
Uncle Xu laughed, pinched his waist, and said, "It's not that I'm old, I just can't hold on after working these days. Collecting the bodies is one reason, but the main reason is that my waist hurts too much. I'm afraid I won't be able to react flexibly when I go up to the tower to carry the bodies, so..."
He smiled flatteringly and said, "So I'm asking you to let me rest for two days, okay?"
The manager understood as soon as he heard it. He didn't know whether the waist pain was real or not, but he was really afraid of being cut by the knife and arrow on the city wall.
He weighed the gold bracelet on his hand and put it in his sleeve: "Okay, just two days."
He turned around and asked someone to collect the bodies, and asked Uncle Xu to tell the man where the shack was.
Uncle Xu was familiar with the two men who were called over, as they had all helped carry the wounded and the dead before. He thanked the manager and went to talk to the two laborers.
…
"Only female corpses?"
Uncle Xu nodded, and took out two strings of copper coins from his sleeves that he had brought from home when he changed his clothes. He stuffed one string into each of them, and handed them a piece of cloth that he had prepared earlier, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, young brothers. I only accept female corpses. Please help me collect the ashes after burning them. Just give them to me at the corner of the alley in front."
One of them had worked with Uncle Xu for quite a few days and was quite familiar with him. He was a little surprised and asked, "Isn't he your relative? The other one won't accept him?"
The manager just now did not avoid talking to these common people. In fact, even if they collected corpses, they only collected those who died in battle on the city walls. These soldiers did not care whether there were any deaths in the huts in the city.
When Uncle Xu heard the word "relatives", a mocking look flashed across his face, and he said, "That's a man-eating beast. It can even eat its own daughter. I can't afford such a relative."
Upon hearing this, the two civilians' pupils shrank.
There are people in the city who are so hungry that they have no choice but to eat anything. Although I don't know which family they are, the siege has lasted so long that the smell of meat can occasionally be smelled from the shanty area, so they are not fools.
But apart from the one who was skinned by the general last time, this was the first time they knew exactly who were the people with such shamelessness, and they understood what Uncle Xu meant.
The two civilians are upright people, otherwise they would not be willing to go in and out of the city wall. Isn't it just to earn some money?
It is extremely shameful to treat people like Shen San.
If you don't want to be a human being, you have to be an animal. Then when you die, you deserve to be treated like an animal.
In the slum area, everyone knows what will happen if someone dies and there is no one to collect the body.
"Okay, wait."
Uncle Xu also mentioned that there were some people with bad intentions over there, and asked them to watch out for anyone following them when they were burning the food. He said, "I saved a few children, but I'm afraid they'll be targeted as meat. To be honest, I don't even dare to go to work today."
The one who was familiar with him said, "Don't worry, I will keep an eye on it. I will carry a few more wounded soldiers. They will know that we are working on the tower. The people are burned, so they will not watch us anymore. I will send the things to you when no one is around."
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