Chapter 117 Everyone Gets a Share of Food
"Life is tough? Every family is tough. If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. Isn't it because we have Captain Xie?"
"Who gives you the right to steal the life-saving food of an elderly person living alone? Everyone in the village knows what kind of situation Grandpa Li's family is in. This old man is relying on this little bit of food to stay alive. If you take it away, are you trying to starve him to death? Are you going to let him lie on the kang (a heated brick bed) waiting to die?"
Her gaze swept over the golden cornmeal on the ground, and then she stomped hard on Li Ergou's chest.
"You think it's filial piety to care for your mother and children, but Grandpa Li deserves to be driven to the brink by you 'filial sons and grandsons' who steal his grain. How can you sleep at night? Have you lost your conscience?"
Li Ergou blushed deeply under her questioning, lowered his head involuntarily, and stammered, "I...I had no choice. We're almost starving, my mother is sick, and my child is crying from hunger..."
Xu Zhili's brows were tightly furrowed, her tone icy, showing no sign of softening.
Her eyes seemed to possess a chilling magic, like a demon dragging people into an endless abyss, sending shivers down one's spine.
She still had one foot on Li Ergou's chest.
"No other way? Just because you have no other way, you can steal food from elderly people living alone? If you had any backbone, you should have found a way to earn your own living instead of preying on a poor old man."
A crowd gradually gathered around, pointing and whispering about the young man.
Someone muttered under their breath, "No matter how difficult things get, you can't do something so immoral."
At this moment, Grandpa Li walked out of the crowd, trembling. Looking at the young man, his eyes were filled with complex emotions, anger and a hint of pity: "Young man, if you really have difficulties, tell me. I'll help you as much as I can. But how could you..."
Li Ergou knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down his face: "Uncle Li, I was wrong, I was bewitched. Please forgive me, you are a magnanimous man. Here's the cornmeal back to you, I'll never do it again."
As he spoke, he hurriedly began to clean up the cornmeal on the ground.
Xu Zhili let go of her foot and looked at the scene. Her anger subsided a little. She said to everyone, "Everyone has a hard time. But it is precisely at times like this that we must help each other and not kill each other."
The crowd nodded in agreement.
She looked at Li Ergou again and said slowly, "Get up. Live a good life from now on. If you have difficulties, we'll all work together to find a solution. You can apply to Captain Xie for grain. It's such a simple thing. If you can't even ask, then you deserve to bully the old man's grain."
Li Ergou, his face full of shame, said in a low voice, "I... I was afraid the brigade leader wouldn't agree, and I felt ashamed to borrow grain. I was confused for a moment..."
She sighed softly and said, "Captain Xie isn't an unreasonable person. As long as you explain the situation truthfully, he will definitely help you."
“Our village has always helped each other. We can’t make such a mistake just because of saving face.”
At this moment, someone in the crowd said, "That's right, what this young educated youth Xu said is correct. When we have difficulties, we should go to the brigade leader and solve them together."
Someone else chimed in, "Exactly, don't do such foolish things again."
Li Ergou nodded repeatedly: "I know I was wrong, and I will definitely not do it again."
As she spoke, she carefully handed the cornmeal she had gathered on the ground to Grandpa Li, saying, "Grandpa Li, I'm so sorry, please forgive me this time."
Grandpa Li took the cornmeal and patted Li Ergou on the shoulder: "Kid, life is tough these days, but as long as people aren't bad, there's always hope. You have hands and feet, so what can't you do? You won't starve. It's good that you know your mistakes and can correct them. If you have any difficulties in the future, tell everyone. Don't keep it to yourself."
As Li Ergou listened to Grandpa Li's words, his eyes reddened, his lips trembled, and he wanted to say something but was speechless for a moment.
After a long while, he choked out, "Uncle Li, I...I remember what you said. I will definitely be a good person in the future and never do such a stupid thing again."
If I don't hurry up and perform well, those two big shots next to me are watching me, which is really scary.
Take Xie Yunze for example. He shows no mercy when he strikes. Being physically beaten by him is definitely not a pleasant experience.
Although the female educated youth did not lay a hand on him, the depths of her eyes were like a cold abyss. A single glance from her could drag you into a state worse than death; she was practically a demon.
Once these two guys set their sights on you, how can you not behave properly and behave yourself?
The villagers watching from the sidelines all nodded in agreement.
Someone in the crowd shouted, "It's good that you admit your mistakes and correct them. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, we'll all help you out."
Another villager chimed in loudly, "That's right! Our Qingshan Village has plenty of things, but we have a lot of people and great strength. If everyone gets a share of the grain, we can lend it to the brigade leader to distribute to Er Gou's family first, and then use our work points to make up for it in the fall. There's no hurdle we can't overcome."
"That's right, as long as we're united, we can overcome any difficulty!" another voice rang out.
Li Ergou was moved to tears and bowed repeatedly to the surrounding villagers: "Thank you everyone, thank you everyone! Consider this grain a loan, I will repay it with work points. I will definitely be a good person in the future and do my part for the village."
As for Li Ergou, he was a fearless and idle street urchin who had always been lazy and good-for-nothing. He was used to being waited on hand and foot, and for him, working in the fields was harder than climbing to heaven.
Recently, his wife gave birth to a big, healthy baby boy, which should have been a joyous occasion. However, the family was so poor that they couldn't even afford to eat, and his wife didn't have enough breast milk. The baby was crying from hunger, which worried him greatly.
Just now, he saw Grandpa Li carrying cornmeal, and in a moment of madness, he rushed over and snatched it from him.
He usually likes to bully the elderly. He knows that most elderly people are honest and will not dare to resist if they are robbed, and can only swallow their anger.
But this time, he had just succeeded when he ran into Xie Yunze, this "hothead," who, without saying a word, immediately gave him a beating.
But it wasn't over yet. He ran into that female educated youth again. Her cold eyes were like a knife, which frightened Li Ergou so much that he immediately swore that he would turn over a new leaf.
Sigh, thinking about what happened to Li Ergou, it's really tragic. Waaaaah.
At this moment, an elderly man with gray hair, Grandpa Zhao, stepped out from the crowd and said earnestly, "Let this incident serve as a reminder to everyone in our village. We are all farmers who rely on the land for our livelihood. Although life is hard, we must still do our duty and support each other."
"See? Many hands make light work. If everyone gets a share of the food, we'll get through this difficult time."
Everyone agreed, "Grandpa Zhao is right!"
That makes sense!
Upon hearing this, Li Ergou bowed deeply to the surrounding villagers with gratitude.
As Xu Zhili watched this scene, she knew that in these difficult times, the warmth of human kindness and mutual support were the key to overcoming the challenges.
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