"Mom, you're awake. Let me wipe your face with a cloth. We'll have some porridge. Uncle Xue said that after we eat, we should take advantage of the cool morning air and travel as much as possible."
Han Yuemei saw Li Lanzhen sit up, walk over with a dusty gray cloth in her hand, and hand it to her.
Li Lanzhen didn't hesitate. She took the wet cloth and quickly wiped her face, knowing that this wet cloth would be used to wipe the faces of the whole family.
No other reason than to conserve water.
"What's going on over there? It's so noisy!"
"They're from the same village, arguing over a bowl of water." Han Yuemei turned around and handed the handkerchief in her hand to Miaomiao, who was following behind her, so that she could take it to her older brother. At the same time, she told Li Lanzhen why the people from the neighboring village were arguing.
"water?"
By the way, they didn't have much water left either. When they came out, they secretly filled a large earthenware jar and a large wooden bucket in their house with water, because they mixed in water from the village well, and no one noticed.
I didn't add much water to the earthenware jars used to store water at my two relatives' homes, mainly because I didn't dare to be too carefree and carefully concealed my secret weapon.
It's hot, and people, donkeys, and mules all need water to drink and cook. We've been traveling for several days and haven't seen any water anywhere.
Thinking of this, Li Lanzhen felt a little panicked. What if they couldn't find water along the way? She absolutely couldn't reveal her secret.
Sigh, we'll see when the time comes.
At this moment, Xue Laohu and his group were also discussing the water issue. The fact that people from a nearby village were fighting over a bowl of water made them uneasy.
While drinking the porridge, Xue Laohu glanced at everyone, then looked at Li Lanzhen sitting on the ground drinking the porridge, and said, "In-laws, I've been thinking, we haven't seen any water on our way out of the famine, so I think we should pool all the water and plan how to use it together. That way we can save some water. What do you think?"
Zhang Deshui nodded. "I have no objection. In-law Xue is right."
“Yes, my in-laws are right, let’s do it that way. I think we should collect the water and let Sister Wu manage it.”
Xue Bao's mother, Madam Wu, looked up and readily agreed after a moment's thought, "Alright, I'll take care of it. I'll plan it out carefully."
They set off at the crack of dawn. The morning was cool, and they had a full stomach. The children walked alongside them, and they didn't encounter any trouble all morning.
Li Lanzhen looked up at the sky. It was so hot, probably over 30 degrees Celsius. The children were all listless, and the younger ones continued to sway and doze off in the car.
"Second son, go ahead and tell your father-in-law that we're going to find a place to rest and wait until the sun isn't so strong before we continue. We can walk an extra mile at night," Li Lanzhen told him, grabbing the cart from Haimen Street.
Xue Nizi quickly steadied the cart, saying, "Mom, I'll push the cart. You just walk beside me."
Han Mingjiang ran ahead to talk to Xue Laohu about this matter. After discussing it, the group decided that starting tomorrow, they would leave early before dawn, walk a little longer in the evening, and rest more during the hot midday.
This time they weren't so lucky to find a forest or rocks. In the end, Xue Laohu led Han Mingjiang to a patch of connected mounds.
Everyone unloaded the donkey carts and mule carts. The men used shovels and hoes to dig a hole into the mound. They dug three long holes like this in a row. They also built a shed outside with carrying poles and tree branches, and covered it with old sheets and tattered clothes.
And so, they managed to fit all of them in.
A simple shed was set up nearby, where pots were buried and food was cooked. Wu began to manage the water usage properly, using the water from washing the pots for everyone to wash their hands, and finally giving the water to the donkeys and mules.
It was still a thick, dark paste. Today, it was mixed with vegetable pancakes made by Zhang Deshui's family, making the paste a little thicker. Wu scooped out three bowls of pickled vegetable water and used a spoon to spread a little on each person's paste bowl as a side dish. Even so, adults and children alike slurped it down with relish.
Li Xishui remained unconscious. Li Lanzhen fed him anti-inflammatory pills that she had obtained from her spatial storage every day. She also disinfected his wounds with iodine and applied anti-inflammatory ointment. To prevent him from developing a fever, she gave him antipyretics. In short, Li Lanzhen had tried everything she could think of, leaving it to his will to live and his physical condition.
In ancient times, ordinary people had to rely on their own bodies to bear the minor ailments like headaches and fevers.
They hoped he would wake up soon. Li Erhan and Ye Shi were worried, especially Ye Shi who secretly wiped away tears every day. When Tonghua rested, she would wipe his face with a damp cloth, and the two children would also look at him from time to time.
After the meal, Xue Bao and Han Mingjiang stood guard, while the others went to sleep on straw mats spread out in their own homes.
Li Lanzhen didn't know how long she had been asleep when she heard Li Erhan and Ye Shi crying. Startled, she sat up and looked over, only to see Tonghua running over and hugging Li Xishui's head, sobbing.
Li Lanzhen pulled her away, "Let go quickly, Xishui has just woken up, you're covering him like this."
Li Xishui slowly turned his head and saw Li Lanzhen. He murmured, "Sister, sister, is that you?" As he spoke, tears rolled down his cheeks.
“Brother, it’s your sister. We’ll never be apart.” Holding his hand tightly, Li Lanzhen said firmly.
"Waaaaah, waaaaah." Ever since Li Lanzhen got married, Li Xishui has taken on the burden of the family. She doesn't care about suffering. The key is that the xenophobia in Yejiawan is too serious. In particular, it is common for the Ye brothers to bully Li Xishui.
Even after he and Tonghua got married, he was still bullied by them. What he found even more unbearable was that they not only bullied him but also tried to humiliate his wife, Tonghua. Many times, if he hadn't risked his life to save Tonghua, he probably would have lost his wife.
For this reason, Tonghua became increasingly fierce and shrewish. Whenever she left home, she would carry a jujube wood carrying pole and beat up several thugs. Only then did her life slowly improve. After years of being bullied and oppressed, Li Xishui finally broke down when he saw Li Lanzhen. The burly man with a stubble beard cried like a child.
Tonghua brought over a bowl of warm water. Li Lanzhen patted Li Xishui's shoulder and said, "Alright, don't cry. You're badly injured. Drink some water and recover slowly. We're on the road fleeing famine right now, so you need to get better quickly."
Perhaps it was because Li Xishui had cried so hard that he released his pent-up emotions, or perhaps it was because Li Lanzhen's words touched him, but Li Xishui wiped away his tears, took the bowl of water, and drank it all in a few gulps.
He was about to find out what had happened in Yejiawan when he heard Han Mingjiang shout, "Mom~ two groups of people are rushing towards us. The people behind are crying and chasing after the people in front. I don't know what happened."
Xue Laohu immediately told them to hitch up the cart, pack their things, and prepare to escape at any moment.
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