"Mother, will they report us to the authorities?"
Han Minghai approached Li Lanzhen nervously and asked in a low voice.
Li Lanzhen shook her head and said firmly, "No. Go and check on your uncle and see if your grandmother has woken up."
"Have your aunt cook porridge with the dry rations we brought. Also, here's some wound powder. Sprinkle it on their wounds, wrap them with a clean cloth, and have them drink it mixed with water."
After instructing her two sons to do some chores, and seeing that no one was around, Li Lanzhen browsed the online store to see if there were any medicines she could use right now. She hoped there would be some powerful pills or ginseng tonics.
But even if I had it, I probably wouldn't be able to exchange it. All I have right now is silver, but silver and gold don't circulate in the mall.
"Ding. Host, gold and silver jewelry can be exchanged for supplies."
Li Lanzhen stomped her foot: "You little idiot!! You blockhead. Why didn't you say so earlier? If you had, I would have asked for some gold, silver and jewelry at Jinfulai. Now we can exchange them for supplies in the mall. Hmph."
It feels like I missed out on a fortune!
I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to exchange silver at a silver shop in a major prefecture or county town again.
While I was lost in thought, I heard the sound of many people running.
Then they quietly lined up, one by one approaching a spot two meters away from Li Lanzhen, and began to recount the evil they had done to Li Lanzhen's parents and brother, as well as the compensation they had received.
"Lanzhen, this is my husband. Three years ago, he took a pound of cornmeal from your house. Now I'm returning two pounds of cornmeal." A woman said cautiously, looking at Li Lanzhen. Seeing Li Lanzhen nod, she turned and ran away as fast as she could.
One after another, Li Lanzhen found herself surrounded by all sorts of things. The grains were mostly beans, tree bark, and bundles of thatch. The best of all was cornmeal, which was ground up with the corn cobs in toppings.
There were also two faded quilts. She said she borrowed them from Xishui's mother when she got married. Li Lanzhen laughed in anger, thinking they were extremely shameless.
Even borrowing a wedding quilt—that's really bullying! Seeing her trembling, I thought, "Fine, let it go. A woman should forgive the sins committed by a man."
Finally, the village chief's grandson arrived, pulling a nearly new cart. His face flushed, he bowed his head and said, "This is... two years ago, my father asked... to have Erhan make a stone table. He wasn't satisfied, so he took this cart from your house."
Li Lanzhen asked expressionlessly, "What else in the village was made by my father? Take me around the village and let me see."
She called inside, "Second brother, come out and watch the gate. Not even a dog can be let in."
Li Lanzhen was thinking that the day the large stone mill at the entrance of Lijiazhuang Village was put into the mall to exchange for grain, maybe she could put the stone mill, table and other things her father made into her space and put them into the mall to exchange for grain.
As I walked, I decided to collect any stone artifacts I found, regardless of size.
What happened next terrified the villagers even more.
The village chief's grandson led Li Lanzhen on a tour of the village. All the stone things that Li Erhan had made in the village had disappeared, including the small stone mills, stone tables, whetstones in the villagers' homes, and even the stone railings around the wells. They were all gone.
So the villagers all stayed at home, afraid to come out, thinking that Li Lanzhen had probably summoned the spirits of her grandparents, who had come back to collect their debts.
Li Lanzhen swaggered through the village and returned home, where she saw Li Erhan, tears streaming down his face, supporting Han Minghai who was anxiously watching the courtyard gate. When he saw her return, he shouted loudly.
"My daughter, my daughter, you're back! You've given me confidence and made me feel strong! Waaah!"
The old man cried like a child, as if he was releasing all the suffering that had been building up in his heart for so many years. Li Lanzhen stood still and let the poor man cry. He would feel better if he cried it out.
Once the tung blossoms were cooked into a porridge, I called them in to eat.
Li Lanzhen was initially a little afraid to contact them. She thought her own parents should know and understand their child. But then she thought that she had been married off for so many years, so even if she had changed a lot, it was understandable. So she accepted it.
Upon entering the house, they saw two people lying on the kang (a heated brick bed). Li Lanzhen's mother slowly opened her eyes, saw Li Lanzhen, and began to silently shed tears. She reached out and took Li Lanzhen's hand, holding it tightly and refusing to let go.
The stream girl lying next to her was still unconscious. The two children were very affectionate towards Li Lanzhen, calling her "Auntie." They were not seriously injured, just some minor cuts and bruises, and anti-inflammatory powder had been applied to them.
"Sis, let's eat."
Tonghua came in, placed a bowl of porridge on the stone table, and greeted Li Lanzhen.
"Give the food to our parents first; we're not hungry."
Just as Tonghua was about to give Li Lanzhen more porridge, she saw her wave her hand and say, "You eat, and listen to me while you eat."
Li Lanzhen brought a bowl of porridge to each of her parents and said, "Father, Mother, we came here to take you with us to escape the famine. We really made the right decision. Those bastards."
"Father and Mother, please eat your fill first, then pack your things and we'll go flee the famine. Once we find a good place to live, we'll live together and never be separated again. Okay, Father and Mother?"
Li Erhan nodded repeatedly, wiping away his tears, but said with a smile, "Okay, okay, we'll follow the woman, we'll follow my woman."
The two children laughed and said, "We'll follow our aunt, older brother, and second older brother, and we'll have porridge to drink."
Watching the family hold the bowls full of corn porridge like precious treasures, reluctant to finish them in large gulps.
"Mother, I'm going out on patrol because I'm afraid the villagers will come looking for trouble again," Han Mingjiang said, holding a stun gun in his hand.
We agreed to flee the famine together. Even the poorest family has things to pack. Just then, the village chief's grandson pulled over a cart, so we put the heavy things like pots, pans, and farm tools in the cart, and even made room for the stream to lie down in the cart.
Li Erhan's leg wasn't broken, it was just sprained and bleeding a lot because of a cut on his leg. Han Mingjiang applied anti-inflammatory powder and wrapped it in cloth, so he found a stick and walked on his own.
There weren't many other blankets or clothes, so they were packed into a basket and carried away.
In less than half an hour, they packed their things. Han Minghai pushed the cart, Han Mingjiang helped Li Erhan, Tonghua supported her mother-in-law, and the two children carried baskets on their backs and walked ahead.
Li Lanzhen brought up the rear. Looking at her reluctant parents, she turned around at the corner where the whole family had gone and threw a lit bundle of thatch into the woodshed. Soon, the house was ablaze with fire.
Perhaps Li Erhan and the others knew why Li Lanzhen was walking behind them. The two old people had tears in their eyes. For the elderly, home was hard to leave.
Today, I have no choice but to give it up!
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