Tao Wanniang also noticed that the closer they got to the provincial capital, the more the drought seemed to ease. What she used to see were cracked farmland, but now there were empty rice ears everywhere, a scene clearly left after the locusts had passed through.
"Mother, there's a village ahead, should we go in?"
Ling Dahu saw a row of houses ahead and asked Tao Wanniang.
"Go in and see if you can get some food instead."
What Tao Wanniang really wanted was green vegetables. How could a person not eat vegetables? She was feeling a bit weak.
It was only afternoon when Tao Wanniang and her party entered the village, where they were met with disdainful looks.
"Go away, go away, the village doesn't have any extra food for you." Some even directly drove people away.
"We don't want to beg for food."
Tao Wanniang sat on the cart, frowning as she responded.
"Hey folks, what's up? Are there a lot of beggars coming to your village?"
"Who are you from the same village? You're all obviously refugees. You couldn't stay in your own villages anymore, so you came here begging for food. Let me tell you, we don't have any, we don't have anything at all!"
The one who spoke was an elderly man standing at his own doorway. He looked like he had just returned from the fields, and his face was full of sorrow.
Judging from the other person's appearance, Tao Wanniang could tell that he was worried about making a living.
"Brother, don't get so angry. Let me ask you another way. We'll return a few copper coins. Um, do you have any vegetables at home?"
"Buy vegetables? No, there aren't any in the village. It only rains a few times a year, and all the rice we worked so hard to grow has been eaten by locusts. The village has no surplus food. You should leave and don't try to take advantage of our village."
The old man spoke bluntly, and Tao Wan's mother didn't say anything more, just told her son to push the cart and continue walking.
After asking several people, Tao Wanniang received almost the same answer, and she realized that the village had also had no harvest this year, and everyone was having a hard time.
"Mother, someone is following us!"
After leaving the village, Ling Dapeng said, "It was a woman, leading two or three children, following behind us."
Tao Wanniang glanced back and saw that it was indeed her. The other person, having been discovered, quickened their pace.
"Stop over there," Tao Wanniang instructed, wanting to see what this woman was planning.
"Old man, gentlemen, ladies, please save us!"
The woman, dragging her three children, hurried forward and knelt down before Tao Wan's mother.
“Old lady, I see you have children too. You must still have food, right? Why don’t you buy my three children as well? Just give them a bite to eat. They’ll starve to death if they stay with a useless mother like me.”
Tao Wan's mother gasped in astonishment. Was she going to sell her child?
"What do you mean? We've all fled famine, and you want us to adopt your child?"
Tao Wanniang said in surprise.
"No, it's not about adoption. Um... I heard you talking about wanting to buy vegetables. I don't have any vegetables, but you must have money, right? One tael for each child. Kind people, please, I beg you. I have two elderly parents at home, and my husband broke his leg and can't work. I really can't support the children."
The woman began to sob, "Da Wa, Er Ya, San Wa, tell me, tell me now!"
"Mom, don't sell us! We're very well-behaved, and we don't eat much!"
The children were only four, five, or six years old. When they heard that their mother was going to sell them, they all surrounded the woman, crying and talking. Their precocious and sensible manner was heartbreaking.
"Young lady, you're overthinking it. We already have four children here. Do you think we have the capacity to raise three more?"
Tao Wan's mother said sternly, "Your village isn't facing a famine. Things can still grow in the fields. If you don't raise your own children, are you even their mother?"
"You think we have so many children here and want us to raise them, offering one tael of silver per child? Are you dreaming?"
"Don't I raise my own grandchildren? This one was paid to be sent to the provincial capital, it's not like we're raising them for nothing. But you, you've got a really good plan. Such a young child, you're providing food and lodging, and we're not just spending a tael of silver, we'll be spending even more in the future."
The woman blushed deeply at Tao Wanniang's words, collapsed to the ground, and burst into tears.
"My own children, who could bear to part with them? But I really can't go on like this. I'm such a useless mother. Aunties, I beg you, please save my children! If this continues, they will starve to death!"
“Mother…” Ling Dahu looked at his three children and his heart softened.
Tao Wanniang glared at her. She would never soften her heart. These were three children, three living, breathing children. If she softened her heart, it would mean the separation of flesh and blood. Besides, they didn't have the means to do so!
"Young lady, if you really can't bear to part with her, then think of a way yourself. Do you know what we refugees are like?"
"Your child is so well-behaved, eating tree bark and dirt, crawling on the ground and swimming in the water. Can you bear to let him do that?"
Tao Wanniang countered, "Or are you saying you simply don't want to raise it anymore?"
"No, no, I can't bear to part with you, Da Wa, Er Ya, San Wa, I can't bear to part with you. I'm afraid you'll suffer with me!"
"Mom, we're not afraid of hardship, we just want to be with you."
The oldest child held onto the woman's clothes earnestly and stubbornly, his voice filled with determination.
"Mother, if we have nothing to eat, we can eat tree bark. Mother, please don't sell us. We are really good children."
"But we really have no food left at home, Mother... we're truly desperate!"
The woman covered her face and cried, looking as if she might faint at any moment.
"Um...we still have some rice left, how about we share some with you?"
Ling Dahu spoke, but as soon as he finished speaking, he immediately received several unfriendly glances.
Tao Wan's mother wanted to kill her son. The village had been afflicted by a locust plague, but they still got rain a few times a year and had other crops to grow. With the help of the villagers, they could always get through the crisis. Even if they had to eat tree bark, they could survive.
"Brother, you are such a good person, I...I..." The woman quickly wiped away her tears, looking at Ling Dahu with excitement and gratitude, and had a child take off his shirt.
“Brother, as long as you can help us get through this period, my child and I will remember your kindness for the rest of our lives.”
Having already spoken, Ling Dahu braced himself and met Tao Wanniang's indignant gaze.
"Mom, um... please give them some, they're so pitiful!"
"snort!"
Tao Wanniang snorted coldly, but did not stop him. She could not keep suppressing her son's education. As a man, once he had spoken, he could not go back on his word, as that would damage his self-esteem.
No objection meant consent, and Ling Dahu eagerly scooped two handfuls of rice for the woman.
"Big sister, that's all. You should hurry back and cook something for the children."
Ling Dahu smiled憨厚ly, looking pleased with himself for doing a good deed.
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