But when she turned around and met those big, excited, expectant, and innocent eyes, she suddenly felt guilty for her casual and perfunctory attitude.
Seeing that she no longer asked anything, the children dared not speak to her rashly, for fear of disturbing her from giving them a nice name.
Finally, just as the sun was about to set, the group of one adult and seven children spotted a village.
But as soon as they stepped into the village, the villagers stared at them with wary eyes.
Hong Xiaoduo was a little confused. She saw a middle-aged man standing in front of a house and went up to him. Before she could speak, the man said in an unfriendly tone, "We don't have any food. Go away."
Hong Xiaoduo wanted to say that she wasn't asking for it, but that she wanted to buy it with money, but the other party quickly turned around and slammed the courtyard gate shut.
The same thing happened at several other places, which made Hong Xiaoduo a little depressed. Pointing to herself, she asked the children following her, "Do I look like a bad person?"
The children all shook their heads, but their expressions didn't seem surprised.
"Mom, maybe we should call it a day. We've already had meat today, and we're not that hungry right now," the boy said in a low voice.
“Yes, Mom, we can go without food for a few days this time without any problem,” another younger child quickly chimed in, and the other children nodded in agreement.
Hong Xiaoduo thought to herself, "I refuse to believe this nonsense. You can't even buy it with money?"
But seeing the children's uneasy expressions, she felt a little sorry for them: "Alright, let's go further away and find a sheltered place to spend the night. I'll hunt some birds for you to eat tomorrow morning."
And so, Hong Xiaoduo led the children toward the edge of the village. When they reached the other side of the village, an old voice called out to her.
"Young lady, don't blame the villagers for being heartless. They really don't dare to be good people anymore. Half a month ago, a few beggars came. The kind-hearted Da Niu family in the village let them in, steamed a pot of dry food for them, and stewed a mixed vegetable dish."
But who could have imagined that they would return in the middle of the night, jump over the wall, and enter the yard? Not only did they steal his family's savings of several years, but they also attempted to assault Da Niu's wife and daughter. Da Niu desperately protected them with a machete and cried for help. Nearby neighbors rushed over, and they were saved from disaster.
As a result, Da Niu was seriously injured and needed a long recovery period. Although his wife and daughter were able to preserve their innocence, they had nightmares every night.
Alas, in these chaotic times of war, all sorts of people can be found. After such a disaster, the village is bound to be terrified!
I have a few cornbread buns here. Please share some with the children so they can have something to eat.
There's an empty house not far ahead by the roadside. Although half the roof has collapsed, at least it'll keep the wind out tonight.
"Oh, I see," Hong Xiaoduo understood. She gestured for the older boy to take the cornbread from the old man and thanked him again.
After taking a few steps, he stopped and turned back: "Old man, please wait."
The old man stopped and turned to look at her.
"Excuse me, sir, what happened to those evil beggars? Were they arrested and sent to the authorities?" Hong Xiaoduo asked.
The old man shook his head and sighed: "Those guys are all beggars, but they are very strong, and some of them know kung fu. How could the villagers catch them? They ran far away long ago. The authorities did report it to the government, but don't expect them to actually catch them."
"What does that mean?" Hong Xiaoduo asked, puzzled.
"Young lady, you don't understand. No one was killed, and the victim is a villager from this small mountain village. The government officials won't bother to investigate and arrest them unless someone recognizes them and reports it to the authorities." The old man sighed after saying this.
"What if those beggars were beaten to death? What would the authorities do?" Hong Xiaoduo blurted out.
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