Quickly wear the boss and don’t be cannon fodder

Li Hai and Li Hu both disagreed with exchanging their daughters for grain, and their wives also protected their children, preventing Old Lady Li from touching them.

Old Mrs. Li shouted, "It's just exchanging a worthless piece of trash for some grain. If we don't exchange it, we'll all starve to death. Who wants to starve to death?"

Li Hai insisted, "In any case, we cannot use Tingting as a substitute. Tingting is my only daughter. She has been filial since she was a child. We cannot use her as a substitute."

Li Hu retorted without backing down, "My Yiyi is just as filial, so you can't trade my daughter for her."

Old Man Li stood by with a livid face and remained silent, while Old Woman Li continued to yell and curse: "You're all starving to death now, and you still talk about filial piety? Can filial piety put food on the table? Take these two girls and exchange them for food. Don't let anyone escape, or the whole family will starve."

Cui Yan cried, "No, Tingting is my life, I can't trade Tingting for her."

Zhang Xiu silently shed tears, but when it was time to speak, she was unambiguous: "Anyway, we can't take Yiyi away. If anyone dares to exchange my daughter for her, I'll fight them to the death."

Old Mrs. Li had no choice, and Old Mr. Li stopped being silent. He scolded, "This family is not your place to make decisions. Anyone who doesn't want to exchange their children for food can get out. My Li family can't afford to support you. You'd better fend for yourselves."

After Old Man Li said this, everyone fell silent.

Everyone knows the current situation at home. If we don't exchange the children for food, where will they get any dry food?

Li Hai stammered, "Can't we think of another way, like going to find Su Yan..."

Li Hu also said, "That's right, Su Yan is too immature. If she were willing to hand over one of her daughters, we could survive."

At this point, Li Shan finally couldn't help but say, "You're unwilling to exchange your own daughters for mine, but you're willing to exchange mine? Now I understand, only my child is someone you can beat, scold, and abandon at will. If you were to touch your own child, it would be like taking your life. You're too selfish."

Li Hai retorted, "Who told you, Second Brother, that you have so many daughters?"

Li Hu quickly added, "That's right, it won't matter if you lose one daughter."

Li Shan laughed angrily: "What's the use of saying more? If you're so bold, go ask Su Yan for it. Why don't you go? Are you too scared?"

Everyone fell silent. They dared not provoke Su Yan again; if they did, they would surely lose their lives.

Li Hai's calf is still tied with a tree trunk, and Li Hu's arm is also bandaged.

A family of disabled people is seen as weak and vulnerable in the eyes of others.

It's just that the Li family has a large number of members, so no one has come to cause them trouble for the time being.

Su Yan, who was at the end of the line, saw the Li family arguing through 999's broadcast.

Sure enough, you don't know the pain until the knife falls on your own body; now you know how to cry and lament.

The Li family members were all dejected. While others were secretly eating dry rations, their stomachs were growling with hunger.

Li Hai's eldest son, Guangzong, cried out pitifully, "I'm so hungry! I want to eat pancakes! I want to eat pancakes!"

When Yaozu heard his brother say he was hungry, he also shouted, "I want to eat too! I want to eat cornbread, I want to eat sweet potato porridge!"

These days, being able to drink a bowl of sweet potato porridge is like living in paradise. Everyone is thirsty and hungry, so who can cook porridge? There's not even much water left to drink.

On the contrary, the last few families were all very careful. Even when they wanted to drink water, they did so discreetly, afraid of being seen by others.

Their water is plentiful and clean; with just this water, they can survive for another three to five days.

That evening, as Su Yan was resting with the three sisters, she smelled a meaty aroma wafting over.

It smells like human flesh. Someone in the Dahe Village group is eating human flesh!

999 stepped in at the opportune moment to explain: "There are two families ahead who have already exchanged their children to eat each other."

Su Yan felt a churning in his stomach and had lost all hope for the people of Dahe Village.

A few days ago, those who died were taken away by people from other villages. At that time, everyone only dared to watch and did not have any thoughts of eating people.

Only three days have passed, and they've already started eating human flesh.

The three sisters, Daya and Sanya, also smelled the aroma of meat. Sanya asked in a daze, "What smells so good? It smells like someone is eating meat. It smells so good!"

Daya quickly covered Sanya's mouth. Sanya didn't understand what the meaty smell was, but Daya was already old enough to understand.

With someone having opened this door, it's likely that cannibalism won't be surprising in the days to come.

Su Yan no longer wanted to follow the people of Dahe Village; her three daughters would inevitably become targets for others.

So, under cover of night, Su Yan said to Widow Zhang, "I'm taking the children and leaving tonight. What about you? Are you going to stay with the group in Dahe Village?"

Su Yan suddenly said he was leaving, which left Widow Zhang somewhat bewildered.

Working with Su Yan these past few days has made her somewhat dependent on him.

Now that Su Yan is gone, she has suddenly lost her pillar of support. What will happen to her and her child if Su Yan leaves?

Su Yan noticed her reluctance and whispered, "This group has started eating people. If we can't find water and food in the coming days, the situation will only worsen, and we will inevitably become their target."

Upon hearing this, Widow Zhang trembled in fright, for she naturally understood the reasoning behind Su Yan's words.

But what if we leave Dahe Village and get bullied by other refugees?

Su Yan added, "We can ask those families behind us if they want to come with me. If we all go together, it will look like we have more people and we'll be less likely to be bullied by outsiders."

Widow Zhang had no choice but to do whatever Su Yan said. She and Su Yan split up and went to ask the other families.

The other families were also sparsely populated, with only the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled remaining in their homes.

After listening to Su Yan's words, they decided without hesitation to follow him.

Although Su Yan is just a woman, these families who live nearby know how capable she is.

She alone is worth four or five men.

In the end, five families decided to leave with Su Yan, totaling twenty-two people.

Aside from the six people from Su Yan and Widow Zhang's side, the other five families only had a total of sixteen people.

Everyone packed their things and left with Su Yan before dawn the next day.

They were already some distance away from the people in front of them, and because Su Yan chose a different direction, the people in front didn't even notice their departure.

Two other families knew they had left, but what could they do? They wouldn't meddle; they couldn't stop these people from courting death.

With 999 as his guide, Su Yan knew the fastest way to reach the prefectures and counties less severely affected by the disaster.

Not long after they left, the two villagers from Dahe Village who had eaten human flesh set their sights on the family most vulnerable to being bullied in the group.

The Li family finally couldn't hold out any longer and took Li Hai's daughter to exchange for grain. Of course, they didn't get any grain, but they did get another girl in return.

And this kind of thing happens every day in the drought-stricken areas.