Traveling through troubled times to escape famine and cultivate crops as a grain merchant

With this shouting, the originally quiet camp suddenly became noisy.

Zhou Guo yawned and sat up. The hay mat was thick last night and a quilt was spread on it. He didn't feel any discomfort sleeping on it and didn't have any dreams all night.

"Guoguo, get up. Mother is going to fold the bedding." Li gently pulled her up and stuffed half a steamed bun into her mouth. Her daughter always ate three meals a day before. Even when the family was in the most difficult times, she would have something to eat in the morning, such as an egg, half a steamed bun, and a bowl of porridge. She was used to eating three meals a day and would feel hungry if she didn't eat.

Zhou Guo stuffed the half steamed bun into her arms and looked around, but didn't see her wild vegetables. "Mom, where are the wild vegetables I dug last night?"

Li replied subconsciously: "It has been packed a long time ago and hung on the cart with ropes to dry. It will be ready when it is dry..."

She stopped talking before she finished, her eyes turned red the next second. It was the first time her daughter called her "mom" after growing up, and it sounded so nice.

Seeing her secretly wiping away tears behind her back, Zhou Guo pursed her lips and said, to be honest, this mother is not a cheap mother, she was actually born from her belly.

Huang was carrying some things as she passed by. She took the time to say to Li, "That's enough. It's great news. Why are you crying? The child is fine and knows to call for help. You should be happy. Don't stay here any longer. Pack up quickly. Fatty Er's family has already packed up. We can't fall behind."

Li hurriedly agreed and began to pack her things quickly. There weren't many things, so everything was loaded into the car in a short while.

Zhou Guo had half a steamed bun in her arms and an apricot in her hand. She was walking around slowly while eating. She was not familiar with the people around her yet.

She is not familiar, but everyone is familiar with her.

Everyone greeted me as I walked past.

"Guoguo, what are you going to eat so early in the morning? Apricots? Oh, apricots are very sour at this time. Can your teeth bear it?"

"Guo Guo, have you cleaned up your house?"

……

Living in the village, she was related to many families, but she didn't know anyone and didn't know what to call others, so she could only smile at them as a way of saying hello.

This smile made others even more surprised, "...Oh, this child smiled at us, it seems that she can understand what we say, is she, is she okay?"

"...I think so too. She seems to have become a lot smarter. Last night I saw her squatting on the ground with a basket, digging wild vegetables."

"That's just playing house. She's digging wild vegetables. If it's a weed, she'll have to dig it up and treat it as a wild vegetable."

……

Zhou Guo floated away slowly, slurping the juice from the apricots nonchalantly. He didn't care what others said, because those were treasures.

After we set off, the sun gradually emerged from the mountains.

In June, the sunlight felt like a burning sensation on people. Zhou Guo secretly helped push the cart for an hour. When the sun got higher, her family put her on the cart.

At this time, the green apricots picked from the trees come in handy. When you are sweating profusely and your mouth is dry, eating one of them can quench your thirst and refresh your mind.

Zhou Dacang stamped his feet and said, "Why didn't I remember to pick all the apricots on the tree when I left? This amount is not enough. We won't be able to eat it for a few days."

Huang said unhappily, "It's good that your niece has caught so many. How old is she? Besides, the weather is so hot now. It's good that they can be kept for a few days. How long do you want them to be kept for?"

Zhou Da Cang bit the apricot and said, "You know what, Guoguo is quite strong. He can lift such a long pole and knock down so many of them. It's not easy. I think if he practices hard, he will definitely be a strongman in the future. Maybe he will be stronger than me."

When everyone thought about it, it seemed to be true.

Huang looked at Zhou Guo and scolded, "What are you talking about? How can you say that about your niece?"

Zhou Guo didn't think it was a big deal. It was good to be strong. It would be even better if he could lift a cart easily.

Zhou Dacang laughed, "What's wrong with being strong? Being strong is good. I really want to be strong. Then I can push two carts by myself, and you can all sit on them and rest."

After hearing this, Old Man Zhou said, "It's good that the child has some strength, and no one can easily bully her from behind."

Li nodded repeatedly.

As the sun rose higher, they met more and more refugees on the road. Some were caught up from behind, and some caught up with them. During this time, they also came across two villages.

There are not many people left in the village. Those who remain are white-haired old people who have no family and can no longer walk. They sit quietly in the yard, looking calmly and sadly at the direction where everyone is leaving.

Zhou Guo felt very sad. Decades ago, they were also children who were cared for by their parents and were young men in the prime of their lives. But now, they have difficulty in moving and can no longer travel far away. They can only wait to die in the village.

Even the two chirping little ones stopped talking.

The atmosphere remained silent.

At noon, the sun was too scorching. Although they did not walk fast in the morning, they were very tired. They were only supported by their faith, fearing that the rebels behind would catch up with them. Then they, the powerless civilians, would have no choice but to wait for death.

Seeing that everyone was in a bad condition, they happened to pass by a forest, and the headman asked everyone to stop and rest.

As soon as the car stopped, Zhou Mai and Zhou Mi carried their gourds to find water.

This morning, all the water in several gourds and bamboo tubes was drunk up.

Zhou Guo took Zhou Tao and Zhou Su to pick wild vegetables. The three of them stayed on the cart the longest, and the two younger ones couldn't sit still.

After traveling for such a long time under the scorching sun, few people had the leisure to cook a hot meal. Everyone silently took out steamed buns and dumplings and ate them bite by bite with cold water. It was important to take a rest, not to mention picking branches and digging wild vegetables.

The people who were resting nearby saw Zhou Guo and the other two actually digging wild vegetables, and they couldn't help but sneer at their own children, "Look, look, look, even Zhou Guo, that idiot, knows to dig wild vegetables. You are lazy bugs. You lie down as soon as I tell you to stop. Why don't you eat less when we eat? When we work, you all hide at the back. Why did I give birth to lazy people like you? You are worse than idiots."

"I didn't realize that Zhou Dacai's daughter is so sensible. She even knows how to dig wild vegetables. She is better than most children in the village."

Some people even said that she was working in vain. There were wild vegetables everywhere along the way. Why was she digging them? It was not enough to take them away.

Some people also silently asked their children to join in, and let them carry baskets to dig wild vegetables. They are all born with these abilities, so there is no reason to let one family take all the responsibility.

Zhou Guo didn't take these people's comments to heart at all, but other people in the Zhou family didn't think so.