Rebirth of an Old Farmer: Escape from Famine with Children and Grandchildren

Bai Xiuqin interrupted her, "These meals are all given by me. Once you finish them, they will be gone. Go away quickly, we need to eat."

She spoke in a firm tone and would not allow anyone to disobey her orders.

After the people left, everyone present quickly cleared the rice in their bowls and licked them clean with their tongues, for fear that someone else would come in and steal their food.

Everyone looked nervous and cautious, as if this meal was extremely precious to them.

But after Su Yanyan and Su Dongyue left, they started to incite people everywhere in the village, saying how delicious the food in Bai Xiuqin's house was. Not only did they eat it themselves, they also invited several relatives to eat together.

They concluded that Bai Xiuqin must have hidden a lot of food, so why didn't she share it with everyone?

The villagers, whose stomachs were already hungry, were aggravated by their words and decided to go to Bai Xiuqin to ask for an explanation.

After dinner, Bai Xiuqin and others discussed carefully and decided to go to Hukou the next day to see how to build a bridge.

It shouldn't be difficult to find wood. There are plenty of trees on the mountain. All we have to do is use an axe to chop them down and move them over.

The key is that the ropes used to tie the wood must be strong to ensure the safety of the bridge.

Suddenly, there was a noise outside the door, and people were shouting among the noise, "Bai Xiuqin, come out."

The sound penetrated the silent night and went straight into the Bai family's yard.

Bai Xiuqin stood up and smiled, "What's coming will eventually come. Let's just get rid of it all at once."

Her smile showed both calmness and helplessness, but she was determined to deal with the situation in a decisive manner.

She said to Su Mingjiang, Xuebao and the other boys, "Go out and make them line up. I'll distribute the food to them. Anyone who doesn't line up will be kicked out."

Although the tone is tough, it is intended to ensure fair distribution and reduce the chance of confusion and disputes.

Bai Xiuqin actually planned to distribute some food made of black wheat bran mixed with a little black flour to everyone. This combination was a rare and precious resource in difficult times.

She walked to a corner of the straw hut, which was filled with various belongings of their family: sacks, baskets, a few commonly used farm tools and some old bedding.

After rummaging through a pile of miscellaneous items for a while, she took out a large sack full of wheat bran and half a sack of the more precious black flour, and then deliberately lifted the cloth covering it to prevent moisture.

He shouted loudly into the distance: "Brother and your cousin, come and carry these out."

She hopes to get help from family members so that this batch of life-saving food can be distributed more efficiently to villagers in need.

She carefully moved the selected food to the door of the hut, then took out a large bowl, a very sturdy and large black pottery bowl - no matter how many people there were in the families who came to receive relief supplies, she would give each family an equal amount of food in a large bowl as a temporary aid measure.

The villagers of Sujia Village, who had been making noise and arguing outside, immediately changed their attitudes when they heard the news that Bai Xiuqin was about to start distributing scarce food for free. They consciously and orderly lined up in long queues to wait to receive this precious supply.

However, when Su Yanyan, the first person to receive the bowl full of rye bran, discovered that what she got was not the high-quality white flour or rice she had imagined, obvious disappointment appeared on her face.

She couldn't help but grumble among the crowd, "I really don't understand why Sister Xiuqin always hides the good things and enjoys them secretly. Can't she give us a little bit? Every family faces the responsibility of supporting the elderly and caring for the children!"

Bai Sanya, who was standing nearby, was immediately furious upon hearing this unreasonable speculation. She turned to the speaker, put her hands on her hips, pointed directly at his nose and sternly refuted: "Please stop talking nonsense! Have you ever witnessed even a grain of white rice enter our mouths? We haven't even tasted real refined grains yet. You'd better think carefully before you say this, otherwise you will deliberately stir up trouble and cause unnecessary trouble!"

Bai Xiuqin caught a glimpse of the two arguing and immediately called out to her sister, "Sanya, don't get too hung up on them. There's little point in explaining the facts to someone so unreasonable. Trying to persuade them to change their minds will only lower your own value."

Su Yanyan was speechless after being refuted and could only feel anxious. She finally stomped her feet to express her dissatisfaction and left the team.

At this moment, another questioning voice was heard in the crowd, raising the issue of the irrationality of distributing rations according to family size: it was just as unfair for a family of four to receive the same share as a family of more than ten.

Bai Xiuqin patiently responded to these objections: "If you feel that the current distribution is inappropriate, you can choose to withdraw from this gift; then I can transfer it to other families in urgent need. Please remember that this is all my personal property and is not an obligation to provide additional support to everyone."

After this explanation, the vast majority of villagers gradually calmed down their dissatisfaction and stopped protesting.

After receiving the food, most villagers went home happily, but there were still some who returned to their homes with the small quota in their hands, feeling resentful and unwilling.

Su Dongyue, who was carefully observing the movements around her, noticed the unusual behavior of those with ulterior motives and quietly followed them, quietly revealing a secret: "In fact, I already know the specific location where Bai Xiuqin's family has hidden more food."

Looking at the curious neighbors who had gathered around to hear more details, she lowered her voice and continued, "Not far from the flood site, there's a hidden area with several bags filled with supplies visible around the edges. Presumably, there's a lot of good food and other useful items inside, perhaps a New Year's gift from Jinfu."

After hearing this description, everyone exchanged glances with each other and dispersed without making too many comments.

Looking at the backs of these people gradually leaving, Su Dongyue, who was secretly planning an act of revenge, felt an unconcealable joy in his heart.

She firmly believed that these people would launch a sneak attack on the Bai family's residence tonight in an attempt to seize more stored food resources; so she decided to take advantage of this opportunity to follow them quietly and wait for an opportunity to ignite a fire to completely destroy the other party's large tent on which they depended for survival - since they were unwilling to let their own family get shelter, it would be better if no one could enjoy it.

The rain had lightened a little at dusk, but it was still dripping sporadically.

In order to fill their stomachs, the young and old living in Sujia Village on this hillside picked almost all the edible wild vegetable leaves and young shoots from the trees around them and brought them back home.

Bai Xiuqin felt very uncomfortable seeing the people in Sujia Village living such a difficult life.