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

After seeing this scene, Li Lan felt quite confused: If the city has closed its gates to outsiders, then why are people still stubbornly waiting here?

What are they expecting?

Is it a miracle?

After a brief discussion, Su Shunde and Zhang Lao Hu decided to avoid the group of refugees to avoid causing unnecessary trouble or commotion.

They led everyone off the main road about two miles away from the city gate and walked into the bushes on both sides.

Unfortunately, the state of the vegetation here is not optimistic - all the trees have lost their vitality and their branches are withered.

The grass that originally covered the surface of the land has also been uprooted.

What is even more worrying is that cracks the width of fingers have appeared on the ground beneath these sparse trees.

This made Li Lan realize that this place was clearly facing a serious water shortage problem.

If even the most basic drinking water is not guaranteed, how can the displaced people maintain their life functions?

Is the city's underground river still flowing?

However, even if there really is a water source, it probably won't be easy to obtain - they will probably ask for items or even food in exchange.

After settling the villagers, Su Shunde, Zhang Laohu and the young descendants of Dongjiazhuang Village headed towards the city wall together, in order to understand the current situation and the possibility of subsequent plans.

Li Lan, who stayed behind, told others through Su Yousheng to keep quiet and not to unload their luggage for the time being.

If you are really hungry, you can drink some water and eat some easy-to-carry food to fill your stomach.

But be sure to pay attention and never expose your own food resources at will!

Ragged and haggard survivors can be seen everywhere. They are either slumped on the cold ground or resting on the muddy and sloping hillside. Their eyes are wide open but without any focus, they just stare blankly at the bags behind the passers-by.

As soon as they notice someone chewing, their eyes will immediately reveal a longing and eager look, as if they can't wait to jump forward and snatch the last bite of food in the other person's mouth.

Such looks made Sun Wan feel extremely scared. She repeatedly and tirelessly warned the children to follow the adults closely, not to slack off at all, and absolutely not to run around.

Every sentence was filled with urgency and worry, as if emphasizing some kind of order that could not be disobeyed.

The children seemed to have sensed the unusual atmosphere in the air as well. They all followed the adults closely, trying to hide themselves and avoid eye contact with any outsiders.

Their expressions seemed extremely cautious and their movements became careful, for fear that they would get into trouble by accident.

Deep down in her heart, Sun Wan remembered some horrifying things that happened during the historical famine years described in the books she had read.

For example, when food is extremely scarce, people have to resort to some inhuman practices, even treating their own kind as food. This is simply an unimaginable human tragedy.

And what she saw with her own eyes now made her feel even colder.

Among the people in front of me, there are almost only young people who look healthy, and there are very few elderly people or children.

This phenomenon reminded her of many horrific scenarios that could have occurred: perhaps the villagers, due to food shortages, would use their elderly or children in exchange for survival supplies. Or, even more terrifyingly, they could be used as a direct solution to the famine problem...

Thinking of this, Sun Wan couldn't help but hug the two sisters Miaomiao and Linglong in her arms more tightly, fearing that they would suffer a similar fate.

Just as she was immersed in this series of thoughts, a cloud of dust suddenly rose not far away.

Looking closely, I saw that it was a convoy of three vehicles galloping towards them - in the front was an extremely luxuriously decorated horse-drawn carriage, followed closely by two donkey carts that were a little simple but still sturdy and durable.

The entire convoy slowly stopped after arriving near the crowd.

Soon, a man dressed simply but with a dignified demeanor jumped from a donkey cart in the back. Holding a heavy copper gong, he struck it vigorously a few times, the resounding sound instantly piercing through the surrounding clamor: "Exchange for food! Girls under five years old can exchange for one kilogram of high-quality rice; girls between five and ten years old can receive the equivalent of two kilograms of rice; and girls over ten years old, in addition to the same amount of rice, there are also ten wild vegetable cakes as an extra reward!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd, which had been quiet, immediately became agitated, with panicked expressions and the sound of children crying everywhere.

In a corner not far from them, a little girl let out a heart-wrenching scream.

"Mom, please don't do this!"

She cried loudly, "I can still help you with many things. Just give me a little bit of food. Please don't sell me to strangers, okay? I'm already very obedient..."

The child, who was about ten years old, struggled with all his might, trying to resist being taken in an unknown direction.

And the person who is controlling her at this time should be her biological father, right?

The stern-looking father's face was full of determination. He ignored his daughter's pleading eyes and resistance and pulled her forward with all his strength.

Seeing this, the little girl could only choose to sit down on the ground to offer a final resistance, but in return she was ruthlessly kicked down, and then roughly pulled up to continue moving forward.

All this deeply hurt the heart of the bystander Sun Wan, making her sigh that it is really not easy to be a woman in this era.

She averted her gaze and gently held the two little girls in her arms tightly.

The two little angels were obviously frightened by the scene before them and trembled with fear. They held on to the corners of her clothes tightly, as if the strength contained in her fragile body could bring them safety.

The two of them buried their faces in her shoulders at the same time, as if doing so could temporarily block out the cruel reality around them.

At this time, in the team behind Sujia Village, a man from Dongjiazhuang was planning to exchange his daughter for some food.

The little girl was only about three years old. Her tender yet clear voice was filled with despair and fear. "Mom, Mom, don't sell Niuniu."

Every call is like a sharp knife piercing the softest part of the human heart.

The young mother next to her could no longer suppress her inner sadness and could only cover her mouth with her hands and cry.

Finally, the girl broke free from her father's strong grip, ran straight to the village chief, and hugged his legs tightly and refused to let go.