Reborn before the famine, kicking away the scumbag's family and living a carefree life.

78. Seeking help

"Okay, Dad!"

Anran agreed and ran to the kitchen with a thumping sound. He put a sweet potato and a potato in his pocket and then ran to the door with a thumping sound.

“Anran, Anxin, if you don’t want Dad to starve to death, then you must not tell Mom that you gave me food. Otherwise, Mom will not let you see me anymore, and you will not have a chance to give Dad food. Dad will really starve to death.”

A little while later, Su Jinru returned with water and saw Qi Zhengyang sneaking around, talking to the child inside through the crack in her door.

He was disheveled, with a scraggly beard and rumpled clothes, shivering in the cold wind.

Su Jinru was wearing a new cotton-padded coat and trousers underneath, but her outer clothes were tattered. She was wearing a mask, with only her eyes showing.

Facing the hunched-over Qi Zhengyang, even though she was also dressed in tattered clothes, Su Jinru exuded an imposing aura.

Qi Zhengyang involuntarily shrank back.

"I've come to see the children," he said with an awkward smile.

Upon realizing he had actually given her a fawning smile, he immediately stopped, wishing he could slap himself.

He was always arrogant in front of her.

Therefore, his expression changed rapidly, appearing very strange and awkward.

Su Jinru said coldly, "Get out of the way, don't block my doorway."

Qi Zhengyang stepped aside.

"Su Jinru, I want to see the child."

"There are beggars everywhere now, and we have no food left at home. Did you bring food for the children?"

"I... of course I don't have any food. You know, the team confiscated it all, and now I'm drowning in debt!"

"What is there to see? In this extraordinary time, the best way to show love to children is to feed them. Saying anything else is just nonsense."

“My older brother starved to death, and I’m starving to death too. I want to see my child before I die.”

Qi Zhengyang spoke pitifully, and his expression was one of genuine emotion.

Wasn't he quite proud in front of her? When did he become so pitiful?

He hated this side of himself, but he also knew that she had a soft heart. In her previous life, after her older brother and sister-in-law starved to death, she felt sorry for her brother's children and would rather go hungry herself than let them eat first.

He said he was starving to death, she couldn't just stand by and watch him die!

But Su Jinru coldly replied, "I'm a woman with two children, and I don't even dare to leave the house. We're starving to death, and who will sympathize with us?"

Qi Zhengyang gritted his teeth: "Su Jinru, you don't have any food reserves at all, do you?"

"Teacher Qi, what are you saying? We are responding to the national policy and should hand over all the grain to the collective. The land belongs to the country, and the grain belongs to the country. We cannot have selfish motives or bring shame to the collective. How can you, as a teacher, say such a thing?"

Qi Zhengyang's Qi was blocked.

Su Jinru has really changed; she's become heartless.

"I... just want to see the child, Su Jinru, don't go too far."

"Mom, let us meet Dad!" Anran said from inside the door.

Judging from Qi Zhengyang's appearance, he must have been starving for a long time. What he said is not impossible; he might collapse at any time and never get up again!

Logically speaking, it is only natural for a father and son to meet.

Su Jinru had no reason to refuse such a request.

"Alright! You can meet, but you can't come inside. Just let Anran come out to the door and see you for a moment."

"Anran, go put on your coat, it's cold outside."

Su Jinru gave this instruction to her son, telling him to wear a tattered coat when going out to meet people.

At home, both children were wearing thick new cotton-padded clothes.

Anran naturally understood what her mother meant by wearing a coat.

He ran inside and put on the tattered clothes he usually wore when going out.

She opened the door and came out safely.

Su Jinru: "Don't leave it for more than five minutes, or the child will freeze in the cold wind."

An Ran threw herself into Qi Zhengyang's arms, almost knocking the vulnerable Qi Zhengyang to the ground.

Anran felt warm all over, and her body smelled clean and fresh, like the unique milky scent of a child.

Cold and hungry, Qi Zhengyang clung tightly to his soft, warm son, feeling somewhat dazed.

They're all children, but the older brother's kids are all dirty and smelly, with snot smeared all over their faces, hands, and clothes.

In her past life, under Su Jinru's care, all the children were as clean and fresh as Anran is now.

At that time, Qi Zhengyang felt it was only natural. Even if they were poor and hungry, there was plenty of water, and it didn't cost any money. Wasn't it only right to keep things clean and tidy?

But Qi Zhengyang himself doesn't know how long it's been since he changed or washed the clothes he's wearing now.

On the one hand, the weather was cold and he didn't have any extra clothes to change into; on the other hand, he was so focused on being hungry that he didn't care about anything else.

An Ran looked around warily, and seeing that no one was around, she cleverly stuffed the sweet potatoes and potatoes she had hidden in her arms into Qi Zhengyang's arms.

With food tucked into his arms, the starving Qi Zhengyang focused all his attention on it.

He absentmindedly kissed his son on the cheek and then pushed him away.

"It's too cold outside, you should go back inside!"

Su Jinru said it shouldn't take more than five minutes, but in reality, Qi Zhengyang left in less than two minutes because he got what he wanted.

An Ran obediently walked into the door. Su Jinru, who was standing there, had seen everything the father and son had done. She closed the door and locked it.

An Ran was clearly a little guilty, because it was the first time he had lied to his mother and concealed the fact that he had brought the food to his father.

Their mother had warned Anran and Anxin that they should never give food from home to outsiders, even if they saw that the people were starving to death.

But Dad isn't an outsider! They can't just stand by and watch him starve to death.

The two children hid in Anran's room, whispering to each other, behind their mother's back.

“We gave Daddy food, so we can’t lie to Mommy,” the younger sister said.

"But Dad is so pitiful, he's starving to death. If Mom finds out we're giving Dad food, will she stop letting him come to see us in the future?"

"Grandma said that Dad is a bastard. He has another woman and doesn't want Mom and us anymore, so he's not pitiful, he's despicable."

“He’s a bastard, he’s despicable, but he’s our father, and I don’t want him to starve to death.”

The younger sister lowered her head, looking conflicted: "I don't want to lie to Mom, and I don't want Dad to starve to death."

"So, let's secretly give him some food, then he won't starve to death."

"So we have to lie to Mom, and lying to Mom is not good."

Anran: "Mom said that nothing in this world is perfect. When faced with a difficult choice, when you have to make a judgment, choose what is most important to you."