A peasant girl with a special ability uses herself and two wolves to escape famine!

"One bucket of water is too much for you to carry."

"Two buckets!" If we can't carry them, we'll drink them all.

Oh ho, this old geezer is pushing his luck! The hot-tempered Xia Xiaowu couldn't take it anymore!

"Just one bucket, take it or leave it, or get lost!"

Old Man Xia: ...

"Okay, one bucket it is! Could you give us two steamed buns too?"

"Do we look like people who would eat cornbread?" Xia Xiaowu's voice was full of anger.

Yes, they must have all been taken away by their families.

"Even grassroots people are fine."

He's not picky, is that alright?

"Get lost! There's nothing here, just a bucket of water! If you want grass roots, dig them up in the mountains yourself." A bunch of lazybones. No wonder Boss Xia stole them; it's all because of this shameless old man.

Xia Xiaowu felt that he had lost out even by giving away a whole bucket of water.

"Third brother, one bucket of water is too much. Let them fetch it from the well themselves. Why should we fetch it for them?" The more he thought about it, the more he felt cheated, and he didn't want to give them the water.

Old Man Xia realized that things were going wrong and that if he continued down this path, he would lose all his advantages.

"Okay, just one bucket of water. We'll leave tomorrow."

Even if nothing had happened today, he was already planning to leave.

There is no life here.

Finally, the deal was struck for a bucket of water.

As the villagers left, Old Man Xia followed behind them, carrying water.

"Old man, how can you walk now? Yaozu is lying down." They can't carry him or lift him up, and he himself can't walk.

"Old woman, Yaozu, we can't take him with us!" A tear rolled down Old Man Xia's cloudy eyes. He was reluctant to part with him, but he had no choice. Taking him along would drag the whole family down with them.

"No, we can't!"

The old woman covered her face and wept bitterly.

"What else can we do? Starve to death here with our whole family?"

"How about we leave a little later?"

"We can't wait any longer. There aren't many grass roots left. If we finish eating, we won't have the strength to escape." Old Man Xia analyzed the situation all night and concluded that his eldest grandson had to be sacrificed.

"where are we going?"

"Let's go deep into the mountains. The mountains are so vast, there's probably no water anywhere. And with such difficult mountain paths, how are we going to bring Yaozu along?"

Old Man Xia looked at his wife. The old woman remained silent; she understood what her husband meant. Her heart was filled with sorrow. It was all this damned fate's fault; did it have to drive them all to their deaths before it was satisfied?

"Old woman, one has to accept one's fate. Yaozu's leg was broken before he passed away; that was his destiny!"

"Will the eldest son agree?" The old woman was heartbroken, but deep down she felt that the old man was right; the eldest grandson couldn't be taken care of.

"What do you think?"

Yes, he'll definitely agree. This eldest brother is always cold-hearted; he didn't even grieve for two days after giving away his wife. Back then, Fuxi was the first company he advocated selling.

Perhaps he would be happier without his eldest son, because with fewer people, the others could get more food.

Actually, they weren't wrong. On the way, Xia was thinking about how to tell the old couple to get rid of him, the burden of being the eldest son.

His father was his pillar of support, and he dared not abandon him.

Otherwise, he would have run away long ago.

The whole family was inside, except for Xia Yaozu, who was lying in his own room.

After explaining his plans, Old Man Xia looked up and gazed at his eldest son and grandson.

Grandma Xia looked at Xia Dayu with concern. They felt guilty about what they had done and were afraid that their eldest son would cause trouble for them.

It took Xia Dayu a lot of effort to stop the corners of his mouth from turning up. His father was indeed his father; he did everything that pleased him.

At this point, abandoning Yaozu was the wisest thing to do.

Old Man Xia saw joy in his eldest son's eyes, but his youngest grandson looked completely bewildered, and then he felt a pang of pity. This eldest son was unreliable; if he fell from grace, he would suffer the same fate as his grandson.

It seems that the only one I can rely on is my grandson.

"It's settled then. None of you are allowed to tell anyone, and you absolutely cannot reveal a single word about it to Yaozu."

"Dad, don't worry, I know what to do!" The eldest son patted his chest. He knew that although he couldn't stop their decision, they would still make a fuss before leaving, which would be troublesome and worrying.

Ultimately, this is a thing that goes against one's conscience.

Leaving him behind meant he had no choice but to die. In effect, he had personally sent his son to his doom.

But who could blame him for his bad luck, unable to even save his own foot! He truly had the will but not the power to take him with him.

"Boss, tonight you go and serve Yaozu. Fugui, you sleep on the floor in my room tonight."

"Dad, it's so hot during the day, why don't we leave at night?"

Xia Dayu didn't understand; who would be active during the day on such a day!

"I said it's daytime, so shut up. Go boil some herbs, and everyone can rest after we eat them."

Despite being rebuffed, Xia Laoda wasn't angry. He figured his father must have his own plans, so he just asked anyway.

Old Man Xia certainly had his plans. Neither his eldest son nor his eldest grandson were reliable. Rather than being abandoned in the future, he would rather keep his eldest son to take care of Yaozu.

When the old woman learned of her husband's plans, she could do nothing but feel heartbroken and distressed.

She didn't want to die; she wanted to live. The only way to survive was to stay with the old man.

She thought that if the eldest son and Yaozu were together, the two of them could keep each other company and maybe they could find a way out.

This is the only way I can comfort myself and feel a little better.

Late at night, Old Man Xia went to Xia Yaozu's house in person. As soon as he was at the door, he heard deafening snoring coming from inside.

Very good, sleeping soundly.

"Fugui, old woman, hurry up and pack up, let's go."

"Ai!"

Xia Fugui carried a large bundle given to him by his grandfather, and held two buckets of water in his hands. His grandparents also each carried a large bundle. When were they packed? Why didn't he notice?

"Hurry up, let's go! To the mountains."

He told his boss yesterday that he was going to the south because there is water there.

Xia Fugui obediently opened the courtyard gate, took a torch, and went up the mountain.

Two elderly people followed behind.

After walking for a while, he belatedly realized that someone was missing—where was his father?

"Grandpa, we forgot about Dad." With that, he turned around, preparing to go back and call Xia Dayu.

"Stop right there! Get out of here! It's just the three of us!"

What? !

Just the three of them?!

Xia Fugui was dumbfounded; his grandfather had abandoned his father as well.

His legs went weak. What if his dad found out he'd been abandoned? Would he be furious? Would he beat him to death if he found them? He probably would.

"What are you waiting for? Are you waiting to be caught at dawn? Let's go!"

His legs moved faster than his hands; he led the way blankly, his heart pounding with anxiety.

"What are you afraid of? Yaozu needs someone to look after him no matter what. With your father around, we can rest assured." Old Man Xia said this nonsense with a straight face, trying to fool his grandson.

"But Grandpa, we took all the water and grass roots with us!"

What do they eat?