Old Man Liu: "Okay, stop crying. I'm not really blaming you. I'm just afraid that you're in danger. At this time, some people can do anything for a bite of food. What I want to say is that you should think twice before doing anything. Today, you was just beaten and the water bag was robbed. But if you really meet a ruthless person, what can I do? What do you want us to do?"
Old Mrs. Liu is not really ignorant, but she is mean and likes to take advantage. But she can still listen to her husband's words. In fact, she regretted it when her two sons were knocked to the ground.
Looking at the old man's worried eyes, Old Liu finally nodded. Seeing that the old man was relieved, she pulled the basket beside her over, poured out a few river clams and threw them to the two daughters-in-law to let them clean up quickly, and carefully took out a pinch of salt, so that they could have more meals. After all, it's meat.
Seeing the river clams poured out by his wife, Old Man Liu was also happy, and immediately said that his family would go and look for them early in the morning.
Of course, his family was not the only one who had the same idea.
On the other side, Gulan took her son to a place far away from the crowd. The mother and son sat under a tree. It was already dark at this moment. Gulan lit a fire to dispel some of the darkness. After a short rest and drinking some water with her son, Gulan started moving again.
Without water, the river clams and snails in the basket could not be left. They had to be cleaned out, otherwise they would stink in less than two days, and all the efforts before would be in vain. So Gulan got busy under the moonlight.
Mother was working, and AnAn naturally couldn't just sit there. He got up and went to help, "Mom, let me help you," he said in a baby voice.
Gulan didn't refuse, nor was she going to refuse. It was very good that the child had this enthusiasm. She couldn't dispel his awareness, and it would just have the effect of training.
"Okay, AnAn is really good, but the river clams are too hard and you are still young to open them. How about this, I will open them and AnAn will take care of the clam meat inside, okay?"
The little guy didn't answer his mother immediately, but looked at the river clams lying on the ground, chose the smallest one and tried to pry it open with his hands... Then he nodded decisively to his mother. He couldn't pry it open, and a look of embarrassment appeared on his face.
Gulan held back the smile in her eyes and comforted her voice softly, "It's okay, you are still young, and when grow up, you will naturally have more strength, and then we will be stronger than mother."
"Well... Mom, AnAn will try to grow up quickly, so that mother can do less." The little bun said firmly.
Seeing the little person firmly saying that he wanted to grow up quickly just to make her less hard, Gulan's heart softened into water at this moment.
"Okay... mother is waiting for AnAn to grow up quickly, my AnAn is great!" ... Oh my God! So touching! I am more motivated to raise my son.
The little bun was praised by his mother and laughed happily. Then the mother and son began to pick up the river clams on the ground. The little bun did not notice that the number of river clams on the ground was wrong.
Then Gulan used a dagger to pry open the river clams, and AnAn picked out the clam meat inside. The mother and son cooperated seamlessly and the speed was not slow.
Although AnAn was a little confused about the extra dagger in his mother's hand, he did not think much about it because of his trust in his mother. He thought that his mother had it, but he just didn't know it.
Soon, half a jar of clams and snail meat was collected. Gulan wanted to rinse it twice more, but she only rinsed it once when she saw the distressed look of the little bun. Fortunately, it was not dirty. Then she pickled it and stored it in a pottery jar.
The water after rinsing was not wasted. It was used to wash the two largest clam shells, which were the kind that were larger than the palm of an adult man.
The current conditions are limited. This thing can be used as a pot or bowl temporarily, and she carefully put it away.
After packing up everything, Gulan laughed as she watched the Little bun leaning against the tree and pecking at rice from the chicks. After all, children have limited energy, and how could they not be sleepy after a tiring day?
To be honest, such a young child has been walking with them for a whole day without complaining about the hardship or tiredness. It is so sensible that it makes people feel distressed.
Looking at the sleepy little guy, she originally planned to go out to find some dry grass, but she put the dry grass she had collected in the space under the tree to block some of the cold air. She didn't take out the quilt. Although she was far away from the crowd, she was still careful. She touched Dahei's head and told him to keep watch. She added a few more twigs to the fire. Gulan then hugged her son and wrapped them in the quilt to sleep. There will be more tiredness tomorrow. How can we not rest well?
She had long thrown the question of whether there was water under the mud behind her. The world is so big, and rest is the biggest thing. Anyway, she is not short of water. She just hopes to have a good sleep tonight, but will things go as she wishes?
Soon, Gulan, holding her son, breathed evenly and fell into a deep sleep. Dahei carefully lay beside the two of them. His ears seemed to be half-closed, but they moved from time to time, indicating that he was vigilant.
The night gradually thickened, and the early autumn night was slightly chilly. Even Dahei couldn't help wanting to get closer to his master. It was quiet all around. The people who had been tiring for a day of fleeing famine fell into a deep sleep. Several dark shadows passed by in the night. After years of vigilance, Gulan opened her eyes almost at the same time as Dahei, and a fierce look flashed in her eyes.
When she joined the group of refugees, Gulan was mentally prepared, so she wanted others to think twice before doing it, but she didn't expect that some people would still not give up!
Listening to the footsteps approaching in the night, Gulan took her son in her arms into the space without hesitation, so that she could let go. It was impossible to pretend to sleep. Dahei had already made an attacking posture, baring his teeth and making a "wooooo" warning sound.
Good dog, seeing Dahei working so hard to protect his master, Gulan immediately decided to reward him with a sausage as a reward. Dahei was too thin, and being fatter would be more intimidating. Dahei's warning also told the people in the dark that they had been discovered.
"Dead dog, I'll eat you when I get back," one of them cursed. Since they had been exposed, they simply stopped hiding. Several people with uneven weapons surrounded them with ferocious faces.
At this time, Gulan had stood up and stopped Dahei who wanted to come forward. She held a dagger in her hand and stared at the men who were gradually approaching with neat clothes. These people were obviously more orderly and stronger than the refugees seen in the daytime. It seemed that they had robbed others' food on the way.
While Gulan was looking at them, several people led by the one with a diagonal scar on his face also looked at Gulan. To their disappointment, they did not see the fear and panic in this man's eyes, which made them feel nervous, as if this man was not afraid of them.
"Brother, this kid looks hard to mess with!" The person closest to the scarred man whispered. His eyesight was very good and he could clearly see that the man not far away not only had no fear on his face, but also had a very calm look. Obviously, he did not take them seriously. He had a bad idea in his heart and could not help but remind the boss.
Hearing this, the scarred man glared at him. This kid is just timid. If he wasn't his own brother, he would really disdain to take him with him.