Song Wufu came back very late. It turned out that the old village chief not only called him, but also called several other old people, mainly to discuss whether to release the news that the Lucheng government was going to expel the victims in advance, so that the victims could be ready to leave.
Everyone discussed it for a long time and finally decided to keep it a secret for the time being and wait until they set off early the day after tomorrow before revealing it to avoid unnecessary trouble caused by telling them in advance.
We can't blame them for being selfish. It concerns hundreds of people in the village, old and young, and there is no room for carelessness.
It is very possible that the victims do not believe them, think they are spreading rumors, hate them for this, or even form a group to attack them.
It is undoubtedly the most appropriate thing to reveal this news before leaving.
Seeing that everyone was in a low mood over this matter, Song Xixi couldn't help but said: "The rich households in the city did not give out porridge today. Someone should have guessed the reason. Those who want to leave will naturally leave by then. Those who don't want to leave have revealed this news.
They won’t believe it either.”
Song Wufu and others did not expect that she could say these words at such a young age, so they all looked at her blankly.
Song Xixi's heart skipped a beat, and she was annoyed that she shouldn't talk too much, but her face was calm: "The ancestors also said that the most important thing is to protect yourself at critical moments. It would be good for both of you to help others when you have enough energy."
Hearing about their ancestors, the Song family suddenly realized: It turns out they are from the ancestors’ religion! As expected of the ancestors, the longer they “live”, the more understanding they have than the average person!
Seeing that they had no suspicion, Song Xixi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and reminded herself again that she was only a seven-year-old girl and that what she did and said should not be too outrageous.
However, she can gradually show a side that is different from ordinary children. Over time, they will think that it is the result of the words and deeds of her ancestors, and then she will no longer need to pretend to be a child.
Pretending for a long time, let alone being tired, will really make you childish.
That night, the cries at the city gate never stopped, and countless people fell asleep hungry and cold until the sun rose again the next day.
There were a lot of victims going out to look for food today. Except for the frail old people and children of a few years old who stayed behind, everyone else went to the wild. The dry rivers were densely packed with people.
Zhou Taohua and Yang Cuilian were no exception. They came over early to call Niu Hua'er and her three sisters to find something to eat.
Under the influence of the two men, the third sister-in-law, who had no shortage of food and drink, also became anxious and left with a water bamboo tube and a shovel.
The three Song Cai brothers couldn't stand waiting, so they simply went to look for food with others.
Song Wufu and Zhang Xiaomei did not dare to wander around, and stayed in the gathering place to look after a few children. They occasionally looked at the elderly and children who were weak from hunger, and there was a deep look of sadness on their faces, but there was nothing they could do.
Song Niannian came to Song Xixi, pointed at a child not far away who was too hungry to get up and said, "Little sister, that little brother is so pitiful!"
Song Xixi took a look, and without stopping, pricked the top of Niu Niu's head: "Just wait until his parents find something to eat."
Song Niannian sniffed, eyes red: "What if his parents can't find food? He will starve to death, right?"
Song Xixi heard something interesting and asked: "What do you want to do?"
Somehow, Song Niannian didn't dare to answer: "I, I..."
She bit her lip and struggled for a long time, and finally plucked up the courage to spread her hands, revealing a toffee that Song Niannian had given her in the morning: "Little sister, can I give this to him?"
Song Xixi nodded: "Okay, this piece of candy is yours, you can give it to whoever you want."
Song Niannian's face lit up, and just as he was about to get up, he heard Song Xixi say: "When his parents come back, he will tell his parents that you gave him delicious food, and his parents will think that you still have a lot of candy.
Maybe they will ask you for it. If you say you don’t have it, they won’t believe it. During the dispute, more people will know that you have candy, and then they will come to you for it, making you pity their children..."
Song Niannian couldn't imagine the scene of a large group of people asking for candy from her. Before Song Xixi finished speaking, she covered her head and shook her head: "Stop talking, stop talking, I won't give it to you, I won't give it to you!"
Her candies were given by her ancestors. Grandpa said that the existence of her ancestors was a secret and could not be known to anyone, otherwise the whole family would not be able to eat it, and countless bad people would be concerned about her.
For a child under the age of eight, Song Xixi would not scold her for her innocence and kindness, but could only tell her the consequences of doing so.
Seeing that Song Niannian could understand, she stopped talking and continued to give Niu Niu her hair.
Song Niannian gasped for breath, and it took him a while to calm down. He looked blankly at the little knot on Niu Niu's head: "Then you give Niu Niu candy, aren't you afraid of being known by others?"
Hearing her call her name, Niu Niu turned to look at her, her childish face full of ignorance and innocence.
Song Niannian took a look and vaguely understood why the little sister treated her differently from other children.
Song Xixi glanced at her and said: "People are different. With Aunt Yang's character, no matter what Niu Niu says, she will pretend not to know, and she will also teach Niu Niu not to tell others."
From the time she was escaping to the present, the matter of feeding Niu Niu had never been made public, but she had never deliberately concealed it from Yang Cuilian.
If Yang Cuilian was really greedy, she could just use Niu Niu to make herself miserable in front of her, but she didn't do that.
In addition to letting her watch Niuniu every day, I still go out early and come back late to find food.
Perhaps this is Yang Cuilian's cleverness. She knows that if she doesn't look for trouble, she will not miss a bite of Niu Niu.
Therefore, for the sake of her daughter, Yang Cuilian would not do anything to harm her.
Song Niannian didn't seem to understand, he tilted his chin and stared blankly into space.
There were too many people going out to look for food today. Several groups of people fought over a few edible leaf grasses. In the end, they were carried back with a bloody head by their companions. High and low cries sounded again at the empty city gate.
In the evening, the victims were still queuing up in front of the porridge shed with bowls in their hands full of hope, but the city gate was always closed, and the small cart that gave them hope no longer appeared.
A powerful man held a sick child in one hand and a broken bowl in the other. Suddenly, he handed the unconscious child to his companion and slammed the bowl to the ground with both hands.
In an instant, the bowl that he had used to feed his children every day was shattered on the ground.
Amid the exclamations of his companions, the man picked up a big stone and rushed towards the city gate, slamming it hard on the heavy city gate: "Open the door! Open the door! I want to go in, I want to save my child, let me in -
—”
Such a crazy move instantly touched everyone with children.
Immediately afterwards, a thin woman also picked up a big stone and smashed it against the city gate with all her strength: "Why can those rich people live in the city and my children have to starve to death? Why?
Why——”
Yes, why, why are we all human beings, why should we watch those high-ranking rich people treat them like dogs, give them some porridge when they are in a good mood, and ignore them when they are in a bad mood?
Someone in the crowd raised their arms and shouted: "There is food and clean water in the city. Let's rush in. If we rush in, we will have a way to survive. Everyone, hurry up -"