The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 33: Drought and Famine (IV)

People had to leave before it got dark, and a long line of people walked sparsely.

Chen Huihong, who was at the front, was walking briskly. She didn't look like a disaster victim, except that her appearance was a little shabby. Especially her clothes that were stuffed with straw. Compared with the weak disaster victims beside her, she looked like a strong man who could fight ten people at once.

Hui Niang was a little afraid that her expression would change faster than turning the pages of a book, so she followed Chen Huihong closely, even if she couldn't keep up, she would grit her teeth and jog to keep up. Chen Huihong would occasionally look back at Hui Niang's staggering figure and slow down a little.

As for the third person walking in the team, his expression and movements were much more ferocious.

In terms of body shape, Ren Yazi was thin and normal for modern people. He looked to be in his 40s or 50s, and was very tall, about the same height as Chen Huihong. He was wearing tattered clothes, which were relatively thick. He was holding a sweet potato in his arms and carrying valuables on his body, which made him quite wealthy among the disaster victims.

Maybe because she was carrying a heavy load, it was much harder for her to catch up with Chen Huihong than it was for Hui Niang. Chen Huihong didn't care at all whether she could catch up or not and just kept walking forward and waited for Hui Niang.

The human trafficker didn't want to be left behind by Chen Huihong, but was also afraid that the goods behind him would really fall behind. He walked tiredly and anxiously, looking ahead and behind, and could only curse in a low voice all the way, anyway Chen Huihong couldn't hear him.

Chen Huihong couldn't hear it, but Qin Huai could.

From mid-afternoon until dark, Qin Huai had a general idea of ​​the situation of the team.

Compared with the scene I saw in my last dream, this time Chen Huihong and Hui Niang should be temporary teammates who have been working together for a few months and have a tacit understanding. Not only did they get out of the drought-stricken area, but they also made up their identities and determined their direction.

As for the human trafficker, her surname was Zhang, and everyone else called her Grandma Zhang.

From Zhang Po's perspective, Chen Huihong was a young lady from a wealthy family with a strange personality, who became stupid after studying foreign things and got separated from her family while fleeing famine. Hui Niang was a maid she picked up on the way.

This strange team was formed because Zhang Po's husband died.

Zhang Po is from Beijing and has been in this business for more than ten years. They have always been a husband-and-wife team. In the past two years, there was a severe drought in Shanxi. The couple made a lot of money by buying low and selling high. This year, they heard that the drought was still there, so they went to Shanxi to buy people with the idea of ​​making another fortune.

Unexpectedly, the drought this year was even worse than the previous two years. The crops failed, and the land was barren. Ordinary families had to sell their children to survive. They didn't even need money or food to buy people. With just a cry, a large number of people would rush to follow the traffickers for a bite of food.

In the famine, people ate each other. Desperate hunger turned people into beasts. Zhang Po's husband died accidentally during a shopping trip. Zhang Po, who witnessed everything from a distance, was frightened and fled with the goods she had collected overnight, away from the crowd, and finally met Chen Huihong and Hui Niang who were also away from the crowd.

Hui Niang was born in a farmer's family with a decent financial situation. She was a little stronger and taller than the girls from really poor families. When Qin Huai first saw Hui Niang in his dream, he thought she was skinny and extremely malnourished, and was far inferior to Chen Huihui in the real world. But compared with the group of boys bought by Zhang Po, Hui Niang was much better than them.

Not to mention Chen Huihong, with her height, body shape, and appearance, she must be from a wealthy family. Before, only Hui Niang was not obvious in comparison, but now she stands out among this group of people.

Hui Niang knew the way and could find water, and Chen Huihong looked like she had a backer, was healthy and could fight. Zhang Po's husband had dozens of new goods after his death, and she was afraid that she could not keep the food on her body, so she wanted to go with Chen Huihong, hoping to find a strong man to protect herself.

When Zhang Po met Chen Huihong, there were more than twenty half-grown children around her. The oldest were thirteen or fourteen years old, and the youngest were only six or seven years old, both boys and girls.

By now, the good-looking girls had been sold at a discount along the way, and those who were weak and could not keep up died on the road. The ones who remained until now were considered Zhang Po's choice. They looked weak and about to die. When they arrived in Beijing and had two full meals to restore their energy, they could still be sold for a good price.

Now that they were about to arrive in Peking, Mrs. Zhang set her sights on Hui Niang.

Hui Niang survived the journey by eating bean cakes once every two days and other food she found along the way. She was considered to be doing well among the disaster victims, and when she got out of the city, she was one of the high-quality disaster victims with the best chance of being selected and bought. Zhang Po lost her husband and money along the way, so she sold her goods at a low price. It would be inconvenient for her to do the human trafficking business alone, so she thought about making more money this last time, and selling as many as she could.

In order to earn more money, Grandma Zhang even generously gave Chen Huihong and Hui Niang a small sweet potato each.

Zhang Po used a flint to light the hay, which in turn lit the wood to roast sweet potatoes and keep warm. Hui Niang sat by the fire, holding a clay pot filled with water and waiting for the water to settle. Chen Huihong was probably worried that the flames would ignite the hay in her clothes, so she sat farther away, turned her back and silently chewed on the bark, and put the sweet potatoes in her clothes.

"Hui Niang, have you and your young lady been to Peking before?" Mrs. Zhang spoke to Hui Niang.

Hui Niang shook her head silently. "Beijing is big, with the imperial palace and the prince's mansion. The emperor is gone now, but those old princes and nobles are still very wealthy. If you can work in the prince's mansion, you can have 10 bean flour cakes a day, not to mention one every two days." Mrs. Zhang offered the temptation of bean flour cakes.

Hui Niang was unmoved and said that she had seen the world: "But I want to eat white flour buns."

Mrs. Zhang: "...We also have white flour buns. The girls in the alleys are so rich that they can eat things like pea yellow, donkey rolls, and kidney bean rolls, which were previously only available to the nobles in the palace. Have you heard of these foods? They are all precious and good things, made from fine grains, even finer than fine grains, with plenty of sugar, sweeter than honey!"

Hui Niang remained unmoved, because she had never eaten fine grains or honey, and could not imagine what Zhang Po was talking about.

Zhang Po did not give up: "If it doesn't work out, you can work as a laborer in a restaurant or oil mill. Some places don't discriminate. Although life is hard in those places, you can still get enough food. If you think bean rice is tasteless, you can go and get some food. It costs 1 copper coin and chopsticks. If you are lucky, you may get a piece of meat."

At this point, Zhang Po blinked her lips as if recalling something: "Once, Li Mazi, who was selling staring food, bought the basket from somewhere. He said it was from a Tai-something-lou restaurant outside the Great Wall. The taste was delicious even when it was rotten. It was really worth spending a penny."

Hui Niang was moved by Zhang Po's beautiful description of eating meat with a copper coin. Hui Niang ran to Chen Huihong with the jar in her arms and handed it to her: "Sister, drink some water."

The water has almost settled.

Chen Huihong took a small sip politely, returned the can to Hui Niang, and continued to play with the half-broken wooden horse she had picked up earlier.

"Sister, Mrs. Zhang just said that you can eat meat in Peking City for only one copper coin." Hui Niang whispered.

"I heard it." Chen Huihong said calmly, "It's all swill. If you eat too much, you'll get sick. If you're unlucky, you'll die."

"But..." Hui Niang still felt a little eager, "I can eat meat."

Several boys who were lying down to rest had the same idea as Hui Niang. One of the boys struggled to get up, looked at Grandma Zhang with longing, and asked, "Grandma Zhang... Grandma Zhang, when we get to Beiping, can we also eat meat for a copper coin?"

"Eat, eat, eat, all you know is eating!" Mrs. Zhang scolded angrily, "How much of my food did you eat on the way? We were walking so slowly, it would be great if I could give you a full meal when we got to Peking. Who told you to sit and talk? Don't you know that sitting and talking is a waste of energy and food?"

"All of you lie down and sleep. We'll be on our way at daybreak. When we get to Peking, we'll have to find buyers for your products. The sooner you sell them, the less I'll have to eat!"

The children hurriedly lay down. Grandma Zhang carefully ate the sweet potato, even the skin, and swallowed it slowly, then curled up with the bag in her arms and went to sleep.

It seemed like in an instant, Chen Huihong and Hui Niang were the only ones left sitting.

"Sister, why do we need to find a job when we get to Peking? It seems easy to get beaten to death if we become beggars." Hui Niang asked in a low voice.

"That's your business." Chen Huihong put away the wooden horse. "I don't know where to go. You said your parents might go to Peking. I'll go with you."

"When we get there, you go find your way and I'll go mine."

After saying that, Chen Huihong lay down, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Hui Niang was still sitting with the jar in her arms. She sat there blankly for a while, then lay down carefully, with her back against Chen Huihong's, and fell asleep quietly.

In the light of the fire, Qin Huai saw Chen Huihong open her eyes and glance at Hui Niang, then adjust her posture so that Hui Niang would not be too uncomfortable, and then closed her eyes and fell asleep.

This afternoon I found my white cat peeing blood, so I rushed him to the hospital, spending $1720.

It’s so expensive to take a cat to the doctor
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(End of this chapter)