Natural disasters in books: I stockpiled goods to escape famine in ancient times

Song Shiwei sat at the head of the main hall. Zhang Wu went to the kitchen to light a fire. Feng Ru sat below Song Shiwei, lowering her head and not daring to look at him. Only her slightly shaking shoulders revealed her sadness.

Zhang Wu came in with a brazier and poured a cup of hot water for Song Shiwei. Then he took another cup and walked to Feng Ru, held her little hand, and put the warm cup in her palm. Zhang Wu glanced at his master, pursed his lips, and walked to sit down opposite Feng Ru.

Song Shiwei sighed softly: "When did your mother leave? Where is Li An? Why is he not by your side?"

Feng Ru still lowered her head, her voice as thin as a fly: "Mom left this morning, brother Li An is not here."

"Master, Brother Li should still be in the military camp right now. He told me about this before."

Song Shiwei frowned: "Why did your mother pass away? Was she sick?"

Feng Ru shook her head repeatedly, raised her head and looked up with tears in her eyes: "My mother got up at night to add firewood, and when she went to the yard, she fell and hit her head. When I heard the sound and went out to see, Brewer was lying on the ground, with a lot of blood on the back of his head."

At this point Feng Ru sniffed and said with an obvious crying tone: "It's all my fault. If mom hadn't been afraid that I would get cold, she wouldn't have gotten up to add firewood. If she hadn't gotten up to add firewood, he wouldn't have fallen. It's all my fault, wuwu. If it weren't for me, my mom wouldn't have..."

Zhang Wu received Song Shiwei's look, stood up, walked to Feng Ru, half-knelt, gently placed his palm on Feng Ru's little head, rubbed it and said gently: "This is not your fault, you didn't know your mother would fall, don't blame yourself, no one wants this to happen, your mother loves you, so she got up in the middle of the night to add firewood, I think she would do the same if she had to do it again."

Feng Ru's small body slipped into Zhang Wu's arms, her hands clenched into fists, tears fell one by one, and she gritted her teeth to stop herself from crying out loud, which made people feel heartbroken.

Song Shiwei's slender hands groped along the edge of the cup, and after a while he said, "What are we going to do on the street today?"

Feng Ru's face was red from crying. She came back from Zhangwu with tearful eyes and said in a sobbing voice: "I want to bury my mother, but I don't have money."

"Zhang Wu, go buy a coffin now and find a good place to live."

Zhang Wu agreed and carefully placed Feng Ru on the stool.

"Brother Zhang Wu, there's no need to choose a place. My mother has said before that she wants to go home."

Zhang Wu asked, "Where is it?"

Feng Ru let go of Zhang Wu's hand and whispered, "It's on West Street. My family used to live there. We lost our home after my father passed away. My mother always talked about the river in front of our house."

"Okay, then we'll settle your mother by the creek," Zhang Wu said, then stood up and strode out.

Only Song Shiwei and Feng Ru were left in the main room, and the atmosphere became quiet.

Song Shiwei was not unaware of the burning gazes from below, so he calmly took a sip of the water, then put it down and slowly asked, "What are your plans for the future?"

"I want to learn some skills. Mom told me to learn some skills before she left."

Song Shiwei looked outside the house, his eyes indifferent: "Let's not talk about learning skills for now. Li An went to another place a few days ago and was not in the city. He should have explained to the Zhou Mansion before he left. No one took you in when you went to the Zhou Mansion?"

Feng Ru opened her eyes wide and shook her head honestly: "The gatekeeper said that Brother Li An is not in the house, so he won't let me in."

Song Shiwei frowned upon hearing this, but didn't say anything. He just said, "You are alone here now, which is always unsafe. Have you thought about where to go next? Li An will be back soon. If you are willing, I can tell him. You can learn some skills by following him in the future."

"Sister Song, can I...can I follow you?"

Facing those cautious and expectant eyes, Song Shiwei's heart trembled: "You want to follow me?"

"Yes, Ruer wants to follow Sister Song. When Ruer grows up, she will repay Sister Song's kindness."

Song Shi narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "You can't learn any skills from me. Don't you want to learn skills? Here, if a woman wants to stand out in the world, it's not easy without skills. You either have to rely on others or get married. You should think it through. At least if you follow Li An, he has ways for you to learn skills."

Feng Ru shook her head: "If I can stay with my sister, I would be willing even if I can't learn any skills."

Although the little girl's voice was tearful, it was still powerful and her eyes were so determined and sincere.

Song Shi was silent for a moment, then smiled faintly: "Okay, since you are willing, and your brother Zhang Wu won't be around me for long, then you can take his place. But there are some things I want to say in advance. If you want to follow me, you can't just say it."

Feng Ru smiled immediately after hearing this. She walked straight to Song Shiwei and knelt down, looking at her with sparkling eyes: "As long as I can be with my sister, Ru'er is willing to do anything."

Song Shiwei looked at her steadily, took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve, poured out a pill, and twisted it in his hand: "Taking this pill will make you never betray me. Even the slightest bad thought can make you heartbroken. Have you thought it through?"

In his heart, Song Shiwei didn't want to take in such a young person, but when he thought of the little girl's experience, he didn't know why he couldn't say a direct refusal; plus, he had the secret of space on him, so the people around him had to be loyal enough, so he used the loyalty pill to scare her away.

Feng Ru looked at the medicine in Song Shiwei's hand with his eyes wide open. He seemed to muster up the courage to stand up, walked up to Song Shiwei and wanted to take the medicine.

Song Shiwei turned his wrist and avoided her hand: "Have you really thought it through? If you eat it, there will be no turning back."

Feng Ru gritted his teeth and said nothing, just nodded continuously.

With a light sigh, Song Shiwei took out a dagger from his arms, and blood from his fingertips dripped onto the loyalty pill, and then he handed it to Feng Ru.

"Thank you sister for giving Ruer the opportunity to stay with you. Ruer will definitely serve you well in the future," she said, tilting her head back and pouring the medicine into her mouth, so quickly and neatly.

Song Shi pursed his lips slightly and said, "You will be mine from now on. Although I can't teach you any skills, if you really want to learn, I will help you. I don't have so many rules here. You can live as comfortably as you want. When you have nothing to do on weekdays, just follow Zhang Wu and let him teach you how to read first."

Feng Ru nodded like a chick pecking at rice, walked spontaneously to Song Shiwei's side and stood still, then picked up the kettle with difficulty to pour her some water.

Song Shiwei held her hand and said, "You don't have to do this. You are mine, but not my slave."

"Ruer always listens to her sister."

"After we bury your mother, we will go back. Zhang Wu will go and talk to Li Ang."

Feng Ru nodded, and her mother looked gloomy when she mentioned her.

Song Shiwei never knew how to comfort others, nor was he used to feeling sad, so he said, "Go pack your luggage first."

Feng Ru lowered his head and agreed, looking at every brick and tile in the yard with reluctance.