Don't panic in a famine, I live in the mountains with my golden finger

Xu Zhi heard unclear words outside, and then there was no movement after a while.

Fearing that something might have happened to Xu Yuan inside, Xu Zhi had no choice but to push the door and go in.

"Sister, I'm coming in."

It was the first time that Xu Zhi saw his sister get up so late, with the thin quilt crumpled up on the bed.

Worried whether her sister was really sleeping in or was sick, she lifted a corner of the quilt with her little hand and touched her forehead.

Then he smiled, closed the door with peace of mind, and walked out.

"Second sister, why hasn't my elder sister gotten up yet? Is she sick?" Xuanyue held a bowl of porridge, picked up a piece of bean sprouts with chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth. He looked curiously at Xu Zhi who walked into the kitchen, but did not see Xu Yuan.

Song Guozi had finished breakfast and went to the vegetable garden in the backyard to water the vegetable seedlings in the field.

"No, your elder sister may be tired recently. Let her have a good rest." Xu Zhi packed some porridge and bean sprouts and put them on the stove and covered them. He then went to see how the bean sprouts were growing and changed some clean water.

Recently, farm work in the paddy fields has become busy. The roots of the seedlings have been firmly established and the weeds have begun to take root, so it is time to start weeding.

"Xiaoduo, did Dahua feed the grass today?"

Xiaoduo wiped his mouth and said, "Hey, we have the freshest weeds every day. Dahua has a good appetite now."

Xu Yuan woke up and opened the door. The house was quiet and he felt a little uncomfortable, so he stretched his body.

After leaving the room and washing up, he saw the covered food on the stove, made a wish to finish it quickly, and then checked the number of bean sprouts.

It's time to deliver the goods in a few days.

The door to the backyard was closed, so he figured they wouldn't be in the vegetable garden. He picked up a hoe, closed the door, and walked towards the paddy field.

From a distance, I saw the three siblings pulling something carefully in the paddy field.

Guozi saw it with sharp eyes and said, "Big sister, there's not so much here, there's not so much over there, we're almost done."

There is not much water in the rice field right now, and because of the weeding, Xu Zhi just drained some of it.

Xu Yuan rolled up his trouser legs and went down to the field. When he saw weeds, he stepped on them into the mud and made his way to Xu Zhi.

"You don't have to pull it up and throw it out. You can just step on it and bury it. This way it will be much faster and you don't have to bend over all the time."

"And this weed, step on it and bury it too."

The three siblings followed suit, speeding up their work a lot.

"Sister, I have an idea. There is so much water here. How about putting some small fish in it?" Xu Zhi remembered the dried fish that his sister took to the county town to sell last time. The price was not bad. He could also make money by selling dried fish in the future.

"It's a good idea, but it's not possible now. Let's spread the fertilizer first." Xu Yuan planned to spread some wood ash first. As for cow dung, it would have to be fermented, and there was no time to do that right now.

"Then can I catch a few crayfish and raise them in there? Then I will have more shrimps than I can eat." Many ideas suddenly came to mind, and they thought of the delicious crayfish.

Xu Yuan had never done these before, and he didn't know if he could support the baby. "Let's give it a try, maybe he can."

In recent days, most of the big lobsters have been caught by the villagers, and only some as big as fingers have escaped.

With Xuyuan's participation, everyone quickly removed all the weeds.

Xuyuan gathered some hay nearby, tied it into a bundle, and carried it back home.

……

Lin'an City

"Have you heard?"

"What? Did I miss something good?"

"I heard from villagers living near the west side of Zhupian Mountain that the top of the mountain was glowing red last night until dawn. Everyone was afraid that the forest would burn down, so they all ran towards the fire, and then the fire was extinguished after a while."

"Extinguished? That mountain caught fire for no reason, and it was extinguished for no reason?"

"Yes, the county government also sent people there. Don't you think this is strange? I also heard that there seems to be a village inside." The person next to him heard someone mention it and also interrupted, "Also, there are some parts that were not completely burned down, and many people were burned to death. You can still see some traces."

"It's so weird that the fire didn't spread outside. Maybe there's an immortal protecting it."

"It seems that the old saying is still true, evildoers will be punished by God!"

"I'd venture to guess that this is definitely not a good place."

"Come on, a fire broke out in such a remote place, and there are dead bodies. Even a fool can guess that it is not a good place. It might be a bandit's den. It's better to burn it down."

"Haven't children disappeared in the neighboring villages recently? Could it be that this gang did it? Now they are asking for revenge."

"What's going on? Is this true?"

"You are a single old man with no children at home. It's normal that you don't know. I have been keeping a close eye on the kids at home these days."

"No way, Auntie, how can you say that? I don't like to hear that."

"I don't care whether you like it or not, this is the truth."

At this time, a man ran over from the prefect's side, shouting all the way.

"Go check it out. There's a notice posted on the cliff."

"Yeah, I'm going to go check it out."

"No, can you read? Why do you want to join the crowd?"

"Are you being polite? Just because I can't read doesn't stop me from going to watch the fun, you idiot."

……

There was a lot of noise outside, but it was quiet inside the county government office.

Prefect Wu sat upright on the high platform, looking at Liu Zhushan below and several children beside him.

"Liu Zhushan, I have sent the children whose names and hometowns were on the list back to their respective homes. How do you plan to accommodate the children who don't want to go back and those who have no place to go?"

Liu Zhushan looked at the several pairs of small hands around him that were tightly grasping the corners of his clothes, and thought for a moment.

"I don't know what arrangements the adults have made. What I want to think in my heart is to see what they want."

"After all, the adults will definitely not let them fend for themselves."

"Well, make your own decision. After all, you are the one who saved these children."

"Thank you, sir. You are wise."

Liu Zhushan got the money and took the children out of the yamen.

More than twenty children were rescued, and except for his own son, there are only five children left homeless.

"Kids, what do you think?"

"Uncle Liu, I was sold by my family and they abandoned me. I will definitely not go back. Can I follow you? I can work and help you." A girl of about eleven or twelve years old spoke softly.

"Me too, Uncle Liu. My father said I was a money-loser and sold me for a tael of silver. I thought I was going to wait for death in that dark place. After all, the friends who were called out every night have not been seen since then."

When Liu Zhushan heard this, he sighed helplessly. A small hand tugged at the corner of Liu Zhushan's clothes and looked down.

A timid little girl looked at Liu Zhushan, nodded her head, and opened her mouth but made no sound.

The little kids nearby looked at Liu Zhushan with bright eyes.

"Okay, you all call me Uncle Liu, how could I bear to let you leave on your own?"