He didn’t want to protect the children’s inner world by telling them the world is still beautiful and dark, only to end up letting Gan Shang and the others find out accidentally.
The managers of the refugees, although sowhat bullying with their power, didn’t dare to go too far.
Once they did go too far, they would be silently killed in their sleep at night.
This wasn’t the first ti it had happened.
But soon, new managers would be elected.
And the newly elected managers often turned out just like their predecessors.
Half an hour later.
Finally, they had gathered these refugees together.
"Quiet, quiet down, be quiet," Hai Chao shouted at them with a gaphone.
The bustling crowd was in chaos, not knowing what was happening.
For them, they only knew that they hadn’t received food from either Gan Shang or Ju Tianrui for a long ti.
They had a slightly better impression of Ju Tianrui, after all, they could see so things with their own eyes.
But what they didn’t know was that Ju Tianrui was also under the control of Gan Shang.
Ju Tianrui’s subordinates, Dong Tai, and others also noticed the commotion here and ca over to check.
"I don’t know what tricks Gan Shang and his lot are up to. If you ask , we should just fight it out with them. I can’t stand this nonsense."
"Leaders have their own considerations; we should not judge rashly."
So people said this.
"I just can’t stand watching Gan Shang and his people cheat others with food, it’s infuriating."
"To survive is also a way out," he sighed leisurely.
.....
Gan Shang was in the mood today, and he brought over a hundred people to South District.
Looking at the bustling crowd.
Standing on a platform, he suddenly felt like he had beco a king, maybe that was why his father had told him to gather people.
But Gan Xiong had not expected Gan Shang to adopt such a thod, which not only failed to restore farming but also gathered people to constantly transport and sell them in the west.
Hai Chao said through the gaphone:
"It’s the sa as before, but the price is better. One person, under 20 years old, a woman, exchange for a pound of millet, last ti it was only half a pound. First co, first served, no waiting!"
"Those who have decided, co to the far right. Form another line."
Boom —
As he spoke, the inhabitants of the refugee camp began to discuss among themselves again.
.......
Ju Tianrui sent people over, ard with guns, watching Gan Shang and his group.
After Hai Chao had finished speaking, dozens of people imdiately ran to the right and stood there.
Hai Chao, with a few people, checked the individuals in this line one by one.
.....
Among these refugees, there was a family of four.
The brother was seventeen, the sister twenty. Both parents were university professors.
When the apocalypse broke out that year, the daughter had just been admitted to university, only one sester into college.
It was fortunate that their ho was near the university, so when the apocalypse erupted, they luckily stayed together, hiding at ho for a month without infection.
After much displacent, they arrived here.
Their father had fallen ill, too weak to stand from hunger.
She looked at her mother and said:
"I’m going, exchange for a pound of millet, otherwise we will all starve to death. Mom, don’t try to persuade . Give a chance to live, and give all of you a chance to survive."
Her tone was calm, like a block of ice buried deep beneath the sea, cold as stone.
Calm to the point of being frightening.
The mother’s ashen face wobbled like a bobblehead:
"No, absolutely not, we would rather starve than let you go over there."
Her eyes looked numb, as if murmuring to herself, or convincing herself, how they could have fallen to this point.
What is pain?
It’s like slicing your flesh with a dull knife, bit by bit, cutting the flesh from your face.
It’s the pain of having your wisdom tooth extracted without anesthesia when the trigeminal nerve is involved.
It’s the pain of cancer chemotherapy, when all the internal organs hurt together, the pain that keeps you awake all night, your intestines twisting together.
And all these pains are nothing compared to the pain the mother feels right now.
What is the greatest pain in the world?
Heartache.
There is no greater sorrow than a dead heart.
The heart is not dead, but already powerless.
Ask yourself, your children whom you’ve cherished your whole life.
The daughter, sensible and wanting to repay, thought to exchange herself for food to save her father.
The more sensible she is, the more pain it brings.
To the mother, both daughter and son are flesh and blood from her own body.
She loves them both.
The daughter, seeing her mother like this, glanced at her brother squatting beside their seated father.
Without tears or expression, she gently walked up and hugged her mother, softly whispering in her ear:
"Mum, just think of as dead. Don’t tell dad, and don’t let my brother find out."
A flash of grief crossed the mother’s eyes.
The next second, her daughter let go of her mother, intending to walk towards that queue.
But she didn’t move; the mother clutched her sleeve tightly, refusing to let her go.
The determination in her eyes made the previously tearless daughter instantly shed tears.
Tears the size of soybeans just fell.
Silent.
The elder sister struggled hard; after all, being younger, she was a bit stronger than her mother.
Just as the mother was about to lose her grip, she yelled out to her son behind: "Ah Zheng, co quick! Grab your sister, she’s going to sell herself!"
The brother and sister had a close relationship; ever since they were little, the sister, three years his senior, had always cherished him.
On hearing this, the brother rushed over.
Tightly holding onto his sister’s arm, he said emphatically, "Sis, don’t go."
The young boy was thin.
With a face that had yet to see the blooms of acne, though gaunt to the point of distortion, one could still discern his good looks.
The brother was brave, as a small kid, he dared to fight those who bullied his sister.
That’s her brother.
The sister wanted to speak, but the brother pulled her back, saying sternly: "Sis, dad said, if a family is to die, they should die together."
Their father, already close to fainting from hunger, could barely open his eyes.
He saw what had happened too, but he could no longer stand, even speaking was difficult.
"Ah Zheng is right, if we die... huff, huff, huff... let’s be together," the father said laboriously and then closed his eyes.
Fainting away.
The sister broke into tears. She and her mother hugged each other tightly.
Ah Zheng looked at the long, long line.
It had already surpassed two hundred people.
His eyes were filled with uncontrollable anger.
Similar situations were unfolding in the South District refugee camp.
Playing out.
...
"Boss, it looks like there won’t be a need to force them. There are already over two hundred people," Hai Chao said to Gan Shang.
Gan Shang laughed: "People, only when they’re on the verge of starvation, realize the preciousness of life. Compared to everything else, the most important thing is to survive.
Look, just like that, isn’t it settled, haha."
Hai Chao glanced warily at Dong Tai and the others.
The group sent by Ju Tianrui, their hands clenching guns, turned blue with force.
They wanted to help, but they too were running low on food.
Their supply for a dozen people wouldn’t fix much of the problems for the thousands of refugees.
Dong Tai, with eyes nearly bursting, dragged his heavy steps to Ju Tianrui’s room to report everything.
Bang—
Ju Tianrui slamd the table hard.
"Son of a bitch!"
For a long ti, Ju Tianrui’s heavy breathing was like a bellows.
Rapid and tumultuous.
.......
After a while.
"How much food did the last team collect?" Ju Tianrui asked.
Dong Tai replied: "We’ve searched the areas within tens of kiloters nearby, almost nothing left. The team ca back with little gain; we’ll have to look further afield now."
Ju Tianrui rubbed his temples, sitting on the chair.
He said helplessly: "Leave alone for a while."
Dong Tai walked out.
The river flowed.
Murky and carrying a sense of danger.
The air seed to be filled with despair.
The bone-piercing sun scorched the human soul.
Shivering, shivering.
The human heart is full of holes.
What good is giving up a life?
The heart burns with murderous intent!
The heart burns with murderous intent!
The end of the world, yet it is not of the destructive kind.
It cannot destroy everything, cannot eradicate sin.
Burn.
Let the sun’s rage burn wildly!
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