Third Grandma had only ever managed to raise one daughter in her lifeti, and due to the famine, got separated from her daughter’s family, unable to bear the sight of how other families treated their daughters.
Third Grandpa said, "So of the elderly amongst the refugees have gone to find the families of those few girls. There will be a result tonight, and those families won’t really be allowed to abandon their children here without care."
Mrs. Chen, holding a wooden bowl and waiting for her al, imdiately spoke up upon hearing Third Grandpa’s words, "I heard that one girl’s parents have fled with their whole family. They have the surna Ma, and it’s said that they ran away because they had no food and couldn’t afford to keep her, so they didn’t take the girl back."
Mrs. Chen snorted, "What ’no food’? They’re obviously just afraid of losing face!"
Everyone was a refugee escaping the famine; which family had food to spare? The parents of the other girls still took them back ho just the sa. Only this family not only refused to take their daughter back but packed up and ran off as soon as they heard about this matter.
Upon hearing this, tears rolled down from Third Grandma’s eyes, "What a sin!"
There’s water in these mountains, and when there’s no food, one could drink water to stave off hunger. How could they just abandon their daughter like this?
Third Grandpa didn’t want to talk more about this matter, urging Third Grandma, "Stop talking, it’s getting dark. Hurry up and see if the beans are cooked yet? Everyone is hungry."
Because of the incident with Sister Liu and her group, the refugees were unable to rest last night. Today they didn’t travel and continued to rest in the mountain area instead.
Third Grandma moved her lips a few tis, wanting to say sothing but swallowed her words. She stirred the beans in the pot with a wooden spoon, scooped out a few beans, and crushed them with her hand, grinding the swollen beans into pieces.
"The beans are cooked, let’s eat."
Mrs. Chen imdiately carried her wooden bowl to the front, trying to snatch the spoon from Third Grandma’s hand to serve herself the bean soup, aiming to scoop more beans.
Third Grandma raised the wooden spoon in her hand, dodging Mrs. Chen’s hand, and scolded, "Mrs. Chen, mind your manners. If you cause trouble again, you’ll go hungry tonight."
The food was purchased with silver coins pooled by several families; there was a fixed amount for each person. Yet every ti it ca to als, Mrs. Chen always tried to take more than her share, which was really annoying.
Mrs. Chen, with her thick skin, brushed off being scolded and coaxed with a smile, "Third Aunt, I’m just very hungry. Look at my eye sockets; they’ve sunken in due to hunger. Please fill my bowl with more beans; I need to nourish myself."
Third Grandma couldn’t be bothered with her and served her a bowl of bean soup.
Mrs. Chen pouted her lips and muttered under her breath about the ager amount of beans, then walked away with her bowl.
Upon hearing Third Grandma’s words, several families picked up their wooden bowls or cut bamboo tubes and started to queue for the bean soup.
After Gu Jinli’s family received their bean soup, the family of six sat together, sipping the bean soup slowly from the edges of the bowls.
Gu Dashan, fearing that the children wouldn’t have enough to eat, tried to pour so of his own bean soup into his four children’s bowls, but Gu Jin’an dodged it, saying, "Dad, you don’t have enough for yourself; don’t worry about us."
Dad’s wooden bowl wasn’t very big, and as an adult, he ate more. If he gave so to them, what would be left for him to eat?
Gu Dashan, with his head lowered upon hearing his words, said, "I’m useless as a father; I haven’t taken care of you properly."
He felt very guilty about last night’s incident; if it weren’t for Xiao Yu’s quick thinking, Sister Xiu’s life could’ve been ruined.
Gu Dashan felt incompetent, that when it ca down to it, he had to rely on his young daughter to save his eldest. He wanted to give them so of his own food, sort of as a way of taking care of them.
Gu Jinli noticed Gu Dashan’s intention and pushed her wooden bowl in front of him, "Dad, I’m very hungry today. Can you give so of your bean soup?"
When Gu Dashan heard this, a smile erged on his distressed face. He quickly poured so of his bean soup into Gu Jinli’s bowl, filling it to the brim, nearly spilling over.
Gu Jinxiu, being a delicate and sensitive person, saw this and also extended her bowl to Gu Dashan, "Dad, give so too, please."
Gu Dashan’s smile deepened, and he poured a little more bean soup into Gu Jinxiu’s bowl.
Gu Jinxiu held the wooden bowl, not eating, and after a mont of silence, said to Gu Dashan, "Dad, I’m fine, really fine."
Gu Dashan’s eyes reddened, and he said, "Our Sister Xiu and Xiao Yu are both good girls, they are blessed people, and they will have a good life."
Mrs. Cui couldn’t help but cry when she saw this; she had been scared all day long after hearing about those girls’ fates.
Seeing Mrs. Cui cry, Brother Cheng raised his hand to wipe her tears, "Mom, don’t cry, Brother Cheng will grow up and protect Big Sister and Second Sister."
Mrs. Cui smiled, hugged Brother Cheng, and said, "Our Brother Cheng is really good, drink your bean soup before it gets cold and fishy." The bean soup would develop a fishy sll once it cooled down and wouldn’t taste as nice.
"Mhm, I’ll listen to Mom." Brother Cheng held the wooden bowl and drank his bean soup.
Worried that Gu Dashan wouldn’t have enough to eat, Mrs. Cui tried to pour so of her bean soup into his bowl, but Gu Dashan refused, "You eat yours, I have enough."
Mrs. Cui had never had an easy life since she married him, and now she was so thin she was unrecognizable. How could he bear to take food from her bowl?
After Mrs. Cui tried to pour twice more and was blocked by Gu Dashan each ti, she could only eat it herself.
After they finished their bean soup, Elder Zhou and Elder Lin made their way through the darkness to their resting area and told them about the ten girls: "Those first four girls who were abducted beca the widowers’ wives amidst the famine refugees."
On the road fleeing the famine, there were many n who were left single in the refugees, marrying an abducted girl as a second wife was not a loss.
"Of those four girls sent to Sister Liu, three were taken back by their families. The remaining one couldn’t find her family because they had run off, but she’s tough. She refused to marry a widower. She said she wanted to travel with the refugees and think about her future once she reached the south."
Third Grandpa furrowed his brow, "She’s just a girl; not getting married at a ti like this and instead traveling alone with the refugees... it’s bound to lead to trouble."
Don’t think that just because the refugees banded together to kill Sister Liu and her gang they’re all good people. There are plenty of bad characters among the refugees, and a single girl traveling with them is asking to be devoured, bones and all.
Elder Lin said, "We told her so and tried to persuade her, but she wouldn’t listen. She said she wouldn’t marry a widower and beco a stepmother."
"And what about those two girls who were shunned by their families?" Mrs. Chen, who loved gossip, couldn’t help but ask.
Being shunned by their families is quite the spectacle. How did it turn out? Were the girls taken back?
Elder Lin smiled with satisfaction, "They were taken back. The old brothers among the refugees, along with so current and forr village chiefs, personally found the girls’ families. They argued with them for a good while and shared so of the grain and silver Coin they collected from the cave. After taking the money and grain, the girls’ parents took their daughters back ho."
Gu Jinli frowned upon hearing this. Taking soone back only after being given money and grain, what will they do when the money and grain run out? Will they abandon the girls again?
Don’t bla her for thinking this way. Those girls’ parents had already shunned them from the bottom of their hearts; it was very possible they would abandon their daughters again.
After Elder Zhou and Elder Lin finished discussing the matter and chatted with Third Grandpa and Elder Qin for a bit, they stood up to leave, returning to their own families’ resting areas.
After they left, Third Grandpa arranged for the night watch, and the families began to rest.
The next day, the refugees woke up early, started packing up their belongings, and continued their journey.
On the road, they indeed saw a girl about fifteen or sixteen years old with a sack on her back, traveling alone.
Mrs. Chen, who was well-inford, told them by nightfall that the girl was the one abandoned by her family and her na was Ma Cuilan.
After hearing the gossip relayed by Mrs. Chen, the families beca curious about Ma Cuilan for a while, but they soon stopped paying attention to her. After all, they weren’t acquainted with Ma Cuilan; there wasn’t going to be any interaction.
But after a few days, Ma Cuilan, with her sack, knelt in front of Third Grandma, begging her to take her in.
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