Straw Sandals

Old Man Li looked across and thought of the wild vegetable cake. Although it looked black and not much different from the steamed bread they ate, the feel of it told Old Man Li that the ingredients of this wild vegetable cake were probably not simple, and it might be better than what they ate at home. They had come all the way here, alone with a child, and most importantly, with a dog. Everyone knew that dogs did not eat grass like livestock, so how could they be simple people if they could take out extra food to feed the dog! Old Man Li rolled his eyes at his eldest son. Isn't this asking knowingly?

Li Da, who was disliked by his father, touched his nose and shrank to the side of the tree. Well, he asked a stupid question.

"Don't underestimate anyone, but that young man should really be unfamiliar with the road. As long as he has no ill intentions, try to make friends with him." Old Man Li thought about it and said. Li Da nodded in agreement. He thought so too, and then closed his eyes. He should rest quickly, because the road ahead would not be easy.

The sun was at its hottest at noon, and no one would travel at this time. They were already short of water and food, unless they really wanted to die. Soon, all the shady places within a few miles were filled with people resting.

When Gulan opened her eyes again, it was already an hour later. After waking up, the tiredness on her body was gone, but her shoulders and feet were a little sore.

Looking at the cloth shoes under her feet, which were so worn that they couldn't be worn any more, the soles were worn very thin. It can be said that in addition to the soles, several toes were exposed outside. If it weren't for the cloth strips connecting the front and back, it would have disintegrated freely.

To be honest, Gulan really wanted to take it off and throw it away and replace it with the soft sports shoes in the space, but unfortunately, she couldn't. How long can the pair of shoes under Zhen's feet last? And AnAn's shoes are also torn to pieces, not as good as hers. Fortunately, she carried them most of the time.

With the memory of the original body, she can make shoes, but looking at the few pieces of torn clothes in her package, she has no conditions to make shoes. Gulan stared at the shoes under her feet and then looked at the family across the street. She had noticed that the man in this family was wearing straw sandals before. Perhaps... If a man does not think about the future, he will have immediate worries. If the shoes fall apart halfway, Gulan shook her head fiercely when she thought about walking barefoot.

So she gently put AnAn, who was still sleeping, on the ground, with his head resting on the package. Gulan waited for a while while looking at the people sleeping across the street, until she found that the people across the street showed signs of waking up, and she could no longer resist and walked across the street. When people get old, they sleep less and less. The old man Li, who had already slept enough, was actually awake, but he was just dozing off when he saw his family resting.

In addition, Gulan did not deliberately lighten his footsteps, so when Gulan approached them, the old man Li opened his eyes at the first time, and doubt flashed in his eyes, and he sat up straight. When the old man Li moved, his wife Li Su, who was sleeping next to him, also opened her eyes, looked at the old man sitting up straight, and before she asked, she followed the old man's gaze and found Gulan.

Gulan was indeed a little embarrassed, after all, she really disturbed others, but she really couldn't wait any longer. It was past noon and it was time to leave. If she came again at that time, she would be even less welcome, and no one would want to pay attention to her.

Gulan walked to the old couple and smiled embarrassedly, and apologized first: "Sorry, I disturbed you."

The old couple looked at each other and shook their heads, then looked at Gulan suspiciously. Old man Li said: "Is there anything?" It doesn't matter if it disturbs or not? They just wondered what this young man wanted to do? They didn't speculate him in a bad direction, after all, there were so many people here. And the young man brought a child with him, and he looked like he loved his child. Generally, such people are not too bad and will not take the initiative to cause trouble for themselves.

Gulan smiled embarrassedly again, glanced at the people who were resting, and deliberately lowered his voice, saying: "I do have something to do, sorry to disturb you, I saw the old man wearing straw sandals, I want to ask if there are any extra ones, I want to change a few pairs, is that okay?" The old man Li and his wife really didn't expect it to be because of this, their eyes fell on the young man's shoes that had exposed his toes, and they knew instantly in their hearts that this pair of shoes really couldn't last long, no wonder they came to ask.   

But straw sandals are not precious things. Many people can make them by themselves. How can this young man not make them?

Although he was a little skeptical, looking at his clear eyes, Old Man Li decided to believe him. He didn't know what the family's conditions were before fleeing the famine.

In fact, he was also interested in the "exchange" mentioned by the young man. If he could exchange some food or water, it would be okay to give out a few pairs of straw sandals. At most, they would work harder when they were resting and make more.

"So that's it. It's easy to talk about it. I just don't know how many pairs you want, and I don't know if we can get them together?" Old Man Li didn't say it firmly.

"Thank you very much. I don't want many. Four pairs will be enough."

When he heard four pairs, Old Man Liu was relieved. Their family could indeed make enough. Everyone in the family knew how to make straw sandals, especially before preparing to flee the famine. Everyone prepared multiple pairs just in case. They were not idle along the way and would make a few pairs when they were free. After all, straw sandals were really not strong and would fall apart after wearing them for a while.

"Okay," he motioned to his wife to get the shoes. Seeing this, Gulan quickly reported the shoe size. Fortunately, she was tall among women. Although her shoe size was a little smaller than that of normal men, it was not too much.

Li Su was naturally happy to do it, although she didn't know what she could exchange it for. But straw shoes really don't require capital except for the time it takes to weave them. Just something is enough. Thinking of the cakes that the young man brought before, Li Su was still looking forward to it.

During this period, although they deliberately slowed down their voices and lowered them, they still woke up the others.

They all looked at the boy standing upright opposite them with a confused look, and the old mother who was rummaging through the basket on the cart. For a moment, they didn't understand what was going on? Then they saw the old mother holding a few pairs of straw shoes and handing them to the boy, which made them feel even more strange.

Mother is usually a thrifty person, a person who is eager to break a few copper coins to spend. How could she give straw shoes to outsiders without any relatives and friends, although straw shoes are indeed not worth much.

Then they saw the boy smiled at them after getting the shoes, and then he left. He really left. Li Da's brothers and their wife were all confused.

...So what happened before they woke up? But before they could ask their parents what happened, the boy on the other side came back again after rummaging in the basket.

Seeing what the boy on the other side had in his hand, Li Da and the others looked at his parents in disbelief, so his parents exchanged a few pairs of shoes for these foods. Gulan handed the two wild vegetable cakes and a few wild duck eggs in her hand to Li Su.

Originally, she thought of four pairs of shoes and four cakes, but then she thought about it and decided not to do it. She had a deep understanding of the preciousness of food in these days, so she didn't do anything to make a hole, although the two cakes she took out had already been pierced. It was even more impossible to take out the coarse grains in her hand. The fine powder was something that the coarse grains here would not have. Once taken out, it would definitely be exposed.

The wild duck eggs were also added temporarily. They had a child as thin as AnAn in their family, and Gulan's heart could never be hardened for the child. Of course, if the person's character was not good, Gulan would not be generous.