Too Weak

"Okay, then I won't be polite. I'll take the child to rest. Uncle Li, you should also rest early." After saying that, Gulan smiled at everyone and took his son back to the west wing to rest. Seeing Gulan's back disappear, Old Man Li quickly told his son to drive the mule cart into the yard. The mule cart was still at the door because he was too excited just now.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and drive the cart in. You don't have any eyesight." Old Man Li began to dislike his son again.

Brother Li: "..." Unjust death.

Hey, wasn't it you who was so excited that you couldn't wait to see it? But what can you say? Just listen to what your father says. The brothers resigned themselves to driving the cart to the corner of the yard, and at the same time, they didn't forget to grab a handful of hay and throw it in front of the mule. After everything was packed up, they returned to their parents.

"Tell me, is the water source far away? How much water is there? Is there any more?" Old Man Li asked a series of questions as soon as he opened his mouth.

Li Da: "..."

"Dad, don't be too anxious, let's take it slow, I'll show you something good first." Then he motioned to fourth child to bring the cleaned fish over. The old couple was a little confused by the action of the eldest son.

"Dad and Mom, look..." Li LaoSi (fourth son) lifted the wooden cover of the basin in his hand like offering a treasure, and the brothers waited to see the excitement on his parents' faces again.

"Fish..." Aunt Li suddenly snatched the basin from her son's hand, and an excited smile appeared on her face. There were not many fish, the largest one looked several kilograms. She didn't even look at her son who was startled by her action, and her mind was all on the basin in her hand.

Aunt Li was so happy, these fish would be enough for them to eat for a while. Old man Li was no less excited than his wife, but he was a little more restrained. After all, he was the head of the family, so he had to be calm.

"Good, good..." He kept repeating this word.

In addition to the vegetables picked in the evening, they found water and fish again, and they didn't have to worry for at least half a month.

"Old lady, do you have any more salt?"

"Yes, yes." Aunt Li nodded quickly and hurried into the house. Even if the old man didn't say it, she would have meant it. Before they fled from the famine, they bought a lot of salt and brought it with them. It was difficult to flee from the famine, and the road was even more difficult to walk. Salt was indispensable along the way. Without salt, they would have no strength and could not go far.

Old man Li didn't care about his wife. As long as there was salt, his wife could deal with it properly. At this moment, he was concerned about how much water was left in the place where the water was drawn.

"Eldest son, tell me about the situation."

"Dad, I can't tell the specific location, but I remember the place. There is still a lot of water left. The deepest place is up to my shoulder. It is about one and a half feet long and one foot wide."

"Okay, okay, eldest son, come with me to find the village chief."

When they came here, they passed by the yard chosen by the village chief to rest. They were too thirsty to talk. They just nodded and passed by. Now that they know where the water is, most of the people in a village are related to each other, so old man Li naturally can't pretend to be deaf and dumb.

His idea was the same as that of his eldest son. Li Da was also going to inform the village chief. Since they were all from the same village, they must help each other and unite. After telling the second son and the others to keep an eye on the yard, Old Man Li walked into the night with his eldest son without delay.

Gulan didn't know or care about these things. She thought of this when she decided to take the Li family with her. This was also her original intention. At this moment, Gulan tidied up the wooden bed in the side room a little, then put all the dry grass in the space on the bed, spread out clothes, took out bedding, locked the door and prepared to go to bed.

When she came back, she checked the backpack and found it was very complete. Nothing was missing, and there was no sign of turning it over. It can be seen that Uncle Li probably didn't even enter the house.   

Before going to bed, Gulan stretched her muscles and bones. After a crackling sound of bones, she went to bed to rest. This day was more tiring than going on a mission. Gulan fell asleep almost as soon as her head touched the bed. Dahei lay obediently under the bed.

While Gulan was sleeping, a group of people from the village led by Li Da stepped into the night with tools. No one dared to make a noise, and they all walked quickly in silence. There were many people who were resting in the deserted village to escape from famine. Lijia Village was not conspicuous at all among the people who were fleeing from famine. Although Li Da said that there was still some water, there was no idea how many people could use it. So even if the village chief did not say hello in advance, everyone kept silent on their own initiative.

People are selfish. Good things should naturally be provided to their own people first. If there is still some left, the village chief will naturally tell people from other villages where there is water. When the last person filled the water, the water level of the puddle had dropped a lot, but it was obvious that there was still a lot left. Not everyone can have a cart like the Li family. Most of them use wheelbarrows or carry their bags on their backs. This way, the amount of water they can carry is limited, so some water can be left.

The village chief of Lijia Village is also a cart owner. There are only a few families in their village who have carts. Then, under Li Da's reminder, the village chief naturally did not let go of the fish in the puddle. Although not many were caught, almost every family in the village of more than 50 households could catch one. The village chief's family got two more. The fish were too slippery. These were caught by everyone working together.

After returning, Li Da did not ask about the rest of the matter. The village chief did the favor. He was tired after working for so long. He snored as soon as he lay down in his temporary residence. In the night, the deserted village fell into peace after a long time.

...

Gulan felt that she had just closed her eyes and woke up. She yawned and stretched her body. She carefully pulled the mattress under her son and got out of bed. Dahei, who was under the bed, saw his master getting up, and quickly stood up, wagging his tail happily.

Patting Dahei's head, Gulan opened the door and saw that it was still early, so she started boxing in the yard, hoping to exercise her body as soon as possible. After a set of boxing, the door of the side room opposite the Li family where they rested also opened, and the old man Li and his wife came out. He didn't call his son to let them sleep a little longer, because they were busy too late last night.

Looking at Gulan who was boxing vigorously in the yard, the old couple looked strange but did not disturb him. They each did their own thing, sorting out yesterday's harvest and thinking about making a meal. The vegetables picked last night cannot be kept for a long time. Those that need to be made into steamed bread are made into steamed bread. The unused ones are kept for one day, and the rest are boiled in water and dried in the sun, leaving a long stream of water, otherwise it will be very painful to eat only dry food.

The water for boiling vegetables can also be left for the mule to drink. The old couple divided the work and cooperated. After solving their physiological needs, they kept busy. Soon, several daughters-in-law joined in, freeing up the old man Li.

After Gulan finished her boxing and exercises, she said hello to Old Man Li and went back. Now that she was a man, it was not easy for her to help out of politeness, after all, the daughters-in-law of the Li family were all there, and most importantly, she was not a very diligent person.

After returning to her room, Gulan began to prepare food, cooking some vegetable porridge and pairing it with yesterday's vegetable cakes and wild duck eggs, and that was it. While cooking, she did not forget to secretly supplement herself with some nutrition, so she drank a box of milk and ate some red dates and longans. This body has been damaged too much, otherwise she would not have lost her life due to an illness.