The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 163: Don’t Look at the Bed (City Scenes, Select as Needed)

When they returned to the shelter, Shen San was lying with his back to the entrance.

Mrs. Li stood at the entrance, staring at him with a gaze fixed in blank despair. The pain of losing her daughter had left her heart in tatters, and she no longer even wondered why.

It was irrelevant.

She simply stared at his back, his neck, his head…

When Shen San turned around, his gaze met Mrs. Li’s.

Her eyes were swollen, her face puffy, her entire demeanor numb and dazed.

He glanced behind Mrs. Li and Shen Jin and asked, “Didn’t find her?”

As if by looking behind them, he might truly see Tianya.

Mrs. Li said nothing and walked into the shelter, sitting down in the corner near the bed. Shen Jin also kept his head down, and Shen Yin, seeing no one else behind them, began to cry softly. “Brother, where is Tianya?”

Shen Jin wiped his tears without responding, and Shen Yin realized that Tianya had not been found. Even the youngest, Shen Tie, lacked the strength to speak, lying there with tears at the corners of his eyes.

Shen San felt uncomfortable, his awkwardness palpable, and he could only try to appear sorrowful, burying his head in silence.

Neither Shen Yin nor Shen Tie had mentioned hunger today. Mrs. Li sat motionless for a long time, lost in a daze. When her body began to weaken and break into cold sweat, Shen Jin noticed something was wrong and fed her some leftover soybean dregs water from the previous day. Only then did she remember to eat.

Shen Jin had gone to grind straw, filter soil, and cook earth. Once Mrs. Li felt a little better, she took over the work from her son.

She made two large and four small pieces of flatbread. As she finished, she noticed her tears falling onto the bread, so she turned and made two more large pieces.

Shen San felt uneasy for a moment when he saw the four small pieces of flatbread. When Mrs. Li made two more large pieces, he asked, “Making so much today?”

Mrs. Li only said, “I was distracted.”

Her voice was hoarse, and after speaking, she fell silent.

When dividing the flatbread, Mrs. Li gave Shen Jin and the other two brothers very small pieces, hesitating slightly as she handed them over, advising, “If you’re still hungry, don’t eat.”

When giving Shen San his piece, it was of the usual size. Shen San calculated the days’ worth of flatbread for the family and hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take it.

Mrs. Li looked at him and asked, “Aren’t you hungry?”

Shen San was indeed hungry; he hadn’t eaten anything all day and had no intention of going out to eat. After all, he was Tianya’s father, and he hadn’t lost his mind completely. He could endure one more day and go out tomorrow.

But his hunger was not the same as Mrs. Li’s. They must be so hungry that even speaking is difficult. He had been eating well for the past few days and still had some reserves in his stomach.

However, he couldn’t admit that. Shen San blinked and said, “We need to make sure we have enough flatbread for several days. I remember when we were fleeing during the famine, a family with us ate earth for ten days, and out of ten people, only four survived.”

Recalling that time, he felt a shiver and said, “I’ll endure a bit longer.”

Mrs. Li looked at the flatbread in her hands and said, “Yes, eating earth can be fatal.”

So you’ve lost your conscience, even willing to devour the flesh of children!

Her hands shook as she took a piece of flatbread for herself, chewing slowly. Every bite was a mix of soil and grass fragments. She dared not drink water, as mixing it with the earth would only make matters worse, so she swallowed as best as she could.

Once restrained, eating only half was manageable, but today she seemed to have lost focus, finishing the piece of flatbread in her hand.

After finishing, she took the initially extra small piece, stared at it for a while, and then brought it to her mouth, eating it bite by bite.

Seeing her even eating a second piece, Shen San, who was afraid of hunger and death, glanced at her and chose not to persuade her.

Shen Jin grabbed Mrs. Li’s hand and said, “Mother, you shouldn’t eat so much.”

Mrs. Li’s eating paused briefly before she replied, “I’m too hungry. If I don’t eat more, I won’t have the strength.”

Her voice was extremely weak, having endured illness for a long time and now compounded by months of hunger and further suffering since entering the city. Finding Tianya today was only sustained by sheer willpower.

Shen San looked at Mrs. Li and was reminded of a family on the brink of death during the famine, which felt very similar.

He didn’t think there was anything wrong with Mrs. Li eating like this.

Shen Jin, however, felt a shiver of fear in his heart.

At nine years old, Shen Jin didn’t fully understand the gravity of the situation when Mrs. Li had given him those specific instructions before they returned to the shelter. He only knew that his mother wouldn’t harm him and had simply followed her instructions.

Now, watching his mother, who had always been so restrained with food, eating flatbread expressionlessly and swallowing it slowly, and hearing her say she needed to eat more to have strength, he was overwhelmed with inexplicable fear and panic.

A nine-year-old child, limited by his age, couldn’t fully imagine certain things, but Shen Jin felt a profound sense of unease. He pulled at Mrs. Li’s hand and said, “Mother, even if you’re hungry, you should eat in moderation.”

Mrs. Li nodded, “I know. I’ll just eat this last piece.”

In the Shen family’s shelter, there was a deathly silence throughout the day. Outside the city, Shen Lie grew increasingly anxious with each passing day of waiting.

Despite the ongoing battles both inside and outside the city, Shen Lie had no other options. The longer the delay, the heavier his unease became.

The shelter was dark, with only a small amount of light coming through a ventilation hole camouflaged with dead tree stumps. In the darkness, Shen Lie couldn’t help but imagine the situation in Qiyang County, wondering about the safety of the children trapped inside. Had they managed to hide the dried meat he provided? Did the soybeans he had secretly exchanged with the peddler through Shopkeeper Xu end up hidden properly?

At this point, Shen Lie was no longer concerned about whether those supplies might have been cheapened by Shen San and Mrs. Li. He just hoped they could at least protect the food and make it last as long as possible for the children.

Even Shen Lie and Chen Dashan had begun to doubt if Shopkeeper Xu would really manage to dig a tunnel out. And if he did, would he find a suitable, concealed location to dig?

No one wanted to give up, despite the uncertainty.

—

In the west city, within the Xu family’s tunnel, Wei Lingzhen felt a heaviness in her chest and some dizziness.

“Yuan Chang,” she whispered to her husband, who was digging the tunnel beside her, “Get out quickly; it’s hard to breathe in here.”

Shopkeeper Xu was startled and immediately put down his hoe to support Wei Lingzhen. He patted Xu Wenqing and said, “Go outside first.”

The family of three retreated from the tunnel. Xu Wenhong had just delivered a basket of soil. The only part of the house not filled with soil was the chaotic tunnel entrance.

Seeing his parents and brother emerge from the tunnel with grim faces, and his mother looking especially pale, Xu Wenhong anxiously asked, “What’s wrong?”

Shopkeeper Xu explained, “The tunnel is too deep; it’s not ventilated well. It’s probably been hard to breathe inside for a while. Quickly, get your mother a glass of water.”

In reality, Shopkeeper Xu knew there was another underlying reason.

They were working extremely hard every day, almost around the clock, taking only short breaks.

But their food was scarce, consisting of just two bowls of rice soup a day with hardly any rice. Their bodies couldn’t handle it. If they hadn’t managed to save some cured meat from the East Fortune House’s storehouse to add to their meals, their physical condition would have deteriorated even more.

Xu Wenhong handed over a glass of water. Shopkeeper Xu took it and personally gave it to Wei Lingzhen. Seeing her drink it slowly and her complexion improve slightly, he finally felt relieved.

“Don’t go back in. Stay outside and rest for a bit. Wenqing, Wenhong, and I will continue digging.”

Wei Lingzhen nodded and said, “Don’t let all three of you stay in the deepest part. If you start feeling unwell, speak up immediately so we can help you out.”

Xu Yuanchang nodded and reassured her, “Don’t worry. If it gets really bad, the oil lamp will go out. We’re digging and transporting soil ourselves, so we won’t be inside for too long. As long as we’re careful, it should be fine. I estimate we’re very close to the city wall base. If we can dig through to outside the wall, we’ll find a way to use bamboo tubes to create ventilation holes along the outer wall at night.”

Seeing Xu Yuanchang had a plan, Wei Lingzhen felt slightly reassured and said, “Then go ahead. I’ll slowly cook some rice soup and we can all have some later.”

As Wei Lingzhen rested, Xu Wenhong took over the hoe she had left and continued working in the tunnel with his father and brother. They followed Shopkeeper Xu’s plan, digging for a short while and then transporting the soil outside. For now, no one felt short of breath.

After digging for over an hour, Shopkeeper Xu was on his way back with a load of soil when Xu Wenhong excitedly ran out and whispered, “Dad, come quickly! Have we reached the city wall base?”

Shopkeeper Xu was overjoyed. He put down his dustpan and ran with his second son to the tunnel. Xu Wenqing, holding an oil lamp, was shining it on a section of the tunnel ceiling. When he saw them coming, he waved the lamp excitedly.

The three of them gathered around and saw that a small section of the tunnel had been dug out, revealing stones different from the surrounding soil.

Shopkeeper Xu’s spirits lifted. He nodded vigorously, confirming that this was indeed the city wall base.

They were now beneath the city wall, and with soldiers patrolling the area, they dared not make a sound. Shopkeeper Xu warned his sons in a hushed voice to be careful not to damage the foundation above and to keep the excavation narrow in this section.

With renewed enthusiasm, the three of them continued working until Uncle Xu arrived, unlocking the courtyard gate and knocking on the door. Once Wei Lingzhen confirmed it was Uncle Xu and opened the courtyard door, she let him in, bolted the door, and called the father and sons inside for a meal.

Uncle Xu produced half a bread roll from his pocket.

He had been drafted to carry injured soldiers and received a bread roll each day. He ate half of it during the day, saving the rest to bring back. After tearing it into pieces and soaking it in rice soup, everyone in the household could get some mush, which was better than just drinking clear rice soup.

Seeing the happiness on the faces of Xu’s family, Uncle Xu’s tired expression brightened. He pointed towards the main house, and the Xu family members nodded in agreement.

There was no place to talk in the courtyard, so Wei Lingzhen took the bread to the kitchen, and Shopkeeper Xu led Uncle Xu back into the tunnel.

Seeing the exposed section of the wall base, which was clearly different from the surrounding soil, Uncle Xu’s hands trembled with excitement. “Can we leave tonight?”

Shopkeeper Xu shook his head and said, “We need to dig a bit more. After reaching the city wall, we need to make sure there’s a safe distance to the surface. When we encounter more tree roots, it will be safer to find a larger tree for cover and dig a hole up.”

He also mentioned needing bamboo poles. Uncle Xu, who had been outside every day, knew where to find some. After eating, the master and servant locked the door from the outside and went out to get the bamboo poles.

By midnight, two small, inconspicuous holes had appeared along the base of the city wall outside Qiyang County. Such small holes were common in places where snakes and mice were found, and they were nothing unusual to see along the road.

Once they had moved beyond the walls of Qiyang County, the urgency of the situation made it clear that they could dig a hole to the surface at any time if necessary. Everyone’s anxiety eased significantly.

“We’ve dug more than half a foot beyond the city now. Wenqing and I will continue digging. Uncle Xu, you should go up and rest. Be very careful tomorrow when you go up to the city tower. We should be able to leave by nightfall tomorrow,” Shopkeeper Xu instructed.

Nothing must go wrong at this critical moment.

Uncle Xu nodded, “I’ll be careful.”

Despite saying this, he hesitated, not immediately leaving.

He hadn’t forgotten what he had seen that morning.

During the day, he had chosen to keep it to himself, pretending he hadn’t seen anything and didn’t mention it when he got home because he was preoccupied with his own problems.

But now that they had dug outside the city, and they would be able to leave by tomorrow night, it was no longer a matter of simply exchanging some food for the children. Uncle Xu felt a pang of moral conflict.

He had seen the four children from the Xu family’s third branch many times, often seeing them every couple of days. The child named Tianya had disappeared just like that. Without needing to ask or listen, he could guess the outcome.

Thinking about the other three children, Uncle Xu wavered for a moment.

But it was only a moment.

When Shopkeeper Xu saw him still standing there and asked if he had anything else, Uncle Xu shook his head, “No, I’m going to take a nap and will come back later to relieve you.”

He turned and walked away.

Given the situation, it was no longer just a matter of swapping food for a few children. Uncle Xu found the behavior of the two adults from the Shen family despicable, especially Shen San, who could sell his own children. If he could deceive others, he would certainly not hesitate to do so.

At such a dangerous juncture, Uncle Xu did not want to get involved in their family’s affairs.

As he walked out of the tunnel, Uncle Xu’s steps were steady, though his hands trembled slightly.

Shen Jin and Shen Yin, always waiting at the mountain path, calling him “vendor grandfather.”

If they were just children, he might have been kinder. But with such parents… he had others he wished to protect more.

As he left the tunnel, Uncle Xu went to sleep on the straw mat in the kitchen. When he opened the door of the main house, he found that the moon hanging high in the sky was mostly covered by clouds. He wasn’t sure if it was his eyes playing tricks on him, but the clouds and moon seemed to have a faint red tinge.

In the county school’s makeshift shelter area,

Shen Yin and Shen Tie lay half-asleep outside the shelter. Shen Jin, who had been moved outside after falling asleep, was awakened by some noise. He opened his eyes to find himself lying on a pile of dry straw outside the shelter, with Xiao Yin and Xiao Tie nearby.

The moon had just emerged from behind the clouds, casting a faint reddish hue as he glanced at it.

Shen Jin’s heart raced, overwhelmed by an indescribable panic. He groped his way up, leaning on the edge of the shelter, and looked inside by the moonlight.

Inside the shelter was very quiet. A person was half-sitting by the bed. Shen Jin could only smell a strong, sweet, and bloody odor. Trembling, he called out, “Mother?”

Mrs. Li, who had been frozen for an unknown amount of time, seemed to snap back to reality at the sound of his call.

“Don’t come in.”

Her voice trembled, with an indistinguishable hint of weeping.

After a while, she managed to straighten up, taking one or two painfully slow steps toward Shen Jin.

Shen Jin, sensing something was wrong, rushed over.

Seeing him enter, Mrs. Li could only say, “Don’t look at the bed.”

She managed to pull out the last twenty or so soybeans from her clothes and handed them to Shen Jin. She then placed a hand on his shoulder for support and said, “You all need to find another place to hide. It’s not safe here.”

“You all?”

Shen Jin felt something was wrong with her words. Before he could ask, Mrs. Li, leaning on him, seemed to lose strength and staggered, falling to the ground.

Shen Jin cried out in alarm, scattering the soybeans and shedding tears, “Mother, Mother.”

He was too small to support Mrs. Li. As she sat on the ground, the moonlight revealed a pair of scissors protruding from her abdomen, along with numerous bloodstains on her clothes.

“Mother, Mother…” Shen Jin’s hands trembled as he desperately tried to drag Mrs. Li, “Let’s go to the clinic.”

Mrs. Li grabbed him, shook her head, and after a moment of catching her breath, said, “It’s useless. Mother is useless. I don’t have the strength.”

She looked at Shen Jin and the direction of the shelter’s entrance, tears streaming down her face, “What will you all do?”

She had been wrong. She should have sent Xiao Jin away to hide in a pit; at least one of them could have survived.