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

Chapter 165: Follow Your Heart

As Uncle Xu changed his clothes and went out, Shen Jin followed Xu Wenhong into the main house, staring blankly at the entrance to the underground passage inside.

It was a tunnel, something he was very familiar with. He had dug many holes before, but in this town, there were people and shacks everywhere, so he didn’t even have a chance to dig a hole.

Thinking of the city wall he saw on the way back, Shen Jin held his breath.

When the Xu family brought him back, he knew that he, Xiao Yin, and Xiao Tie were temporarily out of danger. But seeing the tunnel in front of him, he realized that not only were they safe, but they might also be able to leave the town.

He looked excitedly at the tunnel entrance, while Xu Wenhong, who had led him in, curiously observed him.

Thin, very thin, with sunken cheeks, eyes swollen like peaches, looking as if he had cried a lot. He was a small child, at least three or four years, maybe even four or five years younger than Xu Wenhong. He was carrying a small bundle and holding a kitchen knife, staring at the tunnel entrance. Despite his eyes being so swollen they were almost slits, Xu Wenhong could still see the light in them.

This image was quite curious. He didn’t know who the boy was or why his father brought him here directly. But he assumed the boy was trustworthy, so he whispered, “Don’t make a sound, and don’t speak loudly in this house.”

Shen Jin nodded repeatedly, confirming his guess.

At this moment, Shopkeeper Xu and Wei Lingzhen brought in three shallow bowls of saline sugar water, placing one on the table, and then called Shen Jin and Xu Wenhong over to help.

Shen Jin hurried over, realizing he was still holding the kitchen knife. He glanced at the Xu couple, carefully put the knife down, and placed it to the side.

Xiao Yin was in relatively better condition. After being awakened and fed the saline sugar water, although weak, he could still cooperate. He started sipping bit by bit, gradually drinking more eagerly.

Xiao Tie’s condition was much worse. It was hard to wake him up, but Shen Jin had given him soybean water alone last night, so with Wei Lingzhen’s help, the feeding went relatively smoothly. Apart from the first five or six spoonfuls that couldn’t go down and mostly leaked out, the rest were mostly ingested. Heartbroken, Shen Jin held the bowl under Xiao Tie’s chin to catch the drips.

Fortunately, after the first few spoonfuls, Xiao Tie gradually tasted the flavor and instinctively started to swallow, driven by the survival instinct.

Wei Lingzhen felt heartbroken just watching. She somewhat understood why her husband would bring these three small children back in such dangerous times. Without help, they wouldn’t have survived; the youngest one might not have woken up at all.

Thinking about the state of the world, her children hiding in the mountains, her parents at the Wang family mansion in Shezhou, and their own family’s situation, her nose started to sting.

Xu Wenqing noticed something was off outside and saw that his younger brother had been out for a while, so he came out to check. He found three more children at home.

Curious, he approached and asked, “Dad, Mom, who are they?”

Shopkeeper Xu continued feeding Xiao Yin the saline sugar water and said, “They are your brother Shen Lie’s cousins, Xiao Jin, Xiao Yin, and Xiao Tie.”

He avoided mentioning the Shen couple and the youngest, Tianya, to avoid upsetting the three brothers.

Hearing they were Shen Lie’s cousins, Xu Wenqing understood.

Thanks to the letters sent back by his second brother and father, their family knew about Shen Lie and Sang Luo, even knowing that Shen Lie had twin siblings named Shen An and Shen Ning.

Seeing the children in poor condition, he greeted the still-conscious Shen Jin, introduced himself, then went next door to dump the dirt and continue digging the tunnel.

This task could not be delayed.

After feeding the two children a small bowl of saline sugar water each, Xiao Yin visibly improved, able to open his eyes slightly. As for Xiao Tie, being able to swallow was a good sign.

Shen Jin looked at his own shallow bowl of saline sugar water, reluctant to drink it himself. He tried to take it to feed Xiao Tie a bit more, but Wei Lingzhen stopped him, saying, “There’s still more sugar left; we can make more. You won’t be much better off if you don’t drink it. Drink it; we can’t afford to have all three of you collapse. We might not be able to take care of you then.”

Shen Jin gave up his thought, realizing he couldn’t collapse either.

The Xu family was kind-hearted and saved them for his elder brother’s sake. He couldn’t be a further burden to them.

Shen Jin nodded, without hesitation, and carefully drank the saline sugar water bit by bit.

After finishing, he couldn’t bear to wash the bowl and asked, “Auntie Xu, can we add some water to this bowl and shake it a bit? We can drink it again later.”

Such frugality showed how much he had suffered from hunger.

Wei Lingzhen nodded, “Alright, I’ll bring a jug of water. If you want to drink more, just pour it into your bowl yourself.”

Shen Jin thanked her repeatedly. Seeing Xu Wenhong also entering the tunnel, he didn’t dare just stand around and wanted to go in to help. But Shopkeeper Xu stopped him, saying, “Just rest here and keep an eye on your brothers.”

With his small frame, any more exertion would be too much.

…

Wei Lingzhen went out to fetch the water jug. The couple went together to the kitchen, and it was only then that Shopkeeper Xu had the chance to roughly explain the situation of the Shen family’s third branch to his wife.

Shopkeeper Xu spoke very tactfully, but after understanding what Shen San had done, Wei Lingzhen couldn’t help but feel a wave of nausea. She glanced towards the main house and then at her husband, asking, “What about those children?”

Shopkeeper Xu, knowing her concerns about the children’s character possibly being influenced by their father Shen San, reassured her, “The children are good. Uncle Xu often visited that village and privately observed and interacted with them. He could judge their nature. Besides, if they weren’t good, given the strained relationship between the first and third branches of the Shen family, Shen Lie wouldn’t have asked me to look after them as a favor.”

He then briefly explained the relationship between the first and third branches of the Shen family. After listening, Wei Lingzhen remarked, “The people of the Shen family’s first branch are kind-hearted, not blaming these children for the actions of their parents.”

Considering Shen Lie’s age, it made sense to her. He had probably taken care of the younger ones from a young age. The two younger ones were too dazed to assess, but the older one seemed good from their brief interaction. He didn’t seem physically strong, yet he was still thinking about saving the sugar water for his brothers. Just arriving, he was already uncomfortable and wanted to find work to do.

Wei Lingzhen asked, “The children will be leaving with us tonight, right? But what about after that?”

Qiyang County was surrounded, and they naturally couldn’t go to Shezhou, which was even closer to the north. The Xu family had nowhere to go.

Shopkeeper Xu pondered and finally sighed, saying, “We’ll take them with us for now. We’ll leave at night. This exit is far from the city gate, and there’s a forest outside. We’ll check the situation outside before leaving and hide in the shelter Shen Lie helped us dig. I’ve stored a lot of grain and salt there. We’ll see the situation then, whether to hide for a few days or find an opportunity to carry some food and escape into the mountains.”

From the moment he bent down in the shack to pick up Xiao Yin, Shopkeeper Xu knew the road ahead would be more difficult.

The two children were severely malnourished and needed careful care. For the next few days, they would likely need to be carried. If they stayed in the shelter, it would be manageable. But if they had to quickly escape into the mountains, having these two children would mean they could carry much less food. If they ran out of food, they might have to take the risk of returning to the shelter for supplies.

But they still had to be saved.

He told Wei Lingzhen, “Our mother, Wenbo, Wenyin, and even Yunzheng and Qinghe have been safely hiding in the mountains thanks to the protection of the Shen and Chen families. If we survive this ordeal, Shen Lie asked me to take care of four children, and now there are only three left. If I don’t take care of them, these three children probably wouldn’t survive more than three days.”

He squeezed his wife’s hand and said, “Lingzhen, rescuing them will make our journey harder, but with the shelter stocked with food, we should still be safe. If we don’t save them, our journey will be easier. But having encountered this situation and seeing these children’s plight, if I don’t do something, I won’t have peace of mind.”

“And, selfishly speaking, we have nowhere else to go. The shelter can provide temporary refuge, but it’s close to the county town and can only be a short-term hideout. My original plan was to hide in the cave where I communicated with Shen Lie. That cave is quite concealed. If Shen Lie and Chen Dashan come out to check for messages, we can join them for safety.”

Taking these children with them would also repay Shen Lie’s favor.

Although he understood that, given their current relationship with the Shen and Chen families, the latter would likely agree to take them in even without saving the children, the peace of mind from doing so was different. Moreover, he couldn’t bear to later admit to Shen Lie that he knew about the children’s plight but did nothing.

Wei Lingzhen, having been married to him for sixteen years, understood her husband’s nature. She smiled and said, “I have no objections. As long as you have a plan and rescuing them won’t put our family in too much danger, that’s fine.”

Glad to have his wife’s understanding, Shopkeeper Xu said, “I’ll continue digging the tunnel. You keep an eye on the three children, especially their diet. Give them more saline sugar water later.”

Wei Lingzhen nodded, “Don’t worry, I’ve got it under control.”

…

At the Xu family’s old residence, they were busy digging the tunnel. Meanwhile, Uncle Xu reached the city wall, privately found the supervising soldier, and slipped a heavy gold bracelet into his hand.

The soldier glanced at it, and his eyes widened in surprise.

Gold bracelet.

The soldier looked at Uncle Xu and asked, “What do you want in return?”

Uncle Xu, rubbing his back, explained the tragic death of the Shen family’s third branch, portraying them as relatives. He expressed his wish for the soldier’s help to send a couple of people to retrieve the bodies and cremate them.

The soldier squinted at him and said, “Isn’t this what you usually do? Just quietly find someone to give you a hand and get it done. Why spend this much to have me arrange it?”

Uncle Xu sighed, rubbing his waist, and said, “I’m getting old, and these past few days have worn me out. Retrieving the bodies is one thing, but my back pain is severe. I’m worried that if I go up the city wall to carry the bodies, my reaction might be slow, and then…”

He smiled ingratiatingly and said, “So I was hoping you could allow me to rest for a couple of days, alright?”

The soldier immediately understood. Whether the back pain was real or not, he didn’t know. But he knew Uncle Xu feared getting accidentally hit by an arrow or a sword on the city wall.

Weighing the gold bracelet in his hand, the soldier slipped it into his sleeve and said, “Alright, just two days.”

He then turned and ordered some men to retrieve the bodies, telling Uncle Xu to show them where the shack was.

The two men summoned were familiar to Uncle Xu, as they had previously carried the wounded and the dead together. He thanked the soldier and went to speak privately with the two laborers.

…

“Just retrieve the woman’s body?”

Uncle Xu nodded, pulling out two strings of copper coins from his sleeve, which he had brought from home when changing clothes. He handed each man a string and gave them a piece of cloth he had prepared, saying, “Thank you, brothers. Just retrieve the woman’s body, cremate it, and help me collect the ashes. Bring them to the corner of the alley up ahead.”

One of the laborers, who had worked with Uncle Xu for some time and was familiar with him, asked curiously, “Isn’t she your relative? Why not retrieve the other one?”

The soldier hadn’t avoided speaking in front of these laborers. In fact, when they usually collected bodies, it was only the fallen soldiers from the city wall, not the people who died in the shacks within the city.

Hearing the word “relative,” Uncle Xu’s face showed a hint of mockery as he said, “That man was a beast who could even eat his own daughter. I don’t need such relatives.”

At these words, the two laborers’ pupils constricted.

They knew that some people in the city had resorted to desperate measures due to hunger. Although they didn’t know exactly who, they occasionally smelled meat cooking from the shacks in the walled city. They weren’t foolish.

But besides the one instance where the general executed a person, they had never known specifically who could be so depraved. Now, they understood Uncle Xu’s meaning.

These two laborers were of upright character. Otherwise, they wouldn’t willingly go in and out of the city wall, risking their lives for a piece of bread.

They held extreme disdain for someone like Shen San.

If someone wants to live like a beast, then even in death, they deserve to be treated like one.

In the shack area, everyone knew what the consequences would be if no one collected the bodies.

“Alright, wait here.”

Uncle Xu mentioned a few people with ill intentions in the area and asked them to be cautious while burning the bodies to check if anyone was lurking. He said, “I’ve saved a few children, but I’m worried they might attract unwanted attention as food. Honestly, I don’t even dare to work today.”

The familiar laborer replied, “No worries, I’ll be careful. We’ll move a few more wounded soldiers as well. Since people know we’re working on the city wall, once the bodies are burned, they likely won’t pay attention to us. I’ll bring the items to you when it’s safe.”