C1 The People Don't Want to Live

Qi Nation!

After many years of drought, the population was no longer living!

Mo Xue squatted on the ground with both hands holding a broken hoe, digging hard in the desolate mountain. Mo Xue squatted on the ground with both hands holding a broken hoe, digging hard in the desolate mountain with both hands. Seeing the grass roots on the ground, a smile appeared on Mo Xue's face. She carefully picked it up and put it into the broken basket beside her.

It was the middle of summer and the sun was scorching. Mo Xue raised her hand and used her patched up sleeves to wipe her sweat. Looking at the gradually shrinking shadow on the ground and then at the broken basket beside her, she sighed in her heart. The amount of grass roots she had was getting lesser and lesser by the day. She stuck out her tongue and licked her lips as she took the basket home.

"Dad, mom, I'm back!" Pushing open the gate of the fence, she saw her parents weaving a wicker basket. She put down the basket and ran into the kitchen to scoop up a large ladle of water to pour into her mouth. Although it was a drought, only crops died from thirst.

"Sister, Sister, you're back!" As she approached the backyard, her three-year-old brother, Mo Liu, ran towards her and jumped into her arms.

She stroked his yellow hair and sighed. A three-year-old child looked like one or two years old.

She took her brother's hand and led him to the front yard. Seeing her mother, Mo Liu let go of Mo Xue's hand without any hesitation and ran towards her mother. Mo Xue shook her head when she saw this scene. She used all her strength to shake the creaking water wheel. Finally, she got a bucket of water from the well and found a basin. She carefully washed the roots clean and filled it with rough pottery.

It was time for lunch. Mo Xue started lighting the stove and cooking. The ingredients had been prepared by her mother long ago. A small bowl of rice with barely covering the bottom of the bowl, along with a few handfuls of sweet potato leaves, were the food for their family of four. While she was boiling water, she was washing the sweet potato leaves clean. The water quickly boiled, and after thinking for a moment, she grabbed a small handful from the bowl and placed it in a small bowl. She poured the sweet potato leaves and the remaining rice into the pot, and after half a quarter of an hour, a pot of green cabbage was ready.

"Father, mother, little brother, it's time to eat." She brought the clumps of vegetables and the root of the grass she had dug up today to a shabby wooden table in the main house and began to set down the bowls and chopsticks.

The only good thing on the table was a small bowl of rice soup, which she specially made for her brother Mo Liu. When her parents entered the room and saw that the food on the table was silent, they just sat down and silently drank the bumpy soup in front of them. She took the little brother in her mother's arms and began to feed him rice soup.

"Sister, drink." After feeding Mo Liu the second mouthful, Mo Liu turned his head and said that.

"Sister doesn't drink, little brother is good, little brother will drink." Mo Xue patted his head and brought the spoon to his lips.

"Sister, I'm no longer a child." Mo Liu looked up. On his small face, a pair of bright black eyes were filled with spirit energy, "Sister drink, little brother will drink." As Mo Liu said this, he jumped off Mo Xue's knee and stared at her stubbornly with those spirited eyes of his.

Seeing how the siblings were so sensible and loved each other, Mo Xue's mother's eyes reddened, and her father also turned his head away.

"Xue'er, drink!" Mo Xue's mother said after a long while, her eyes red.

"Why?" Puzzled, Mo Xue asked, "I don't want it. Younger brother needs it more than me." She was five years older than Mo Liu, and her parents were both busy when she was young. Mo Liu's relationship towards her little brother was extraordinary, she would rather suffer more than let him suffer.

"Child, you know that there is nothing to eat at home. You know that even the hills in the village have been hollowed out. You must have spent a lot of effort to find these roots!" Mo Xue's father looked at Mo Xue and suddenly said.

"Dad, I know. Don't chase me away. I can't eat anything. I can still dig for roots outside!" Hearing her father's words, Mo Xue suddenly had a bad premonition. Not long ago, a group of people had already left the village. Mo Xue was still young, and she only knew that they were out looking for food. After all these years of drought, there were so many people in this small village. She heard that most of the adults went out to find jobs, and most of the children who hadn't grown up went out to be beggars, while the girls were sold to the picket fence. Although she did not know what exactly Gou Wai Yuan did, from the words of the people and from the looks in their eyes, she knew that it was definitely a very bad place!

She put down her utensils and walked over to her father's side. She tugged at his clothes and said, "Dad, you don't mean that, right? You're just sighing a bit, right?" Mo Xue's father stopped talking upon hearing Mo Xue's words, only lowering his head and no longer looking at her. Mo Xue's mother turned her head away and looked at Mo Xue's wistful eyes. Mo Xue walked up to her mother and asked, "Mother, tell me, father doesn't have this intention, right?"

When Mo Xue's mother heard this, she hugged her and cried, "My child, your father is doing this for your own good too. This damn heavens, it has already been a drought for three years. You can only starve to death like the b * tch in your uncle's house! Wait a moment, you and Yan.

Da Niu, Iron Egg, Daya, and Cuihua will go together. There might be a way to survive.

"Xue'er, Xue'er!" someone called from outside the door.

"It's Yan and the others. Come in and sit!" Mo Xue's mother wiped her tears away with her sleeve and replied to the door. She then turned to Mo Xue and said, "Xue'er, you must be extra careful outside the house. Listen to your brother Yan's words; Brother Yan's ancestors gave birth to an Elementary Scholar, and your name was given to you by Yan's grandfather. Sigh, why would I say these things? I only hate my mother for being useless, for being unable to protect you, for not being able to give birth to you for so many years and not letting you live a good life. Father and Mother are also very reluctant to part with you.

Seeing Yan and the others enter, Mo Xue's mother let go of Mo Xue, found a broken bag, poured the grass roots from the table into the bag, and also found a clay bowl to pass it to Mo Xue, "There's nothing else in the house, take these with you. From now on, you are an adult, be sure to disguise yourself as a boy to avoid the bad guys, don't let them kidnap you!"

"Yan, Daniu, Iron Egg, Daya, Cuihua!" Mo Xue's mother held Mo Yan's hand and looked at them with burning eyes, "After we leave, you will be family. We must take care of each other, and Xue'er is still young, we will be counting on you to take care of her. "Yan, you're the oldest and most quick-witted. You even know a few words. After you go out, you'll be a big brother. You have to take good care of your brothers and sisters!"

"Auntie, I will." Mo Yan nodded and replied. The others also nodded to show that they would take good care of Mo Xue and would unite and love each other.

Mo Xue knew this was a foregone conclusion, so she wiped away the tears on her face and said no more. Her father was right, this little village couldn't support them anymore. Today, when she dug up roots of grass, she realized that most of them had already been killed by the sun. She looked at Mo Liu. At least, after she leaves, her lackeys would be able to have an extra bite to eat.

Mo Liu looked at the crowd that appeared in a daze. Seeing that Sister had stopped crying, he also stopped crying. After all, he was still young and didn't know what was going on. He was still in a daze when Mo Xue grabbed a handful of grass roots from her broken pocket and shoved them into his hand. Mo Xue patted his head and said, "Little brother, you have to take good care of yourself, do you understand? I wonder when Sister will return. "

Then, he turned around and left with Mo Yan and the others.

"Sister!" Mo Liu walked over while crying and hugged her leg, "Sister, don't go, Sister!"

Mo Xue's mother walked over and pulled Mo Liu back, "Liu'er be good, you just went out to find something to eat. You'll be back very soon!"

"Really?" Mo Liu still held onto Mo Xue's leg, not letting go. He only raised his head to look at Mo Xue, with crystal clear tears still hanging from his eyes. That kind of look really makes one's heart ache.

"Of course." Mo Xue bent down and patted Mo Liu's head. She looked into his eyes and replied, but said in her heart: "Little brother, don't blame me for lying to you."

"Then, Sister, go ahead. Remember to come back early!" Mo Liu finally let go of Mo Xue's leg and watched her leave.

… ….

Walking out of the village, Da Niu looked at Mo Yan and asked, "Brother Yan, where are we going?"

"Why don't we go to the town first? We'll see when the time comes." At this moment, Mo Yan was just a young boy, not as mature or experienced as he would be in the future.

The kids nodded in agreement, and they set off for town. Mo Xue had been tired all morning, so she was driven out by her parents before she even had lunch. She was really tired and hungry.

Mo Yan, who was beside her, noticed her awkwardness. He took out a small biscuit from his broken bag and handed it to her. Mo Xue looked at him. His eyes were dark, without any hint of mockery. She thanked him and then took the biscuit, ignoring the crudeness of the biscuit, and swallowed it in two to three bites.

How could poor children dislike the crudeness of bread? Even in this drought year, this kind of bread was a great food. At the very least, it could be full, just like Mo Xue's family's rice porridge. After drinking it for a while, she would be hungry.

Mo Yan didn't mock her as she wolfed down her food. He just told her to slow down and passed her the water from the pot. Among the six people, only Mo Yan had a tin pot with water. Other than the tattered clothes he wore, there was only one other broken bowl.

Speaking of Mo Yan, even though his family's ancestors were Elementary Scholars, it was unknown how many generations had passed since they were ancestors. As for giving Mo Xue and the others a name, that was even simpler. Mo Yan had left behind a book for his ancestors, and anyone who had children and wanted to give them a name would bring something or treat Mo Yan's parents to a meal before going to look at the book on the Mo family's ancestors.