Chapter 709: Fleeing from Famine 14
"Mom, this bamboo forest is so big, does it mean there are still a lot of bamboo rats? Mom, why don’t we catch all the bamboo rats tomorrow and keep them to eat slowly when we get home? I wonder if the bamboo forest behind the mountain in our village has bamboo water and bamboo rats."
If there are, then our family won’t starve when we return home.
We can have meat soup every day.
Just the thought of having meat soup daily made Dalin swallow hungrily.
Yuan Chun responded with a nod, "Let’s hide the cart in the bamboo forest today. Tomorrow, you all will join me in catching bamboo rats, and the day after tomorrow, bright and early, we’ll start our journey back home."
Dalin and Sun Chunfeng responded happily.
Xiao Wu, who was nearly grown and often helped with farm work at home, came over, sat next to his grandma, and said, "Grandma, I also want to help catch bamboo rats."
Yuan Chun turned to look at his small, thin frame and said, "You’re still young and can’t handle cutting bamboo, but you can help carry the baskets and watch out for the bamboo rats to prevent them from escaping."
"Grandma, I’m really strong and can do a lot of work," Xiao Wu said eagerly.
He really wanted to help the adults work; he didn’t want to just stand around doing nothing.
He didn’t want to be a burden to his grandma and his uncle and aunt.
Yuan Chun reached out and gently touched her grandson’s head, saying softly, "Grandma knows, Xiao Wu is a hardworking and capable young man, but our family only has a single machete, and there isn’t an extra one for you to use."
Only then did Xiao Wu respond, "Then I’ll help watch over the baskets."
Before dark, Yuan Chun and Dalin pulled the cart into the bamboo forest, and the family spent the night there.
The next day, Sun Chunfeng was responsible for watching over Xiaowen and the cart, while Yuan Chun and Dalin went to catch bamboo rats, with Xiao Wu and his three sisters helping to carry baskets.
In the large bamboo forest, there actually weren’t too many bamboo rats. Yuan Chun used her spiritual power to capture about a hundred bamboo rats, and she found a rabbit’s nest in a low-lying area.
There were seven big rabbits and five small rabbits.
This place was geographically low, with some shady spots and grass which allowed the rabbits to survive.
Yuan Chun and Dalin pulled out all the green grass and threw it into the baskets as feed for the rabbits, intending to keep them and slowly eat them along the way.
Since the baskets were too small to hold all the rabbits, that night Yuan Chun roasted four big rabbits, and the eight of them shared and ate them all.
The next morning, the Geng family woke up early, had a bowl of meat soup each, packed their belongings, and set off for Fengling Village.
Afraid that the bamboo rats crowded together would suffocate, Yuan Chun cut several green bamboo poles, each as thick as a bowl, to keep the bamboo rats inside.
They also concealed them to prevent others from discovering them along the way.
On the road back to the village, the Geng family encountered many people fleeing hardships heading south.
Some were large groups from villages like Fengling Village fleeing together, some were families fleeing alone, and some were familiar relatives escaping together.
Some people saw that the Geng family consisted mostly of the elderly, women, and children, with only Dalin as a strong man, and wanted to rob them, but were beaten back by Yuan Chun.
With Yuan Chun in charge, a few days later in the evening, the Geng family returned safely to Fengling Village.
Back home, Dalin and Sun Chunfeng felt half relieved, and happily started unloading the cart, each returning to their tasks.
They set the iron pot back on the stove and busied themselves with boiling water and cooking bamboo rat meat.
After eating, the family closed the door and had a pleasant night’s sleep.