The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 23 Such is Human Nature

The officials don't care?!
Zuo Chixia hurriedly ran towards Zuo Wenxuan at the front of the group.

Until he ran up to Zuo Wenxuan, panting heavily.

With a "thump," he knelt down and kowtowed, saying:
"Uncle Xuan, please save my mother! She's just starving; she could survive on just half a steamed bun. Could you lend me one?"
"When Xia'er gets to the border town, she'll write letters and copy books to earn copper coins, and she'll pay you back double!"

One two-ounce mixed flour bun a day wasn't enough for him, a small child, let alone his mother, an adult.

My mother had previously said that she had a poor appetite, and every day she would insist on breaking off a piece of her steamed bun and stuffing it into his mouth.

He's a complete idiot.

His mother wasn't actually lacking appetite; she just wanted him to eat one more bite!

Only by borrowing grain could he save his mother; this was the only thought in Zuo Chixia's mind.

Zuo Wenxuan had no steamed buns to speak of; he had a bitter pill to swallow!

Now, all the money in his family is in the hands of Madam Lü.

That night, the thief was too busy picking flowers to notice anything else.

When the villagers saw the injury on his head from hitting the wall, they thought his house had been robbed.

Now, all he wants to do is get enough to eat, and he has to say nice things to that vile woman, Lady Lü, every day.

They're completely under their control!
He looked towards the middle of the line, but Ms. Lü in the crowd didn't even look up, let alone make eye contact with him.

The atmosphere froze.

The men at the front of the line were all in a sorry state.

The first thing they did upon receiving their rations was to eat them.

In the morning, we usually eat food that we pay for ourselves.

At lunchtime, the officials distributed a mixed flour steamed bun.

They had only just finished lunch, and none of the hundred or so people had any leftover food.

It's so embarrassing in front of my cousin/nephew!
Zuo Chixia had probably never asked for a favor like this before. When he looked up and met his uncle's eyes, the uncle shook his head with a troubled expression.

He thought for a moment, then got up.

Then he turned around and ran back to the middle of the line.

Shouldn't the uncles in the clan be more reliable than the cousins?

He knelt down again with a thud and began kowtowing repeatedly.

He pleaded, "Uncles, my mother has fainted from hunger. Please lend me half a steamed bun! I'll return it to you tomorrow at noon after I collect my own bun."

In just a few minutes, his mind matured significantly.

The border town is too far away; today's promises are like a mirage.

Is it alright if he pays the money tomorrow?

To everyone's surprise, those old guys who had previously tried to morally blackmail the Luo family all turned away.

These people are thinking a bit too far ahead:

This is not just about half a steamed bun!

How can they face their parents if they let a child go hungry and then give them steamed buns?
But they weren't exactly wealthy; they even had foreign debt.

On the day they set off, the mother and daughter severed ties with the mother's family in front of everyone.

I estimate that he is penniless right now.

Today we can save her life, but who will be able to take responsibility for this mother and child for the next three thousand miles?
They didn't even know how many days they had left to live, so how could they care about the lives of others?
The uncles opened and closed their mouths, but no sound came out.

Zuo Chixia went from being full of hope at the beginning, to feeling embarrassed after being rejected, and finally to being filled with despair.

Her little head drooped, and large tears dripped onto the ground as she cried silently.

What should he do?
Who else can I ask for help?

Will his mother die?

He was so scared.
Having lived through ten years in the apocalypse, Gan Minglan had long since hardened her heart.

Even if Lady Lü were to die right in front of her today, she wouldn't even blink.

But her only weakness was her cub. The small, helpless cub cried, its little shoulders heaving, and her heart ached.

It felt like someone had pinched it hard.

She quickly put the fat boy off her back and whispered a few words in his ear.

The little guy skipped over to the middle of the line and squatted down in front of Zuo Chixia.

He was handed a water pouch:
"Brother Xia, please give Auntie some water! My mother put salt in the water."

After Zuo Chixia looked up and saw who it was, he wiped his face haphazardly with his sleeve a few times:

"Thank you, thank you, little brother Jun, thank you, auntie."

He and his mother didn't have water bags, so they could only drink a bellyful of water before setting off each day.

It's so hot, my throat is practically burning with thirst.

Even if there are no steamed buns, it would be better for Mom to have enough water to fill her stomach than what she has now!

He hurriedly grabbed the water bag and staggered toward his mother.

Fatty ran after him, completely bewildered: Who is Jun-didi? Why did my brother thank the wrong person?

The little guy had no idea he had such a famous name!
Luo rolled her eyes at her daughter-in-law at the back of the line:
She's so kind-hearted, what if these two mother and daughter try to take advantage of her? She just pretended to be poor a few days ago, she can't let them embarrass her!

The water sac that Zuo Chixia was holding tightly in his arms was not filled with ordinary salt water.

This is a functional beverage that Gan Minglan prepared for her family of four.

She dripped seven or eight drops of juice extracted from the leaves of the sacred mulberry tree into each water sac.

It contains a faint trace of wood-elemental energy.

The taste is slightly fresh with a hint of coolness and a subtle mulberry aroma.

It tastes ten times better than any brand of energy drink she had ever drunk before the apocalypse.

Her body doesn't seem to have any major reaction to drinking this water right now.

The little fat boy drank it for three days in a row, and now he can walk for three hours on his own.

Even if I don't use my special abilities to massage his meridians at night, he won't complain of foot pain when he wakes up the next day.

Both Luo and Zuo Wenkang believed that their bodies had become accustomed to the intensity of daily walking.

They had no suspicion whatsoever about the salt water in the water sac.
At the back of the line.

After her son forced a few mouthfuls of water down her throat, Ms. She subconsciously intensified her swallowing movements.

He swallowed seven or eight mouthfuls of water before he stopped.

She slowly opened her eyes, met her son's swollen eyes, and forced a smile:
"Mother is alright, Mother is alright now."

"Wow"

Zuo Chixia, who had just managed to remain calm, burst into tears and rushed over to hug his mother tightly.

Unlike the silent tears before.

The child, only seven or eight years old, was crying so loudly that it was heartbreaking.

At this moment, the faces of the Zuo clan members burned with embarrassment.

Especially those uncles who always act like elders.

Fatty watched the entire process of Zuo Chixia rescuing his mother, his face filled with pride and excitement.

Gan Minglan: Has her son become addicted to saving people?
Afterwards, she tentatively asked:
"Brother Xia and the others don't have money to buy steamed buns, so Auntie might faint from hunger often in the future."

Fatty's bright, black-and-white eyes were full of confusion:
"Was Aunt's money also stolen by thieves?"

"Xia's maternal grandfather abandoned him and his mother, so he didn't prepare any money for them. From now on, they can only eat the steamed buns given by the government officials."

In his four years of life, Fatty has never met a maternal grandfather who doesn't like his grandson.

It's a bit hard to understand.

The little guy frowned deeply: "What should we do, duck? We don't have any money in the shed!"

(End of this chapter)