Chapter 16: Let Your Brother Go Hunting for Us

    “We were abandoned by our family. They didn’t leave any food when they left.  These days, we’ve survived on foxtail grass seeds from the mountain. We don’t have much left.  Why don’t I cook a pot of foxtail grass seed porridge for everyone tonight?” Xie Jiu’er politely replied.

    “Is foxtail grass seed something humans eat? I don’t believe you usually eat this. You’re wearing a rabbit fur neck warmer. You’re lying! You eat meat, and you want us to eat foxtail grass?” The middle-aged man from earlier had a gloomy expression and cursed at Xie Jiu’er.

    “This rabbit was hunted by my brother after he recovered. We’ve already eaten it.  While Big Brother was recovering, we were so hungry that we discovered foxtail grass seeds could be made into porridge.  Aren’t people starving to death? Why are you so picky?” Xie Jiu’er was furious, but they outnumbered her, and she didn’t want to make things worse.

    “Girl, don’t listen to his nonsense. If you say foxtail grass seeds can be eaten, Grandpa believes you.  Tonight, please trouble yourself, girl.  A bowl of hot porridge will be enough for us.” The old man spoke to Xie Jiu’er and Xiao Jinyu respectfully.

    “Hmph, since he can hunt, let him go into the mountains and hunt some game for us! My child is still young. If I don’t eat well, how will I have milk to feed my child?”

    At this time, a woman with an oily face, holding a baby less than a year old, complained to the middle-aged man.

    Xie Jiu’er then noticed that everyone else was skinny and bony, except for the man and his wife, who were strong and healthy. The woman holding the baby was even plump.

    On the road fleeing from famine, while breastfeeding, not dying of starvation was already fortunate. This woman was plump and looked healthy. Could it be…?

    “Hunting is dangerous. Now that the mountain is blocked by snow, the animals in the mountains must be starving too. Going into the mountains now is suicide. Your man is strong and healthy. If he wants meat, let him go hunting in the mountains himself.” Xie Jiu’er didn’t want to deal with such greedy people.

    “You’re a girl, how can you be so cruel? We’ve traveled so far, how can we have the energy to hunt?  Our village isn’t far from here. We’re neighbors. Why can’t you ask your brother to help hunt?” The woman stepped forward, holding the child, and scolded loudly.

    “Oh, you said we’re not even from the same village. What are you? You want my brother to hunt for you? Even if we had it, we wouldn’t give it to someone like you. It’s better to feed it to a dog.” Xie Jiu’er rolled her eyes and continued, “We’ve survived on wild vegetables for so long. Since you don’t like it, find your own way!”

    She grabbed Xiao Jinyu and prepared to leave.

    “Don’t go. I don’t mind; I’m willing to drink foxtail grass seed porridge.” A thin woman emerged from the crowd, holding a five or six-year-old boy. The boy was skinny, with a small body and a large head, looking quite strange.

    “Okay.”

    Seeing the boy’s appearance, Xie Jiu’er agreed. Then, others came forward one after another, saying they were too hungry to endure, and that they wouldn’t mind even a mouthful of food.

    Seeing that everyone else wanted to drink foxtail grass seed porridge, the plump woman couldn’t help but mutter, “A bunch of starving ghosts, they don’t know how to appreciate good fortune.”

    Her husband gave her a look, and the woman immediately fell silent. Xie Jiu’er and Xiao Jinyu noticed their strangeness and exchanged glances without saying anything.

    Xie Jiu’er told them to wait at the village head’s house for the porridge. The village head’s house had a large pot that they hadn’t taken away when they left. It was perfect for cooking porridge for so many people.

    “There should be many bowls in the village. Find your own bowls and return them after drinking the porridge,” Xie Jiu’er said, returning home with Xiao Jinyu.

    Zhou shi had been standing at the door, anxiously watching them. “What kind of people are those?”

    Xie Jiu’er said, “Villagers from nearby mountains. The war is over, and they’re returning home, but they’re stuck because of the snow. They’ll stay here for a night and want food. I agreed to cook a pot of foxtail grass seed porridge for them using the village head’s big iron pot.”

    “If we cook it at the village head’s house, we’ll have to take firewood there too.” Zhou shi looked at the thick snow on the road but didn’t say anything.

    A mother knows her daughter best. Xie Jiu’er explained, “Mother, so many people will come up and rummage through things.  If they find our meat and taro, it won’t be good. Although the war is over, it’s true that every household doesn’t have enough food. People’s hearts can’t be tested. We’ve been abandoned once, and if we don’t learn our lesson, we won’t be able to keep this food.”

    Wuyang added, “We rendered meat for most of the day.  If you get close to the kitchen, you can smell the strong aroma of meat. If people are starving, they’ll grab food if they see it.”

    Xie Jiu’er looked approvingly at her brother. “That’s right, Mother. The foxtail grass seeds were also painstakingly collected and threshed from the mountain.  So many people will need a lot to make a pot of porridge.  We’ve already done our best by giving them a large pot of porridge.”

    Zhou shi patted Xie Jiu’er’s hand. “Mother understands. You’re clearer-headed than Mother. When they fled and didn’t leave us a single bite of food, Mother knew that people’s hearts should be cold. Today, we can still give others a bowl of porridge, but at that time, no one gave us a drop of water.”

    Seeing that Zhou shi had changed her mind, Xie Jiu’er felt relieved.  She wasn’t comfortable going down with Zhou shi, so she suggested that Xiao Jinyu accompany her to the village head’s house with the foxtail grass seeds.

    It was difficult to find firewood because of the heavy snow, so they bundled some firewood they had stored and put it in front of Xiao Jinyu. “Thank you, God of Wealth.”

    One carrying the food and the other carrying the firewood, they delivered the things to the village head’s house.

    “Use this to cook porridge. Grit your teeth and persevere. Leave early tomorrow, and you should be able to get back home.”

    The old man smiled bitterly.  They wouldn’t have anything to eat when they got home either!

    “Thank you,” the old man thanked Xie Jiu’er and Xiao Jinyu, and then directed the women in their group to cook porridge. Before leaving, Xie Jiu’er looked at the middle-aged man and his wife. They were sitting not far away, having already found some firewood and started a fire. It seemed they didn’t intend to drink the porridge.

    Their bags were casually placed beside them, containing old clothes torn into diapers for the child.

    “They don’t have food, but they don’t want the porridge we offered.  They might be plotting something,” Xie Jiu’er muttered.

    Xiao Jinyu sneered, “They must have tasted human flesh. Didn’t you notice? The mother of the little radish head is both disgusted and afraid of that couple, and her feelings towards the other refugees are quite subtle.”