Chapter 11

Ding Gui and his group were divided into three teams by Village Chief Laifu, with each team having about six or seven people.

They searched several houses along East Street and found that almost every fourth house had something suspicious inside.

Halfway through the search, some people didn’t want to continue. Their reasoning was: “It doesn’t matter how many houses there are, as long as we find some. Even if several families squeeze into one house, it’s still better than sleeping out in the open.”

Although Village Chief Laifu was utterly exhausted, he still had a clear mind. He gathered these people together and said, “We’ve been traveling for days, and everyone is dead tired. The best option now is to rest here for a few days before continuing. But think about it—where will everyone sleep during these days? Some get beds, others sleep on the ground? We’re supposed to recover here, but if we don’t rest well and continue on like this, people will still die every day.”

Laifu wasn’t wrong. Other than stopping to rest, they had no other option.

Everyone was simply too exhausted.

But if they stopped and had no food or water, it would still be a dead end.

Seeing the despair in everyone’s eyes, Laifu tried to lift their spirits. His dry lips moved slowly as he said, “I’m not good at saying fancy things, but think about it—shouldn’t we push a little further, for the sake of our parents and children?”

There was nothing left to say after that.

Everyone scattered again, continuing the search for clean houses.

After just a couple more houses, Ding Rong and Ding De flanked Ding Gui on either side.

“Third Brother, if we find a house, let my family have it first. I’ve got more kids, and your sister-in-law already fainted from exhaustion once.”

“Third Brother, give Second Brother the first house. When good things come our way, Second Brother won’t forget you.”

“…”

Ding Gui looked to the left, then to the right.

He remembered how the original Ding Gui had often been bullied by these two brothers—and not just occasionally, but ever since he could remember.

They had always hit or scolded him. He never got a share of the good food, and new clothes were out of the question.

When their father was alive, he would occasionally speak up for Ding Gui. But since he passed away when Ding Gui was ten, he never got fair treatment again.

Thinking about all that the original Ding Gui had gone through, Ding Gui felt a strong urge to knock these two bastards flat.

But for now, he had to act like a total pushover.

After all, that’s the kind of character the original Ding Gui had—suddenly acting tough would definitely raise suspicion.

Fortunately, Ding Gui had other plans. With a sheepish expression, he said, “Hehe, Big Brother, Second Brother, I was just looking for you two to talk!”

Talk?

Ding Rong and Ding De exchanged glances. What’s going on? Did this blockhead finally grow a brain?

Ding De looked curious. “Sure, talk about what?”

“Of course, it’s about our mother,” Ding Gui slumped his shoulders, watching their surprised and nervous expressions with secret delight. He continued, “Look, we’ve hit a once-in-a-century drought. Our family’s already dirt-poor, and since I took Mother with us on the run, Zhang Xiu and I have done our best, but she’s still suffered.”

“Thinking of how she’s in her later years and still has to suffer with us—I just can’t bear it anymore! Big Brother, Second Brother, I think it’s best if you take her in and care for her. After all, both your families are doing better than mine, and she’ll suffer less with you.”

“What are you talking about?!”

As soon as he finished, Ding Rong and Ding De quickly moved away from him.

Ding De, panicking, snapped, “Who told you we’re doing well? Are you blind? We’ve got a bunch of half-grown kids at home eating us dry. We’ve been starving for days, don’t you get it?”

Ding Rong, on the other hand, looked amused. He enjoyed watching Ding De and Ding Gui argue. But since this involved their old mother, he naturally sided with the older brother.

“Third Brother, don’t bring up taking care of that old hag again. You should go ask her how she treated us all these years. Just earlier—when you carried her past us—she cursed us as beasts. What’s that supposed to mean? If we’re beasts, then what does that make her? The mother of beasts?”

Perfect!

Ding Gui thought to himself—neither of them were any good.

Some other villagers nearby burst out laughing at Ding De’s comment.

Apparently, the old woman calling them beasts was previously a secret between the three brothers—now everyone knew.

Seeing everyone laughing, Ding De became furious and swore, “Laugh, laugh, laugh! Laugh yourselves to death, you damn turtle bastards!”

Ding Rong also shouted, “Let’s go find our own houses. To hell with the others!”

With that, the two brothers stormed off, cursing.

Actually, they had their reasons. They felt they were stronger than the others, and yet were expected to help find houses for everyone else—it wasn’t worth it. Plus, by walking off, they avoided having to discuss taking care of their mother again.

Watching the two brothers walk away, Laifu sighed and shook his head.

He patted Ding Gui on the shoulder and said sympathetically, “Forget it. Your mother’s still your responsibility. If you’re waiting for those two bastards to take care of her, the sun might as well rise in the west.”

Ding Gui slouched, looking all pitiful again: “…”

At that moment, a tiny hand tugged on his ragged pants.

“Xiaodie?”

Seeing his daughter, Ding Gui dropped the act and broke into a joyful smile. “Baby, what are you doing here?”

Laifu and the other villagers were surprised. “Xiaodie, you’re not scared?”

“There are dead people in almost every house…”

The person who almost blurted that out got a death glare from Laifu: “Don’t scare the child.”

She was just a little girl, after all.

The villager quickly shut his mouth.

Ding Xiaodie said in a childish voice, “Papa, Grandma is scolding people again. Mama told me to come get you.”

“Oh come on, your mother shouldn’t have let you come alone. What if you got lost?” Ding Gui feigned worry.

Laifu said, “Enough talk. Go check on her, and take Xiaodie with you—don’t let her run around alone.”

He gently ruffled Xiao Die’s hair as he spoke.

“Alright, Chief.”

Ding Gui replied, then took his daughter’s hand and headed toward the main street.

After walking about ten meters and seeing that Laifu and the others had gone off to search other houses, father and daughter silently ducked into a small alley.

There was a gourd bottle tied around the girl’s waist. Ding Gui had been eyeing it and already swallowed a few times just thinking about it.

“Hurry, drink!”

Ding Xiaodie looked around cautiously, then quickly handed the gourd to her father.

She had found it in a room next to the one they were staying in. Gourd bottles were the standard container for water in this era, but almost everyone’s was empty.

She had filled it with mineral water she secretly found and came running to bring it to him.