Although he had passed out, Shen Yuan still heard what Shen Dong, Shen Xi, and Shen Nan were saying.
Shen Dong would not be able to borrow any grain.
Judging from the memories in his mind, his predecessor had already borrowed several times.
Shen Yuan knew that the Shen Family now had only one person who could make a living by selling his physical labor, and that was his current self. Of the remaining children, only Shen Dong was strong enough to do a little hard labor and help shoulder the burden at home.
As things stood, the Shen Family was asking to borrow grain that they could not possibly repay anytime soon.
Besides, once you made an exception, there would be a second time. Borrowing grain here was no different from borrowing money in his previous life.
People always said to help those in urgent need, not those trapped in poverty. The Shen Family’s situation could not be solved by helping them once or twice.
If they lent him anything, they had to be prepared never to get it back.
On top of that, his predecessor had already borrowed several times. The villagers had probably grown afraid of lending to him.
When all was said and done, it was because this village was truly poor beyond belief.
Even the village head’s family had hardly any grain, let alone the other villagers.
Dashu Village was not the only place like this. The villagers in nearly all the surrounding villages were struggling to eat their fill as well. This was related not only to the years of warfare, but also to the country’s policies.
All the land here was in the hands of noble fief-holders, military households granted fields for military merit, landowners who had bought fields through commerce, and wealthy commoners.
In other words, it belonged to the gentry, soldiers, merchants, and a small portion of commoners who had a little money to spare.
Here, anyone who wanted to own land had to possess either money or power.
Ordinary commoners who owned no land all farmed for these people. They were called tenant farmers, and how much of the annual harvest they had to hand over was decided by the master’s house.
Of what reached their hands, they still had to deduct the taxes paid to the government. The tiny amount of grain left was not something the villagers could entirely keep for themselves either. There were two possibilities.
In one case, they did not need to save seed. Every year, when it was time to sow, the master’s house provided the seed grain. Under these circumstances, the share of the harvest given to the tenant farmers was relatively small.
In the other case, they had to set aside the seed grain needed for their fields themselves. Otherwise, they would have no grain to pay next year’s taxes, much less anything to eat.
Only what remained after that was truly theirs to dispose of as they pleased.
How could that little bit of grain possibly be enough to feed an entire family?
And so bran, wild greens, and bark flour had all become the everyday “grain” of the villagers in Dashu Village.
They could not get a scrap of meat all year round. The fish in the river belonged to the landowners, the game in the mountains belonged to the landowners, and even the fruit on the trees belonged to the landowners.
The fact that the villagers were allowed to strip bark from trees and dig up wild greens was already extraordinary mercy.
Some landowners did not even allow that.
In his predecessor’s memories, the only time he had ever eaten meat was when he was five. Shen Yuan’s father had used a sling to bring down a bird flying overhead, then roasted it and sprinkled a little black, coarse salt over it before giving it to him.
In his predecessor’s memory, it was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten.
His predecessor had only eaten it once. Since the bird had to be taken to town and exchanged for some aged millet, it could help the family eat a few more meals.
Shen Yuan knew what bran was. When he was little in his previous life, he had seen people in the village use it to feed pigs. But here, at this time, it was precious “grain” that people themselves did not have enough of.
He had always thought his childhood in the orphanage had been terribly hard. Looking at things now, he could count himself as someone who had never truly suffered in his life.
Under such difficult conditions, it was no wonder the survival rate of children in ancient times was so low and people’s lifespans were generally so short.
They could not eat their fill or keep warm, and they labored year-round. Their bodies suffered too much wear and tear. It would have been strange if people could live long.
Shen Yuan guessed there was an eighty percent chance Shen Dong would not be able to borrow any grain. In his predecessor’s memories, some millet had been set aside in case petty thieves stole all their food.
It was buried beneath the kitchen floor, and only his predecessor knew where.
He had to go to the kitchen and take a look. He needed to get one bite down first and keep himself alive before worrying about anything else.
He was so hungry that he had no strength left. It took Shen Yuan quite some time just to get up from the bed made of broken door planks.
In the end, it was Shen Xi who propped Shen Yuan up with his thin, frail shoulders.
Fortunately, his predecessor was small and thin enough as well. Shen Yuan borrowed a little of Shen Xi’s strength and let him lead him to the kitchen.
The Shen Family’s courtyard was not large. The packed yellow earth was hard as stone, and there were only three thatched cottages arranged in an L shape.
Two of them were joined together as the main house, where the family lived. The other was used as a kitchen and for storing odds and ends, firewood, and the like.
When there had been more people in the family, everyone had crowded into the two main rooms. Now that there were fewer of them, the place felt much more spacious.
But there was only one bed, a door plank that had broken at some unknown point and had been repurposed as a bed.
The other few pieces of wood that could be called beds had all been traded by his predecessor for millet, which he had brought back to feed Shen Bei.
Babies could not eat bran. Their stomachs and intestines could not handle it.
But even millet was precious to people like them, who owned no land. Everything in the house that could be traded had been traded. Not a single table, chair, or stool remained, and even so, it had only lasted them half a year.
With wind leaking in from all four sides, the house was bare and empty. Shen Yuan stood there hungry, blackness swimming before his eyes, staring at the clay jar that was cleaner than a face, and felt utterly desperate.
His body swayed, terrifying Shen Xi. The boy used every ounce of strength he had to hold him up, his face turning scarlet with effort. He absolutely would not let his big brother fall!
Shen Yuan was deeply moved by the child’s desperate attempt to support him, but he felt as though his body were fighting against his will. He was so weak that moving the grain jar was out of the question. Even speaking took all his strength.
Afraid of frightening the children again, Shen Yuan forced himself to hold on and said in a breathy whisper, “Big Brother’s going to pass out again. Don’t be scared……”
Shen Yuan had barely finished speaking when he was forcibly shut down. He collapsed peacefully onto the floor. Shen Xi was left dazed beneath him. He wriggled out from under Shen Yuan’s arm and sat there, bewildered.
……
Village Chief Lau’s house stood in the middle of the village. Whenever anything happened at the Lau Family’s home, the neighbors would crane their necks to watch, practically pressing their entire bodies against the walls to listen and see.
But today, although pleading cries could be heard from the Lau Family’s side, not a single person came out to look.
“Grandpa Lau, please, please save my brother. I only need one bite of food, just enough for my big brother to eat and stay alive. Please, Grandpa Lau.” Shen Dong knelt on the ground, crying and banging his head. Blood had already appeared on his forehead, but he seemed not to notice, begging desperately over and over as though he could not feel the pain.
He was begging for one bite of food, begging them to save his brother who was on the brink of death.
He truly did not want to lose another member of his family.
“Grandpa Lau, please, please.”
Thump, thump, thump……
The sound of his forehead striking the ground, heavy and dull, beat again and again against the heart of the old man nearby.
Village Chief Lau knew that this child had begged his way through the entire village and knocked on every door, yet no one had opened theirs.
His house was the last straw keeping him alive.
From the dilapidated thatched house came the cries of his newborn granddaughter. Village Chief Lau listened to Shen Dong’s pleas with his left ear and his granddaughter’s hungry wails with his right, his heart pulled painfully in two directions.
There was no food left in his family.
His wife had said that their daughter-in-law was so hungry she was almost out of milk. Their granddaughter had been deficient from birth, and now she was starving as well. No one knew how many more days they could keep her alive. Everyone in the family had tightened their belts, not daring to drink even one extra bowl of bran paste.
It was not just his family. Every household in the village was the same.
The landowners had increased their share again this year. Not only that, but the villagers would also have to provide their own seed grain for the following year.
They had already lacked enough food to eat, and now so much of their provisions had been taken away at once. No family could survive it.
“Grandpa Lau, please save my big brother.”
“Please.”
“Please……”
Shen Dong did not stop bowing and begging. His body was already weak, and he was nearly unable to hold himself up. He swayed where he knelt.
He did not dare stop.
This was his only hope. If he stopped, his big brother would die.
Village Chief Lau looked at Shen Dong’s thin little body. The Shen Family had been reduced to only a few children. If Shen Yuan truly died, not one of them would survive.
Did this world really intend to drive people to death before it would be satisfied? Village Chief Lau closed his eyes and let out a long sigh before rising and walking into the kitchen.
Using a chipped, broken clay bowl, he scooped up some powder made by grinding tree bark. Mixed with a little water, it could serve as food.
They just could not eat too much of it. Their stomachs would swell up and hurt terribly.
Village Chief Lau poured tree bark flour into the clay bowl, then poured it back out. In the end, he gritted his teeth, scooped up half a bowl of bran as well, and packed the clay bowl full. Unsteady on his feet, he walked out of the kitchen.
He carefully handed Shen Dong the clay bowl he had protected all the way.
“Shen Dong, get up. Grandpa Lau’s family truly doesn’t have much food left. Half of what’s in this bowl is bark flour and half is bran flour. Take it home, add water, knead it, and make noodles for your brother to eat. Do you know how? You can also boil water and pour the flour straight in to make paste. If you don’t know how, Grandpa Lau will help you make it, so none of it goes to waste.”
Children in the village grew up early. Whether boys or girls, as soon as they could walk, they began helping with odd chores around the house.
Village Chief Lau asked because he was afraid Shen Dong might not know how. If the food went to waste, it would break his heart.
“I know. I know how, Grandpa Lau.”
Shen Dong straightened up, and blackness swam before his eyes. As he stared at the clay bowl before him, his whole body swayed. Village Chief Lau quickly raised a hand to steady him, keeping him from falling.
Shen Dong held the bowl as though it were a priceless treasure.
He had thought that half a bowl of bark flour would already be a great deal. He had never expected to receive half a bowl of bran as well.
There was a little wheat flour mixed into the bran. It was genuine grain, and both its texture and everything else about it were far better than bark flour.
Shen Dong was overwhelmed with gratitude and was about to bow his head again in thanks when Village Chief Lau stopped him in time. Looking worriedly at his forehead, he said, “Why are you such a stubborn, single-minded child? If you keep bowing, you’ll lose your life.”
“As long as my big brother doesn’t starve to death, I’ll do anything.” Shen Dong gave an awkward grin. “Grandpa Lau, I’ll never forget that you saved my life today. I swear I’ll repay you!”
Village Chief Lau did not care about any of that. It was hard enough simply to stay alive. What was the point of talking about repaying favors or returning kindness?
“Go home quickly. Be careful on the way, and don’t let anyone snatch it from you.”
Every household lacked food. In Dashu Village, a clay bowl of mixed flour was enough to make people covet it just as much as copper coins.
If some local ruffian tried to take it, all he could do was swallow his grievance.
Shen Dong was a native of Dashu Village. How could he not understand that? On the way home, he stayed alert to the slightest movement, clutching the clay bowl to his chest and guarding it as though it mattered more than his own life.
Thankfully, Heaven had opened its eyes and allowed him to bring the borrowed food safely home.
When Shen Dong returned, he saw Shen Nan sitting in the courtyard with Shen Bei in his arms, wiping away his tears.
His heart leaped into his throat. His face went deathly pale as he hurried over. “Why are you crying out here? Is Big Brother dying again?”
Shen Nan sniffled and sobbed, his voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz. “Big Brother, died, died in the kitchen again. Third Brother said he didn’t, didn’t die, said my crying, crying was annoying, told me to come, come out.”
Shen Dong panicked. Why was he lying in the kitchen instead of inside? Eager to see what had happened, he tossed out a quick “Don’t cry” and ran straight to the kitchen.
In the empty kitchen, Shen Yuan lay unconscious on the floor from hunger. Shen Xi lay motionless on his chest, listening for a heartbeat because he was afraid Shen Yuan had died. Tears streamed silently down his face, and every so often he wiped them away and sniffed.
“What’s wrong with Big Brother?” Shen Dong placed the clay bowl on the stove built from packed yellow earth.
When Shen Xi saw Shen Dong, it was as though he had found someone to rely on. He sat up and sobbed, “I, I don’t know. He suddenly fell, fell down.”
Shen Dong crouched down, tested his breathing, and listened for his heartbeat. He was still alive.
He quickly told Shen Xi to light the stove. Then he scraped some bran from the top layer of the bowl, took it out, mixed it with water, and waited for the water to boil before pouring it in, making a half-thick, half-watery bran paste. It was the fastest thing to prepare.
While the paste boiled, Shen Xi began drooling.
He clutched his little belly and swallowed frantically.
Outside the kitchen, Shen Nan sat a little farther away with Shen Bei in his arms. He whispered to himself, trying to hypnotize himself, “I’m not hungry, I’m not hungry, I’m not hungry.” He even tried to hypnotize little Shen Bei, who could only curl up in her swaddling clothes and suck on her fingers. “Little sister isn’t hungry either, not hungry, not hungry……”
Big Brother had nearly starved to death to save food for them. They could not eat his life-saving food anymore.
Listening to his stomach growl and rumble, Shen Nan pressed his lips together and muttered softly, “I can’t hear my stomach growling at all.”
“I’m not hungry at all. I don’t want to eat anything.”