Nan Jianli snapped out of her trance and subconsciously rubbed her forehead. She pointed toward the house and said, “The two little ones are still sleeping in the room. As for where Mrs. Liu went, I don’t know.”
Recalling last night, Mrs. Liu had uncharacteristically boiled a pot of wild vegetable gruel and served a large bowl each to Meng Zhu and Meng Lou. She had watched them intently until they finished every drop. Only for the silly big sister, Meng Daniu, Mrs. Liu hadn’t given her a single mouthful.
Nan Jianli secretly speculated that the gruel was most likely drugged.
Otherwise, with such chaos outside, the two little ones in the room showed no signs of waking up.
As for why she didn’t give any to the silly big sister, Mrs. Liu probably figured that as long as the human traffickers took the two little ones away, the silly big sister would surely follow quietly. That way, she could even save a bowl of gruel.
That calculation was truly shrewd to the bone.
Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Meng’s expression suddenly changed, and she walked quickly into the house.
As soon as she entered, she saw two large bundles already packed. The family’s money and grain were neatly arranged on the table, clearly prepared to flee at any moment.
Without time to look for Mrs. Liu, Old Mrs. Meng hurried to the bedside. Seeing Meng Zhu and Meng Lou sleeping in their clothes, covered with a tattered sheet, her heart settled halfway.
She reached out, one hand for each, touching the foreheads of her grandson and granddaughter, calling softly: “Zhu’er, Little Lou, wake up quickly. Grandma brought you something delicious.”
“Little lazybones, get up now.”
Meng Zhu opened her eyes dazed, stared blankly for a few breaths, and then sat up with a start. Seeing it was her grandma sitting beside her, she relaxed her shoulders and rubbed her eyes, her voice soft and groggy from sleep: “Grandma, my head hurts.”
Old Mrs. Meng hurriedly pulled the girl into her arms, checked her forehead again, and coaxed her heartbreakingly: “Oh, my darling, you’ve suffered. Grandma is here, Grandma will rub it for you.”
Beside them, Meng Lou was also awakened by the commotion. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, looking at his grandmother in confusion: “Grandma, you’re here? Where’s Big Sister?”
“Your Big Sister is outside. Get up quickly, pack your things, and follow Grandma home.” Old Mrs. Meng looked at the items on the table and made a decision on the spot.
The whole village was going to flee the famine, and Mrs. Liu certainly wouldn’t stay behind. Rather than letting her take all the family belongings, it was better for an old woman like her to strike first.
Fortunately, grain was being distributed today. No one from the second brother’s family had gone, so she and the eldest brother had collected it on their behalf. If Mrs. Liu came to make a scene, she would give her a share, but the three children could never be given back to her.
Hearing they were going home, Meng Zhu and Meng Lou looked at each other, their faces lighting up with joy.
The two scrambled out of bed and rushed outside. They had to find their Big Sister and tell her the good news.
Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Meng Chengping was looking at Nan Jianli with a face full of surprise, his mouth hanging open and unable to close.
Just now, he had discovered that the usually dazed and giggling Meng Daniu could actually answer his questions fluently and accurately.
Those eyes, which had a heroic outline but were usually dull, were now vivid and steady. Standing there, she no longer had even a hint of her former silliness.
He pointed at Nan Jianli, his lips trembling for a long time before he squeezed out a sentence: “Da… Daniu? You… you are Daniu, right?”
Nan Jianli put on a professional fake smile and nodded with certainty: “It’s me, Uncle.”
“How… how do you prove it?” Meng Chengping was so startled he took two steps back.
He felt the person in front of him was very unreal, not as cute as his family’s Daniu.
The corners of Nan Jianli’s mouth slumped as she looked at this somewhat ‘odd’ uncle with a blank expression.
This man’s logic was so peculiar! At a time like this, shouldn’t he be pleasantly surprised that she had gotten better?
“Five years ago, I was wandering in Xuancheng when your brother, Meng Cheng’an, picked me up and named me Meng Daniu. When he picked me up, Meng Zhu and Meng Lou were both there—one was five years old, and the other was only two months old.”
“You are Meng Chengping, our eldest uncle. Aunt’s surname is Zhang, and your son is three years old this year, named Meng Boyang.”
“There’s a clay jar in the northwest corner of the woodshed with two catties of roasted flour hidden inside, wrapped in double-layered oilcloth, enough to last three days. I also buried half a jar of salt under the stove. If Uncle doesn’t believe me, you can go look for it.”
Meng Chengping shrunk back from this string of rapid-fire facts, then moved closer by two steps, his eyes suddenly reddening.
He rubbed his hands and circled Nan Jianli halfway, tugging at her arm one moment and staring into her eyes the next, muttering repeatedly.
“She’s really recovered, really recovered… How did she suddenly get better? Just the other day she only knew how to chase chickens, how is it that today…”
Nan Jianli naturally couldn’t say that the real Meng Daniu was dead and she was a wandering soul.
She gave an explanation that was a mix of truth and lies: “It wasn’t sudden.”
“This morning at dawn, I heard Mrs. Liu whispering to a strange man outside the woodshed, saying they were going to sell Zhu’er and Little Lou in the city for grain. I was frantic and rushed out to fight them. I didn’t expect that man to be so ruthless; he punched me in the back of the head, and I blacked out instantly.”
At this point, she paused and looked at Meng Chengping with clear and calm eyes, “When I woke up, my head was much clearer, and I’ve remembered everything from the past, one by one.”
“You were hit? Where? Let me see.” Hearing this, Meng Chengping immediately became anxious. He went behind Nan Jianli, brushed aside her hair, and carefully examined the wound on the back of her head.
“It’s no matter, it doesn’t hurt anymore.” Nan Jianli dodged slightly and reached up to touch the lump on the back of her head.
Meng Chengping’s face turned ashen with rage. He clenched his fists and cursed, “That poisonous woman! She wanted to kill you! And she wanted to sell the children—why didn’t she sell herself instead? Don’t let me see her again, or I’ll beat her to death.”
Nan Jianli rolled her eyes silently at his empty threats.
Honest men were only good at talking tough. When Mrs. Liu used to use the children as an excuse to demand whatever she wanted from them, why hadn’t he been so firm then?
As the two were talking, Meng Lou ran out and hugged Nan Jianli’s leg. He looked up with a face full of surprise and said, “Big Sister, Grandma said we can go home with them!”
Meng Zhu also followed quickly, staring at Nan Jianli’s face, her eyes sparkling with light: “Big Sister, you… your illness is cured?”
Being relied upon by the two little ones, Nan Jianli paused, then raised her hand. Just as her fingertips touched the top of Meng Lou’s head, he rubbed his head against her palm.
Meng Zhu also leaned in and gently pulled at the corner of her clothes. That look of reliance warmed Nan Jianli’s heart.
After the apocalypse arrived, all of her relatives had perished. Although she had teammates, she couldn’t help but feel lonely. At this moment, the unconditional trust of the two children made her feel warm.
Nan Jianli smiled and nodded: “I’m not silly anymore. From now on, Sister will protect you.”
This simple sentence made Meng Zhu’s tears pour out again. She bit her lip and nodded vigorously, as if she had finally found her backbone.
Meng Lou didn’t understand his second sister’s grievances. He turned and made a funny face at her, giggling incessantly while scratching his own face: “Crybaby, shame on you, shame, shame!”
Old Mrs. Meng stood at the door, holding a bundle in one hand and leaning against the doorframe with the other. Looking at the three siblings, her tears wouldn’t stop falling.
Thank God, Daniu was no longer silly.
She had been worried all along that the villagers would resent the silly Daniu for dragging them down on the road to flee the famine. If the villagers didn’t want to take her, what would their family do?
“Grandma!” Nan Jianli looked up at her and spoke proactively, her voice gentle.
This call snapped Old Mrs. Meng back to her senses. She wiped her tears, walked quickly into the courtyard, and grabbed Nan Jianli’s hand, stroking it repeatedly. Her fingertips brushed against the girl’s rough palm: “Good child, you’ve suffered. It’s good that your head is clear, just clear is enough!”
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