Chapter 63 Dry Land and Famine Year (End)


    On the second day, Chen Huihong went to the inner city for dinner as usual.


    Qin Huai can see that although Chen Huihong lives with Huiniang, the two of them are just simple roommates. Chen Huihong goes to the inner city for a meal every day, then puts some snacks in it and eats snacks in the rest of the time. If there is any fun outside, go out to watch the fun. If there is no fun, eat melon seeds at home.


    Hui Niang is much busier than her.


    In the morning, I went out to buy vegetables and grain, and when I came back, I cleaned up the melon seed shells that Chen Huihong had eaten and cleaned them. If the sun is just right outside, you should also set up a rack to put the quilt outside to dry.


    When Chen Huihong went out to stroll, Huiniang was working outside. When Chen Huihong came back, Huiniang usually steamed sweet potatoes in the kitchen.


    It was cold outside at night, and Huiniang and Chen Huihong were staying at home together. There was no brazier at home, so Hui Niang curled up in the quilt and chatted with Chen Huihong, while Chen Huihong continued to sit at the table and ate melon seeds and play with small toys.


    According to the agreement with Manager Lu, Chen Huihong did not go to Taifeng Building for dinner on the second day, but went to Yongheju. The Yongheju''s friend welcomed her warmly, and Chen Huihong returned home with a big bag at night.


    Hui Niang is steaming steamed steamed buns in the kitchen.


    "Sister, you''re back." Hui Niang smiled and greeted her and excitedly reported the good news. "Today, the cornmeal in the grain store is very cheap. I bought a whole bag of white flour! I also bought a small bag of white flour. Sister, I steamed steamed steamed buns. Do you want to eat one?"


    Chen Huihong went into the kitchen to take a look at the steamed buns that were not very good, and nodded, and asked, "Isn''t the price of grain per day now? Why is cornmeal very cheap today?"


    "The guy in the grain store said that it was because this batch of cornmeal was damp and it became a little moldy." Hui Niang said happily, "It''s okay. I have picked out the moldy noodles and thrown away, and there are still half a bag left."


    Chen Huihong subconsciously frowned: "Don''t go to this grain store to buy grain next time. It''s a shame to sell this kind of grain."


    "Sister, the food in this store is already very good. When I was at home, I went to the landlord to buy mixed grain when I was short of food. One pound of corn flour, three taels of sand, two taels of rat shit. It would be nice to have half a pound of corn flour after sifting it. The corn flour in this store is not mixed at all, and it is sold at a cheap price!"


    "Many people went to buy it, but fortunately I went there early this morning, otherwise I wouldn''t be able to buy it."


    Chen Huihong stopped talking and handed Hui Niang a candied fruit.


    Hui Niang happily took it and put it in her mouth, reluctant to swallow it: "Thank you sister."


    Chen Huihong stood in the kitchen and waited for the steamed buns to be steamed.


    Hui Niang rarely steams steamed steamed buns and does not know how to control the time and heat. She would occasionally lift the wooden cover to take a look. Qin Huai looked around and felt that Hui Niang''s craftsmanship was really worrying.


    I won’t talk about steamed buns themselves. It is impossible for a large amount of original corn flour to mix a small amount of white flour. The coarse grains among the coarse grains are smooth and smooth.


    Hui Niang’s skill in kneading dough is probably not good, and the exhaust is poor.


    The most important thing is that the fire in the stove is getting smaller.


    I don’t know if it’s to save firewood or simply put less, Qin Huai felt that according to this steaming method, the steamed buns will probably be dried out in the end.


    Sure enough, after more than ten minutes, the firewood in the stove had been extinguished, but the steamed buns in the pot had not been completely steamed.


    Hui Niang fiddled with her hands, but she wasn''t sure, so she asked, "Sister, has this steamed bun been steamed?"


    "I don''t know." Chen Huihong said honestly, "I only know how to eat, I can''t cook."


    "But there is no firewood at home." Hui Niang said embarrassedly, "I missed the time when I grabbed cornmeal this morning. When I came back, the firewood seller had already left. If I wanted to buy it, I had to wait until tomorrow morning."


    "Just make do with it." Chen Huihong said, thinking for a while, and found a piece of bark from his pocket, "Or do you eat this?"


    Hui Niang hesitated for a moment: "My mother said that steamed buns can be eaten even if they are not cooked."


    The two of them ate raw steamed buns.


    Hui Niang steamed 4 steamed buns in total, each of which was the size of a fist. Hui Niang ate three Chen Huihong and one.


    The kitchen was too cold, and the two of them took the steamed buns back to the house to eat.


    Chen Huihong walked a few steps from the kitchen to the house. Out of curiosity, she couldn''t help but chew it in advance. Her facial features were so unpalatable that she wrinkled together and complained: "The strange smell."


    Then he stuffed a candied fruit into his mouth and stuffed the remaining half of the candied fruit to Hui Niang. The implication is that this steamed bun is really too unpalatable, so you should eat it with candied fruit.


    Hui Niang did not refuse, and happily took it, took a bite of candied fruit and then ate a big bite of steamed bun, while chewing it, stammering in a vague way: "Sweet."


    "You can also comment." Chen Huihong sat on the table and had no choice but to chew steamed buns. She watched Hui Niang climb onto the bed, wrapped herself in the quilt, and exposed her head and two small hands.


    Hui Niang happily ate candied fruit with steamed buns.


    As he was eating, Hui Niang suddenly said, "Sister, you are so nice to me, much better than my parents."


    "That''s because your parents are not good to you. It''s been more than half a year and I haven''t seen them come to Peking." Chen Huihong said lightly.


    This sentence made Hui Niang silent. After a while, Hui Niang asked in a low voice: "Sister, if I said I didn''t know whether my parents would come to Peking at all. I was afraid that you would throw me down and lied to you that I would come to Peking to meet my parents. I didn''t want to find them at all. Would you be angry?"


    Chen Huihong glanced at her: "They called me Crazy Miss. I assumed that it would reduce a lot of trouble and eat and drink for free. I''m not really stupid."


    "Then do you think I am unfilial?" Hui Niang asked again.


    "Filial piety is relative. Be kind to filial piety. Parents are not kind, and they are not qualified to accuse their children of being unfilial." Chen Huihong said, "Your parents are going to sell you to others. Isn''t it normal for you not to look for them?"


    Hui Niang immediately became happy again: "Fortunately, the man thought I was ugly and didn''t want me, otherwise I wouldn''t meet my sister."


    "Sister, are your parents good to you?"


    Chen Huihong didn''t understand why it suddenly turned into a heart-to-heart talk meeting tonight, but she still thought about it seriously and replied, "I don''t remember."


    "It should be okay. We... don''t care much, and we don''t need to worry about it. Let it be natural."


    Hui Niang didn''t understand.


    Chen Huihong chewed the steamed bun again and frowned, wanting to look out the window, but the window was so paper-patterned that it couldn''t be seen clearly.


    "Tomorrow is the Little New Year." Chen Huihong looked at Hui Niang, "Your hairpin."


    "What is a hairpin?" Hui Niang asked.


    "It''s the 15th birthday. When a girl''s 15th birthday, the elders at home will tie her hair up with hairpins, as if they have to invite guests to change their clothes. I also heard from Mr. Storyteller, it should be just celebrating her birthday." Chen Huihong was not sure.


    "It''s so good." Hui Niang looked envious.


    Looking at Hui Niang''s expression, Chen Huihong was a little surprised: "Don''t you?"


    Hui Niang shook her head: "My sister was sold to people before she was 15. The girls in our village basically got married at 13 or 14. I originally wanted to give it to people when I was 13 years old. But it was already drought at that time, and everyone had no money to marry a wife. It would be better to sell it to people if I gave too little money."


    "My mother was already asking a matchmaker to match me, but my father refused to let me know that it would be easier to raise a girl for another year, but she didn''t sell it."


    Hui Niang was gnawing on the steamed buns and felt a little melancholy: "My parents have quarreled several times over this. My father scolded my mother and said that I had named the wrong name. When I was naming, I only thought of virtuousness, but I didn''t expect to be beautiful. What''s the use of virtuousness?"


    Chen Huihong said: "It''s useless to be virtuous."


    "At the end, you are gentle and kind, you are so kind. It''s a waste of mediocrity to summarize such beautiful words by virtue."


    "But the word Hui sounds very good." Hui Niang said, "Many girls in our village envy my name and think Huibiya, Di, grass and flowers are much better."


    "It sounds very nice." Chen Huihong expressed his affirmation, "If you don''t like virtuousness, but like the pronunciation of Hui, your intelligence is also very good."


    "You are smart outside, beautiful on the outside, smart on the inside, you should like this wisdom more."


    Hui Niang''s eyes lit up: "Sister, you are so educated!"


    Chen Huihong said calmly: "It''s all about the storyteller, they are educated."


    After the brief night chat, Hui Niang finished her steamed buns and lay down to sleep quietly. Chen Huihong continued to sniff the melon seeds in the dark.


    Headlights are expensive these days, and neither candles nor kerosene lamps can afford Hui Niang''s wages. Chen Huihong usually follows melon seeds after eating in a restaurant, but never candles.


    It’s dark at night, the room is dark, so it’s better to go to bed early.


    But tonight, there is no peace.


    Because Hui Niang seemed to have suffered a bad stomach.


    Chen Huihong finished eating melon seeds, eating peanuts, chewing dried fruits, and finally drank two sips of water to slip away. Just as she was about to get up and go into the house to lie on the bed, Hui Niang struggled to get up and wear a cotton jacket to go outside to go to the bathroom.


    In less than half an hour, I went outside to use a cotton jacket to go to the toilet.


    I ran four or five times in one night before I calmed down and lay in bed without moving.


    When Hui Niang came back from going to the bathroom for the last time, she lay down, and Chen Huihong sat up and asked, "Did you have a bad stomach?"


    "It seems." Hui Niang said weakly, "Maybe it was because the steamed buns were not steamed."


    "It''s because you bought cheap moldy cornmeal." Chen Huihong corrected, "Do you want me to hire a doctor?"


    Hui Niang held Chen Huihong''s hand and shook her head: "It''s too expensive, so you have to keep the money for the New Year to go to Erhu Shop to buy meat."


    "I can go to Taifeng Loushun." Chen Huihong said.


    "Then you can''t go and invite me now. The doctor needs to pay extra for medical treatment at night. I can go to the pharmacy myself tomorrow morning. The doctor who sits in the pharmacy is cheaper." Hui Niang insisted.


    Chen Huihong sat down and was silent for a while, then lay down and said, "Okay, just make your own decision."


    Then Chen Huihong closed her eyes and fell asleep.


    Hui Niang also closed her eyes so much that she fell asleep.


    Only Qin Huai was left standing beside the bed, staring at Hui Niang on the bed with a serious expression.


    It was so dark that Qin Huai couldn''t see anything, but he could hear Hui Niang''s breathing sound.


    Her breathing was very rapid.


    There was a hurried feeling with a hint of weakness.


    Qin Huai let out a long sigh, hoping that his experience was wrong.


    When Luo Luo was at Hui Niang''s age, she often didn''t realize that she had a fever. I often have no reaction when I have a low fever. I still have a high fever of 38 degrees. My face turned red so hard that my family members hurriedly hugged the child to the hospital.


    Of course, sometimes it will be very obvious.


    For example, when food poisoning is caused.


    Once, Qin Luo was stealing something from a stall outside and was damaged. His stomach was poisoned by food, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever, and he was relieved.


    In modern times, children are sent to the hospital for food poisoning, and they can be cured by vomiting and hanging water, but at this time...


    Qin Huai stood in the room silently, waiting for dawn to arrive.


    The second day just dawned, Chen Huihong woke up.


    Chen Huihong stood up and found Hui Niang lying on the bed, buried in the quilt, so she called out.


    "Hui Niang."


    "Hui Niang?" Chen Huihong lifted the quilt and found that Hui Niang''s face was red, and she didn''t respond no matter how she called.


    Without any hesitation, Chen Huihong wrapped Hui Niang in a quilt, picked her up horizontally, ran straight out, and forgot to wear a cotton coat.


    Someone had already gotten up at this time. Seeing Chen Huihong running on the street in a single dress and holding a quilt, she quickly pulled her family out to see: "Miss Crazy is going crazy!"


    Chen Huihong went straight to the medicine shop. The medicine shop opened early, the guy was cleaning, and the doctor was picking up medicine. Seeing Chen Huihong running in with a quilt in his arms, the guy subconsciously reached out to stop him, but he retracted his hand halfway.


    "Miss Crazy, why don''t you wear cotton clothes on this cold day? Why are you running away with the quilt?" The guy stepped forward to persuade Chen Huihong out, but he was stunned when he found that the quilt was wrapped in it. "You probably didn''t want us to treat it because you picked up a road, right? This can''t be cured."


    "She''s stomach hurt." Chen Huihong carefully put down the quilt.


    The guy then saw clearly: "Isn''t this Hui Niang? Dr. Wang, come and have a look."


    After saying that, the guy went to close the door so that the cold wind would not blow in.


    Dr. Wang, whose hair was already gray, hurried over to take his pulse. Under Chen Huihong''s gaze, Dr. Wang asked slowly: "Miss Crazy, what did your maid eat yesterday?"


    Afraid that Chen Huihong would not understand, Dr. Wang even made a meal.


    "The moldy cornmeal has not been steamed." Chen Huihong said.


    Dr. Wang''s expression changed suddenly. He turned his head and asked the guy: "Did Hui Niang go to the grain shop in the west to buy cornmeal yesterday?"


    The guy was still thinking, and Chen Huihong said directly: "Yes, Hui Niang said that the cornmeal was damp and moldy, and it was sold cheaply. She picked out all the moldy parts and threw them away."


    Dr. Wang didn’t even have time to think about why Miss Crazy can answer questions and answers so quickly, and sighed and murmured: “It’s simply a shameless thing. You can take out such food that you eat so much.”


    The guy seemed to remember something: "Doctor Wang, did Li Er and his family die of ate cornmeal yesterday?"


    "I heard from them that Li Er''s mother felt sorry for the food. She didn''t pick the moldy noodles and threw them away. She mixed them with other noodles and cooked them all. Except for Li Er''s wife, the family ate less, and only had one bite. They were gone. They didn''t have them last night."


    "And it seems that something happened to Li Er''s family, but more of it happened to the west, and the grain store owner ran away overnight."


    "What do you mean? Will someone die if you eat cornmeal?" Chen Huihong asked the guy.


    The guy stammered and didn''t dare to say it.


    Doctor Wang took a pulse for a while, paused and said, "Miss Crazy, I believe you can understand me, so I will just say it."


    "I will prescribe a prescription for you first, and let the guy **** it here to feed Hui Niang vomiting. I will prescribe another prescription for antipyreticism, but I can''t guarantee whether it can survive. My old man has limited medical skills, and I am only three-point sure of this emergency."


    "You open it, I''ll go back and find you the money." Chen Huihong said.


    The doctor directed the guy to get the medicine. After the guy grabbed the medicine, he went to the backyard to boil the medicine.


    Chen Huihong looked at Hui Niang who was still groggy and unresponsive, and asked, "If it doesn''t work if she drinks the medicine, will she die?"


    Dr. Wang sighed: "I can only leave it to fate."


    "I can only say that if you pour that prescription for reducing heat, it will be helpful if it can be reduced before dark. If the heat cannot be reduced before dark, it may be difficult tonight..."


    "Miss Crazy, I know you are kind-hearted. If you are willing to spend money, you may be able to save it when you send it to the Western hospital in the inner city, but that cost... enough for you to buy 10 new maids."


    Chen Huihong remained silent.


    20 minutes later, the guy boiled the medicine and poured Hui Niang into batches.


    The medicine for inducing vomiting is still useful. After vomiting a few times, Hui Niang gradually woke up. Dr. Wang knew that Chen Huihong would definitely not be able to boil medicine, so he asked Chen Huihong to take Hui Niang back first to avoid catching a cold. Later, he asked the guy to boil the medicine and send it over.


    Chen Huihong took Hui Niang back, and as soon as she got home, she looked for copper plates everywhere, and even the candied fruit stuffed in the cabinet was unfinished.


    "Sister, what are you looking for?" Hui Niang asked weakly while lying on the bed.


    "Look for valuables, I''ll take you to that hospital." Chen Huihong said.


    "It''s very expensive, we can''t afford it." Hui Niang gasped, "It''s so great to see a doctor there once."


    "I''ll borrow it."


    "But if you go and borrow it, sister, don''t you all know that you are not crazy?"


    As soon as these words came out, Chen Huihong paused to find something.


    "In this way, sister, you can''t go to the inner city every day, and you can''t eat what you like, and everyone will find that you are not a human at all."


    Chen Huihong squatted on the ground without any reaction. She quietly looked up at Hui Niang: "When did you know?"


    Hui Niang smiled and said, "Sister, I''m not stupid either. I''ll know it on the first day."


    “The bark is not that edible.”


    "But you still ate." Chen Huihong said.


    "Because I''m too hungry, you may not know that I haven''t eaten for many days at that time. I dare not eat dirt, because I''m afraid I''m even more uncomfortable when I eat dirt, but I''m really hungry. I can''t even stand up and can only climb on the ground."


    "I thought I was going to die, but after I ate the bark you gave me, I was no longer hungry."


    "Sister, you are not like a fleeing famine at all. You don''t pretend to be like you at all. You have such a rosy complexion and strong strength. You don''t look for food or drink water, and you don''t even have a jar for water storage."


    "And my sister and I talk about Linxian, you have no reaction at all. The place where we both met is Linxian. Linxian was in plague in Linxian, and everyone died. The surrounding villages were all fleeing in deserted villages and people dared not escape there. I was afraid that I would run to a place where there was no one when I met."


    "Sister, you said you were fleeing famine, but how could a wealthy lady escape from famine alone and even go to that kind of place."


    Chen Huihong looked at Hui Niang: "Then you dare to follow me, aren''t you afraid that I will eat you?"


    Hui Niang smiled and said, "I''m not afraid of my parents who want to eat me. How could I be afraid of my sister, you want to eat me?"


    Chen Huihong was stunned.


    Hui Niang tried hard to sit up: "Actually, I always knew that my parents brought me with me when they fled to famine to bring me food."


    "I dare not sleep at night because I am afraid that my parents will change me to eat. One night I heard my father discussing with my mother, saying that the food has been eaten up and it is useless to keep it for me. He will go to someone to discuss changing me tomorrow morning."


    "I ran away overnight while they were asleep."


    "Actually, even if you want to eat me, sister, it doesn''t matter. If you eat me, I will at least give me a full meal."


    Chen Huihong didn''t know what to say, so she could only say: "Monsters don''t eat people."


    "Sister, what kind of monster are you?" Hui Niang asked.


    "I am Bai." Chen Huihong said, "According to your understanding, I am a tree demon."


    "Sister, can you open the window?" Hui Niang asked.


    "Doctor Wang said you should pay attention to keeping warm." Chen Huihong said.


    "It''s useless." Hui Niang shook her head, "I heard it all. Dr. Wang said that he was only 30% sure at most. He said that only 30% was actually only 10%, which means that I can''t save me and have to wait for death."


    Chen Huihong frowned and thought for a while: "I''ll take you to the hospital."


    "I can borrow money from Manager Lu."


    Hui Niang shook her head.


    "It will take a long time to take a rickshaw from the inner city to the outer city." Hui Niang took a few breaths, "I don''t know if the remaining money at home is enough to pay for the medicine, and there is no money to take a rickshaw."


    "The snow has melted now, and it is colder than when it snowed two days ago. There must be a lot of roads these days. I don''t think I can go to the hospital alive, so don''t waste money."


    "I feel so uncomfortable."


    As soon as he finished speaking, Hui Niang was so angry that she vomited a mouthful of blood and vomited a quilt.


    "Sorry, sister, I''ve got your quilt dirty."


    Chen Huihong didn''t say anything, but just opened the window silently.


    The snow outside the window has melted, the trees outside the yard are bare and only branches are left, and there is no good scenery outside the window.


    "Sister, you are a monster, so what are your abilities? I used to watch operas in the village, and monsters are all good at magic."


    "My abilities are useless." Chen Huihong took out a piece of bark from his pocket, "I am a tree, and I won''t be hungry after eating."


    "Sister, you are very powerful, much more powerful than magic." Hui Niang said, unable to sit still and could only lean against the wall, "You just have to be careful not to be eaten by others."


    Then Hui Niang realized it and realized it: "No wonder you want to hide from others, sister."


    "Sister, let me tell you about me."


    Hui Niang started to talk about the previous things, and her life was actually very dull. Before fleeing the famine, I stayed in the village, working day after day to get married, working and waiting for my marriage.


    As he spoke, Hui Niang''s voice began to become vague.


    "Sister, you said that people always die, and if they don''t die today, they will die tomorrow. I was going to die the day I met you, and I have lived for a long time."


    Chen Huihong looked at her quietly without saying a word.


    "If I have my next life, I want to be a lady in the city, so that I can go to school and be as educated as my sister."


    Like a murmur, Hui Niang murmured for a few words that she couldn''t hear clearly, and suddenly stretched out her hand in the direction of Chen Huihong.


    Chen Huihong stepped forward and held her hand.


    "Mom." Hui Niang''s pupils began to spread.


    "Don''t eat me, okay?"


    “I’ll be obedient.”


    "Mom."


    The hands were hanging heavily.


    Hui Niang has no rest.


    Chen Huihong looked at Hui Niang and was silent for a long time.


    "You are very smart."


    "But today is yours."


    "You haven''t eaten the longevity noodles I ordered for you yet."


    Qinhuai left his dream.


    (This chapter ends)