Lin Gui looked at the woman whose tears kept falling, and sighed: "This old woman is from Liujia Village. Her family has run out of food, and their village has stopped drinking water. There are many people in the family, and her man is not a trouble-maker. So,

If it goes down, the whole family will starve to death, so the youngest girl is sold to the other side..."

Hearing this, Jiang Yan suddenly remembered that when she got on the bullock cart, there was a sound of children crying from a carriage, but the sound was too soft, so she didn't notice it. It was the first time she saw a carriage, so she couldn't help but take a second look.

.

Now that I think about it, it must have been Ren Yazi's carriage, and the people sitting on it were probably the children who had been sold.

Jiang Yan bit her lip, looking at the woman crying heartbrokenly, her mood was extremely complicated.

Thinking of a few sensible and filial children, she thought that if she really reached this situation, even if she starved to death, she would never sell the child she gave birth to after ten months of pregnancy.

She looked at the woman. Some people have the idea of ​​selling their babies. In fact, it is not necessarily to the point of starving to death. But once they have this idea, the bottom line will slowly drop again and again.

Jiang Yan didn't know the actual situation, but if she really went to the point of starving to death, she might have sold the child, and the child might still be able to eat somewhere else. After all, in this era, human trafficking was legal.

When the bullock cart reached a fork in the road, the crying old woman got out of the car and walked away.

Jiang Yan withdrew her gaze and patted Lin Bei, who had been holding him tightly, with a heavy heart.

"Mom, will you sell us too? Is that why you give us such good food?"

Lin Bei looked at Jiang Yan in panic. At first, he thought that his mother gave them three meals a day so well, so she must not want to live or want them. But now her mother takes them to set up a stall to do business, and even cuts meat for them to eat.

…

Jiang Yan's backhand turned her head upside down, pinched his disfigured little face and said, "What does this little head think about every day? Do you think you are little piglets? You have to eat fat and sell it at a good price?"

"

"Don't worry! I'm still counting on you to support me in my old age, and I won't sell you out!"

Jiang Yan comforted Lin Bei, but her mood became more and more heavy. If the drought continues to worsen, more and more families will sell their children. If she were the original person, she might actually engage in this kind of business.

The small road in Liujia Village is about half an hour away from Linjia Village. After turning a corner, the familiar mountains appeared in front of several people.

At this time, the sky was just right, and the hot sunshine enveloped the entire Linjia Village. The rice fields were shrinking in patches, giving off a different kind of beauty.

"Aunt Jiang, it seems that your business is doing well. You go to town by bullock cart and back, and you also buy a lot of things."

"That's right, that's a newly bought jar, it's really beautiful."

The women chatting under the big tree at the entrance of the village saw the Lin family mother and son getting off the oxcart, and knew that she was going to the town to do business. One by one, they came over and asked questions, eager to open the basket and take a closer look.

Jiang Yan was glad in her heart. Fortunately, she used leaves to cover some of the backpack, so they wouldn't be able to see all the contents inside. They could only see a few salt shakers.

She motioned to her sons to go back first, and she and the women responded: "I just tinkered with some food, but fortunately I didn't do much, otherwise I'm afraid I won't be able to sell it. I finally made a few copper coins, but I couldn't bear to let go of my children."

Walk back with all those things on your back."

"The price of food in the town is rising now. My family doesn't dare to buy anything anymore. It's so expensive!"

"That's right, Aunt Jiang, what did you buy?"

Jiang Yan smiled and said: "It's nothing. I just bought some buckwheat noodles and less than half a catty of fat pork. My family hasn't eaten meat for more than a year. I'm thinking of buying some fat meat to squeeze some oil and get some oil residue for the couple."

Let the children try some meat."

Several women nodded one after another. Although they all said that Jiang Yan could afford meat now that she had earned money, they were not too envious. Fatty meat itself was used to refine oil. To them, it was not really a good thing.

of meat.

"The price of this fat meat has also increased now. I'm afraid it costs eighteen or nineteen cents per pound."

"That's right, Aunt Jiang, how much money have you made?"

Most women are born to gossip, especially this kind of village woman, each one is more gossipy than the last.

Jiang Yan imitated the original person and said angrily: "The price of meat is already 20 cents. No amount of money I make is enough to eat meat. If there is no oil in the pot at home, I might as well buy more buckwheat noodles."

The women looked at Jiang Yan with eager eyes, feeling that Aunt Jiang was very different from before. Seeing that she was not angry, they asked again: "Aunt Jiang, what kind of food are you selling?"

Jiang Yan said: "Cold tofu, cold tofu made from wild vegetables, is not high in cost, but it is very troublesome to make, steaming and boiling, and adding sugar and oil. Sugar and oil are expensive, and now the price has increased.

I’m busy working here and there, but I still don’t know if I can make money.”

Jiang Yan naturally knew what these people were thinking. They just wanted to know how she did it, so she simply said it in a more complicated way.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, all the women present had complicated expressions. As soon as they heard about sugar and oil, most of their curiosity went away. It would be okay if this was sold, but if it could not be sold, the sugar and oil would both be lost.

died.

Now they don't want to get to the bottom of it. No matter what it is, whether it is sugar or oil, it will definitely taste good!

"Hey, I still owe the copper coins from the sugar shop. I just hope that I can sell a few more copies tomorrow and pay off the money first..."

The expressions on their faces grew darker and darker as they listened. Jiang Yan smiled inwardly and prepared to go home and cook. But when she turned around, she saw Lin Bei running over.

"Mom! Xiaowu is missing! Xiaowu is missing! Wuwuwu...it's all my fault! I shouldn't...be separated from him!"

The twelve-year-old child, with bulging eyes and sunken face, shouted with fear and helplessness, and his hoarse cries reached Jiang Yan's ears from afar.

Jiang Yan's heart was beating wildly: "What happened?"

Lin Bei immediately knelt down in front of Jiang Yan, with tears falling down heavily. His face was smeared with tears and snot, and his thin body looked very miserable. Jiang Yan subconsciously hugged his body tightly.

"My sister-in-law said that Xiao Wu is missing. They have not found her since they found her in the morning! Xiao Wu is afraid of strangers and never talks to others. I have brought him up since he was a child and he has never been able to leave me. It is my fault...

…Woooo… I shouldn’t have let him stay at home alone…I shouldn’t have gone to town with my mother…”

Jiang Yan said anxiously: "Have you searched in the village? Have you searched in all the places that Xiaowu usually goes to?"

"I've looked for it all...I've looked for it too, mother...what should I do? What should I do? If Xiaowu is lost, I..."

Jiang Yan quickly comforted Lin Bei. This child always acted like a young adult, but he was still a child. He was crying hoarsely, shaking all over, and out of breath. His relationship with Lin Feng was stronger than others.
Chapter completed!