C193 (1/2)

The entire village was in an even worse state than what Shen Huanzhi had imagined. Just walking from the river bank for an hour, the entire village had a few dilapidated straw houses that looked as if they could be washed away by the heavy rain. The sky had already completely darkened, and other than the sounds of footsteps on the ground, no one else could be heard.

There was not a single trace of light on the road as Shen Huanzhi followed after them with light footsteps, and casually asked: ”What is this old man's surname?”

”What is it expensive? Everyone calls me Old Zhang.” Elder Zhang looked like he was an honest man, but his speech was also a bit simple.

”Oh, it's Old Master Zhang. This place is so remote, didn't you want to use the water to feed on the water in the town you passed by? Since this water is unreliable, why aren't you leaving?”

You have to have money and connections, and if you want to go, people will despise you. In fact, we used to produce things in the water, and then when the war started, we found a lot of bodies floating around, and the water was dyed red, and the smell of blood could be smelled from miles away. After that, the fish and crab in the water gradually disappeared.

”Have you two elders ever seen a corpse floating here?”

”I've seen it, but I'll never forget it!” Old man Zhang continued, ”To say something that's not afraid of losing face, we haven't seen that many people die in our lifetime!”

Shen Huanzhi thought, according to the age of these two, it should have been when the King Qin was in chaos, he had never experienced it and did not understand it too well. However, it was said that when the King Qin was kicked out of the capital, he hid himself in Shandong Province, and the His Majesty chased after him relentlessly, so it was possible that he had chased them all the way here. It made sense when a dead person drifted over.

But whether the corpses that floated over were man-made or because of the water, and what was the purpose of the corpses, Shen Huanzhi pondered for a long time before entering the old couple's home.

When he said it was his home, it was only his head covered by a thatched roof. Only after Old Zhang entered the house did he ignite the dim oil lamp, which Shen Huanzhi looked at, and it seemed to be some kind of oil from a stone. He was curious for a moment, ”Did you find this stone in the water?”

”It was picked up in the water. How could we possibly burn the oil lamps?”

Using the light as a guide, Shen Huanzhi discovered that there was a small child in a wooden bed in the corner. He looked to be about six or seven years old, and his body was covered with a tattered, colorless blanket.

You were lucky today. We caught a few fish and barely managed to boil a pot of soup, so we might as well eat some. Originally, we were going to leave these fish to go to town tomorrow to change into some rice.

Shen Huanzhi did not want to make a fuss about it, but he did not plan to be polite with him. He did not know how many days he had been in the water, and his stomach was already rumbling with hunger, so having a bowl of hot soup was already better than nothing. He then looked at the little kid in the corner, ”This is your granddaughter?”

”It's her granddaughter. Her father went to the town to work for her a few years ago, and then he never came back. Her mother also ran away with someone else, and after a few years, we can't walk anymore, so she can only sell her to other families in the town. Ah, what a sin.”

Seeing that it was grief, Shen Huanzhi did not bring it up anymore. When the fish soup was ready, he filled a bowl and sent it over to the little miss, who stared at him with her bright eyes without saying a word and did not accept it. Shen Huanzhi thought that she was afraid of him, so he placed the bowl down and returned to the side of the fire.

Shen Huanzhi took a shallow sip, to be honest it did not have any taste, the fish had just been cooked with fish scales, its internal organs were all cooked together, there was a fishy smell of the river bank, there were a few grains of rice floating inside, and the taste was not as good as white water, but Shen Huanzhi did not say anything, and still drank the bowl of soup clean, in order to find someone, he had to have energy, after tonight, he would go to the town tomorrow to take a look, maybe he would have something to eat.

Half of the fish soup was left, it seemed to be for tomorrow morning. Shen Huanzhi dried his clothes beside the fire, seeing that the old man was staring at the fire, Shen Huanzhi laughed, ”Old Gramps, don't worry, tomorrow I will go and add firewood for all of you, don't extinguish the fire, it's so cold, it'll freeze to death at night.”

”Sure, go ahead and burn.”

The three of them squeezed into a single blanket. For a moment, only the crackling sound of the flames could be heard in the room, and Shen Huanzhi leaned on a lame table with his eyes closed, pondering about what he should do tomorrow, and gradually fell asleep.

When dawn approached, Shen Huanzhi suddenly felt someone approaching him. Actually, he had already woken up a long time ago, but he still squinted his eyes and allowed his pair of small hands to search his body. His little hands were ice-cold and could be felt even through his clothes.

The little girl was extremely frightened, seeing that Shen Huanzhi had opened his eyes, she looked at him in fear, ”I, I did not take anything.”

”Oh? Can I ask what your name is? ”

It was probably because Shen Huanzhi had a face that was easy to get along with. Even though the little girl was afraid, she still stammered: ”Speak, her name is Feng'er.”