Although they had been kicked out to live on their own immediately after getting married, they had only been given two acres of land and a dilapidated thatched hut. Everything else had to be slowly accumulated by the couple themselves.
Unfortunately, before they could even build up any savings, they were struck by this disaster.
Along the way, none of the brothers had been seen lending a helping hand to the couple.
Gu the Seventh and his wife were also honest to a fault. Even though they were starving to the bone, they had never once asked anyone for help.
Now, seeing Mrs. Gu Jin being scolded by her mother-in-law, the onlookers couldn't help but show some sympathy in their eyes.
The young wife was probably at her breaking point; otherwise, she wouldn't have leaned her body against her man in front of outsiders.
"Cuicui, we'd better find a good spot to rest first. Otherwise, by the time it gets dark, we won't even be able to find any firewood," the aunt from the branch family reminded Mrs. Gu Li, Li Cuicui.
Li Cuicui glared fiercely at Jin Qianqian before starting to boss her other daughters-in-law around, ordering them to clear a spot for their family to rest for the night.
"Caiyue, the nerve of that daughter from the Jin Family is really growing. For a couple to hug and cuddle like that in broad daylight, I feel embarrassed for them." The third son's wife, Li Xiaohua, curled her lips in disdain.
Wang Caiyue didn't even lift her eyes. "Let them be! Who knows if lowly lives like ours will even make it to the Capital City. What's the point of fussing over such things now? Can it fill our stomachs or quench our thirst?"
"You can say that again," Liu Liu agreed, tossing the rocks on the ground to the side. They would all be sleeping on the bare earth soon. If these rocks weren't cleared away, they would wake up with aching backs, and traveling Ming Tian would be difficult.
Everyone knew how things stood. Along the journey, no one dared to speak to Old Seventh and his wife, simply out of fear that the couple would cling to them and ask to borrow food.
Catching a glimpse of Jin Qianqian out of the corner of her eye, Liu Liu noticed that she had already collapsed onto the ground. A flash of sympathy crossed her eyes. However, this sympathy wasn't enough to make her offer up her own small family's rations for relief. She had heard that the journey ahead was still long. Since her own life was already a mess, she decided it was best to look out for herself first.
Hong Daya finished clearing her own resting spot. After a moment of thought, she went ahead and cleared the space next to it as well. "Qianqian, I've helped clear this spot for you. You can lay your bedding here later."
"Thank you, Daya," Jin Qianqian thanked her sincerely. She truly didn't want to move a single muscle.
Gu Wenheng also nodded gratefully at Hong Daya. He laid out the bedding from his back, then helped Jin Qianqian over to lie down. "Get some rest first. Leave everything else to me."
Jin Qianqian was already so exhausted that she couldn't even lift her hands. After blinking twice, she fell into a deep, dark sleep.
Gu Wenheng covered her with a small blanket and waved to his little nephew, Gule Shun, who was standing nearby. "Rest here with your Seventh Aunt, and Seventh Uncle will treat you to some candy."
Gule Shun looked at Gu Wenheng with a face full of anticipation and licked his lips. "Really?"
"Seventh Uncle wouldn't lie to you. Just stay here like a good boy and don't run off," Gu Wenheng said, crouching down to pat his nephew's head. His heart ached seeing such a tiny child having to endure this kind of hardship.
In any case, he had the confidence given to him by Jin Qianqian. Although he didn't know exactly how much savings the girl had, it was still something he could rely on. Besides, she had just stuffed some beef jerky and dried milk tablets into his cloth bag to replenish his energy. Using the dried milk tablets to coax the child was absolutely perfect!
With this in mind, he quickly popped a dried milk tablet into the child's mouth, not forgetting to remind him, "Suck on it. Don't swallow it whole."
Gule Shun pressed his lips tightly together. A milky aroma spread and filled his cheeks, accompanied by a hint of sweetness that made his eyes sparkle.
Gu Wenheng's eyes carried a smile. "Wait here like a good boy. Seventh Uncle will give you another one when I get back."
Gule Shun nodded obediently. Even if he wanted to run off, his parents wouldn't allow it. Plus, keeping his Seventh Aunt company here meant he got to eat candy, so he definitely wouldn't run around.
Gu Wenheng looked up and noticed that his other brothers had already gone their separate ways to search for firewood and wild vegetables. He hurriedly unloaded the rest of the items he was carrying. It was already the beginning of autumn; without firewood at night, a person's body simply wouldn't be able to withstand the cold.
「Meanwhile.」
Li Cuicui hadn't expected that the moment she turned around, she would see Old Seventh's wife already lying on the ground. A baseless fire of anger flared up in her heart. She had never seen such a lazy woman. No wonder their life was becoming increasingly difficult.
At this moment, she had completely forgotten that every son who split from the family was only given a meager amount of rations. Her seventh son hadn't even had the time to accumulate any savings yet.
"Old woman, don't go over there and cause trouble," Gu Dashi spoke up to stop her. "Old Seventh's wife hasn't been looking well these past few days. Their food has been cut back again and again, and on top of traveling all these days, she might not last much longer."
"That can't be right?" Li Cuicui said, panicking inwardly. "Didn't I bring them a few wild vegetable balls at noon? Could it be that those two fools didn't eat them?"
"Who knows?" Gu Dashi replied. He was also panicking inwardly. People were disappearing from this caravan every day. Was it finally their family's turn this time?
With that, Li Cuicui lost her previous anger. Her gaze toward Jin Qianqian carried a hint of complexity. She hoped that Jin Qianqian would pull through, yet at the same time, she feared the woman would become a burden to her son.
"Let's get the fire started first. Later, soak a wild vegetable ball and bring her a small bite. Let's see if we can bring her around," Gu Dashi said as he organized their belongings, secretly planning to eat a few bites less himself later.
"Sigh," Li Cuicui exhaled heavily. In the end, she didn't say anything more. However, as she went about her chores, she paid special attention to Jin Qianqian's side, deeply afraid that if this daughter-in-law failed to catch her next breath, her son would become a widower.
「On the other side of the camp.」
On this parched land, finding something to eat was incredibly difficult, but finding dry firewood was as easy as grabbing a handful. Gu Wenheng hadn't gone far before he was trudging back, struggling under the weight of a large bundle of dry firewood.
"Old Seventh, put that dry firewood aside for now. Let's head further in together and see if we can find some wild vegetables," the eldest, Gu Yuanjin, and his other brothers called out to stop him.
Gu Yuanmu, looking somewhat puzzled, took the dry firewood from his hands and tossed it onto the pile. "You're usually the most eager when it comes to finding wild vegetables. You're acting a bit out of character today."
Gu Wenheng felt a flash of guilt, but he quickly found an excuse. "My wife from the Jin Family isn't holding up well physically. I'm a little worried."
The other brothers fell silent, yet none of them offered to help out. Finally, Gu Yuanlei said dryly, "Then let's hurry up and find more wild vegetables. Later, we can boil some extra wild vegetable soup for Seventh Sister-in-law."
Following the memories in his mind, Gu Wenheng didn't say much else. "Then let's make it quick."
The other brothers in the family actually harbored a grudge over the fact that he had been able to attend a private school for a few years. Even though he didn't have to pay tuition, the household chores had genuinely fallen squarely on their shoulders. They wondered why, when they were all sons of the same farming family, only Old Seventh had been given that opportunity.