I will continue to occupy the pit and make subsequent modifications. Not to mention that I can exchange it for some gold, silver and food, at least Wuchou will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of his life.

I originally thought Wuchou was interested in me, and I naively wanted to elope with her and travel around the world.

Unexpectedly, she advised me that if I really loved her, I should let her go and let her pursue a richer life.

So, I let it go.

After Wuchou got married and moved to the town, her whole family moved there.

Later I heard that she was very favored, and her success brought prosperity to everyone around her.

I also feel a little comforted for my carefree decision to let go back then.

Just one year later, my mother suddenly fell seriously ill. She kept muttering in my father's ear, and passed away soon after.

A year later, my father also passed away.

He kept telling me this before he died.

He regretted very much that he had not taken out the grain that year.

The villagers were not notified in advance to allow them to make preparations.

Otherwise, their village would not have ended up like this.

After my father died, I was the only one left in the village.

He became a real village defender.

Since I was the only one left in our village, it became an ominous village, and no one wanted to live there anymore.

I often wander around the village at dawn or dusk.

Looking for the happy memories of childhood, it seems that I can see their figures in them, still laughing and busy.

I don't want to leave this village, nor do I want to marry someone else.

The famine that year was caused by a lack of food. I was terrified of the feeling of hunger, and I didn’t want the fields to go to waste.

So I took charge of all the farmland in the village and planted them from dawn to dusk. After years of planting experience, I wrote a book about my farming experience.

Unconsciously, I have accumulated a lot of food. I stored all the food in that cave. It is ready for emergency use.

Because of the long years of exposure to the loess of the Northern Dynasties, I look much older than people of the same age.

That is, when I was 22 years old, famine struck again.

When I was exchanging supplies at the market, I heard someone say that this year the situation was even worse than the last time.

It is like adding new injuries before the old ones have healed, and this time the scope is wider.

I remember what my father said before he died.

I originally thought that when those fleeing famine came to me, I would give them food to help them get through their difficult times.

Fengling Village had fallen into disrepair for many years, so people fleeing famine thought it was a deserted village and simply passed by it.

After winter came, the temperature dropped suddenly and became much colder.

On the day when the first snow fell, I didn't wait for the refugees, but I waited for Ji Wuchou.

She asked me if I had any food.

I said yes.

She asked me how much I had, and I said I didn't know. I hoarded what I couldn't finish.

She said that she had distributed porridge to her family before, but the victims thought that her family had a lot of food, so they all gathered at her house.

There were too many people looting and we had no rice left at home. She asked me to give her all the food so she could use it to help the disaster victims and tide over the difficult times.

She was so kind, so I agreed of course. I said, however, I don’t have any rice here, only paddy, wheat ears, and some corn. They have been stored for a long time, and I don’t know if they are still edible.

She thought I would not agree, so she quickly said that my father-in-law had contacted a granary in another place to transport grain, and it should arrive before the New Year, and he would return the rice to me then.

I was just about to tell her where it was.

A vague voice sounded in my ears: "Don't tell her!"

The sound was soft, but very close.

I turned around and didn't see anyone, so I thought I was hallucinating.

The voice suddenly rang again: "She lied to you, don't tell her!"

This time the sound was clearer.

But I still think that it is my inner anxiety that is causing the problem.

Of course Wuchou didn't choose to be with me, I think she cheated on me.

At this time, she needed something from me, so another voice in my heart wanted me to reject her and then take revenge. I completely ignored it. That voice was a woman's voice.

After repeated inner struggles, I finally chose to speak out.

"If you don't mind, let's move to the cave where we took refuge before!"

After I finished saying this, another voice rang in my ear: "How stupid!"

I still ignored it.

When she heard me say that I had stored the food in the cave, she was surprised that I had not been on guard against him at all and had put it where she could find it.

She was a little moved, and she held my hand, tears streaming down her face, dripping into my hand.

She told me: "I'm sorry I didn't choose you back then. But at that time, for the livelihood of my family, I had no choice but to make this choice."

I said, "I don't blame you. Even if you didn't leave on your own initiative, I would have let you go. After all, seeing you live a good life makes me satisfied."

It was obvious that she felt guilty. After saying a few words of gratitude, she left.

That afternoon, her brother Wuyou brought people over and went to the cave to confirm.

They deliberately didn't pass by my house for fear that I would find out.

But I knew they would come, so I squatted in a high place early in the morning.

Watch them go into the mountains and then come out happily.

Then, a huge team carrying food went into the mountains. Since cars couldn't go in, they carried the food out of the mountains one bag at a time in sacks.

That was the food I had been growing for five years.

After they left, I went in to take a look.

It has been completely emptied. It's so cruel. That was the food I grew for five years, and they didn't even leave me a corn cob.

Fortunately, I still have some food stored at home, enough for me to survive the winter.

There will be no problem in waiting until spring and then for Wuchou's rice to be delivered.

I don’t know, maybe it’s because the team moving rice is too large and ostentatious.

The next day, several ragged refugees appeared in the village.

They found me and asked me to give them food.

It was already very cold at that time and it was about to snow. I couldn't bear it, so I invited them into the house, gave them clothes and food, and let them warm themselves by the fire and have a good rest.

During the chat, I learned that they also came here by chance, and saw that my house was in good condition, so they came to ask with a try-it attitude.

At this moment, heavy snow began to fall outside.

My original intention was to let them go after they had enough food and warm clothes, but it was snowing heavily outside. The houses in the entire village were in disrepair and most of the roofs had collapsed. There was no place to shelter from the wind.

So I softened my heart again and kept this family of five.

But because of my soft heart, I put myself in danger.

Originally, I had enough food to last me through the winter, but suddenly there were five more mouths to feed, and the food supply was rapidly decreasing.

In the past, I could still go to the mountains to hunt some game, but the snow kept coming down. It was difficult to open the door and walk, and if you weren’t careful, you’d be buried in the snow.

The famine had not yet passed, and the snowstorm came again.

The family was quite optimistic, saying that auspicious snow meant a good harvest. The heavier the snow, the more food they would harvest next year.

I smiled bitterly, not knowing if I could survive this winter.

For fear that the accumulated snow would collapse the house, we would clean the snow off the roof from time to time and sweep the snow at the door to prevent it from covering the entire house.

But food is secondary. I didn’t expect there would be a sudden heavy snow, so there was not enough firewood at home.

It's snowing so heavily that there's no way to go out to chop firewood.

I looked at the old peach tree at the gate of the yard.

This peach tree is said to be hundreds of years old and occasionally bears peaches.

The peaches are crispy, sweet and delicious, and they will be picked up in no time.

When peaches were in season, sometimes someone would secretly climb up the tree to steal peaches. When my mother found out, she would yell, "If you want to eat them, pick them and give them back to me. Don't drop them!"

But these children just like the feeling of climbing trees and picking fruits, including myself. Even though I know my father can pick them, I will still climb the tree.

When I climbed to a high place, my mother would find me and scream in panic from below.

At this time, my father would nervously climb up to protect me.

What wonderful memories those were.

However, for some unknown reason, this old peach tree seems to have begun to dry up in the past two years.

Not to mention peaches this year, even the leaves are very withered.

Maybe he is too old and will die soon. He will not survive this winter.

I made up my mind and said, let's cut down the peach tree so that we will have firewood for cooking and keeping warm.

When the snow got a little lighter, those who were able to work went out with their tools to cut down trees.

As I expected, the tree was almost dead, so it was withered and easier to cut down.

But I don’t know why, every time I chopped, I would hear a certain sound in my ears. Sometimes it sounded like someone was crying, sometimes it sounded like someone was cursing, and sometimes it sounded like someone was screaming in pain.

It was entangled with the howling north wind, making it difficult for me to tell what the sound was.

After cutting down the trees, we solved the problems of heating and cooking.

But in the end, what worries me most is always food.

If this continues, we will all die here sooner or later.

Finally, the snow stopped before the food was finished.

I said, I originally had a lot of food here, but the richest family in the town has moved away to provide disaster relief. You should go to the town to find them as soon as the snow stops.

The family felt bad about eating my winter food and wanted me to go along.

I said if I saved a little more, I should be able to get through the winter.

Besides, I'm used to living here and don't want to live under someone else's roof, so we won't go together.

They immediately set off with gratitude.

The snow stopped for a while and then started again, but by now we should be able to reach the town.

I was about to cook, but when I opened my rice jar, I found that there was only a little rice left, out of the half jar that was originally left.

I hurried to check on the other food, and found that there was only a little left, and much of it was half rotten.

Not to mention surviving the winter, it’s even a question whether we can get enough to eat today.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud towards the sky, laughing at the fate and the unpredictable human heart.

I helped them, but they left me no chance to survive.

But fortunately, I had a trick up my sleeve.

In a cellar unknown to them there was some seed grain.

It was not meant to be eaten, but now I have to use it to fill my stomach in order to save my life.

The snow finally stopped, and the days when the snow melted were especially cold.

Apart from staying in the house, warming myself by the fire and trying to consume as little energy as possible, I didn't want to move at all.

After living like this, I have no idea what day it is.

No one knows what happened to those few people who left.

When they were around, the house was lively and we felt very happy.

Now I am alone and feel boundless loneliness, which is very torturous.

The porridge water turned into rice soup, and finally there was not a single grain of rice left in the house.

I tightened my belt, lay on the bed, and was too lazy to even light a fire.

In my dreams, I kept hearing Wuchou's words about sending rice over during the New Year.

So I always had hope in my heart. As soon as the sun rose, I would sit at the entrance of the village, looking forward to seeing if someone would come carrying rice.

This has also become the courage that has kept me going.

I was so hungry that I stuffed whatever I could get my hands on.

On this day, I watched the sky gradually darken. It would be colder when it gets dark, so I got up and wanted to go home.

As I stood up, my vision suddenly went dark and I fell to the ground again.

Suddenly I heard someone calling me: "Brother Yotsuba, Brother Yotsuba!"

I looked up in surprise, but there was no one in front of me.

Looking back, the surroundings were as quiet as death. Not even a ghost was seen, let alone people.

It seems that I was hallucinating.

Another voice sounded in my ears, this time it was very clear: "I told you, she lied to you, you don't have to wait any longer!"

I turned my head following the sound and saw a small, hazy, white figure.

I thought I was hallucinating and rubbed my eyes, but the white shadow didn't disappear.

I seemed to see her laughing at me, and she continued, "If you go to town to find her now, maybe she will give you some food."

"No, she promised me that she would send rice over during the Chinese New Year. I'm waiting for her here. What if I go to look for her and she comes to look for me, and we miss each other?"

"You are such a fool! You deserve what you have become! All the grain merchants from other provinces who sent you rice were trying to deceive you. They heard that you could get an official position in the court if you contributed to the disaster relief. They didn't want to use their own rice, so they had their eyes on you. You are the only one left in Fengling Village, but Ji Changqing's family was originally from Fengling Village. That day, Ji Changqing came back to worship her ancestors and knew that you had used all the land in the village to plant crops. You couldn't eat much by yourself, so she suggested that she ask you for it, and you really gave it to her."

I listened and laughed. I had roughly guessed it, but it wasn't that I didn't want to believe it, I still held on to a little fantasy.

"What about the five people I saved? How are they doing?"

"You actually care about them? I don't know. You all cut me down together, why should I care whether they live or die."

"Cut you down!?" I realized that the one talking to me might be the old peach tree in my house. "We cut down an old peach tree."

"Yes, thanks to your great blessing, I was supposed to leave the tree in two years, but now I can finally enter reincarnation in advance. To be honest, even though you cut me down, I still have to thank you.

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