237: famine years

The sunlight outside was a bit dazzling.

Jiang Ning squinted, trying to open his eyes just a slit.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, forming pillars of light.

After adjusting for a while, Jiang Ning tried to sit up, only to find his body covered in bandages.

A slight movement brought a piercing pain, so he could only lie back down on the bed.

His Divine Sense was still usable, but its range had significantly shrunk.

His Divine Sense had also suffered some damage.

Fortunately, he wouldn't be a 'blind man'.

Through his Divine Sense, Jiang Ning discovered that he was in a village.

This village was extremely barren; the roads were filled with listless people, the ground was cracked, and the crops had yielded nothing.

Undoubtedly, this was a 'year of great drought'.

Just like in TV dramas, let alone catching small animals to eat, there wasn't even a trace of bark on the trees or grass on the ground.

He saw a child, starving, secretly eating 'dirt'.

When an adult discovered him, they rushed over, crying, and tried to make the child throw up by sticking their finger down his throat.

In a famine year, not all 'dirt' was edible; if the 'dirt' couldn't be expelled, it meant death.

Jiang Ning, unable to bear it, shortened the range of his Divine Sense.

He was lying in a farmer's home.

This family consisted of three people; the child was a girl who looked to be about five years old.

The girl's parents' eye sockets were deeply sunken from hunger, and the girl's hair was dry and yellow, clearly a sign of malnutrition.

However, seeing how lively the girl was, it seemed this family might have had a slight surplus of food.

Through his Divine Sense, the girl was seen trotting into the house.

Jiang Ning quickly closed his eyes.

The next second, the girl's voice came.

"Dad, Mom, when will this person wake up?"

The girl pointed at Jiang Ning and shouted towards the door.

The girl's father paused, and her mother ran over and carried the girl away.

The man picked up a sickle and slowly approached the house, step by step, towards Jiang Ning's bed.

Jiang Ning's heart stirred.

Was this man planning to kill him to provide meat for his family?

But then why would he have bandaged him and put him on the bed?

Indeed, the man had only taken the sickle for self-protection.

After all, in these times, saving someone also required preventing the rescued person from bringing harm to the entire family.

Kindness was kindness, but kindness was not foolishness.

After checking Jiang Ning's condition, the man left the house.

Jiang Ning opened his eyes again.

After lying there for a whole afternoon, his body could move again.

A Cultivator's recovery speed was very fast, especially since Jiang Ning also had Medicinal Pills for healing.

During this afternoon, he had gathered a lot of information.

The girl's father was named Zhou Tie Zhu, and her mother's surname was unknown, only that Zhou Tie Zhu always called her "Hui Gu."

The girl's nickname was Xiao Man; she hadn't reached the age of fifteen, so she didn't have a formal name yet.

The Zhou family had been blacksmiths for generations; people from the village, including several nearby villages, would come to them to forge farm tools or iron pots.

Therefore, before this famine year, the Zhou family was relatively well-off.

The whole family also knew a few characters.

In the afternoon, Xiao Man discovered that Jiang Ning had woken up.

Xiao Man peered through the doorframe, timidly staring into the room with wide eyes.

Seeing Jiang Ning's eyes open, she ran on her short legs towards her parents.

"Dad! Mom! That big Brother woke up! That big Brother woke up!"

Hearing Xiao Man's voice, Zhou Tie Zhu, who was sitting in the courtyard, walked over.

After entering the house, he maintained a distance from Jiang Ning.

Seeing that Jiang Ning was truly awake, he asked, "Who are you? I found you while looking for food on Xigang. How did you get such serious injuries?"

Jiang Ning presented the story he had already prepared.

He explained weakly, "My surname is Shen, and my name is Shen Ning. I encountered bandits on the road while fleeing famine. After they robbed me of my food and valuables, they pushed me down the mountain."

"Those sons of bitches!" Zhou Tie Zhu clenched his fists upon hearing this.

Poor people could empathize more with suffering.

He cursed, "Famine years are already hard enough, and there are still sons of bitches trying to rob others of their life-saving food.

If you ask me, these people should be killed and distributed among everyone!"

"Bah! Aren't you disgusted?"

Xiao Man's mother, Hui Gu, also walked in from outside.

She glared at her husband and said with a smile, "Young Master Shen, don't listen to his nonsense. If you really let him eat, would he dare? He's just talking big.

You weren't scared, were you?"

Jiang Ning chuckled.

"No, Brother Zhou is disgusted by evil, and I feel the same way."

Zhou Tie Zhu laughed heartily, "You scholars really know how to talk, what 'disgusted by evil'... I can't even say it.

Oh, you've slept for so long, are you hungry?"

Hui Gu also smiled and said, "I'll go get you something to eat."

Jiang Ning initially wanted to refuse, but thinking that for them, being so seriously injured and not eating would be too abnormal, he nodded and thanked them.

Xiao Man was pulled away by the couple.

Through his Divine Sense, Zhou Tie Zhu and his wife went into the kitchen.

Zhou Tie Zhu: "Hui Gu, do you think what this Young Master Shen said is true?"

Hui Gu: "How would I know? The family is already struggling to make ends meet, and you brought another person back."

Zhou Tie Zhu: "If I hadn't seen him, it would be fine, but I saw him, and he was still breathing. Should I have just let him die?"

Hui Gu: "I'm not scolding you for that, but he looks so fair and clean; he must be a Young Master from some wealthy family, right?"

Zhou Tie Zhu: "I think so too. Hey, why don't you make him some egg drop soup? How can he recover from such serious injuries with just plain water?"

Hui Gu: "There are only five left... Alright, it doesn't matter, we're not short a few eggs!"

Jiang Ning stopped observing.

Kindness was his nature, and caution was also his nature.

Those who were willing to save people in a famine year were absolutely good-hearted people.

Perhaps because the couple had both gone to the kitchen and no one was watching Xiao Man, Xiao Man again peered into the house through the doorframe.

Seeing her, Jiang Ning smiled and said, "Come here..."

Xiao Man hesitated for a moment, then ran over.

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "What's your name?"

Xiao Man shyly replied, "My name is Xiao Man."

That's good.

Xiao Man, meaning 'small fullness' or 'contentment,' was many people's dream.

Jiang Ning thought for a moment, wanting to take out a Grain Abstinence Medicinal Pill for Xiao Man to eat, but then thought it might not be appropriate.

So he could only chat about everyday things.

After a while, Zhou Tie Zhu and his wife entered the house, carrying a bowl of prepared egg drop soup.