Chapter 9: On the Road
The only thing that pleased the coachman was that the young Taoist gave him saltwater, and it was clean green salt.
Sometimes the young Taoist would also give him a very sweet dim sum.
When resting in the evening, the young Taoist would find wild vegetables on the spot, place them on stones, add salt, and roast them for the three of them to eat.
Although they didn’t eat meat, they had enough salt and sugar, and the coachman felt his strength greatly increased.
One must know that for someone of a low social status like the coachman, even in the best of times, he could only afford to eat salt for ten days a month, and most of the time he ate vinegar cloth.
As for sugar, he ate even less of it.
Five days later, they arrived at Xuchang. The coachman couldn’t bear it and advised again:
“Old Taoist, Luocheng now is like the gates of hell. You should not go there for now, wait until the flood has passed.”
Grandpa Ling thanked the coachman for his kindness and smiled, saying:
“This old Taoist indeed has a reason to go. If you pity this old Taoist, perhaps you could charge a little less for the remaining payment.”
Upon hearing this, the coachman immediately pocketed the silver and turned his horse around without another word.
Jinsui found it both amusing and speechless. How realistic!
However, compared to others she had met, this coachman was a good person.
The flood in Luocheng had affected water transport, let alone nearby Xuchang?
Many refugees were coming to Xuchang. Along the way, she saw women dragging their children and elders carrying infants on shoulder poles.
Everyone’s face was filled with despair and numbness. It was the season of spring warmth, blooming flowers, and spring plowing, yet these people were forced to leave their homeland and become displaced.
Grandpa Ling knew his granddaughter was soft-hearted and kind, and repeatedly warned her:
“Don’t casually give away food or water. If you give to one person, others will swarm.”
“Our most important task now is to find your mother and younger brother. There are too many pitiable people in the world, we can’t help them all.”
Jinsui lowered her head and said, “Grandpa, don’t worry, I understand.”
When they camped for the night, as soon as their bonfire was lit, many beggar children began to loiter nearby, and further away, young and strong men with fierce eyes appeared.
Jinsui and Grandpa Ling exchanged a look and dared not take out their biscuits to eat, only drinking some clear water.
She quietly handed her grandfather an energy bar and chewed slowly.
Grandpa Ling told her to sleep and he would keep watch.
How could Jinsui sleep! She felt like they were surrounded by wolves and tigers. Wrapped in a blanket with her grandfather, she vigilantly watched their surroundings.
Perhaps realizing these two poor Taoists had no food or valuables, the young and strong men gradually left.
The beggar children did not leave. As the night deepened and the weather grew cold, they moved closer to the bonfire to warm themselves.
These refugees had fled together as a village or with several families and friends. These beggar children, however, had lost all their close relatives and were fleeing south with the crowd.
It was fine during the day, digging for wild vegetables and drinking from streams, begging for food to fill their stomachs. But at night, they couldn’t bear the cold.
They dared not approach crowded places, as people would drive them away. Worse, some malicious individuals would beat them or kidnap them to sell as slaves.
Perhaps they thought Taoists and monks were generally kind-hearted, which is why the beggar children gathered to warm themselves by the fire.
Grandpa Ling said that this was still considered good. When things reached the worst point, with cannibalism occurring, these beggar children would have no way to survive.
Jinsui looked at this group of children, who in later generations would be at most five or six years old, and the youngest in kindergarten.
Each of them was as thin as a little monkey, huddled together, drawing warmth from each other and the bonfire.
She faintly heard a little girl, about five years old, quietly say to the boy holding her:
“Second Brother, I’m hungry.”
The boy held his sister tightly and rubbed her shriveled little belly:
“Hold on a little longer, Eldest Brother will bring food back soon.”
Another little beggar said with a crying voice:
“Eldest Brother hasn’t returned for two days. What if he was eaten by wolves?”
At these words, the beggar children all began to sob quietly. Perhaps afraid of disturbing the Taoists, they were not allowed to roast by the fire.
The Second Brother quickly reprimanded in a low voice:
“Don’t talk nonsense, be quiet. Eldest Brother will definitely come back.”
However, Jinsui could tell that the child’s voice was filled with deep unease and worry. Their Eldest Brother might truly not return.
What were children of this age doing in later generations? They were worrying about homework, secretly using their parents’ phones, with endless snacks at home, never having experienced hunger or cold…
And these children? Just surviving was already taking all their effort.
In fact, their survival was dependent on some people viewing them as ‘reserve food’…
Jinsui dared not think further. She looked at the energy bar in her hand, then at these more than a dozen little beggar children, and then at Grandpa Ling.
Although he sat by the bonfire without moving, his mind was clearly racing.
Grandpa Ling couldn’t stand his granddaughter’s gaze, sighed helplessly, and whispered:
“Quietly, you must not be discovered by those young and strong men.”
Jinsui was overjoyed and wanted to hug Grandpa Ling, but was afraid of startling the old man.
The Original Owner’s kindness was clearly inherited from her grandfather.
She quickly said, “Grandpa, don’t worry, I guarantee no one will find out!”
She pressed her palm, and a burning sensation spread, followed by a colorful halo that dissipated.
She took out the energy bars she had saved over the past few days, removed the packaging, put them in a plastic bag, and stuffed them all into her sleeve. She also took a few bags of glucose water.
When she opened her eyes again, she suddenly spoke to the boy called Second Brother in a very fierce tone:
“Hey, are you just going to warm yourselves for free! Go gather some firewood.”
Several older beggar children quickly went to gather firewood, afraid that the young Taoist would drive them away.
The little girl’s gaze at Jinsui made Jinsui unable to meet her eyes.
She had never seen such a look in a child’s eyes before, only feeling such despair and sadness in the eyes of abused stray little cats.
When the beggar children returned with firewood, Jinsui suddenly stuffed the plastic bag into the Second Brother’s hand and said quickly:
“Don’t make a sound, hide and eat quietly.”
The boy was filled with surprise and joy. Infinite gratitude appeared on his dirty face.
He trembled all over and said in a tone that tried to sound adult:
“Thank you! Li Linfeng will never forget the great kindness of this Taoist master.”
Jinsui felt both heartache and amusement. Thinking that they were only using others’ bonfire, she gave him a fire starter and sincerely said:
“Live on.”
The little boy’s eyes instantly lit up. As if not wanting the Taoist to see him cry, he quickly lowered his head and returned to the group of beggar children.
Soon, Jinsui saw the boy named Li Linfeng, in the shadow of the bonfire, break an energy bar in half and distribute it to the beggar children.
They ate silently, without making any chewing sounds, but their despairing and numb eyes gained a glimmer of light.
For children, when extremely hungry, sweets must be the most luxurious thing, right?
They were like thin, weak animals hiding from fierce beasts in the deep mountains, living silently and fearfully.
How many days would this pack of energy bars sustain them? She hoped their Eldest Brother would return safely.
This night was very long. Jinsui only managed to sleep fitfully.
As soon as dawn broke, Grandpa Ling stomped out the bonfire and pulled Jinsui to hurry on their way.
The beggar children who had been huddled together sleeping quickly got up, wanting to follow the two. Grandpa Ling waved his hand:
“Go, go, go, don’t follow this old Taoist!”
Jinsui said to Li Linfeng:
“We are going to Luocheng, we cannot take you with us.”
After the two had walked a long distance, they could still see the group of beggar children standing there, staring straight at their retreating backs.
The children were shy and afraid, likely thinking that the young Taoist had secretly given them food, and that thanking her in front of the old Taoist might lead to punishment for the young Taoist.
Until they parted, they dared not say a word of thanks, only using their gaze to let the young Taoist know how grateful they were.
