Chapter 384 Heart Chilled, Learning Selfishness
Inside the cave, apart from a few elderly people resting with their eyes closed on beds, the remaining young people were never quiet when they gathered, and Ye's dad and the others were already drinking.
"Come in quickly, why are you coming over at this time."
Even with the rain, Asen and the others couldn't stop them from coming to join the fun. They were drinking happily, completely without any sense of being refugees.
Ah Hong, his face flushed red and his neck thick from drinking, grabbed Gong Wentao and pulled him into the cave.
Looking at the lively scene in the cave, Gong Wentao thought of the other scene in the village and felt it was still better to live here.
"Is there still food? I haven't eaten a bite yet."
Aunt Zhen heard this and quickly went to get steamed buns, along with the leftover mixed stew of cured meat.
Zi Yisheng did not drink and sat down beside Gong Wentao.
"How's it on your side? Have all the villagers gone up the mountain?"
"They all arrived in the evening, but it was too noisy, with over a hundred people in one cave. I plan to bring my parents to live here, and I can directly help my dad retire as village head."
Zi Yisheng nodded. There was still an empty space in the cave next to them, and there were leftover materials for making beds. Three beds could be made in one night.
"Those who aren't drinking, go to the next cave and make three beds."
"I'll go, I can't drink any more."
Ah Can was the worst at drinking, so it was better to escape the ordeal.
Zi Yisheng frowned as he watched the elderly people sleeping amidst the noise of everyone. He then suggested,
"Uncle Ye, Uncle, why don't you take Grandma and Grandpa and the masters to the next cave to live? These guys come over every day, and you can't rest well."
Dad Ye looked at the elders. Even the women in their family had already gone to bed early. This way, they would indeed rest better.
"Okay, you young people can be more at ease together. We'll all move over to live."
Asen and the others, wanting to continue drinking, quickly got busy, moving luggage, moving beds, wishing they could wrap the elderly in tarpaulin and move them next door.
Ye Shenge and the other two girls didn't even have a chance to move, only watching the men busily working.
In less than half an hour, the move was complete. When the village chief and his wife arrived, they also lived next door. Aunt Zhen was in charge of the meals there, and the people here enjoyed themselves, getting to eat Gong Wentao's cooking.
Gong Wentao also lived here directly. As soon as it was dawn the next day, he set out in the pouring rain with three people.
Seeing Gong Wentao about to take her in-laws away, Zhang Yuan incited Gong Wenliang to leave with them. They didn't have much food, and their two sons were at their most hungry stage. By following her in-laws, they could surely get some food.
Gong Wenliang ignored Zhang Yuan. After the last incident, he rarely spoke to Zhang Yuan. He just worked diligently in the fields every day. After leaving his parents, he realized how difficult it was to support a family on his own, and he also knew how much his younger brother had helped them over the years.
"I'm talking to you, do you want to watch your sons starve to death?"
"Starving to death is my incompetence. Everyone will just have to manage together. If you can't stand it, you can go back to your mother's house, I won't stop you."
Zhang Yuan had heard too many such cold words, and her heart was long devoid of any ripples. In this day and age, as long as she could get more food, she could do anything, no matter how shameless.
"If you don't say it, I will. I'll beg my younger brother, and I don't believe he won't care about his own nephews at all."
Gong Wenliang's eyes widened, and his expression became ferocious.
"If you dare, as soon as you dare to say a word, I'll divorce you immediately. Even if I can't divorce now, I can kick you out. Also, the food at home is all earned by me. If you leave, I won't give you a single grain of rice."
When a man loses all affection for a woman, or even dislikes her, there is no room for sentimentality.
Zhang Yuan was both angry and scared. If she, a woman, were kicked out, it would only mean death. She could only hold her breath and remain silent.
When Fan Wenli chose a temporary place to live, she deliberately stayed far away from the second son's family. Her family's conditions were much better than the second son's family. Her daughter was married, and her eldest son had a job in the county, earning money and coupons every month.
She and her husband were not lazy, so the food they earned was just enough to eat, even if they tightened their belts. Therefore, she was afraid of the second son's family getting involved with their family.
"What new scheme has the second son's wife come up with? The second son looked very angry just now."
Gong Wenxing looked at his second brother's current situation and sighed silently. As a strong laborer, it was impossible for him to support a family of four. He could secretly help a little, and it was his savings that he gave to his second brother, at least enough to buy a few catties of grain.
"Don't get involved. Just look after our grain."
Gong Wentao looked at the two bags of grain at his mother's feet, most of which were coarse grains. He knew that Zi Shao rarely ate coarse grains, and even if he took it, it would just be stored.
"Mother, please distribute some of the coarse grains to Big Brother and Second Brother's families. We don't know when this rain will stop, so it's good to have some extra for emergencies."
The main reason was that if they really reached a point where there was no food, his elder and second brothers would have no chance to seek help from him. Zi Shao's chosen location was quite hidden.
Wang Fengling naturally cared about her eldest and second sons. She was so ruthless when dividing the family last time precisely to make her two sons realize who had provided for them all these years without them having to worry, and she just wanted their minds to clear up.
Especially the second son, watching him grow older day by day, she secretly cried at night.
"Yes, you send it to them. Especially your second brother, tell him to keep an eye on the grain and not let it all go into his wife's mouth. In the whole village, only Zhang Yuan didn't lose weight during the disaster."
Gong Wentao divided the two bags of grain into three bags, one bag for each family, and took them to his eldest brother's place first.
Gong Wenxing stood up with a smile when he saw his younger brother.
"Wentao, why are you here?"
"Mother asked me to send some grain to you all. Tell Eldest Sister-in-law to keep it safe."
Gong Wentao also whispered a few words in his eldest brother's ear, telling him that if they reached a point where they couldn't survive, they could look for him, but they couldn't live there. It was still possible to help with some grain.
Gong Wenxing's eyes were full of shame, and he patted his younger brother's shoulder with red eyes.
"Brother hasn't done well all these years, but it won't happen again in the future. Parents, you've worked hard!"
"Yes."
Gong Wentao never liked sentimentality. To the extent he had gone was already for the sake of that drop of kinship.
Gong Wenliang also quickly stood up when he saw his younger brother. In less than a year, Gong Wenliang had lost a lot of weight and aged at least ten years.
"Second Brother, Mother asked me to send you some grain, and she told me to tell you that this grain is for you, and you must eat it yourself."
Gong Wenliang looked at his elderly mother and father in the distance and burst into tears. In the end, only his parents and younger brother cared about him and told him to eat more.
Even his two sons had learned from Zhang Yuan, only grabbing food for themselves and never asking him if he was hungry or tired.
"Second Brother understands. I won't starve myself."
"Yes, if you're really in trouble, go find Big Brother. He knows how to find me."
This was also to let his elder brother supervise his second brother, lest he be soft-hearted for Zhang Yuan. In fact, Gong Wentao did not know that his second brother's heart had long been chilled and he had also learned to be "selfish."