Gu Zhaobei patted her small head and instructed,
"Don't be careless in the future. When you enter the supermarket, find a time and place where you can be alone."
"Okay, Father."
Gu Qingcheng constantly emphasized using the correct appellations for this era, lest she slip up and call them "Dad" or "Mom," which would raise suspicion.
Don't think of yourself as too clever, nor others as too foolish!
The three of them finished their meal, wiped their mouths, and ensured there were no food scraps on them before casually rejoining the crowd.
The villagers who had shouted at them earlier saw them emerge empty-handed and a mocking smile appeared on their faces. However, they said no more, merely shaking their heads and closing their eyes to rest.
After about twenty minutes, as some villagers felt sufficiently rested, they began to depart.
There was no particular order to this loose convoy; whoever wanted to leave first simply did so, while those who felt tired and wanted more rest left a little later.
Not all villagers were walking. During this famine, they had brought their livestock with them.
Only a few families had oxen; the village chief's family had one, and Liu the butcher's family had one. That was all.
Having an ox was enviable, as it could be used to pull a cart, load luggage and belongings onto it, and allow people to walk with much less effort.
Five families raised sheep, but the sheep only followed their owners and could not pull goods.
Ninety percent of the villagers were fleeing on foot, carrying their belongings scattered among them. Their possessions were not numerous, and few even used small carts.
The Gu family in the village was an ordinary, unremarkable farming household. They had no oxen or sheep, but they did raise a pig, which they slaughtered and made into preserved meat before leaving.
Gu Qingcheng had never eaten preserved meat, nor had she seen the Gu family make it. Those preserved meat pieces weighed at least eighty catties, so the Gu family still had some financial reserves and had not reached a desperate situation.
Besides them, most families in Taoyuan Village were in a similar situation to the Gu family. Those who had pigs, chickens, or ducks had slaughtered them before fleeing and made them into preserved meat.
Everyone was quite frugal on this journey. Some people had started to use their preserved meat to make broth, but the common folk always harbored concerns about saving for future hardships. Thus, unless they were truly unable to go on, they would not easily use their preserved meat reserves.
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It sent a chill down one's spine.
That Gu Qingcheng starved to death, and the Gu family did not offer any assistance, not even a little of their preserved meat reserves, was truly heartless.
Perhaps in their minds, Gu Qingcheng, that little girl, was simply a burden, not worth using their precious preserved meat to save.
Gu Qingcheng already felt indifferent towards the Gu family, and now she could not muster even a shred of familial affection for them.
After Gu Qingcheng's family had eaten their fill and regained their strength to walk, they followed the vanguard of the group.
Their experience had taught them not to stay too close to Old Man Gu's family, lest they be bossed around and ordered to do chores.
As they walked, Gu Qingcheng noticed that Old Man Gu's family did not shout at them or assign them tasks.
Firstly, there was not much for them to do on the road; they just had to keep walking!
Secondly, they also needed to conserve their strength; shouting would also expend energy.
Along the road, there were frequent instances of small children crying that they could not walk any further, that they were tired to death. Their parents, with haggard faces, could only reluctantly hold them or carry them for a short distance.
Yet, even so, neither adults nor children could endure for long, and they had to stop and rest frequently.
Gu Qingcheng quickly witnessed the cruelty of long-distance migration.
Gu Qingcheng's Mountain Cat Supermarket had a time display; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to accurately know the time just by looking at the sun.
It was half past one in the afternoon. As their group trudged onward, wiping sweat and enduring hunger, an elderly man about ten meters ahead of Gu Qingcheng suddenly fell to the ground.
The old man must have lost consciousness instantly before falling. He toppled forward stiffly, his forehead striking a stone by the roadside with a dull thud.
The sound of a head hitting something with full force was something Gu Qingcheng would likely never forget if she heard it once, as it was the sound of death reaping a life.
"Father, Father, what's wrong?"
Beside the old man, his son rushed forward, calling out.
Nearby villagers also stopped and gathered around.
Gu Zhaobei's professional instinct as a doctor kicked in, and he immediately pushed through the crowd. Gu Qingcheng and her mother followed.
Gu Zhaobei pried open the old man's eyelids and saw that his pupils were dilated. He then placed his hand on the carotid artery on his neck and could find no pulse.
He then placed his ear against the old man's chest. The heartbeat had also disappeared...
"Uncle Ge has passed away. My condolences!"
Gu Zhaobei could only shake his head regretfully at the old man's son.
The son was still in a state of shock. Seeing his father suddenly gone, he collapsed onto his father with a "thump," wailing in grief.
The old man's sudden death by the roadside halted the entire village's progress.
Village chief Gu Qingshu was invited to take charge.
Gu Qingshu was also the patriarch of the Gu family and held considerable prestige in Taoyuan Village. He was in his early fifties, his hair already white, with a lean physique like everyone else, and a serious expression.
Gu Qingshu displayed a certain calm and composure, perhaps because he had handled such matters frequently during the days of their flight.
Gu Qingshu sat down to preside over the proceedings. The deceased's body was placed not far away, with branches placed underneath. A simple cloth was draped over his face. The funeral arrangements were extremely rudimentary, a humble attempt to maintain the last bit of dignity at the end of life.
Gu Qingcheng felt a pang of sadness watching.
"Regarding the houses back home, you three Sun brothers will divide them according to your original living arrangements. The west wing your father lived in will be designated as common housing. Do you have any objections?"
"No." The parties involved, the three Sun brothers, all agreed.
It turned out they were distributing the inheritance.
Gu Qingcheng had never witnessed such a scene before, so she stayed nearby to listen.
There were many villagers watching the spectacle, so she blended into the crowd and was not conspicuous.
"As for the land, your family has two mu, which will be divided equally. It was already divided when your father was alive. Whatever each person cultivates will remain theirs. Do you have any objections?"
"No." The three Sun brothers replied again.
"Since the family property has been divided, let's send your father on his way!"
As the village chief, Zheng Qingshu, having completed this important task, called upon the strong young men of the village to dig a pit by the roadside and place the deceased within for burial.
In such situations, the village communal funds would provide a hearty meal for those who helped with the funeral arrangements, so the helpers were very enthusiastic. Seven or eight young men, armed with hoes and shovels, dug a pit about a person's height by the roadside, ensuring that the body would not be unearthed by wild beasts and subjected to further harm.
Afterward, the deceased was buried in the ground. A rough-hewn wooden stake was placed on top, with the old man's name crookedly carved into it and planted on his grave.
This was a simple grave. If his descendants were to return to their hometown in the future, they would re-inter him in the village's ancestral graveyard.
However, given the current circumstances, everyone held little hope for a distant return.
Of course, the matter had to be handled according to custom, to at least provide some solace to the grieving family at this moment.