Seeing the whole Gu Laoliu family in disarray, with Hu Lanfang's hair messy, Gu Chaobei's face bearing bloodstains, and Gu Qingcheng's hands scraped, the villagers were deeply moved. They could tell that the capture of this giant snake must have been an extremely perilous endeavor for the Laoliu family.
Of course, some villagers secretly thought Gu Laoliu was still as foolish as ever. If they had caught such a large snake, they would never have been willing to offer the meat.
With people starving to death along the way, having such a large snake would have meant they could have preserved all its meat as jerky, storing it to eat slowly.
Despite their thoughts, no one dared to voice them.
If they spoke their minds, what if the Gu Laoliu family regretted their decision and decided not to share the snake meat?
While the Gu Chaobei family's actions pleased the villagers, they displeased the Gu family members. Of course, they dared not curse Gu Chaobei in front of the villagers.
To curse him now would be to go against the entire village.
Old Man Gu walked over to Gu Chaobei, who was busy processing the snake, and cleared his throat. "Laoliu, come with me."
Gu Chaobei nodded, washed the snake blood off his hands, and followed Old Man Gu to a less crowded area.
Gu Qingcheng secretly trailed behind them.
To her surprise, after rounding a large rock, she saw the entire Gu family squatting there, waiting for Gu Chaobei.
Upon seeing Gu Chaobei, Grandma Gu immediately unleashed a torrent of curses. "You unfilial son, do you know how long that snake meat could have sustained our family? If you had kept the snake, it could have saved all our lives! With a hundred-plus pounds of snake meat, each person in our family could have received twenty to thirty pounds, and all our lives would have been secured!"
"Laoliu, aren't you too generous? You only think about gaining a good reputation for yourself, haven't you considered that our whole family is starving! Has your brain gone bad?" Old Man Gu felt a pang of agony at the thought of so much meat being given away for free.
"Dad, when we divide the family property in the future, the snake meat incident must be recorded, and it should be deducted!" Liu Cui, Gu Laoda's wife, said sharply.
"Laoliu, you're not human. As an uncle, don't you think about your nephews and nieces? Don't you see they are too weak to walk from starvation? And you're just giving the meat away for free?" Zhang Manzhi was full of unspoken resentment.
"Laoliu, this is where you're wrong. Our family is starving to death, and you're giving away meat that could be eaten! No, this is something you owe us, and you must provide thirty pounds of meat for each of us, whether you steal it or rob it. You must do it within three days, or I will kick you out of this house!" Grandma Gu said with a face full of anger.
Gu Qingcheng listened and felt that this family truly lacked kinship and conscience. If it were the original her, she would likely have been squeezed to death by them. They had captured the python mostly by luck. It was fortunate that the python had entangled her mother, distracting it, and after they ate the black chocolate, their strength had greatly increased, otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy for them to succeed.
After risking their lives to capture the python, Grandma Gu still expected Gu Laoliu's family to provide thirty pounds of meat for each of them? Was that even possible? If it were the past, the timid and kind Gu Laoliu might have been driven to jump into a river!
Gu Qingcheng was very displeased and stepped forward. "Grandpa, Grandma, is it right for you to force my dad like this? My dad caught the snake, and how he disposes of it is his business. Besides, the whole village is eating it, so it's not like you won't get any. You have no right to interfere with what my dad wants to do."
"Oh, you little brat, since when have you become so eloquent? When all the dry rations in your pocket are gone, and your stomach is pressed against your back, then you can talk about your noble character!" Gu Da Bo said fiercely.
"When elders are speaking, what business do you have, little brat, to interfere?" Zhang Manzhi said with disdain. Having given birth to two sons and a daughter, she naturally felt superior.
"He is my father, and I am his daughter. If I don't stand up for my father, who will? Am I supposed to help you instead of my father?" Gu Qingcheng placed her hands on her hips, straightened her back, and spoke neither subserviently nor arrogantly.
Everyone was momentarily stunned, not expecting Gu Qingcheng to be so assertive. They were speechless.
Old Man Gu did not want their family shame to be aired publicly. Seeing Gu Qingcheng speaking so loudly, and as villagers seemed to have heard the commotion and were peeking around, intending to come and watch the spectacle, he did not want to lose face. He let out a cold snort and, with a stern face, said, "Qingcheng, you are young and don't understand adult matters. Be quiet!"
Gu Qingcheng, looking displeased, said loudly, "Grandpa, when you give roses, your hands retain their fragrance. Today, we are helping the villagers; how do we know if the villagers will help us in the future? Besides, the python was indeed caught by my dad, and he can distribute it as he wishes. Is it right for you to pressure him like this? Thirty pounds of meat per person, he's not a god! If you find us displeasing, Dad, let's separate from them!" Gu Qingcheng said with resounding conviction.
As soon as they heard about separating the family, Old Man Gu was both amused and angered. Gu Laoliu only had a daughter, and without a filial son to shatter the basin upon his death, he couldn't even enter the ancestral grave. Now, on the path of fleeing famine, if they separated, he and his three family members would be isolated and weak. Did he truly dare to separate? With the Gu family's large numbers and strength, and Gu Laoliu's sparse lineage, they wanted to separate?
Looking at the thoughtful expressions of his sons and daughters-in-law, Old Man Gu felt it was necessary to stabilize the situation. His eyes sharpened, and he said sternly, "Separate? Fine, if you want to separate, then separate! My Gu family has six sons, no, excluding you, there are five sons. Including grandchildren, there are over twenty people. With more people and strength, sticking together is how we will survive on this desolate road. After separating, you will no longer be part of the Gu family, and don't expect us to help you with anything! If you want to separate, you are courting death. I will fulfill your wish! Laoliu, what do you say?"
Upon hearing Old Man Gu talk about sticking together to increase survival rates, the other sons of the Gu family felt that their father was right. If they hadn't had more fists along the way, they would have been bullied to death long ago. Laoliu, this brainless one, no wonder he only had daughters; he was actually being led astray by a thirteen-year-old girl? And he wanted to separate the family?
However, they didn't consider that along the way, they had never taken care of Gu Laoliu's family at all. They had hidden their food and drink for their own families. Even when Gu Laoliu's family turned pale and trembled from hunger, no one was willing to offer even a piece of flatbread to them. For such a family, where was the warmth for Gu Laoliu? How could there be talk of sticking together? Now they were gathered together, it was merely because the uncertainties of fleeing famine forced them to stick together for survival. Otherwise, if anyone had proposed separation, the family would have fallen apart long ago.
Old Man Gu didn't want to separate the family because, at his and the old woman's age, without relying on their sons to run errands for them, what hope was there of surviving all the way to the south? Gu Laoliu wanting to separate the family would shake the morale, which was akin to wanting his life! He immediately felt utter disgust towards this son. He had always looked down on Laoliu, but now he looked at him as if he were a mortal enemy.