Chapter Twenty-Seven: Fleeing the Famine

The next morning, Fafu and Caiyun buried Facai in the ancestral graveyard, not far from Yucui. Caiyun remarked that this would make it easier for the father and daughter to visit one another.

"I heard that when Yucui passed away, she wanted to come home to see us, but her superiors wouldn't let her leave," Fafu told Caiyun.

Caiyun replied, "Two people are gone in just over a month. Before your brother passed, he told us to flee to Jiangsu to escape the famine. We are planning to leave in the next couple of days."

"I’ve heard that things are very strict over in Jiangsu; they send anyone fleeing famine right back to where they came from. Besides, it’s too far, and there’s a river in the way. It will be very difficult for you to get across with the children. I think you should head south instead and try your luck toward Shou-dong."

"The authorities have issued orders forbidding people from leaving to beg for food, fearing it will look bad. So, if we’re going to leave, it has to be under the cover of night," Caiyun said.

"The New Year is almost here, and things are getting stricter by the day. You should leave tonight."

"Very well."

Caiyun hid the dried sweet potato porridge Fafu had brought back, saving it to eat just before they set off that night.

That evening, Caiyun lay in bed unable to sleep. She felt the heavy burden on her shoulders and wondered how many more obstacles awaited her on the road ahead. She secretly steeled herself, firmly believing that as long as she didn't collapse, there was no hurdle she couldn't overcome.

When the roosters crowed for the second time, Caiyun rose. She poured the porridge into an earthenware pot used for decocting medicine, propped it up on a few mud bricks to heat it, and then called the children to wake up. By the time they finished eating, the roosters were crowing for the third time. Caiyun shouldered their bedding and cradled two-year-old Yujun in her arms, while nine-year-old Yuqiang and eight-year-old Yulan carried baskets filled with bowls, chopsticks, and daily necessities. They set off quietly.

As Caiyun locked the door, she reached out to touch the carved horse on the door frame and whispered to it, "We are leaving now. Keep the house safe."

The night before dawn was pitch black. Though she had the flashlight Fafu had given her, she dared not turn it on for fear of being discovered, so they had to grope their way forward, step by step.

After a while, perhaps their eyes adjusted to the darkness, or because they were familiar with the path in front of their home, they were able to walk a little faster.

After covering about a mile, the sky began to brighten. Caiyun looked back, and when she could no longer see her village, she felt a sense of relief.

Suddenly, Yuqiang asked his mother, "Mom, I feel like begging is very shameful. How are we supposed to ask people for food?"

"Begging is indeed not a dignified thing, but we have no other path to follow right now. It is a solution born of desperation. To survive, we must move forward."

Yuqiang asked again, "People don't know us. Will they give us food?"

"Don't rely on your imagination for everything. You only know the truth once you experience it yourself. As long as there is food, we will find a way."

Caiyun led the children further south. Seeing that the bark had been stripped from all the trees along the way, she told the children that they wouldn't be able to get food in these parts and that they needed to press on quickly.

By late afternoon, Yujun began crying for food. Caiyun herself felt exhausted, her arms aching and sore to the point of agony. Unable to go any further, they stopped at a village to rest.

As the sun began to set, Caiyun saw villagers returning from the communal canteen with their bowls. The village consisted of about twenty households. She took the children from the west end of the village to the east, but most people refused to give them anything. Only a few, seeing the pitiful sight of a lone woman with children, spared a little for them. The porridge here was better than in Wangjiayu; it contained bits of dried sweet potato. Each of the four of them only managed to eat about half a bowl.

That night, they slept in a haystack by the village threshing floor. Yuqiang discovered a hollow space at the base of one of the stacks. After clearing it out, it was just large enough for the four of them to lie down.

In the middle of the night, a sleeping Yulan suddenly felt something bite her leg and screamed, "Mom, something bit me!"

Caiyun turned on the flashlight and discovered a snake had crawled into their bedding. Yuqiang was sharp-eyed and quick; he grabbed the snake by its tail, lifted it, and shook it in the air. As he lowered it, the snake tried to crawl back into the bed. Yuqiang quickly stepped on the snake's head with his foot and slid his hand down to pinch its neck. Once he let go of the tail, the snake's body coiled tightly around his arm.

Caiyun took the scissors from their basket and severed the snake's head, allowing its body to finally loosen and fall from Yuqiang's arm.

Caiyun comforted Yulan, "Don't be afraid, it's just a water snake. It's not poisonous."

Yuqiang said, "We have meat to eat! I used to catch snakes when I caught eels; they taste just as good."

Early the next morning, they went into the village and found someone to stew the snake for them. It was over two feet long and weighed more than a pound. Once it was cooked, Caiyun invited the family to join them, and everyone agreed it was delicious. The family also shared the porridge they had brought back from the canteen with them.

The children hadn't expected to eat meat so soon after leaving home, and they were in high spirits. The mother and her three children left the house laughing and chatting. Caiyun encouraged them to pick up the pace while they still had food in their stomachs.

Not long after, Caiyun's arms could no longer carry Yujun. She had Yuqiang carry the bedding while she carried the boy, and they continued south.

Carrying the bedding was a struggle for Yuqiang. He couldn't go far before lying flat on his back to rest, only to get up and start again.

By the third day, Caiyun noticed that while the elm bark had been stripped, the bark on other trees was largely intact. A flicker of hope, like dawn breaking through the darkness, sparked in her mind.

At dinner time, they reached a larger village. Caiyun had Yuqiang and Yulan go to different houses to beg, agreeing to meet at a designated spot.

The porridge served at the canteen here was also mostly made of substitute foods, but it had more bits of dried sweet potato and tasted much better. Their tactic of splitting up worked well, and all four of them were full.

Securing a place to sleep became a major problem. They asked many families, but none would let them stay. No matter how Caiyun tried to persuade Yulan, the girl refused to sleep in a haystack again; even though she knew the water snake wasn't poisonous, she was still terrified.

They had no choice but to walk on with the flashlight until about nine o'clock, when they reached another village. It was the depths of winter, and everyone in the village was already asleep. Caiyun wandered around with the children for a long time before finding a pigsty that seemed suitable. The roof and walls were still intact. They dragged some straw from a nearby haystack to spread on the ground and spent a freezing night inside.

At daybreak, as they were getting up, a woman in her thirties approached them. "Hey, what are you doing in my pigsty?"

Caiyun replied, "We had nowhere to stay last night and arrived too late. We only stayed here for the night. We’ve disturbed you, please forgive us!"

"Where are you from?"

"We came from the Di-an area. May I ask, miss, what place is this?"

"This is Yangtangji, part of Shou-dong County."

"Would you be willing to let us stay here for a few days?"

"It’s not easy for a woman to be traveling with children like this. I happen to have an empty cow shed; you can stay there."

"Thank you, miss! May I ask your name?"

"My surname is Liu. You can just call me Sister Liu. Today is New Year's Eve; you can leave your luggage here and go out to beg for a bit more."

Sister Liu led them to the cow shed. "The doors and windows are in good shape. There’s some straw and junk inside, so you’ll need to tidy it up. I’ll bring you a lock later; make sure you lock the door when you leave." As she spoke, she helped Caiyun spread thick layers of straw on the floor.

After breakfast, Caiyun set out with the children to visit the surrounding villages.

That evening, although it wasn't as lively as New Year's in years past, there were still people setting off firecrackers, creating a festive atmosphere.

The New Year's Eve meal at the various village canteens was quite good. Some served thick, broken-rice porridge, some had porridge with whole slices of dried sweet potato, and one village even served steamed rice mixed with dried sweet potato. Caiyun and the children hadn't eaten this well or felt this full in a long time. They even saved half a bowl of steamed rice—they finally had a little bit of a reserve.

When they prepared to return, they realized that in their excitement, they had wandered too far. Caiyun turned on the flashlight and hurried the children back.

As they walked, the beam of the flashlight grew dimmer, and their pace slowed accordingly.

Looking up, they could faintly see the lights of the houses in Yangtangji; they couldn't be far now.

They entered a graveyard, and soon after, their path was blocked by a wide, deep water ditch. The flashlight died completely. To make matters worse, it was an overcast night without a single star, and everything was pitch black. They had to use wooden sticks to grope along the edge of the ditch, hoping to find a way across.

After a great struggle, they finally found the end of the ditch and made their way out of the graveyard.

They continued forward and entered another graveyard. They headed in the direction of the lights of Yangtangji, only to encounter the same wide ditch again, finding themselves right back where they started.

They went around in circles like this, over and over, unable to find an exit toward their destination. Yuqiang lay down and probed the ditch with his stick, discovering that the water had frozen over and was quite deep.