Li Ping'an's heart tightened, and he subconsciously grasped the sharpened wooden stick and moved it a few times towards the child. At the same time, the people watching the night also trembled and instantly became energetic.
"What's going on?" Zhang Xiaoshan stood up in a panic, holding a woodcutter in his hand and looking ahead, but the surrounding area was dark and he couldn't see anything clearly. Then he said, "Do you want me to go?" have a look?"
Li Ping'an also wanted to figure out what happened before, but he still suppressed his curiosity and desire to explore, "Don't go, whatever happens has nothing to do with us for the time being, don't be too troublesome."
An adult echoed in the darkness, "Ping An is right, don't be too troublesome, just wake up."
Not long after, the noise became louder and louder, and the sound of a child crying loudly could be heard, as if he was still shouting something. When it reached Li Ping'an's ears, he couldn't hear it clearly no matter how carefully he listened.
Li Erlin and the others had not slept well before, but now they were basically all awakened. You and I kept asking what happened.
But who knows.
"Go to sleep. We'll watch over you when you wake up."
Li Ping'an was replaced by Zhang Dashan. He lay down on the ground next to the children. It had been almost eight or nine days since he went up the mountain. He had not taken a bath or changed his clothes. He was a living person. It stinks, and my long hair is messy. I don’t have the conditions to pay attention to cleanliness.
The crying that reached his ears made him feel flustered and irritable. He couldn't sleep at all, but he couldn't help but sleep. He tried hard to empty his mind, count sheep silently while looking at the stars in the night sky, and forced himself not to listen to those words. sound.
He didn't know how much time passed, but just as he was drifting off to sleep, the sound got louder and louder, and got closer and closer. He sat up and looked forward, only to see a dozen torches walking towards their direction.
When the torch came closer, Li Ping'an saw clearly that under the torch were about a dozen burly men, dressed in fancy clothes and with fierce faces. Some were holding knives, some were holding sticks, and some were pushing a cart, which contained many bulging weapons. There are sacks, and there are people holding ropes in their hands, and behind them are children with their hands tied up in a string.
There are about ten or twenty children, both boys and girls. Generally speaking, there are far more girls than boys. Occasionally, a child would cry softly, which would immediately trigger a strong man with a weapon nearby to yell and curse, and then the sobbing child would not dare to make a sound again.
When the team approached Li Pingan's position, a relatively thin and gentle man shouted "stop", and then looked greedily at the group of children next to Li Pingan.
"Everyone, do you have any plans to sell your children?" The gentle man held up his hands and said straight to the point, "Two bushels of brown rice for a boy and one bushel for a girl."
It turns out that it was just a matter of personal taste, but the price was low enough. A bushel of brown rice usually cost only fifty cents. Even if it had increased tenfold now, it would still not exceed six hundred cents.
Li Erlin's face hardened and he said resolutely: "I won't sell it!"
Others also said they would not sell.
"Looking at you, you must be planning to escape." A look of regret suddenly appeared on the gentle man's face, "It's a pity, I don't know how many of these children will survive in the end."
Then he advised earnestly, "Sell your children to me, and I will be able to take care of their food and prevent them from starving to death. You can also get food in exchange. Although it is not much, the price of food is not low now, and it is not easy." I bought it. There will be more people selling their children in a few days, but the price won’t be the same now.”
At this time, almost everyone was woken up. The women were still confused at first, but after hearing these words, their expressions immediately changed. They hurriedly found their children among the children, and hugged them tightly while crying. , glanced at Ren Yazi angrily, and then glanced at the head of the family anxiously.
The younger children still couldn't understand the situation, but the older ones understood the situation. They held their mother's hands tightly and cried, not to sell them. When they cried, the children who were not in the situation also started to cry. .
The ones who are most afraid and worried are Chen Taohua, Chen Zhaodi, and Li Xiaoyan and Li Xiaoling brought back by Li Silin. They have no parents, no adults at home, and they are girls. They are so scared that the adults are reluctant to sell them. His own children sold them for food.
Zhaodi almost shrank into Taohua's arms, while Xiaoyan and Xiaoling hugged each other and shivered.
The scene suddenly became chaotic.
"We've already said we won't sell, but we won't sell our children!" Li Erlin stood up with a hatchet and glared at Ren Yazi angrily.
As soon as he moved, Li Ping'an also stood up holding the wooden stick, pointing the sharp end towards the person's teeth, his palms full of sweat. Zhang Yu took out his bow and arrows at some point, and looked at Ren Yazi with slightly squinted eyes, as if ready to draw an arrow.
Others also clenched their weapons, looking evilly.
Li Erlin chose them and persuaded them to escape together because of their reliable character. On the first night of their escape, when something happened, they had no reason to stand by and let Li Erlin and Zhang Yu take the lead.
Don't be timid at this time, you must put on such a posture, don't you just want to fight? They don't know how to go hunting in the mountains, but they still have the courage to fight. Although they don't have enough to eat in the mountains these days, they are not hungry either. He still has a lot of strength.
But once you give in, or don't work together, the dozen or so fierce-looking strong men opposite are not here to do odd jobs. They may look down on one or two children, but there are twenty or thirty children here. As long as there is a slight chance, They dared to grab it.
"Hey, hey, don't be angry, it's easy to discuss things, it's easy to discuss things!"
Ren Yazi was frightened at first. He glanced at Zhang Yu with some trepidation. The bow and arrow in this man's hand put too much pressure on him. The people he brought were all thugs from gambling houses. He was not too afraid of close combat. He let them rush in front while he stayed behind. He could still run away when he saw something bad happen, but he couldn't outrun the arrows shot. This thing You can kill him from a long distance away.
Moreover, there were about twenty young men in the group of people in front of him, and they did not look as good-looking as the refugees he saw along the way. If he really wanted to take action, no matter he lost or won, he would have to pay for it afterwards. These thugs are worth a fortune.
"Let's go, don't mess with our children, we won't sell them." Li Erlin's tone was a little more relaxed, and he didn't want to conflict with these people.
Ren Yazi breathed a sigh of relief immediately. He was also afraid that these people were all stupid and would do it to the end regardless of their superiors. After calming down, he smiled and said, "Since you don't want to sell the child, forget it. We'll leave now. Sorry for bothering you."
Although twenty or thirty children do look very attractive, there are so many refugees, and there are many families who sell their children and wives. He doesn't have to worry about losing the population. There is no need to start a conflict here and pay a sum of money for nothing. Go in.
