Chapter 256: Drought and lack of water lead to disputes

The sun was scorching hot. There was no trace of green along the way. The ground was covered with cracks and scorched earth. Even breathing was scorching.

Five days had passed since the last battle. The team continued to move forward but could not find any source of water. No matter how frugal they were with the supplies they carried, they were now running out.

Many families in the team had lost a lot of water during the initial battle and had never had any replenishment. Now they were at the end of their strength and everyone was struggling.

At the end of the team, a skinny old woman who had just lost her only son in the family, looked at her half-grown granddaughter with a mean face, then her eyes fell on her daughter-in-law who was pregnant and pale. She hardened her heart and stuffed the gourd with only a little water left on it to her shaky daughter-in-law, and said in a low voice, "Drink."

The daughter-in-law was stunned and refused to accept it. She tried to push it away, but the old woman glared at her fiercely and did not give her a chance to speak.

"Just shut up and save your saliva! If you don't drink, my grandson will want to drink! My son is gone, and the one you're carrying in your belly is his only posthumous child. I'm not doing this for you."

"But mother, you and Daya..."

"Just drink if I tell you to. Don't worry about anything else."

The old lady was adamant and would not tolerate any explanation. The woman was also worried about her husband's posthumous child in her belly, so she finally made up her mind and drank the last gulp of water. Facing her daughter's expectant eyes and cracked lips, the woman felt sad, reluctant and ashamed. She stammered and wanted to say something, but the old woman snatched the empty gourd from the woman's hand and stuffed it into her eager granddaughter's hand.

"Daya, go to the front and ask your clan leader for some water."

Daya held the gourd timidly without moving. After all, she had already asked for it yesterday. She looked eagerly at her dry and mean grandmother: "Grandma, I, I..."

"You bastard, I don't have any water to give you. I just want you to go or not. If you go and get some water, you can survive. If you don't go, we'll both wait to die together."

When she heard about death and thought of her father buried on the roadside, Daya shuddered.

She didn't want to die, but she was also afraid to go ask for water again. After all, the tribe leader had already treated her badly when she went there yesterday. She...

"Why aren't you moving? You silly girl, forget it. I'll teach you a lesson. Just go ahead. If the tribe leader doesn't give you permission, kneel down, kowtow, and cry to your father and grandfather. If that doesn't work, you can say that the tribe leader insisted on going west, and ended up at a dead end. Ask him if he cares if everyone can't survive."

Grandma was too fierce, like the legendary tiger-aunt. Daya was scared and hurried to the front of the team holding the gourd.

But she was small, often went hungry, and was very thirsty. The little girl ran and stumbled and bumped into Li Yaoguang. If Li Yaoguang had not been quick to help her, this little girl, who was obviously seven or eight years old but looked only five or six years old, would have rolled out like a ball.

"Daya, are you okay?" Li Yaoguang pulled her aside and asked in a gentle voice.

When Daya saw that it was the powerful older brother who had come into the tribe, she felt relieved and hurriedly shook her head, not daring to say a word. After standing firm, she ran away with the gourd in her arms without waiting for Li Yaoguang to speak again.

Uncle Yin and Aunt Yin standing by sighed when they saw this, especially Aunt Yin, who was a shrewd housewife. She couldn't help but sigh first when she saw this.

"Hey, they are all worthless! It looks like Daya has gone to the front to ask the tribe leader for water again, right?"

Everyone knew the truth, but because the orphans and widows really needed help, and Uncle Yin didn't like to talk behind people's backs, he was busy scolding his wife.

Cai Huahua, who was standing by, remained silent after listening to the lawsuit. She looked in the direction where Daya disappeared, and then looked at Li Yaoguang who had been looking up at the sun. The little girl didn't know what she was thinking. She quickly walked back to the car, pulled out Li Yaoguang's bamboo tube, and walked towards Li Yaoguang.

"Brother Xiaoguang, drink some water."

Li Yaoguang's scalp tingled: It's coming again, it's coming again, that wrong feeling is coming again!

"No, I'm not thirsty..."

"Big sister, you are biased!" Before Li Yaoguang could finish her refusal, Daxiong and Erhu beside her quit first, especially Daxiong, who was like a furious kid.

Cai Huahua was openly accused by her beloved brother, and she was naturally embarrassed. In addition, Li Yaoguang was reluctant to answer, so the little girl tangle the corner of her clothes with one hand and shyly explained.

"Well, well, big brother, Xiaoguang has always drank little water and he has been traveling hard, so I gave him..."

What to give him? "Humph, Big Sister is biased! Erhu and I are also very tired, and it is very hard to travel. Big Sister used to love us the most, but now that he is here, Big Sister can no longer see us!"

Li Yaoguang: Well, she can’t stand such a blatant accusation.

It is said that even a judge cannot judge family affairs. She does not want to get involved in other people's family disputes at all. Although she was the fuse and she is also at a loss, she is really not good at it.

Li Yaoguang pushed the bamboo tube away guiltily, shook off the blood on his body and said to Cai Huahua: "Well, Huahua, I still have some water. Thank you. I'll go check out the front now."

Li Yaoguang felt exhausted that everything he did was wrong, so he just deserted and ran away after saying these words, like an irresponsible scumbag.

When Cai Huahua saw her running away, her bloodless lips turned even paler. Uncle Yin, who was pushing the cart nearby, was a fool. He had no idea what was going on and even interrupted them to act as a peacemaker for his children. Aunt Yin, who knew what was going on, wanted to slap her stupid son twice.

"Why are you howling, you little brat? We drank up all the water at home a long time ago. Now this is your brother Xiaoguang's water. Your elder sister was afraid that others would complain, so what's wrong with handing you some water? You are the only one making trouble! Another thing, your brother Xiaoguang saved your elder sister's life just now. Why, you forgot that too? You ungrateful little brat!"

Yell! After being yelled at by his own mother, Da Xiong immediately remembered and stopped making a fuss. He scratched his head innocently and tried to please his parents, "Hey! Mom, I was wrong. I forgot. I was just jealous. In the past, my elder sister loved me and my brother the most."

"Tsk, you little bastard, your elder sister is a girl, how can she love you forever? She will get married sooner or later..."

Uncle Yin... Why do these words of my wife sound a little off to me?
Poor Li Yaoguang, who was running away in a hurry, didn't know all this. When he reached the front, before he got close, he saw Daya from a distance holding a gourd and standing beside the embarrassed clan leader with eager eyes, while the clan leader's third son had an anxious look on his face at this moment.

"Dad, we don't have much water left. If you give us more, your grandchildren will die of thirst!"

"Yes, Dad. You sent some water out yesterday. Our mule hasn't had any water for a day, and we still have to rely on it to pull the cart."

"Dad, there are so many people in the tribe. If one needs water, two need water. Many people are short of water. How much can you afford?"

"That's what I mean, old man. If you become the clan leader, you will always suffer losses. It doesn't matter if you don't become the clan leader. What's the point of being a clan leader?"

"Father, Xiaobao is thirsty."

"Grandpa, Dabao is thirsty too."

The clan leader's head was buzzing and the world was spinning, but when he saw the timid Daya beside him, who was looking at him with tears in her eyes, he couldn't say no and could only purse his cracked lips tightly.

"Alas, we are all tribesmen, and Daya is still a child. Old woman, please give me half a bucket of water. At most, I won't drink water for the next two days."

As soon as the sound came out, the clan leader's family burst into tears and wailed. Daya's eyes were filled with surprise and she knelt down and bowed down, holding the gourd.

Although the little girl is stupid and can't speak, she knows good things in her heart.

The clan leader's family is actually a kind of people with sharp tongues but soft hearts. Although the clan leader's wife was angry, when she saw her husband's begging eyes and Daya's red forehead, she cursed her, but finally she couldn't bear it anymore. She asked her daughter-in-law to help Daya up, scolding her and warning her not to come again, but she honestly filled Daya's gourd with half a bucket of water.

Li Yaoguang watched these scenes coldly, and his heart softened when he thought of the water in the peaceful vats in his own space that had not moved much.