Chapter 709: Escape from Famine 14
"Mom, this bamboo forest is so big, are there still a lot of bamboo rats? Mom, how about we catch all the bamboo rats tomorrow and take them home to eat slowly? I wonder if there is bamboo water and bamboo rats in the bamboo forest behind our village."

If there was, the whole family would not have starved to death when they returned home.

I can also eat broth every day.

Geng Dalin couldn't help swallowing when he thought about eating meat soup every day.

Yuanchun nodded, "Let's hide the cart in the bamboo forest. Tomorrow you will come with me to cut bamboo rats. The day after tomorrow morning, we will set off for home."

Geng Dalin and Sun Chunfeng were both happy and agreed.

Geng Xiaowu was already a grown-up boy, and he would help with farm work at home. He came over, sat next to his grandmother, and said, "Grandma, I want to help chop bamboo rats, too."

Yuanchun turned around and glanced at his thin body, and said, "You are still young and can't cut bamboo. Just help us carry the basket and watch the bamboo rats to prevent them from escaping."

"Grandma, I'm very strong and can do a lot of work." Geng Xiaowu said excitedly.

He really wanted to help the adults with work and didn't want to just sit there and eat idle meals.

He didn't want to be a burden to his grandmother and his second uncle and aunt.

Yuanchun raised her hand and touched her grandson's head, and said softly, "Grandma knows that Xiaowu is a diligent and capable man, but we only have one chopping knife and one kitchen knife at home, and we don't have any extra knives for you to use."

Geng Xiaowu then said, "Then I'll help you watch the baskets."

Before dark, Yuanchun and Geng Dalin pulled the cart into the bamboo forest, and the family stayed there for one night.

The next day, Sun Chunfeng was responsible for guarding Geng Xiaowen and pulling the cart, Yuanchun and Geng Dalin went to chop bamboo rats, and Geng Xiaowu and his three sisters helped carry the baskets.

There was a large bamboo forest, but there weren't many bamboo rats. Yuanchun used her mental power to catch about a hundred bamboo rats. She also found a rabbit nest in a very low-lying area. There were seven big rabbits and five small rabbits.

The terrain here is low, and there is some shaded, sunny spot with some green grass, which allows this nest of rabbits to survive.

Yuanchun and Geng Dalin also pulled out all the green grass and threw it into a basket for the rabbits to eat, hoping to keep it for them to eat on the way.

As the basket was too small to hold so many rabbits, Yuanchun roasted four large rabbits for dinner that night, and the eight of them shared and ate them all.

The next day, the Geng family got up early, each drank a bowl of meat soup, packed their luggage and set off back to Fengling Village.

Afraid that there would be too many bamboo rats that would be squeezed to death if kept together, Yuanchun cut several green bamboo poles as thick as bowls and raised the bamboo rats inside them.

It also prevents people from discovering them on the road.

On the way back to the village, the Geng family met many people who were fleeing famine to the south.

Some, like the Fengling Village, were large groups of people fleeing famine together as a whole village; some were individual families fleeing together; and some were groups of relatives who knew each other.

Some people saw that the Geng family consisted of the elderly, the weak, women and children, and Geng Dalin was the only strong man, and wanted to rob their supplies. As a result, they were pinned down and beaten by Yuanchun.

With Yuanchun around, the Geng family returned safely to Fengling Village a few days later in the evening.

After returning home, Geng Dalin and Sun Chunfeng felt relieved. They happily unloaded all the luggage from the cart and put them in their respective places.

I put the iron pot back on the stove and started boiling water to cook bamboo rat meat.

After finishing the meal, the family closed the door and had a sound sleep.