Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside Chapter 1 - 001: Scramble for Food [Famine Escape Story]

"Gu Xiaoyu, stop right there!" Gripping a sturdy stick, Niu Dazhuang and his brothers encircled Gu Xiaoyu, jabbing a finger at the sweet potato hugged to her chest. "Hand over the sweet potato."

Gu Xiaoyu gripped the sweet potato firmly, glaring at the five Niu Family brothers boxing her in. "No, I earned this sweet potato through my labor. It's not yours."

A harsh drought had gripped Great Chu's Northwest for two years, yielding no crops and making even water scarce. Desperate folks fled the famine, and Gu Xiaoyu's family joined the miserable throng of refugees.

She had earned that sweet potato by hauling Lin Houde's Family child all day on the trek, saving it for her little brother, Brother Cheng, to devour.

The Niu brothers were infamous road bandits, preying on travelers' meager rations. Furious at her defiance, Niu Dazhuang's gaze turned savage as he snarled, "You refuse? Brothers, grab it from her!"

At just ten years old, Gu Xiaoyu had toughened up amid the hardships of the journey. As the Niu brothers lunged for her prize, she sank her teeth into Niu Erzhuang's reaching hand, shoved Niu Xiaozhuang aside, and bolted away clutching the sweet potato.

Enraged by Gu Xiaoyu's bold escape, Niu Dazhuang's fury exploded. Just as he closed in, he lashed out with his stick.

Bang!

The blow landed on the back of Gu Xiaoyu's head, blood gushing forth, her sight fading to black as she crumpled lifelessly to the ground.

Niu Dazhuang sneered, "That'll show you for running—you're begging for death."

He wrenched open her fingers, seized the sweet potato, and wolfed it down in hasty bites, nearly choking himself.

The other Niu brothers arrived, saw the prize devoured, and held back from striking their leader. Instead, they unleashed their wrath with brutal kicks on the downed Gu Xiaoyu. "You jinx, you bringer of bad luck. Dare to flee? We'll kick you till you're dead."

Having unleashed their rage, the five brothers swaggered away, abandoning the senseless Gu Xiaoyu sprawled on the dirt.

As dusk fell, hordes of refugees halted their march, their skeletal frames scrounging for scraps at the mountain base. Spotting Gu Xiaoyu out cold, they spared a glance before shuffling on in search of sustenance.

After over three months of famine flight, with corpses littering the path daily, the refugees had turned callous to such tragedies.

Nearby foragers from Gu Family Village spotted the wounded Gu Xiaoyu and rushed to notify her mother, Mrs. Cui.

Mrs. Cui rushed over with her oldest daughter Gu Jinxiu and hauled Gu Xiaoyu back to their camp at the mountain's foot.

Gu Xiaoyu's wounds were grave; even after return, she lay comatose. Helpless, Gu Dashan begged Granny Gu for rations to sustain her.

"A useless whelp—expect this old hag to cough up food and summon a healer? Heal what? Folks drop dead daily, so what's one more? If she croaks, scrape a pit and toss her in. That's generosity enough."

Granny Gu jabbed at the kneeling Gu Dashan, railing, "Shameless, begging me for food? And that vile chit, no filial bone! Snags a morsel and ignores her elders, only pampering Brother Cheng. A tot under four choking down a whole sweet potato? No fear he'll suffocate?"

Head bowed under the tirade, Gu Dashan persisted in his pleas to Granny Gu. "Mother, I beg you, show pity—just half a bowl of food for your son. Xiaoyu won't last much longer."

Xiao Yu's head wound kept her in deep unconsciousness; without swift medical aid, she might never stir again.

"Half a bowl!" Granny Gu smacked her thigh, howling, "Hear that, everybody? Fair ask in these dire days? Demanding half a bowl would doom the whole Old Gu clan!"

Gu Family Village refugees camped together that night for rest. Granny Gu's outburst drew no rebuttals; folks feigned deafness, each tending their own fires to parch their scant provisions.

A smug twist curled Granny Gu's crooked lips; she knew none would fault her for starving out her eldest son's kin amid the flight. With survival hanging by a thread, who meddled in others' woes?

Granny Gu's youngest daughter spoke in a mocking voice, "Isn't that right? Grain's more precious than gold right now. If we hand over half a bowl to you, what will our entire family survive on? We'd definitely starve to death."

"Little Sister!" Gu Dashan's eyes turned blood-red as he exclaimed, "That half bowl of grain is Xiao Yu's lifeline. Without it to pay the doctor, Xiao Yu has no chance of pulling through."

Little Sister Gu sneered, "Hear big brother go on, like we're not escaping a famine ourselves. Don't folks drop dead every day on this escape route? Only your daughter's life matters, and the whole family should revolve around her? She's merely a junior branch, grabbing food from the elders' mouths—she'd better not curse us all."

"How is the whole family just focused on Xiao Yu? We're not out of food; you and your husband get over a bowl each day." Just half a bowl was all it took to rescue a life.

Little Sister Gu was always overbearing, so how could she swallow those words? She instantly broke down in sobs, "Wuwuwu, I knew this family looks down on us couple. Sure, as a married-out daughter, I shouldn't have dragged my husband back to my parents' home to mooch off their grain. But with his family wiped out, where else could we go if not here? Just die of starvation?"

Granny Gu doted on her youngest daughter dearly, making sure to take her along with her son-in-law during the famine escape, caring for them just like Uncle Gu Er's household. On this whole trek, anyone else might go hungry, but not the married daughter and her spouse, nor Second Brother Gu's family.

When her youngest started weeping, Granny Gu flew into a rage and advanced on Gu Dashan to strike him, "You heartless beast, worse than an animal! She's your own sister, yet you'd let her starve. Are you even a person?"

Granny Gu then glared at Elder Gu, who kept his head down in silence, "Old man, your eldest son's out to let his sister starve to death—won't you step in?"

Elder Gu, already over fifty-six, felt drained after the day's march and had no energy for this squabble. To him, it was only a granddaughter, not a grandson. If she perished, so be it.

Little Sister Gu saw Granny Gu backing her up while Elder Gu stayed quiet, so she wailed even louder.

By a nearby campfire.

Gu Jin'an caught Granny Gu's words, his eyes blazing with fury, "Granny's risking Xiao Yu's life."

What nonsense about no food—it was pure excuses.

Granny guarded the grain so fiercely because she knew its worth; she'd stashed a whole bag away untouched, and little aunt with her husband, great aunt and her kin, second uncle, third uncle, fourth uncle and their households—all had little packets of grain tucked in their clothes, each about a bowl's size. How could food be lacking?

They hoarded all that grain yet balked at giving half a bowl to save Xiao Yu, even as father and son scoured daily for provisions to share with the whole family.

Mrs. Cui's face twisted in grief, her frame shrunken like a skeleton from starvation; she gazed at the unconscious Gu Xiaoyu and shed quiet tears.

Gu Jinxiu clutched Gu Jincheng tight, the siblings too terrified to utter a word.

Gu Jin'an glanced at them, then at Gu Dashan still kneeling far off, realizing this couldn't continue; he told Mrs. Cui, "Mother, I'll step out for a moment—watch over Xiao Yu closely with big sister."

He didn't wait for Mrs. Cui's reply before dashing off into the darkness.

Though young, Gu Jin'an was sharp and resourceful. After questioning several families with good ties, he succeeded in borrowing half a bowl of grain and securing a doctor for Gu Xiaoyu.

Doctor Du's family name was Du; he commonly healed famine refugees along the escape path, taking just a bit of grain or water as payment.

He dabbed golden sore medicine on Gu Xiaoyu's injury, wrapped it securely, performed multiple acupuncture sessions, then stored his silver needles and declared, "No pen or paper for a written prescription; I'll return each day to needle Xiao Yu and clear the blood clots. Let's check back in three days."

Gu Jin'an and the rest expressed heartfelt thanks through their tears.

Doctor Du eyed their thankful expressions but couldn't help warning, "Xiao Yu's head wound is severe; waking within three days would be ideal, otherwise... prepare yourselves."

Gu Jin'an and the others went pale as ghosts at those words.

Unable to stomach their despair, Doctor Du grabbed his medicine box, bid farewell, and departed.