CHAPTER 876: CHAPTER 343: SCREW YOUR TRAGIC BEAUTY (PART 13)

After Ms. Hetian tidied up the mountain cave, she dug a few traps near it.

Firstly, to catch some wild game, and secondly, to defend the cave.

Her combat power was strong, and she possessed divine power, so she feared neither wild boars nor tigers.

But she also had a six-year-old son, and she couldn’t protect him every moment. There would always be times of separation, so necessary defense traps near the cave were essential.

Ms. Hetian was busy digging traps, whittling bamboo to make bows and arrows, and collected some herbs along the way.

He Xiaobao wasn’t idle either. He was digging wild vegetables near the cave, picking mushrooms, or collecting firewood.

He used to feel exhausted and wronged when working, but now, he was full of joy.

Busy as he was, he momentarily lost focus and drifted away from the cave.

Just as He Xiaobao realized the problem and was about to turn back towards the cave, he heard a sound in the nearby bushes.

He Xiaobao was startled, gripping his sickle tightly, as if this dull sickle, only meant for chopping wood and digging grass, was some life-saving weapon.

"...Help, help! Is anyone there, help!"

He Xiaobao perked up his ears and listened carefully, vaguely discerning the voice of a crying girl.

Not a wild beast!

Nor was it a bad person, just a little girl who had accidentally fallen into a trap!

He Xiaobao followed the sound and found a six or seven-year-old girl sitting in an abandoned trap.

She was hugging one of her legs, crying, and calling for help with all her might.

The trap was not actually deep, and the walls were not very steep. An adult should be able to climb out.

But the one trapped was a small child, and she seemed to have hurt her leg, making it difficult to escape on her own!

"Who are you? How did you fall into this big pit?"

Seeing that the caller for help was a little girl about his age, He Xiaobao didn’t dare to take it lightly.

He cautiously stood by the trap, craned his small neck to look down, and didn’t forget to ask.

"I’m Han Dongdong from Hanjiaping. I know you, your maternal grandmother is a girl from our Hanjiaping!"

Han Dongdong was both scared and anxious, tears streaming down her face.

Suddenly hearing a boy’s voice, she looked up, her tear-filled eyes blurry.

She quickly wiped her tears with her sleeve, widened her eyes, and took a good look at He Xiaobao.

It turned out, she did recognize him.

He Xiaobao’s grandmother, who was also Ms. Hetian’s mother, was surnamed Han. In earlier years, when she went back to her mother’s family, she had brought her grandson and granddaughter along.

By coincidence, Han Dongdong was the little daughter of the village chief of Hanjiaping and had seen He Xiaobao a few times before.

This time, people from Tianjiawa, Hanjiaping, and several other villages, some families had run away to escape the famine.

In fact, saying "escape the famine," it was more about escaping disaster.

Last year was a drought, this spring also lacked rain, showing signs of severe disaster.

But for farmers accustomed to living off their land, unless they reached the end of the line, they wouldn’t abandon their fields and run away with the family!

At least for villages like Tianjiawa, He Family Village, Hanjiaping, it wasn’t yet time to flee for survival.

However, there were still over a dozen families who abandoned their homes, taking their children and wives to escape.

They were not only worried that the drought would worsen, but escaping early might find them a way to survive.

More importantly, it was because of man-made disasters!

The first families to flee all had something in common: someone in their family or a relative had gone missing, being coerced by rebels while repairing riverbanks last year.

For instance, the Tian Family’s son-in-law, He Erniu, disappeared while working on the riverbank, and rumors in the countryside said he joined the rebels and became a rebel!

Take Han Dongdong, her family was the village chief’s, yet due to the large family size and intentional scheming by enemies, her own brother had to go into labor service.

Also, last winter, during the rebellion at the riverbank, he went missing.

Several families from He Family Village, too, were slandered as relatives of the rebels!

In the days of collective punishment, one person’s rebellion could implicate the entire family.

With poor harvests and military disasters, these families secretly agreed to just "escape the famine".

If they stayed at home, they wouldn’t suffer the hardships of displacement, but they might end up paying with their lives!