After the Xanadu project began, each family was given food rations for three days, and then a small group of PLA soldiers were left to guard the only exit from the canyon, and all the rest of the soldiers were withdrawn.

Many people expressed strong dissatisfaction with this practice of the soldiers, but they had no choice but to passively accept all this.

"I only have three days' rations, what will I eat after three days?" Ji Ran looked at the bag of rice at home and half a catty of pork, and said worriedly.

"It's up to us, and there's no way around it." Liu Zhan said.

Ji Ran shook his head helplessly, and had to accept this cruel truth.

In order to make ends meet, Ji Ran had to hand over Su Su to Ji's mother to take care of, and then Liu Zhan and Ji's father were responsible for going out to pick wild fruits and find food, and Ji Ran was responsible for collecting firewood and water to make ends meet.

The first few days were good, there were some wild fruits in the nearby mountains, some pheasants, food was fairly smooth, and there were occasional delicious game tastings.

Neighbors often give away some food to enhance their relationship.

However, in the following days, there were fewer and fewer prey, because there were too many people to come, and the consumption of food was very huge, and the wild fruits in the nearby mountains were quickly picked, and the pheasants and hares were almost hunted, and sometimes they could not pick up a few fruits after going out all day.

Many people are hungry, and even some people start to complain, and they are scolding their mothers in broad daylight.

After a few more days, even the wild fruits could not be picked up, more and more people were starving, and there was little contact between neighbors, even if they were separated by a door, and the doors of the houses were closed in broad daylight, as if they were worried that others would come to the house to borrow food.

Ji Ran is a girl who can live, she knows the importance of food, so when there was enough food before, she did not waste food, she saved the food that could be stored for a long time, and ate the food that was not convenient to store first.

Therefore, when everyone is hungry, Ji Ran can still have rice to cook at home.

Whenever the rice is cooked at night, it will attract a pair of fiery eyes, and some hungry children will gather around, looking at the rice porridge in Ji Ran's pot, and licking their lips greedily.

Although Ji Ran pitied these children very much, there was not much rice at home, and if they were all distributed to them, there would not be enough food at home, and besides, Su Su was still young, and it was the time when he needed nutrition, so Ji Ran only gave these children a small bowl of rice soup to drink every time, and he didn't dare to give more.

Gradually, these children developed a habit of coming to Ji Ran as soon as they arrived at the meal, and they didn't stretch out their hands to ask for it, just watched Ji Ran cook rice porridge.

On this day, after dinner, Ji Ran looked at the food that was already running out, and felt worried, if he couldn't get any more food, I was afraid that he would have no food in the future.

However, at this moment, a woman's screaming and scolding voice was suddenly heard outside.

At first, Ji Ran thought it was someone else, because he had never offended anyone, so it couldn't be a scolding himself.

However, after listening carefully for a while, I realized that the woman was really scolding herself.

It turned out that when I distributed porridge to the children tonight, because the porridge was too little, it was impossible for every child to get it, so Ji Ran gave it yesterday, and he didn't give it today, so let every child try to be fairer, his son had already given it yesterday, so today Ji Ran gave it to other children.

After the child came home, he cried and said that Ji Ran would not give him porridge to drink, and his mother was angry and came to Ji Ran.

Hearing the scolding outside, Ji Ran was so angry, the porridge was not yours in the first place, what if you didn't give it to you?

It's good now, but I actually started scolding, and I don't make sense at all.

Ji Ran was about to go out to reason with the woman, Ji's father loved face, and he was afraid of quarreling, so he pulled Ji Ran and didn't let Ji Ran go out.

"Forget it, when she scolds enough, I'll go back by myself, don't be like this kind of person." Father Ji persuaded.

Ji Ran pursed his lips helplessly, he was really annoyed in his heart, and he had to be scolded for doing good deeds, he was really angry.

"People like this who don't know how to repay their kindness, don't bother with her in the future, our porridge is not enough to drink, don't give it to people in the future." Mother Ji said with a frown.

"But those children are really pitiful." Ji Ran recalled those poor children and said with some reluctance.

"Now that our family doesn't have enough to eat, do you still pity them? Who has mercy on you? Mother Ji said angrily.

Ji Ran nodded and said no more.

"Dad, I'm going to go to the back mountain tomorrow to have a look, so don't go." Liu Zhan said to Ji's father.

"To the back mountain? The back mountain is far away, I heard that there are wolves on the back mountain, can you go alone? Father Ji asked worriedly.

"Even if you do, you have to try it, or you won't find anything to eat." Liu Zhan said helplessly.

"I'll go with you." Ji Ran said to Liu Zhan.

"What are you going to? You also have to take care of the home. Liu Zhan frowned and refused to agree.

"I'll go with you, although I'm old, but it's not enough to walk anymore, so the two of us can take care of it." Father Ji said to Liu Zhan.

Liu Zhan saw that Ji's father was so insistent, so he had no choice but to agree.

The next day, the two went to the back mountain together, and when they left, Ji Ran was still a little uneasy, so he borrowed a firewood knife from a neighbor and stuffed it into Liu Zhan's hand.

"Take this, so you can defend yourself." Ji Ran said to Liu Zhan.

"Well, don't worry, it'll be fine." Liu Zhan smiled and pinched Ji Ran's face and comforted.

Liu Zhan and Ji's father set off in the morning, but they didn't come back at sunset in the evening, Ji Ran stood at the entrance of the village, looking at the hillside from afar, anxious.

"Why haven't you come back yet? It's late. Ji Ran thought worriedly.

Soon after, Brother Chen, the man in the neighborhood, returned.

Ji Ran hurriedly stepped forward, "Brother Chen, have you seen Liu Zhan and my father?" ”

"What? Uncle Ji and Xiao Liu haven't come back yet? Brother Chen asked strangely.

"Well, they went in the morning, and they haven't come back yet." Ji Ran said anxiously.

"Haven't you come back yet? There was no one in the front mountain, and I was the last one to come back. Brother Chen frowned and said.

"Brother Chen, I heard that there are wolves on the back mountain, right?" Ji Ran asked worriedly.

"Well, I heard that there were wolves on the back mountain, and a few days ago someone went to the back mountain, and it seems that he never came back." As soon as Brother Chen's words came out, Ji Ran was frightened.

"Will they encounter wolves, then?" Ji Ran asked anxiously.

"Sister, don't worry, maybe they will come back in a while, my child is still hungry, I have to go back first." After Brother Chen finished speaking, he hurried home.

Ji Ran stood alone under the moonlight, looking at the direction of the back mountain, and tears of anxiety were about to fall.

(End of chapter)