"Take these and get lost."
A small cloth bag slammed against the ground right before Gu Yundong. The zip of the bag was open, revealing a dozen dried potatoes.
Gu Yundong leaned against a massive rock behind her. Her face was sallow and gaunt, her entire being emanating listlessness. Upon raising her head, a woman's mean face entered her sight.
She had finally figured out her current situation. She had traveled back to the Jin Dynasty from an zombie-infested apocalyptical era and had transmigrated into the body of a thirteen-year-old peasant girl with the same name and surname. She had a father, a mother, and a pair of younger siblings.
In the seventeenth year of Hong Qing, the land of the Yongning Mansion was in ruins due to drought, the people struggling to survive. Large numbers of refugees had begun to migrate to nearby states to look for a living. As for her entire family, they had left the Yongning Mansion for more than half a month to escape from the famine.
The woman in front of her, who was throwing the tiny sack of potatoes to her as if she was doing charity, was the step-grandmother of the owner of the body, Madam Zhao. Beside her stood more than a dozen people, which were her second uncle, third uncle, and their families, all staring coldly at the family driven out.
Gu Yundong had no strength left in the slightest. Perhaps due to the fact that she had been starving for quite a long period, her head spun, plunging her into dizziness, and she could barely stand straight. She shifted her gaze away to ignore Madam Zhao before her eyes swept over her second and third uncle watching coldly from the side and finally fell on Master Gu, who sat on the rock.
Her grandmother was her step-grandmother, but her grandfather was her biological grandfather.
Master Gu grew uncomfortable under her clear yet sharp piercing eyes. With a soft cough, he sighed softly after a long while, "Yundong, don't blame us for this. Everyone is facing hardship, and we don't have much food left. Your family can't do labour, and there's something wrong with your mother's mind. She can't be of much help. All she does is eat and sleep all day long. The world is too chaotic. We can barely take care of ourselves, so we don't have the extra energy to care for you and your family. You should pray for yourselves. This bag of potatoes is enough for you and your family to hold on to for two days. These days, you should find your own way to survive and fend for yourselves."
Gu Yundong sneered deep down. She had lived for two years toward the end of the world and had long known the evil of human nature. Master Gu was carrying out a misdeed, yet he was able to find an excuse to leave everything to God. How could he not be afraid of being struck by lightning? It was a pity that she had no strength right then. Else, how could he be allowed to talk nonsense for as long as he pleased?
She couldn't even be bothered to show his disdain for their pity, but a small figure next to her stubbornly wiped his eyes and spoke up in a slightly choked voice, "We can do heavy labour. You don't see my dad here because he went to lure the bandits away. He will be back. You all..."
Gu Yundong knew that he was the younger brother of the original owner of the body, Gu Yunshu. He was five, but appeared to be only around four years old.
Her father was supposedly Gu Dajiang. Two days ago, they had encountered a group of bandits. Gu Dajiang and her second uncle, Gu Dahe had lured the bandits' attention to give them a chance to escape. Later, Gu Dahe returned, but Gu Dajiang's whereabouts remained unknown. In everyone's eyes, Gu Dajiang was likely to have been killed by the group of bandits.
Yet, Gu Yunshu refused to believe so. He firmly believed that his father was safely alive and would definitely be back.
Master Gu did not intend to say more. With a mere wave of his hand, he couldn't wait any longer to drive them off, "Alright, that's it. Take good care of yourselves." After a pause, he felt reluctant to part with his grandson, so he could not hold himself back from asking Gu Yunshu, "I can keep you with us. Why don't you come with us?"
Madam Zhao standing on one side was evidently crossed upon hearing the words, "Why should we keep him? We don't have enough food for ourselves, nor is there extra for him. If he wants to come with us, he will need to find some food himself or eat some soil."
Halfway through her words, Gu Yunshu grabbed Gu Yundong's hand. The corners of his mouth were twisted into a tight purse as he said, "I want to be with my sister."
Gu Yundong subconsciously intended to withdraw her hand. She was not used to having physical contact with humans. In the post-apocalyptic era she was from, it was almost her instinct to guard against others from getting close to her, but right then, she did not have much strength. As if for fear that the two of them would be separated, he gripped onto her hand, more tightly than ever before.
It was why Gu Yundong could clearly feel his thin and trembling hands. With her lips pursed, she said nothing in the end.
Master Gu was irritated by Gu Yunshu's evasive attitude. Getting to his feet in wrath, he snapped, "Suit yourself."
With that, he left with Madam Zhao and the others.
Her mother, Madam Yang, who had been standing by the side, was clearly confused. She carried a basket on her back that had a three-year-old girl sleeping in it. Such a loud commotion failed to wake her up.
Seeing Master Gu and the others leaving, Madam Yang stepped forward to follow them in helplessness. When she soon turned around to find Gu Yundong and Gu Yunshu standing where they were, she hurried back and squatted beside them, asking in puzzlement, "Yundong, what is it? Let's go, let's go."
Madam Yang's mind was underdeveloped, but she knew who they were. She had yet to figure out that they had just been abandoned by the Gu Family. All she was wondering was why the Gu Family did not bother to wait for them to catch up.
Gu Yundong was in the middle of recovering her strength. She was struggling to even speak and had no patience to explain. On the contrary, Gu Yunshu comforted Madam Yang in a low voice, "Mom, Yundong is tired. Let's wait a little longer before we leave." Gu Yundong had fainted, thus giving the Gu Family an excuse to leave their family behind.
Gu Yunshu was deeply worried. His father was gone, his eldest sister was ill, his mother was mentally unstable, and his younger sister was thin and weak. He was, right then, the only male descendant in the family. Although he was only five years old, he had to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of his family.
Gu Yunshu tried his best to straighten his back before turning to look at Gu Yundong, who was resting with her eyes closed.
Right then, Gu Yundong was relieved. She had lived for a year in that post-apocalyptic world. Almost every day, she was glad that she was still alive. Although the current place was in chaos, there were, at least, no zombies or mutated animals. After getting through the famine, her life would slowly improve, and the future would be filled with hope.
The original owner of the body had given her a chance to be reborn. As long as they did not cause her trouble, Gu Yundong would repay them and would not leave them behind.
She was in deep thought when she heard sudden hurried footsteps.
Raising her head slightly, she saw that her second uncle, Gu Dahe, had returned.