"Why don't you let me steal it next time? I have strength in my hands and feet …"
The one who spoke was the oldest among the women. She was in her forties, and all her teeth had been knocked out. She could only eat the worst cooked food. Chen Qinqin raised her head and looked at the old woman with a mouth full of black holes. She was as thin as a skeleton. This woman was usually not liked by others. No matter what, she was not willing to suffer losses. Even if it was just a mouthful of vegetable soup, she would fight for it. She liked to show off her previous weight of 190 kilograms, although she was not even 25 kilograms now.
"Yes, Sister Chen, let Rotten Teeth go. We can't let you bear the risk alone. It's all because of you that we can live to this day. Otherwise, we would have been eaten by others long ago …"
The woman who spoke was a little young. Her hoarse voice had a hint of charm. If it wasn't for the fact that half of her face was swollen, she might be the concubine of the leader of the largest force here. She could live a life without worrying about food and clothing, and have people serving her.
"Ugly face, how can you say that? What do you mean by let me go? I won't get anything good if I go?
If you have the ability, then go. Otherwise, don't talk nonsense here … "
The old woman who was called Rotten Teeth felt uncomfortable. It was not easy to make a contribution, but she was still criticized. This made her, who had always been narrow-minded, want to hit the other half of Ugly Face's delicate face until it was swollen.
The remaining women did not speak. They did not want to die, nor did they want to anger Chen Qinqin. They simply pretended to be mute and waited for the wild vegetables to be cooked. After eating, they would go out to look for wild vegetables.
"Forget it, don't fight. This time, we have something to exchange …"
As soon as Chen Qinqin said this, everyone stared at her with burning eyes. They all knew that other than the clothes on their bodies, there was nothing valuable at all. They wanted to know what Chen Qinqin was talking about.
Chen Qinqin suddenly thought of that bamboo shoot. As long as she handed over the bamboo shoot, she could at least exchange for more than two dry batteries. However, she was not prepared to say it. She did not want all the women to know that it was not because she was stingy, but because of another reason.
They were not always unlucky. One day, Chen Qinqin found a backpack in a crevice on the mountainside. The backpack had been left behind by a previous tourist. No one knew what had happened to the tourist, but the contents of the backpack excited all the women.
Wolf Eye Flashlight, working dry batteries, outdoor cooking utensils, knives, forks, axes, tents, thin wool blankets, and all kinds of good stuff that could be used.
Just as Chen Qinqin was fantasizing about using these things to make her life better in the future, a betrayal happened. At night, when they were sleeping, the three women on night watch secretly took their backpacks and went to a nearby powerful force.
From then on, Chen Qinqin didn't dare to trust any of her subordinates, no matter who they were, because women were naturally cold-blooded. For the sake of benefits, they could betray her at any time, just like those three women. In the end, only one of them was accepted, while the other two disappeared silently. No one knew how they disappeared.
"The vegetable soup is ready. Let's eat … Why aren't Wenwen and the shorty back yet?
Who saw it? "
Looking at the boiling vegetable soup in the big clay pot, Chen Qinqin realized that the two children hadn't returned when it was time to eat. She couldn't help but feel anxious. In this place, children could also be used as currency. Be it girls or boys, some people liked them.
"We didn't see anything. Should we go up ahead and ask Bamboo Pole? She's on guard today …"
Hearing Ugly Face's words, Chen Qinqin used a rough clay bowl to fill up a bowl of wild vegetable soup and carefully walked to the top of the mountain. At the top of the mountain, Chen Qinqin found Bamboo Pole hiding in the bushes, watching the foot of the mountain.
Bamboo Pole was the tallest among the women. At 1.8 meters, she was quite special. She used to be a female basketball player in the county. Her looks were average. Later on, she followed a leader of a short force in the Helan Mountains. The leader liked to abuse women taller than him, and Bamboo Pole suffered a lot. She encountered all kinds of tragedies. Later on, she was forced to eat sh * t. Bamboo Pole refused to eat it, so she was thrown into a cesspit and finally chased out.
From then on, Bamboo Pole didn't speak anymore. Her whole body was silent like a stone. No one knew her real name, and no one knew her age.
Passing the vegetable soup to Bamboo Pole, Chen Qinqin stood on the top of the mountain and looked around. There were only zombies on the road down the mountain. There were no traces of the two children. Chen Qinqin couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
"Bamboo Pole, do you see the two children?"
Hearing Chen Qinqin's question, Bamboo Pole pointed to the mountain behind and continued to eat the wild vegetables in her bowl. Chen Qinqin looked at the back of the mountain and couldn't help but feel angry. The force at the back of the mountain was a paedophile. They had sent people to kidnap the two children several times. Chen Qinqin was alert and managed to hide from them. If it wasn't for the fact that they could temporarily avoid the zombies here, she would have already run away with her people.
"It's really nonsense. I've already told them many times not to go to the back of the mountain. But they don't listen. If they are kidnapped, we don't care. They can go as far as they can. They have nothing to do with me. If they are not kidnapped, when they come back, I will break their legs …"
Chen Qinqin was really angry. In order to protect these two children, she didn't know how much suffering she had suffered. Like last time, she risked her life to steal salt. She would rather suffer than let Wen Wen be molested. But she didn't expect that her good intentions were all taken as malicious intent.
Just as Chen Qinqin was scolding them, two small figures ran over from afar. When she saw them, the anxiety in her heart suddenly melted, and an inexplicable anger welled up in her heart. She rushed over, grabbed the little boy who ran over, and slapped him on the butt. The boy didn't cry, but the little girl beside him started crying.
"Auntie, don't hit little guys. Auntie, don't hit us. We are going to find food …"
The little girl cried while handing the rattan bag in her hand to Chen Qinqin. Chen Qinqin took it and looked inside. It was full of white worms. Chen Qinqin recognized them at a glance. They were cicada larvae. Their whole body contained a lot of high protein, which was more nutritious than beef. Although she was most afraid of these things before the doomsday, now she had eaten all kinds of strange insects, so naturally she was not afraid.
"I will tell you one last time. Don't go to the back of the mountain. There are people there who want to kidnap you. If this kind of situation happens again, you will go out and find a way to survive. We will not take you in anymore. Do you understand?"
Chen Qinqin said to the two seriously with a straight face. Every word was squeezed out from the gap between her teeth. The two nodded repeatedly, as if they were afraid that Chen Qinqin would not want them anymore. Seeing the two nodding, Chen Qinqin knew that they were still hoping for a fluke. She grabbed the rattan bag and fiercely threw it down the mountain …
While the two children were screaming, Chen Qinqin said coldly,
"Don't go out to dig for insects in the future. Eat wild vegetables obediently. If you don't want to eat, get out of here …"
Chen Qinqin's appearance at this time really scared the two children. Bamboo Pole looked at the farce indifferently. For her, except for eating, nothing could arouse her interest, so she did not step forward to persuade them. However, she did not know that when she was distracted, a few heads suddenly appeared behind them.
"Ha!
Good stuff, Biaozi. Take it and fry it later. It will go with my wine … "
The sudden coarse voice made Chen Qinqin's heart tremble. When she turned around, she saw five strong men holding knives and shields. The men were all fierce and repulsive. At first glance, she could tell that they were not good people. Especially the way they looked at people, they always revealed the nature of wolves. In their eyes, Chen Qinqin and the child behind her were sheep.
"Who are you?"
Of course, it was not Chen Qinqin who said this. In front of these men, she did not dare to do anything except obey. The only thing she dared to do was to protect the two children behind her. Bamboo Pole, who was previously watching, squatted on the ground, holding his head with his hands and staring at his toes, not daring to do anything.
Chen Qinqin carefully glanced at the strong man in front of her, who was at least 1.9 meters tall, and said cautiously,
"We are a group of homeless people. No one takes us in. We have no food, no supplies, no clothes, and no ironware. I will take you to see … I dare not lie to you …"