Chapter 76: Human Lives Are More Important Than Rules

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

The girl didn’t expect Jiang Xia to be so generous. She looked at the red strawberries in Jiang Xia’s hand and was a little embarrassed to take them.

Jiang Xia held her hand higher, leaving the girl no choice but to take it. The girl couldn’t reject so she squatted down and ate while talking to the two of them.

As soon as the strawberry entered her mouth, the girl said in surprise, “Why are these strawberries so delicious? It’s tastier than all the strawberries I’ve ever eaten!”

Jiang Xia chuckled. “That’s right! This is the first time my sister and I have eaten such delicious strawberries.”

Jiang Xia said as she handed another strawberry to Jiang Gu. Jiang Gu ate very seriously and did not interrupt her sister’s conversation with others.

“It’s really strange. How can there be strawberries in this season, let alone such delicious strawberries?” The girl sighed after eating a strawberry.

Jiang Xia saw that she kept looking at Jiang Gu’s hand and couldn’t help but chuckle. She handed her another strawberry.

Since she had already eaten one already, she was not embarrassed to accept another one and continued chatting with Jiang Xia.

“Are you here for something?”

It was just because the two Jiang sisters were dressed in shabby clothes. Even if they were good-looking, people would not think of them as wives of rich husbands.

“I heard about the Shen family and I wanted to see if I can meet the Young Master Shen. This year’s drought has caused a poor harvest. If I managed to meet the Young Master, I want to ask him if he can report to the higher-ups to see if they can come up with any policies to help our country.” Jiang Xia said truthfully.

The girl shook her head vigorously. “That won’t work. If, and I’m just saying, you’re really lucky enough to meet Young Master Shen and he agrees to your request, you’ll be considered as skipping levels and reporting to the higher authorities. You’ll be criticized by your village or town!”

Jiang Xia sighed. “It’s better to be criticized than starved to death.”

Upon hearing Jiang Xia’s words, the girl thought of the bleak scenery in the town and her expression darkened.

The bad year did not just refer to one place, but the entire area. Although life in the town was decent now, it was supported by the grain harvested last year.

In order to look good on their political achievements, many village officials lied about their grain production and handed over all the grain to the higher-ups. It was not a problem for them to live in the towns, but the farmers were the ones who suffered. Not only did they not have enough to eat, but they also had to work hungry every day.

The girl asked curiously, “Are you the daughter of a village official?”

“No” Jiang Xia shook her head and didn’t understand why the girl asked this.

The girl continued, “If not, why are you worrying about this? Since you can pick strawberries, you can enter the mountain at will. Although the harvest is not good, you won’t be hungry if you enter the mountain to hunt. Why bother yourself?”

Jiang Xia pondered for a moment. “Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world, not to mention the current situation now. Now that everyone has a way out, we don’t have to fight for food from the wild beasts.”

“But if the harvest this year is still bad, then everyone will face death. At that time, it doesn’t matter if there are wild beasts on the mountain. As long as there’s something to eat, whether it’s grass or tree roots, they will be eaten clean.”

Jiang Xia was not exaggerating. In her modern-day textbooks, she had described the horrors of the famine back then. People exchanged their children for food, and the land was filled with hungry people. People who starved to death and died of illness could be seen everywhere. Countless people died and the country was a living hell.

Jiang Xia’s words washed away the girl’s knowledge, and she looked at Jiang Xia in shock.

Firstly, she didn’t expect that the villagers would live such a life. Secondly, she couldn’t believe that these words came from a child who looked to be twelve or thirteen years old.

“You, you have so much knowledge.” the girl stuttered.

Jiang Xia smiled. “It’s not that I know a lot, but I’ve seen too much. I’ve heard that the village chief was reprimanded by the leaders for leaving food behind, and I’ve also seen a few families arguing endlessly over a mouthful of food.”

While the girl and Jiang Xia were talking, a few people unknowingly surrounded them. As Jiang Xia had been writing and drawing on the ground with her head lowered, Jiang Gu and the girl were either watching or deep in thought, so they did not notice.

“Famine is a natural disaster. Human strength cannot stop it. Even if you want to save people, you can’t..”