I've become a devil!

  01:15: I've become a devil!

  The mountain village highway has been successfully started after several days of survey and planning. The farmers along the road who were requisitioned for land acquisition received proper compensation and are very happy.

  There are 16 households in the village that have been requisitioned. Among them, six poor households not only received compensation from the government but also received crop loss compensation fees from the village. The village head Wang was even more generous with his praise.

  This time the road repair mainly relies on mechanized operations, of course, some labor is also needed. Although the section of highway under the jurisdiction of the village is also fully responsible for the unified command of the Road Repair Command, Village Chief Wang still managed to arrange labor in the village.

  The village chief started with the poor households, arranging for them to work and earn wages to supplement their family expenses. The village chief's move won the support of the villagers again.

  On the day of the opening, the people in the village were overjoyed and some wealthy families even bought firecrackers to celebrate like it was New Year's.

  Xue Er accompanied her father and mother to watch the excitement as well.

  After watching the lively scene return home, Wang Da said with emotion that he had made a timely and correct decision to let Zheng Shuang take over. The big change in the village was not only due to the warm policies, but also due to Zheng Shuang's indelible contributions.

  Xue Er saw Ah Ba was delighted and greatly praised his eyesight.

  Xue Er accompanied Dad and Mom back to their original wooden house, saying that Zheng Shuang wouldn't be coming home for lunch today, so she wouldn't go to the flat house either. She wanted to cook and stir-fry for Dad and Mom.

  The King of the Village saw his daughter accompanying them and was naturally delighted.

  At lunchtime, Zhai Wang saw cured fish, cured meat and fresh vegetables, picked up his wine cup and sighed again.

  Zhai Wang said, "Xue Er, the times are progressing, society is developing, and farmers' living standards are getting higher and higher! Look, now even ordinary meals have fish and meat. When you were young, my family was considered wealthy, but we could only eat these when we had honored guests!"

  Xue Er's mother smiled and said: "Yes, yes! At the most difficult time, don't mention meat, even coarse grains were not available to eat."

  "We were a bit better off in the stockade, at least we had grass roots and leaves to eat. At that time, my hometown was on the outside flat land, villages were more concentrated, even grass roots and leaves were all eaten up. Many people starved to death!"

  "Is there still a case of starvation?" Xue Er's eyes widened.

  "Yes, you were still young then and no one starved to death in the village, so you wouldn't know. Let me tell you a true story that happened in my hometown, and it was about my father's neighbor." Wang looked at Xue'er with a serious expression.

  "Dad, come and listen." Xue Er was also curious.

  "At that time, all the grass roots and leaves nearby were eaten up. Some people ate Guanyin soil. This kind of mud was relatively smooth and easier to swallow."

  "Is Guanyin clay? Does she eat clay too?" Xue'er asked.

  "Hmm. People eat it, their stomachs are filled, and they gain some energy for a while. But this earth doesn't digest, it forms clumps in the stomach, can't be pulled out, only to..."

  "Eat your meal, don't mention this..." Snow's mother interrupted Wang's words.

  "Okay, okay. Let's talk about eating fern root cakes. You've had these fern root cakes before, Snowy, and they taste pretty good. But fern root cakes are made from the starch of the fern roots after they're ground and the water is precipitated out. After everyone finished eating the fern root cakes, they were so hungry that they couldn't help but take the leftover starch from making these cakes and grind it into flour to make more cakes to eat. This one... was the worst..."

  "You said don't mention this again, but you brought it up again, are you really getting senile?" Xue Er said to Zhai Wang again.

  "Ahah, all these are just foreshadowing for the story!" The King of the Village smiled.

  "Haha, Dad is really something else, and he even made up a story." Xue Er said with a laugh.

  "Xue'er, don't give your father too much credit." Chief Wang said with a smile.

  "Dad, you tell it," said Xue Er. "I won't interrupt your story anymore."

  "Okay, I'll continue. Anyway, people were extremely hungry back then. Everyone started to expand their search for food with their homes as the center and a radius of infinity, going everywhere to find something to eat. In order to find food, there were many cases where people fought each other over tree leaves!"

  My neighbor Wang Jing was a half-grown kid at that time, he fought with others for the leaves of trees and both of them were bleeding.

  Wang Jing returned home with his head wrapped in a bandage, his hand empty. His father, Wang Bang, helped him dress the wound simply. He said to Wang Jing, "Son, you stay at home, I'll go out and think of a way to get some food for the family."

  Wang Bang carried a bamboo basket, went out early and returned late, managed to bring back some food for his family, barely keeping everyone alive.

  However, Wang Jing's grandfather, who was over 70 years old that year, couldn't withstand the torture of eating grass roots and leaves all day. His elderly body began to swell up." Chief Wang said, stopping for a moment, looking at Xue Er.

  "Why is my body swollen, am I sick?" Xue Er asked in confusion.

  "The old man doesn't talk about the past, and the younger generation has lost their way! It seems that it's indeed necessary for the older generation to tell the younger generation about the history they've experienced!" Village Chief Wang sighed again.

  "Yes, I agree with that." Xue Er's mother chimed in.

  "Go on. Father, I want to hear!"

  "Good. I said that this edema is actually malnutrition. At that time, we were all eating grass roots and leaves, what nutrition was there? No nutrition, many people's bodies were swollen. At the time, they called it edema disease."

  "Oh, is that so! Go on, Dad."

  "Wang Jing was actually very filial. He often helped his grandfather wash his feet. That night, when he was helping his grandfather wash his feet, he pressed on his grandfather's calf and saw a big 'dimple' appear. He knew that his grandfather had edema. But apart from shedding tears, what else could he do?"

  In the late afternoon, his father Wang Bang returned. He secretly took out a three-finger-wide carp. This was a rare treasure at that time!

  Wang Jing didn't know how his father had gotten it. His father told him to set up the cooking pot that hadn't been used for several days and light a fire, saying, "Wang Jing, use this fish to make a few bowls of soup, one bowl per person. Let your grandfather eat the fish to nourish his body." As he spoke, his father's eyes welled up with tears.

  Wang Gang shed tears, put the fish in the pot and added water, letting Wang Jing watch the fire. Wang Jing's grandfather lay on the bed, he had been out for a day, he wanted to go see his father.

  After Wang Jing's father left, Wang Jing thought of the carp in the pot and his tongue kept touching his lips, salivating profusely.

  Thinking and thinking, Wang Jing couldn't control himself, he lifted the lid of the pot.

  Wang Jing had just pulled the fish out of the hot water when his father's scolding voice came over.

  Wang Jing was starving at the time! He didn't think, grabbed the fish and ran out while putting it in his mouth. Because he was anxious, the fish slipped to the ground, he picked up the fish and ran.

  Wang Jing ran out of the house, still running while putting fish into his mouth. He was caught by his father. At this time, the carp head was still outside Wang Jing's mouth.

  Wang Jing's father pinched his neck with his hand and said, 'Spit it out! If not, I'll cut open your belly to get the fish out!'

  Wang Jing was pinched by his father until both of his eyes turned white. He had no choice but to spit out the fish. My father said that at that time, the body of the fish was still covered in blood.

  The fish was put back into the pot and simmered in soup. Wang Jing's father did not take away that bowl of fish soup from Wang Jing.

  Wang Jing was caught and didn't say a word, even after he finished drinking the fish soup.

  When Wang Jing was sleeping, his father said to him, "You are a filial son, I know that. But hunger drives people crazy! You went crazy today, and your old man also went crazy! Son, I hope we can understand each other and forgive each other."

  His father's words suddenly made Wang Jing dispel his resentment towards him. He rushed into his father's arms and said, "Dad! I'm not human!" His father also said, "You are my son! I actually laid a heavy hand on you, I am not human either! I have become a devil!" After finishing speaking, the two of them burst into tears.

  The King of the Village said up to here, tears had already come out.

  Xue Er and her mother also burst into tears.