Chapter 559: Crying, eating a full meal, Jier prepares to accelerate his actions

Everyone sat listlessly on the ground. Some small children did not know what had happened, but they could sense that the mood around them was wrong, so they wailed and cried. Hearing the children's crying, the adults became even more irritable; they wanted to hit the unruly children, but looking at the children's skin-and-bone appearance from hunger, they could not bring themselves to do it.

In the end, the adults and children huddled together, sobbing in low voices.

There was no help for it; crying was also an act that consumed physical strength and energy. Everyone was so hungry that they had long since lost the ability to cry wantonly.

Jier sighed. Watching the adults holding the children and the elderly holding their own adult children as they wept silently, he felt helpless and angry.

But he truly could not blame these Villagers; after all, being weak for the sake of survival was, in fact, just a method of staying alive.

It was just that this ancient method of survival was, this time, in this place, not very applicable.

Those Defeated Soldiers would certainly kill all the Villagers after using them up.

Not only did Jier see this, but some of the elderly among the Villagers—the first generation of migrants who had moved from the Empire—also saw it. But what could they do? They were already old and could not even swing a hoe or a Mining Pick; they could only watch the performance of their own children.

"Let's go. Everyone, eat a full meal first. Whatever happens, it must wait until after we are full. This is the foundation of everything."

Jier said loudly.

At this moment, the group regained some vitality. The men and women silently packed up the few remaining items and carried them on their backs, while Jier carried the heaviest things. The children helped the elderly, and the elderly also pulled the children along.

Only then did the group blow out the only lighting Torch in this mine tunnel, walking toward the outside of the mine almost in the dark.

Moving upward from inside the Mine was another "long journey" that consumed physical strength, especially for the children and the elderly who were hungry all day. Because they could not do much work, they ate little. Even though the loving fathers and mothers had tried their best to give much of their own remaining meager rations to the children, they were still terrifyingly thin.

It hadn't been visible in the poorly lit mine just now, but now that they had reached the main mine tunnel and had sufficient lighting, Jier finally noticed this.

"Why are the children all starved like this?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Jier remembered that when he first met these people, he had heard them say that one of their children had starved to death.

"There's no help for it. The children are all at the age where they are growing; no matter how much they eat, it's never enough. Even if we save a little food for them to eat, how much more can it be? The children just grew thinner day by day. Then, just yesterday, one of the children was fine, then suddenly turned pale all over, curled up while convulsing, and their body gradually turned cold."

The middle-aged Villager said dejectedly, and the young Villager whose child had died also lowered his head, with tears dripping from his chin.

Jier vaguely felt that something was wrong. This did not look like someone who had died of hunger; it looked more like they had died of poisoning.

Was it possible that the child had eaten poisonous Mineral Ore in the mine due to hunger? The dust on the ground? Or perhaps because of hunger, they wanted to drink water and drank from an unclean source?

Or perhaps there was a slight leakage of poisonous gas somewhere in the mine, and the children, being the weakest, were the first to be unable to withstand it and died of poisoning?

All of these were possible.

Jier felt that things could not go on like this. He had to integrate the Villagers as soon as possible, distribute the food evenly, and organize them to cooperate with the subsequent attack.

In the mine, it seemed that every day someone died due to one factor or another; this would not do.

Thinking of this, Jier quickened his pace a little.

He carried heavy luggage on his back, yet he still constantly helped the slow-moving Villagers in the group.

This made the others somewhat surprised by Jier's strength.

Jier said he was a farmer who grew crops near Yemei Town, but wasn't he too strong? It was the same when mining earlier; he had knocked down a large area of Mineral Ore in a few quick strokes, which also exceeded the level of an ordinary person.

It took the group quite a while to get from the lower levels of the mine to the entrance. By this time, the sky was already somewhat dark, and the dim sunset hung on the edge of the mountains and forests; it was estimated that it would soon be night.

As for the place to cook and eat, there were many families of Villagers coming to eat. Because there were only two iron pots, even if the fuel provided by the Defeated Soldiers was unlimited, only two families could use the iron pots to cook at a time.

Fortunately, among the households Jier was with, there was actually an iron pot in their luggage. It was unknown why the Defeated Soldiers hadn't managed to snatch this thing away back then.

"Hurry and cook. Move some wood over, set up the pot, add plenty of grain and water, and let everyone have a full meal today."

Jier said loudly.

The Defeated Soldiers didn't care much about this side; they were just cautiously discussing what had happened south of the Jiedian today, each of them quite worried about it.

In the iron pots of the two neighboring households, they were boiling food that could simply be called thin soup. Seeing this, Jier shook his head. Just eating this wouldn't do. He discussed the amount of grain with a few Villagers in the group, estimated the portion, and decided to invite the two neighboring families over to have a full meal as well.

As for the purpose, it was mainly to use this food to win over a few more people to stand by his side. Although they didn't understand what Jier was going to do next, the few Villagers gritted their teeth and agreed to Jier's action, providing the grain that would have allowed them to be full tomorrow as well.

After all, being able to get so much grain so smoothly today was thanks to Jier's help. If it weren't for Jier, their act of risking a trip to the territory of the Beast to dig for Mineral Ore probably wouldn't have gone so smoothly, and might even have failed.

Soon, Jier walked over carrying half a bag of grain. He shook the grain in front of everyone's eyes, informed them of his friendly intentions, and then dropped the grain bag, signaling them to take as much as they wanted, but they must finish it today, in this meal.

The neighboring Villagers couldn't refuse Jier's kindness at all. They moved quickly to take control of the grain, then, listening to Jier's request, they poured the grain from the bag into two parts, dumping both into the "thin soup" they were boiling.

A large amount of wheat grains rolled into the water-heavy, grain-light iron pot, and it soon became murky and thick. At this point, as long as the wheat grains were boiled until soft and mushy, they could be eaten.

Although it lacked salt, they couldn't worry about much else at this time; filling their stomachs was the most important thing.

Everyone watched eagerly as the thick Wheat Porridge boiled in the iron pot. The wooden spoon used for stirring was passed from person to person without a moment's pause, just to prevent the wheat grains at the bottom of the iron pot from burning and wasting the grain.

Regarding Jier's initiative to share his side's grain with other families, the Defeated Soldiers not far away saw it all, but they didn't care about such things at all. After whispering a few sarcastic remarks, they continued to discuss the events south of the Jiedian this noon with great anxiety.

"The Wheat Porridge is almost ready, everyone, hurry and eat!"

Seeing that the Wheat Porridge seemed to be cooked, Jier encouraged everyone to start eating. He himself was not hungry; if he wanted to eat, he could fully go into the lady's dream to eat some food in a while, and then sleep beautifully before coming out.

There was no need to compete with the Villagers for the already scarce grain at this time. You ask why Jier didn't take out the stored grain from the dream camp to share with everyone?

If it were a very urgent situation, Jier might do so, but it was very difficult for him to explain how his grain appeared. It would be fine for a short time, but if it lasted long, or if he did this many times, it would be easy for someone with a discerning eye to see that he possessed a Magic Tool similar to spatial storage.

Then his trouble would be even greater.

Some Villagers asked Jier to eat something too, but he declined, saying he wasn't hungry and had already eaten a meal at noon. Everyone had basically only eaten one meal a day before, so most people didn't think there was anything wrong with that.

Therefore, everyone ate the piping hot, thick Wheat Porridge in large mouthfuls. One by one, they couldn't care about the heat; they blew on the surface of the Wheat Porridge to let it cool slightly, then opened their mouths to take the porridge in, chewing the elastic wheat grains in large bites.

The Wheat Porridge that they used to dislike eating now made the Villagers feel exceptionally delicious.

They were truly too hungry; some people, because of long-term hunger, couldn't even eat much of the thick Wheat Porridge at this moment, feeling full after just a few small mouthfuls, which made them anxious about it.

"Don't be nervous, drink some clear water to moisten your intestines, and continue eating in a while."

Jier explained to these Villagers who couldn't eat.

After a good while, everyone had barely eaten their fill; at least, because of their long-term hunger, they could only eat this much at one time.

After tidying up, Jier not only had the four households that followed him leave with him, but he even called along the other two households that had just received the grain.

Eating someone's food makes one soft-mouthed, and taking someone's things makes one short-handed.

Having eaten the food gifted by others, these two households naturally felt embarrassed to just walk away, so they followed behind the four households at Jier's side and walked into the mine together.

They were all from the same village before, and they saw each other constantly; in fact, the Villagers of the several households all knew each other, at least they could call out names and recognize faces. The elderly were even more familiar; when they were young, they might have even fought over a girl, so after being mixed into one team, everyone exchanged a few words and barely explained Jier's background to everyone.

Although Jier claimed to be a farmer from Yemei Town, his actions and the things he said did not seem like those of a farmer at this time.

Some of the elderly in the team were the first to notice this. They whispered this thought to others of their generation, not expecting that the others held the same view.

"But at least a young man like this won't harm us."

"Hard to say. He clearly wants to do something, but I'm afraid he'll be too rash and cause things to fail; that would be bad."

"Fool, it's already been made clear—those hateful soldiers want us dead in the end. Are we just going to wait here for the worst to happen? That someone can stand up now is already the God of Agriculture manifesting!"

"The God of Agriculture manifesting? Bah! If the God of Agriculture really cared about us, he shouldn't have let everyone suffer this hardship; he should have sent someone to rescue us long ago. Instead of waiting all these days with no hope at all."

"Hard to say. Hope might have already come, but whether we can seize it shouldn't just rely on the God of Agriculture and the church. Sigh, at least that kid Luosa wasn't caught back then. Even if we all die in the end, I believe that kid will avenge us."

Jier heard these low-voiced conversations from the old men. He curled his lips, wanting to shout right now that it was he and Bata'er Jiaoshi who had come to rescue everyone.

But there were too few people right now; he had to gather more Villagers first and announce this when there were more people.

Furthermore, he had to announce it inside the Mine and seal off the news so the Defeated Soldier outside the Mine wouldn't know what was happening inside.

Following the main tunnel of the Mine downward for a while, Jier encountered the largest group of Villagers.

The terrain here was relatively open; at least fifty or more people were lying or sitting in the long tunnel, and this group of Villagers had the most young and strong ones. At the same time, the Mining Pick in their hands were mostly brand new. They weren't exactly eating their fill every meal, but at least they didn't look sallow, emaciated, or gaunt.

After Jier's group of nearly thirty people approached, the other side raised their guard, fearing friction or that someone would snatch their food due to extreme hunger.

It wasn't as if such things hadn't happened before.

Extremely hungry Villager families would first beg, and when begging failed, they would resort to robbery. But how could a group of starving Villagers possibly beat a side that could barely eat enough and had more young people?

"Hey! What are you doing? Don't come any closer! If you want to go down, pass through the space on the other side of the tunnel. We've already left space for you; if you want to go down, walk along the side!"

A sturdy young Villager leading the group shouted to drive them away.

Jier ignored him and continued to lead his people toward them.

Seeing that the newcomers were ill-intentioned, this young Villager immediately gathered several companions around him, took up their Mining Pick, and moved closer.

"Don't come any closer! Can't you understand human speech? Or are you already driven mad by hunger?"

Jier reached out to signal the Villagers behind him to stop, then strode forward alone.

Seeing this, these young Villagers breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't want to fight either, because if they fought, they might get injured. Once injured, if the injury prevented them from working, they could eat for free in the group, but their own relatives would have to work even harder to mine.

Because the labor force was limited, if you were injured, there was one less person working, while the number of people eating remained the same, so the others who had to work would inevitably have to suffer more.

"You came over for something? Let's get this straight: no borrowing food! Even if we were relatives from the same Cunzi before, no borrowing!"

"Exactly, everyone knows what the situation is now. Every family is struggling; no one can help anyone else."

The young Villagers spoke up to persuade Jier.

But Jier smiled, strode up, and directly pushed the leading young Villager down with force.

This action left the Villagers on both sides stunned.

"What are you doing?!!" Seeing their companion pushed to the ground, the young men nearby shouted loudly. His shout immediately attracted the attention of everyone around.

The Villagers behind Jier were also terrified. They had thought Jier might do something, but they hadn't expected him to go straight to the largest group of Villagers and provoke them directly.

Was this going to be a fight?

Were they really going to fight?

They hesitated, but Jier did not. After pushing one person down, he struck repeatedly, pushing the surrounding Villagers to the ground one after another, turning them into rolling gourds.

Because the ground was a downward-sloping tunnel, once people fell, they would often roll down a few meters. They wouldn't be seriously injured, but the ground was a hard rock tunnel, and rolling a few times without protection wouldn't feel good.

Those who were unlucky and hit one or two sharp rocks could potentially get injured.

"Ouch!"

"They're hitting people!"

"There's a provocation over here!"

Soon, other young male and female Villagers who had been resting climbed up from the ground, holding various things as they swarmed up.

The Villagers behind Jier retreated in fear, but Jier was not afraid at all. Even without thick armor, he wasn't afraid of these weak-limbed Villagers.

Facing the swinging Mining Pick, Jier stepped back half a step, then kicked out, knocking the Villager wielding the pick over, and several people behind that person also fell and rolled into a heap.

Jier stood on the upper side of the tunnel, while the opponents were charging from below, so he naturally held the advantage.

Facing the female Villagers who were screaming and rushing to scratch him, Jier nimbly grabbed their wrists, pulled them out of the crowd, then grabbed their knees and threw them horizontally into the crowd.

In one go, they knocked down several more people.

When the other slower-charging Villagers became slightly fearful, Jier advanced instead of retreating, using a clever force to punch the Villagers in the chest, knocking them flying without causing injury. The knocked-back Villagers became obstacles for the others.

When the Villagers who climbed up from the ground charged again, Jier threw one Villager after another at them, smashing them into a mess.

Some cowardly Villagers ran away. Of course, they didn't run directly; they shouted that they were going below to call those working to come back, then ran into the depths of the Mine. Who knew if they were really calling people or just finding a place with no one to hide.

Wails were everywhere, but few people were injured. The Villagers who gathered their Yongqi to charge up often couldn't even last one round before being grabbed by their hands and feet by Jier and thrown horizontally into the crowded areas.

"Wow! Jier's strength is so great!"

"Isn't it? He's thrown dozens of people in a row, and he's not even panting."

The young Villagers behind Jier exclaimed in admiration, while some old men looked at each other, thinking of a possibility.

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