Famine, War, and Plague

When Zhou Ming was five years old.

Famine, a severe famine.

The heavens had only given a little rain for six consecutive months. The land was cracked, the rivers were dry, the leaves of the trees were yellow and withered, and almost all the crops in the fields were dead.

There was almost no harvest of grain.

Zhou Ming didn't know how he survived this year. Besides drinking thin porridge in the morning that allowed him to see the bottom of the bowl, for most of the remaining time, Zhou Ming lay on a straw mat with his parents and sister, his body motionless, his brain ceasing to think, trying to minimize energy consumption.

This kind of life only lasted for three months before the swollen Zhou Ming realized that this wouldn't work, that he would really die if this continued.

There were many fish in the river near the town and many wild rabbits on the mountain. Because they were rarely caught, these things wouldn't run away when they saw people; they were quite foolish...

Zhou Ming walked out of his house.

By the small river in front of the town, voices were buzzing.

"Lord, this damned commoner actually stole your fish! Without the permission of the benevolent Lord, he shamelessly stole your private property!"

The short, fat steward Brunode pointed at a thin boy kneeling on the ground, his spittle flying.

Beside the thin boy lay two plump bass, their tails still twitching.

Seeing the two fat fish, the onlookers, a crowd of men and women with sallow complexions, couldn't help but move their pale lips and subconsciously took a step forward.

But then they saw several tall, strong knights in front, who had drawn the long swords from their waists, which gleamed with bright light, and they retreated two steps in fear.

"Lord, how should this commoner be dealt with?" The steward asked, bowing, to the middle-aged man beside him who was wearing armor with various patterns.

This middle-aged man in luxurious armor was naturally the owner and highest authority of Glan Territory—Baron Connor.

"According to the Territory Law, how should he be dealt with?" Baron Connor asked.

"According to Article 15 of the Territory Law regarding punishment for theft, stealing the Lord's private property should result in the cutting off of one hand, Lord," said Steward Brunode.

"Then cut off one hand," Baron Connor said expressionlessly after the sentence was pronounced. He mounted his horse and, with the clanking sound of armor plates, returned to the castle.

A knight stepped forward and raised the sword in his hand high.

After a scream.

Zhou Ming, standing in the crowd, saw the small, bloody hand that had fallen to the ground and returned home with a pale face.

After lying at home for a few more days, Zhou Ming woke up in a sharp pain.

His three-year-old sister, Alice, was holding his swollen, radish-like arm and biting it hard with her teeth.

"Get away! Stop! Stop it!" Zhou Ming pushed his sister away, covering his arm from which a large piece of flesh had been bitten off, crying out in pain.

At this moment, his father and mother also woke up. When they saw Zhou Ming's arm, which was oozing yellow liquid mixed with blood, they couldn't help but lick their lips.

"Ah!"

Zhou Ming cried out, quickly opened the door, and rushed out of the house.

Hungry, hungrier than ever before. If he didn't find something to eat soon, he would surely starve to death.

Food, where is the food? Where can I find food?

Fish, there are fish in the river, but I can't catch them. If I do, my hands will be cut off. Rabbits, there are many wild rabbits on the mountain, but I can't catch them either. They are also the lord's property.

Grass, there is grass on the ground. Although the leaves of this grass are very tough and cut the mouth, the roots are relatively tender, a little sweet, and contain a small amount of protein and starch. It can be eaten, this can definitely be eaten.

Zhou Ming pulled up a large bundle of grass from the field ridge, then quickly ran to Tax Officer Dilak and told him that he wanted to pay taxes.

The fat, sleepy Tax Officer Dilak looked at the bundle of grass in Zhou Ming's hand, told him to leave one-third, and then, amidst Zhou Ming's profuse thanks, took away the remaining two-thirds.

"This commoner is starving to death. How can he eat grass that even cows won't eat?" Dilak disdainfully threw the grass on the table aside. He didn't think much of this grass, but the tax that the lord should collect, not a single bit less!

Even if he took a stone from the lord, he had to pay taxes.

That night, Zhou Ming felt his life had been saved, and his parents and sister also became a little more energetic. Early the next morning, the family of four all went to pull that kind of grass.

After finally enduring the autumn, the cold winter arrived. There was no grass in the fields. At this time, Zhou Ming's family, along with the farmers in the town who had not yet starved to death, had to kneel at the gate of the lord's castle, begging the lord for mercy. After finally receiving a small bag of black flour, this famine year was finally over.

After the disaster year, bandits were rampant.

More than a dozen groups of bandits around the territory had been driven away by the lord's knights, but they still couldn't be completely driven out. These bandits kidnapped people, burned houses, killed livestock, and even seriously affected the Glan Territory's spring planting plan.

"Today, I must kill all the bandits who are causing trouble in my territory!"

The enraged Baron Connor gathered all his knights and servants, conscripted all the farmers in the territory who could still wield weapons, distributed some simple weapons, and aggressively went to settle accounts with the bandits who were targeting the Glan Territory.

After a fierce territory encirclement and suppression operation, Zhou Ming's father, Derek, did not appear in the triumphant returning team.

"Sinier, where is my husband Derek? Did you see him? Why didn't he come back?" Mother Julina anxiously pulled the hand of a neighbor man and asked.

"Derek, ah, he accidentally fell into a trap set by the bandits. He looked so pitiful, three stakes pierced through him." A man who knew his father shook his head and smacked his lips.

"Derek! My Derek!"

His mother sat on the ground, crying heartbrokenly. This day was extremely cold and dark for Zhou Ming's family.

After the war, epidemics were rampant.

After the weather became warmer, several cases of people with colds and coughs appeared in Rose Town in the Glan Territory.

Soon after, these people's coughs worsened, and the number of people with colds increased. For some with severe colds, even drinking the Holy Water sold by the church could not save their lives.

Baron Connor panicked. Except for leaving a few tax officers to guard the town, he and his knights locked the city gates tightly and hid in the castle.

Mother Julina also fell ill, and her condition worsened. Even though Zhou Ming boiled water every day, cleaned the house, went up the mountain to collect herbs to make medicine, and kept the room ventilated, it was useless...

Father was gone, Mother was also gone, many adults and little friends in the town were gone...

In the dilapidated house, only Zhou Ming, who was less than six years old, and his sister Alice, who was just over three, were left.