Chapter 104

Henry looked at Sophia and said, "It's okay, I'll be back in a while. Just take care of yourself."

Sophia burst into tears, shaking her head as she thought, How am I supposed to take care of myself?

Ken didn't give them any more time to talk, pushing Henry, Charlie, and Gabe out of the dormitory.

As she watched Henry leave the dormitory, and then being pushed out of the yard, Sophia couldn't hold back anymore. She followed, crying softly, "Henry... Henry..."

Calling his name several times, her emotions overwhelmed her.

Tears streamed down her face as she trembled with fear, "What will I do when you're gone? What am I going to do?"

Henry, being pushed forward, turned back to reassure her, "Wait for me."

As Henry was pushed farther away, Sophia felt like the sky was falling on her.

She soon cried uncontrollably, standing outside the yard, scared and unsure of what to do.

She desperately wanted to run after Henry, but feared Ken's wrath, afraid she'd end up in trouble too.

But if she didn't follow him, how would she live without Henry's protection?

Her sobs grew more desperate, feeling like a child abandoned by the world, engulfed in panic and helplessness.

When Henry disappeared from sight, she crouched down, burying her face in her hands, crying for a long time.

Lily and the others stood in the yard, not stepping out.

Seeing Sophia cry like this, no one went to comfort her.

They were also overwhelmed with fear and confusion.

After a while, someone finally spoke up, stuttering, "Did the three of them... sneak into the granary last night to steal food?"

This statement brought everyone back to their senses.

They exchanged guilty looks.

After all, Henry and the others did this to ensure they had food to eat.

But guilt was one thing; they still needed to distance themselves from the responsibility.

Lily spoke up, "We knew nothing about it. If we had known, we wouldn't have let them do something so reckless."

Mike quickly added, "We didn't know either, not a thing."

Grace chimed in, "Why didn't they discuss it with us? They nearly got us all killed. It's lucky Ken didn't blame us too, or we'd be in deep trouble."

Sophia crouched outside, crying into her hands.

Lily and the others defended themselves in the yard.

Summer stood by the kitchen window, lost in thought.

Suddenly, Logan called her for dinner, snapping her out of her daze. She quickly responded and sat down at the table to eat with him.

Lily and the others remembered they hadn't had breakfast yet.

After standing in the yard a while longer, they returned to the kitchen.

The firewood had cooked their meal, so they sat down to eat.

After the noisy chatter outside, the kitchen fell silent.

Six people drank thin porridge and chewed on dry sweet potatoes, their breaths heavy with tension.

After a long silence, Mike suddenly said, "Those three were sent to the labor camp. There's no turning back now, no more food. We're out of luck. I say we should just split up and take care of ourselves."

Hearing this, Lily, Grace, and Cecilia looked at Mike.

It was laughable. They hadn't even suggested splitting up, but the guys were already on it, as if they were eager to get away from them.

Lily responded, "We feel the same. How do you suggest we split?"

Jack said, "We'll divide the remaining food equally and go our separate ways. In two months, we'll divide the food again and settle our work points."

Grace sneered, "Why are you so good at dividing? You ate more food, but now you want to evenly split the work points? How is that fair?"

Leonardo retorted, "We may have eaten more, but we also did more work."

Lily argued, "You earned more work points, but did you give them to us? You want to cover your share of the food with your work points, but you ate more than your share! We ate less, but we have to cover the same amount of food."

Mike frowned, "If you want to be so calculative, let's break it down. Wasn't all the heavy work done by us guys? We handled our own tasks and also worked the communal land. You only did some light work like watering. We carried the water from the river! Every time we took the grain to the mill, who carried it? We did! And when the team assigned extra work, didn't we help you? Why shouldn't we eat more?"

Grace laughed in disbelief, "Men doing heavy work is expected! And you call yourselves men, arguing about this? Ridiculous!"

Jack snapped, "If we're not men, so what? Why should we do all this work for you for free? Go find Henry if you need a man!"

Grace sneered, "You'll never find a wife with that attitude!"

Mike shot back, "We don't need you worrying about that. We definitely won't marry you!"

Three guys against three girls.

The argument escalated, nearly bringing the roof down.

In the middle of the shouting, a voice suddenly boomed from the yard, "What's all this noise?!"

The six fell silent instantly, turning to see Ken standing in the yard.

Seeing Ken, they were filled with fear.

Ken glared at them, "You have two minutes to clean up and follow me! From today, I will personally assign and oversee your tasks! Move!"

Hearing this, they were stunned, thinking in unison, It's over!

Seeing them hesitate, Ken cracked his whip sharply, shouting, "Did you hear me?!"

The crack snapped them back to reality.

They quickly stood up, washed their dishes with unprecedented speed, and assembled in the yard.

The boys formed one line, the girls another.

Sophia, with her tear-streaked face, stood among them, having not eaten.

Ken scanned them and said, "Save your tears. You'll need them for what's coming!"