I survived the famine by scavenging and supported my family.

"No, I have to go talk to the village chief." Granny Qian snatched the reins from Old Man Zhao and led him toward the village head.

The village head had already rested, but was forced to shout. Seeing it was Granny Qian leading the horse, he suppressed his anger and asked, "Old Zhao's wife, who brought this horse here?"

"Village head! You're so heartless! How could you sell us this skinny horse!" Granny Qian cried out in anguish. "We clearly had good horses, but you gave us this one!"

It's because Old Zhao is too slow. All the good horses have already been chosen. This horse is a bit thin, but if we take good care of it, it can pull a cart without any problems.

"So what do you want?" The village head cast his line, and Granny Qian immediately took the bait, saying, "Didn't you give the second son's family a horse for free? Give us that one in exchange. They have mules and don't need a horse, so why did you give it to them!"

The village head was stunned by her words.

Free?

That was given to Ning's father because he was the first to notice the danger and came to warn him.

Needless to say, Zhou Lanxiang immediately chopped down a man carrying a weapon, then knocked down another, leaving the remaining six in a complete rout, which is why the villagers of Wangli Village were able to be captured so quickly.

"Go back now, I'm going to sleep." The village head really didn't know how to argue with Granny Qian. He felt that reasoning with Granny Qian was useless.

"Village head, village head! You have to stand up for us!" Granny Qian tried to pull him away, but the village head's wife rushed out from the side and blocked her way. "Hey, hey, hey! Aunt Qian."

She said, "You can't just lay your hands on it. This horse was bought by my husband after Old Zhao forced him to pay for it. If you want to find it, go home and find your husband."

Granny Qian put down her hand, but still tried to cause trouble, not giving up. Unexpectedly, the village head went straight into the carriage and didn't come out.

Now, Granny Qian had no choice but to lead the horse back, still seething with anger.

The next day, Ning's father led the horse and tried to find a way to hitch it onto the cart.

Now, even if the whole family is on the cart, and it's loaded with extra weight, a horse and a herd of mules can pull it.

The villagers nearby were all envious of Ningning's family, but the village head had said yesterday that it was thanks to Ningning's father's vigilance that he notified the villagers immediately after noticing something amiss. If it weren't for him, who knows how many villagers would have been injured.

Most people envied Zhao Ningning's family, including Granny Qian and Old Man Xi.

Granny Qian angrily harnessed the skinny horse to the cart. She still remembered the grudge she held against the village head for leaving the horse lying around when she went to exchange it last night.

Old Man Xi was thinking: His Ershun was so badly injured, and the village head didn't even think of leaving a horse for his family. On the contrary, Zhao Ningning's family, with two adults and two children, were fine as if nothing had happened, and they even got a good horse for free!

Old Man Xi still wanted to cause trouble, but the village doctor came over to change Er Shun's dressing, and the old man calmed down for the time being. If his son wanted to get better, he would still need the village to treat him. The village head had said that he would pay for the medical expenses of any family that was injured while resisting the thieves last night.

Why not take advantage of this cheap deal?

After examining Ershun's head injury, the doctor said, "He didn't have a high fever last night, and the wound isn't red. With some rest, it will heal in a few days."

"Doctor, why hasn't he woken up yet?" Old Man Xi asked with concern. "Isn't he alright?"

The doctor almost rolled his eyes at him. Just because the wound was fine didn't mean the rest of the body was fine. He had just taken Xi Ershun's pulse, and it was so weak that he could barely feel it.

Doctor: "He's weak. Give him more thin porridge these days, and if there's meat, give him some too."

Give him porridge?! Does he even deserve porridge? When the thieves came, he didn't even see the grain sacks, what right does he have to eat?!

Old Man Xi thought to himself, and with a fawning smile on his face, he saw the doctor off.

Turning around, I saw the second daughter-in-law and her two children wiping Er Shun's face with a damp cloth.

"Who told you to waste water!" Old Man Xi yelled. "Don't you see what kind of situation we're in? We didn't even have a sip of water to drink the other day, and you're using it to wash your faces!"

"Grandpa, I washed this cloth by the pond..." Xi Xiaoya said weakly.

"You've even learned to talk back!" Old Man Xi glared and blew his beard, then slapped her across the face. His second daughter-in-law, holding her daughter, stepped in front of him to block the slap.

He could hit his granddaughter, but he couldn't hit his daughter-in-law directly. The old man awkwardly stopped, snorted, and went to eat his meal.

—A family of good-for-nothings!

While everyone was preparing and eating breakfast, the village headman called one person from each household to the pond. His purposes were twofold: first, to fetch water, as he would be leaving soon; and second, to announce something.

"Starting tonight, each family will send one man, in pairs, to patrol the area around our lodging every night to prevent a repeat of last night's events."

This concerns everyone's lives, and no one disagrees.

The village headman divided the households according to their numbers, and those without men in their households were temporarily skipped.

Wangli Village has a total of 42 households. Three households stayed in the village and did not come to escape the famine, while the rest all came with us.

In Wang Xiaohua's family, there are only her and her mother. In another family, all the men in the family have passed away, leaving only the elderly mother and her daughter-in-law to depend on each other.

The third family: the old woman passed away a few years ago, leaving only the old man and his son with his new wife.

The fourth family is the Zhou family, a widowed mother with her son, Zhou Jian, who is not yet old enough.

The fifth house only had an old man pulling a cart.

Aside from these few special cases, every other family has at least one man. The village head arranged them in order, and starting tonight, he will first have his own children take care of the men. Once the villagers are familiar with them, they will then be allowed to go on patrol and guard duty on their own.

After fetching water and having breakfast, everyone packed up their belongings, putting what needed to be put in the vehicles and carrying what needed to be carried, and the village head led the group forward.

Before setting off, the village chief went to see the men. They had been tied to a tree and hadn't had a drop of water all night. They were all very listless. When they saw someone coming, they quickly begged for mercy.

The village chief ignored them completely, and only left after checking that the rope was securely tied.

This morning, the village head and his companion discussed how to deal with this group of people.

According to the law, they robbed people of their money and killed people, so they should be sentenced to death. But now... it's no exaggeration to say that the county government doesn't even know if anyone is still there. They're taking them on their way and still have to provide them with food and drink.

If they were let go, the injured families in the village would definitely not agree, and killing them... the village head couldn't bring himself to do it.

The village chief suggested tying them to a tree, leaving their fate to fate.

The group moved slowly forward, leaving behind eight parched thieves who grew increasingly hot as the sun rose.

In the convoy.

With the addition of horses to pull the cart, the burden on the mules was significantly reduced. The horses must have been trained, as they were very obedient when driven.

Ning's father found it novel and insisted on sitting in the front of the car to drive.

The horse that the village head temporarily kept was being cared for by them. It was carrying only two water buckets on its back, and the horse was relaxed and content.

The family in the village who spent money to buy the horse could finally breathe a sigh of relief. They had a lot of things, all tied to the cart. Fearing the horse would get tired, no one would ride in the cart, so they could only hold onto the cart railing and walk behind.

Even so, it was much easier than pulling the cart herself a few days ago, and the woman was still in the mood to chat and laugh with her husband.

The two families who jointly purchased the carriage were much more relaxed today, because they had filled the water buckets yesterday and today. They discussed putting the heavy items together for the horses to pull, and taking turns using manpower to pull the remaining items on another cart.

Neither family objected to this division of property; they are neighbors and childhood friends, and have had a good relationship since they were young. This horse racing bet was also proposed by both families together.

Finally, there's Old Zhao's family.

When Old Zhao's family left the village, they took all their pots, pans, and utensils with them. When they couldn't pull the cart on the road, they lost some bowls and chopsticks, but kept all the wooden buckets used to hold water.

Yesterday and today, they filled all the buckets with water, and now they're all on the cart, making the whole cart incredibly heavy.

The skinny horse led the way, walking unsteadily.

Someone saw how exhausted the horse was and kindly reminded Granny Qian: "Don't overwork the horse."

Granny Qian wouldn't listen. Horses are bought to work, not to be worshipped like royalty! Aren't the other families also hauling loads of stuff onto their carts?!

Without looking closely, she could tell that although the things on the other person's vehicle were piled high, they weren't heavy. Not to mention, their horses were healthy; they had even specially gathered grass for the horses to eat that morning and given them plenty of water before setting off.

Their horses are naturally powerful enough to pull a cart.

The villagers who kindly reminded Granny Qian not only didn't receive a thank you, but were also given an eye roll by Granny Qian, who then walked away angrily.

Not only did Granny Qian make the horse pull the cart, but she also sat at the front of the cart herself. When Cao Rou'an saw this, she held her belly and insisted on riding in the cart as well.

These past few days, she has frequently used the excuse of having an upset stomach to go for a ride. When her third brother helps pull the cart, she sits on it openly.

It doesn't make sense that the family bought a horse but wouldn't let her ride in the carriage.

After all the commotion, Granny Qian still let her granddaughter-in-law sit next to her, since she was pregnant and once the child was born, she could become a great-grandmother!

Looking at the two people sitting in the car, Zhao Huilan lowered her head.

She also wanted to take a car.

But after she argued with her mother, she was slapped by her mother instead.

This was the first time she had been hit since birth.

Why is it that my sister-in-law, an outsider, can ride in the car, while she, the Zhao family's granddaughter, can't?!

Zhao Huilan was clutching the hem of her clothes with both hands. She wasn't paying attention to the ground as she walked, and she stumbled and fell.

Mrs. Sun supported her from the side, and gently scolded, "Walk properly!"

Zhao Huilan nodded, stood up, and continued walking. She thought to herself: I've got an idea! It just won't work today, but tomorrow, at the latest, I'll get on a carriage!

Once on the road, the convoy didn't rest until early noon. The weather was too hot, and the village head said they would rest until early 1 p.m. before continuing.

There was plenty of time to rest at noon. Zhao Ningning untied the mule and horse, and her father brought a bucket of water to feed them. Her mother was preparing lunch, and Zhao Qi was helping to watch the carriage door and the things on the carriage.

Not long after the rest, a group of people came down from the official road.

Thinking about what happened yesterday, the village head was very vigilant.

However, this group of people were equally wary. They kept their distance, chose a spot to stop, and showed no intention of coming over to chat.

The village head was relieved and told the villagers nearby to be careful before returning to the group.

After the meal, everyone rested where they were.

Seeing that no one intended to disturb them, the group next to them gradually relaxed. The forest was quiet at noon, with only the noisy chirping of cicadas.

Zhao Ningning packed ice curling stones for the group and had them each hold one, while she sat in the front of the car to watch over them.

She wasn't sleepy at noon, and she could catch up on sleep in her space when they set off, so Zhao Ningning prioritized resting for the rest of them whenever possible.

A slight chill traveled from the curling stone into her arms. Zhao Ningning leaned against the carriage, letting her mind wander.

Just then, another group of people came down from the official road. Seeing that there were already two groups here, they carefully avoided them and went deep into the forest to rest.

"Why are there so many people today?" Zhao Ningning wondered.

The same doubt lingered in the mind of the village head.

Yesterday I only encountered one group of people, but today I encountered two groups... Could it be that people from other counties have started to flee the famine?

Their group needs to hurry on their way, otherwise... things will get chaotic, and the people behind them don't want things to be like this today, where they can keep to themselves.

Thinking of this, before the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), the village headman woke everyone up and they continued on their way.

Walking down the street, Ning's dad yawned and asked, "How come it feels like my afternoon nap time went by in the blink of an eye? I haven't had enough sleep yet."

"They set off ahead of schedule," Zhao Ningning said. "Isn't there another group of people coming from behind? I saw the village head take a few glances from afar, and soon after he called the villagers to get up and continue on their way."

"The more people there are, the more chaotic it will become. The village head is right. We need to hurry on our way, otherwise..." Ning's mother stopped talking and did not continue.

Zhao Ningning understood. Those who followed might not have the same access to food and water as Wang Li Village. They were like highly sought-after commodities among the fleeing refugees.

If we encounter a group with malicious intentions that directly attacks Wangli Village... that would be dangerous.

Zhao Ningning didn't say anything. She went back to the elevator lobby and moved her broadsword and dagger to a more convenient place.

They walked until nightfall, and seeing that no one was behind them, the village headman instructed his two sons to go down the main road to find a place to rest.

Wang Xiufeng found a flat spot with a wide view, where he could see everything around him, from the slightest breeze to the smallest movement.

They were truly terrified by the commotion last night.

After choosing a place to stay, each family parked their cars and began preparing their dinner.

Because they were in a rush to get to work in the morning and at noon, Mrs. He only had time to cook in the evening.

She also brought water today, leaving some for the road ahead. She kneaded a bowl of dough and made a pot of soft, leavened flatbread.

The flatbread is thick, golden brown on both sides, and soft when broken in the middle, perfect for stuffing with vegetables.

When Ning Ma saw her bring over the pancakes, she immediately went back to the carriage to get some spicy pork strips from her spatial storage. When He Shi saw her move, she didn't even leave the bowl behind and hurried away.

This left Zhao Ningning both amused and exasperated.

Ning's mother rolled her eyes at her, then shoved the meat strips and bowl into Zhao Ningning's hands, saying, "Go and take this to them."

Having taken on this "heavy responsibility," Zhao Ningning had no choice but to carry the meat over, shove it directly into Zhou Jian's hands, and run away.

The two families are being so polite; what's wrong with putting a little girl like her in the middle?

With the freshly made pancakes and meat strips, Ning's mother also took out a bowl of boiled glutinous rice balls, and the family ate their fill for dinner.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, Ning's father slowly wiped the small table with a rag. "So comfortable... It would be even more comfortable if we could be at home."