I survived the famine by scavenging and supported my family.

Thinking of Ningning, Ning's father's eyes reddened, and he angrily said, "Give her back to us!"

Ning's mother silently walked to the carriage door, reached inside, grabbed a knife, and shouted, "Aren't you leaving?!"

Upon seeing the broadsword, Granny Qian's neck scar immediately began to itch. She awkwardly touched the scar, then angrily said to Zhao Lao Er, "Lao Er! You just let your wife treat me like this!"

"Her meaning is my meaning!" Ning's father stood by the carriage, supporting Ning's mother. "This carriage is ours."

Granny Qian's eyes darted around, looking at Old Man Zhao, Old Man Zhao, and Old Man Zhao.

Zhao Laosan came out to persuade him: "Second brother, I call you brother, don't hold it against our mother."

He first spoke softly, then said, "It hasn't been easy for our mother along the way. We're poor, and that skinny horse can't pull the carriage. She has to get off and walk every now and then."

"When we arrived in Huangshi County, the 'skinny horses' were confiscated, so my mother has been walking these past few days."

"It was sunny a few days ago, and it's raining today. Our mother has it tough!"

Taking the opportunity, Granny Qian covered her face and began to sob. Mixed with the rain, no one could tell whether the tears on her face were from tears or rain.

Old Zhao couldn't bear to see her suffer like this, and angrily said to Ning's father, "How can you bear to see our mother working so hard?"

"Her hardship isn't my fault," Ning's father said speechlessly. "If your eldest son hadn't forced her to spend twenty taels to get married, she would have had money to buy a horse!"

When the old story was brought up again, Boss Zhao couldn't say a word for a long time.

In the past, my second brother was the most taciturn one in the family, but since the severing of ties, he has become increasingly eloquent!

Unable to bear it any longer, Mrs. He chimed in, "Aunt Qian, if it weren't for the second son and the others, how could our team have gotten this far!"

"Even though they've helped our team so many times, you can't just take their carriage!"

The villagers echoed his sentiments.

"Yeah! The second brother even blocked a thief's big knife for me before. If it weren't for him, I would have lost my life..."

"Well, I'll say this then. Several times, it was Zhao Lao Er and his men, with their sharp ears and eyes, who were the first to spot the thieves' movements. If it weren't for their reminders, our team would have..."

"Fleeing famine is so dangerous right now, no one can guarantee they won't encounter danger. The second son and his wife are strong, we can't let them down!"

"that is!"

"...Don't forget, that old woman Qian tried to sell her own granddaughter twice."

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: ①⓪①ⓚⓚⓢ.ⓒⓞⓜ]

"Otherwise, why would such an honest man like Zhao Lao Er have a falling out with his family to the point of severing ties?"

"Exactly! Who keeps asking for things after severing ties!"

"Pah! Wanting this and that, that's shameless!"

When Granny Qian heard someone scolding her like that, she was so angry that her face turned red.

It was dark, so no one saw it.

"Aunt Qian, just return the car to Tie Niu!"

"Give it back to him! What's not yours isn't yours! You can't argue with that!"

"I...I!" Granny Qian retorted, "That's fine! They have to adopt the fourth boy!"

"With the third son gone and the second son's family having no heir, let's give the fourth son over to them. I won't say a word and I'll just return the carriage to them!"

Ning's mother took a moment to realize what Granny Qian had said.

She brandished her broadsword: "Who are you calling dead!"

The broadsword swung towards Granny Qian, who jumped back in fright, yelling, "Murder! Murder!"

She was just thinking that since the second son's family had no children left, she could take advantage of them by giving her fourth son to them for adoption.

She never expected that her second son's wife was crazy, and that she would grab a big knife and start attacking people without saying a word!

The villagers offered a token gesture of resistance, allowing Ning's mother to chase after Granny Qian for about twenty meters.

Granny Qian fell flat on her face and begged for mercy repeatedly before Ning Ma finally let her go.

Seeing Ning's mother like this, Zhao Laosan was so frightened that he hid far away.

When Ning's mother went back, Zhao Laoda visibly flinched. He glanced at Zhao Laotou next to him, but Zhao Laotou didn't say a word, so Zhao Laoda obediently remained silent as well.

At first, the Zhao family members were unwilling to move aside, but the villagers nearby, fearing that someone might actually die, pulled and pushed them away, eventually managing to shove those shameless people aside.

Fearing they might fight again, the villagers deliberately split into two groups, with several people standing in the middle to separate them.

The villager who had spoken up to help her earlier pulled up the reins and handed them to Ning's mother, comforting her and telling her not to be angry.

A group of people surrounded Ning's parents, asking after their well-being, and some even brought them torches. The anger in Ning's parents' hearts gradually subsided.

After thanking him and taking the torch, Ning's father went to check on the two livestock and the cart.

The car was hit somewhere, and there was a hole in it that looked like a clay pot, and some rainwater got in.

Fortunately, there are still wooden planks in the space, which can be repaired when we find a place to rest later.

The two animals were frightened by the mudslide and became uneasy. After being petted and soothed by the humans who usually fed them, they gradually calmed down, only occasionally kicking up their tails.

The village head and his men were not among this group. The villagers, carrying their remaining belongings, continued their journey up the mountain in the rain.

As they walked, Ning's parents worried about their two children.

The rain keeps falling.

Zhao Ningning jolted awake, groggily opening her eyes, only to realize that she had unknowingly fallen asleep at some point.

Its daybreak.

Although the sky was overcast, at least it got light.

Thinking of her brother, she quickly got up to go see him.

Zhao Qi's face was flushed; he had developed a fever sometime during the day!

Zhao Ningning went back to her spatial dimension to check the time; it was seven in the morning.

She remembered that the last time she checked the time was 3:30.

Thankfully, it didn't take too long.

Zhao Ningning stumbled and went to find the first-aid kit, rummaged around for fever reducers and a thermometer, and took them to the kitchen.

I boiled some water and mixed it with cooled boiled water to make lukewarm water.

Squatting next to Zhao Qi, Zhao Ningning first tore open the fever reducer and soaked it in water. After mixing it well, she fed it to Zhao Qi little by little.

After he finished drinking, Zhao Ningning lifted the blanket and used a thermometer to take his temperature.

One minute later, the electronic thermometer beeped. Zhao Ningning took it out and looked at it: 39 degrees Celsius.

It's burning quite badly.

I've already given him fever-reducing medication, now all I can do is pray that his fever will break.

Zhao Ningning got up, thinking of getting herself something to eat, but once she stood up, she felt weak all over.

A gust of wind blew, and she couldn't help but shiver.

—Could it be that I have a fever too?

As Zhao Ningning thought about it, she took out a thermometer and placed it under her armpit.

A minute later, Zhao Ningning looked at the thermometer and saw it read 40 degrees Celsius!

"Goodness, it's even worse than my brother's fever." Zhao Ningning carefully put away the thermometer, took out another packet of fever reducer from the medicine box, dissolved it in water, and drank it.

I was planning to gather some firewood, but it seems that's not an option now.

Zhao Ningning returned to her spatial dimension, took down the umbrella canopy that had been refreshed, and laid it on the ground.

Now they can both straighten their legs.

Zhao Ningning went back and brought out the quilt, covering herself with it.

I didn't even have time to eat breakfast.

Zhao Ningning was delirious with fever, sometimes waking up to add some firewood, sometimes falling into a deep sleep.

Three hours passed. Perhaps the fever reducer was working, because Zhao Ningning broke out in a sweat and felt a little more relaxed than before. She took her temperature and found that her fever had subsided.

It was over 37 degrees Celsius.

It wasn't time to take the medicine yet, so Zhao Ningning went to take Zhao Qi's temperature. He still had a fever, but it was only 38 degrees Celsius, which was a little better than in the morning.

Zhao Ningning checked the time in her spatial dimension. It was not yet eleven o'clock. She hadn't eaten breakfast, and neither had her brother.

The porridge she made yesterday was ruined, so Zhao Ningning resigned herself to cooking a new pot and then took it out with the pot of porridge.

Zhao Ningning also heated up two steamed buns for herself.

Once the porridge had cooled down enough, she served it to Zhao Qi first, using a flat iron spoon to feed him little by little.

Zhao Qi drank half a bowl of porridge.

After feeding him, Zhao Ningning went to eat on the other side.

The pot was right next to the fire, and the porridge was still warm. Zhao Ningning ate a mouthful of porridge and a steamed bun in a few bites and finished her meal in no time.

The rain outside showed no signs of stopping.

After Zhao Ningning finished eating and drinking, she covered the pot and placed it in the corner of the shed.

The firewood she collected yesterday has almost burned, so she needs to find some more.

Otherwise, lying in this desolate wilderness, it wouldn't be good to be without any light at night.

Zhao Ningning, holding an umbrella, went to find broken, dry branches nearby. Following her usual method, she first found a long stick and swept the ground with it. Any firewood that the stick touched could be directly stored into her spatial storage.

Once she had collected enough, she went into her spatial dimension to shake off the damp firewood, then took it under the shed to dry it slowly over the fire.

After working back and forth like this for two hours, Zhao Ningning was exhausted and panting.

After going back to rest for a while and checking on her brother, Zhao Ningning was both disappointed and worried when she took out the thermometer.

38 degrees Celsius, fever hasn't subsided yet.

After feeling down for a while, Zhao Ningning cheered up and went to her spatial dimension to fluff up some dry firewood.

As I was working, I suddenly heard voices in the distance.

Zhao Ningning became alert. She immediately slipped out of the space and gathered up the blankets and firewood on the ground.

Zhao Ningning glanced at Zhao Qi beside her, hesitated for a moment, and then confiscated the blanket from him.

"Hey! Shuanzi! Look what's that?"

"A shed? What kind of shed is this? It looks so strange!"

"Let's go! Forget about the shed, it looks like we can get shelter from the rain, let's go over there!"

"I'm getting soaked!"

Judging from the voices, it was a man and a woman.

Zhao Ningning glanced back at her brother and then remained still for the time being.

"Oh! There's a little girl under this shed."

The two approached; one was a short, plump woman, and the other was a tall, thin young man.

The two people look somewhat alike, so they are probably mother and son.

They are not from the Wangli Village team.

The two men walked under the shed and realized that there were already people there.

That makes sense. In this desolate place, who would set up a shed here if it weren't for shelter from the rain?

The woman glanced at the girl, who looked only seven or eight years old, and a boy lying next to her, who also didn't look very old.

Two kids should be easy to talk to.

"Young lady, my son and I got separated from the villagers after being caught in a mudslide. We've been walking in the rain all day. Could you let us in for shelter?"

The woman tried her best to put on a kind expression and asked.

"But my parents and older brother are gathering firewood nearby and will be back soon."

Zhao Ningning said, "Our shed is so small, it's not even big enough for us."

Their playmat is only slightly larger than a regular double bed, and it's stuck to a tree branch, with enough room for two people to lie down underneath.

If two more people come, it will be too crowded downstairs.

"Let's hide for a while, let's squeeze in."

The woman brazenly tried to squeeze in, but Zhao Ningning shoved her aside and shouted, "Father! Mother! Big Brother! Come back quickly! Someone's trying to steal our shed!"

The little girl shouted without any respect, which made the woman anxious and angry. She stomped her foot and reached out to cover the girl's mouth.

Zhao Ningning dodged away, shouting, "Dad! Mom! Come back quickly!"

It seemed as if voices could be heard coming from afar.

With no other option, the woman had to give up. Before leaving, she reached out to pull at the colorful tarpaulin on the roof of the shed.

Zhao Ningning would not let her have her way. She took out a hidden dagger from her waist, pulled it out, and stabbed the woman's hand directly.

The woman, stabbed, reached out to hit her again, but Zhao Ningning dodged, turning her head to look behind her with delight: "Dad!"

The woman thought the little girl's family had returned, and she was so frightened that she pulled her hand back and hurriedly ran forward with her son.

After running a few steps, they hid under a tree and looked towards the shed.

—There's no one here!

Even the shed is gone!

Undeterred, they went back to check, only to find that where they had set up the shed, all that remained was a fire that had been extinguished by the rain.

The shed and tree branches were gone, leaving a long drag mark on the ground.

If there were adults at home, would they need to drag someone along like this? The woman and her son immediately realized what was going on.

"You brat! You lied to me! Come on, Shuanzi, let's catch up with them and take their shed!"

The woman kicked the pile of ash on the ground viciously.

The two hurriedly chased after the drag marks.

Just after they turned and left, Zhao Ningning risked her life to put the crawling mat back into her spatial storage.

She put the blanket away and only covered Zhao Qi with a bath towel. To prevent him from getting wet in the rain, Zhao Ningning used the canopy of an umbrella to cover him.

She was weak, so she had to put the blanket under Zhao Qi back into her spatial storage. After putting the blanket away, she dragged the umbrella under Zhao Qi along with him.

After walking only a few steps, Zhao Ningning noticed that the marks on the ground were very obvious.

She could only keep thinking as she walked, and suddenly, Zhao Ningning remembered that she had been thrown into the pit by Granny Qian and Madam Sun.

This is in the mountains, so there should be places like this here.

As Zhao Ningning walked with difficulty, she looked around. Her efforts paid off, and she actually found a depression in the ground.

There was no standing water inside, so Zhao Ningning pulled her brother over and carefully shielded his face with the umbrella.

Next, I found a thick straw rope in the space, disassembled the shoe cabinet door and tied it to it. I tried dragging it and the marks it left were about the same as before.

Zhao Ningning cleaned up the drag marks on her brother's side, walked to the other side, dragged the shoe cabinet door out of the space, and ran forward as fast as she could.

As she ran, she memorized the way back. After circling the slope, Zhao Ningning dragged the shoe cabinet door to the water's edge and retracted it into her spatial storage.

The moment she reclaimed her spatial storage, a system notification popped up in front of Zhao Ningning's eyes.