Famine and Chaos: Weaving Cloth in Exile to Escape the War

Su Heng, still holding the warm earthenware jar with tears still wet on his face, was stunned when he heard Jing Zhichun's words.

"Go with...go with you?"

"Yes." Kyoto Haru nodded, looking at the child who was so thin he was just skin and bones. "Come with me, I'll take care of you."

To be honest, now that Grandpa Su is dead, if she doesn't take care of this child, he'll probably freeze to death this winter. So, she can't bear to see such a sensible child just waiting to die here.

"Support me?"

Su Heng was startled, and tears uncontrollably streamed down her face again.

Apart from his parents and grandfather, no one had ever said such things to him, especially not in such chaotic times.

He thought he would have to become a beggar from now on.

Jing Zhichun thought the boy didn't want to come with her, so she explained, "If you don't want to come with me, do you think you want to stay? Do you think your uncles will care whether you live or die in this situation?"

Su Heng remained silent.

Of course he knew the answer.

When Grandpa was alive, they didn't care about their own father, so why would they care about him...?

He raised his tearful eyes and looked at Jing Zhichun: "But... Madam Shen, if I follow you, there will be another mouth to feed. My grandfather once said that your family is also struggling... I can't be a burden to you. I can find a way to make a living on my own, so I won't trouble Madam Shen."

Kyoto Spring never expected this reason.

She bent down and picked up the boy, can and all, in one go. "It's nothing, I can afford to raise you."

However, I won't raise you for nothing. Once we're settled, I'll tell you why I took you with me.

Su Heng paused in her arms for a moment, then fell silent.

He was willing to do whatever Madam Shen asked him to do.

As long as he can survive.

Only by surviving can we find a good plot of land for Grandpa and build him a proper grave.

Seeing that Su Heng had agreed, Jing Zhichun said no more, picked up Su Heng, and turned to walk towards her thatched hut.

Just as the two of them passed the mud-brick house, they saw the woman who had been injured by Jing Zhichun still lying paralyzed in the snow. There was a man next to her, cursing and circling around her, seemingly asking what had happened.

When Su Heng saw the man, his body stiffened abruptly, and he stammered, "Madam Shen, that's my uncle... You must run away quickly. My aunt is injured like that, he won't let this go. Put me down, I'll go alone, and he'll have someone to vent his anger on, so he won't bother you."

Kyoto Haru glanced at the two of them once before looking away.

She quickly surveyed her surroundings and discovered that there was more than one path leading to her hut.

"It's okay, we just won't go near them."

As he spoke, Jing Zhichun lifted the hem of his wide black robe and covered Su Heng's head with it. He then turned and quickly veered into a side path through a grove of trees, silently bypassing the two men.

After walking a few dozen steps, they heard a man's faint roar behind them, something like, "You little brat, kill him!"

Afraid that the man would catch up, Kyoto Haru didn't hesitate any longer. She hugged the child in her arms tightly and ran away.

She ran all the way to her own thatched hut before stopping and putting Su Heng down.

"Wait here for me, I'm going inside to get something."

After saying that, she quickly slipped into the hut and closed the door behind her.

Immediately, they took off their protective suits and robes and stuffed them into the stove to burn.

I bought a new set of protective clothing from the system and put it on. I also sprayed myself and the burlap sack in my hand with disinfectant spray.

Next, he folded up the tent on the ground and put the tent and kettle into his storage space.

After doing all that, she quickly selected a set of thick cotton clothes, cotton pants, cotton shoes, hat, gloves, and a handkerchief from the system store that fit Su Heng's size.

The cotton-padded coat and shoes she bought were in a style similar to that of the Republic of China era.

This style wasn't considered particularly eye-catching in this era.

Moreover, she and Xiaoman were also wearing the same style.

Remove the packaging from these items, and stuff the packaging bags and tags into the stove to burn them.

Jing Zhichun then opened the door carrying the pile of clothes, quickly stuffed them into Su Heng's arms who was still waiting at the door, and said quickly, "These cotton-padded clothes, pants, shoes, hats, and gloves, hurry up and change into them. Once I'm ready, we'll set off."

After saying that, she closed the door again without waiting for Su Heng's response.

Back inside, Kyoto Haru immediately slipped into the spatial dimension again.

Xiaoman and the baby were already awake in the space.

Xiaoman was gently teasing her younger brother with a finger when she saw Jingzhichun. Her eyes lit up, and she hugged her brother and tried to move towards Jingzhichun, saying, "Mom! You've come to pick us up?"

"Yes, I've come to pick you up."

"Have you eaten yet?"

"We ate, my brother and I both ate. By the way, Mom, did you leave that food for us?" Xiaoman asked, pointing to the things in the basket.

"Yes, it was left by Mother." Jing Zhichun said, first taking the baby from Xiaoman's arms and putting her aside, then picking up Xiaoman's cotton clothes and quickly dressing her while continuing, "Xiaoman, the barbarians are attacking. We can't stay in the exile area anymore. We have to escape to a safe place."

However, you absolutely must not tell anyone that you and your brother were here. Understand? If you do, we'll all be in danger.

Xiaoman nodded quickly, "Mom, don't worry! I'd rather die than tell anyone you forbid me to!"

"good."

Jing Zhichun quickly dressed Xiaoman in clothes, a hat, a mask, and gloves, wrapping her up tightly. She also bought thick socks from the system and put them on, followed by cotton shoes.

Then they changed the baby into a clean diaper, wrapping the baby up tightly from head to toe.

She didn't intend to keep the child hidden away forever.

Firstly, she was going to flee later, and she couldn't explain the child's whereabouts to the Yang family.

Secondly, if they were to hide in the mountains for a long time, it wouldn't be good for the two children to stay in an enclosed space for an extended period.

So, after thinking it over, she felt it was better to take care of the two children herself.

As for whether the two children will develop plague symptoms sooner, we can only wait and see.

There's no escaping this; it's just a matter of sooner or later.

Immediately afterwards, Jing Zhichun took the two children out of the space. She bought two thick cloaks, one large and one small, from the system store and put them on herself and Xiaoman.

I also bought a special cloth strap for carrying babies from the system, and used it to hold the baby in front of my chest and secure it tightly.

Then, he stuffed the clay pot in the house, the twenty catties of grain and cotton given to Su Heng, and his own thick cotton quilt into a large burlap sack, and tied the opening tightly with hemp rope.

Finally, he slung the large bag of belongings over his back, grabbed a piece of hemp rope, slung it diagonally over his shoulder, wrapped it around the rope binding the sack on his chest and back several times, tightened it, and finally tied a solid knot.

In this way, with a baby hanging on his chest and a sack on his back, he could travel swiftly.

Fortunately, the baby was light and the sack wasn't too heavy, otherwise, given her current physical condition, she probably wouldn't have been able to walk more than a few steps before collapsing from exhaustion.

Kyoto Haru did one last check of the hut, making sure nothing was left behind. She took a deep breath; finally, it was time for her to leave.

Ever since she transmigrated to this godforsaken place, all she's thought about is leaving.

Now, she is finally leaving.

Without the slightest hesitation, Jing Zhichun took Xiaoman's hand and pushed open the door to go out.

Outside the door, the wind and snow continued.

Su Heng had already changed into his new cotton-padded clothes, thick cotton shoes, a hat, and gloves, covering himself completely.

With this makeover, the child finally looked somewhat like a living person, no longer the frozen little devil he once was.

"Is it changed?" Kyoto Haru asked.

"Mm." Su Heng nodded.

"Is it warm?"

Su Heng nodded. "It's warm. Thank you, Madam Shen."

"You're welcome." Jing Zhichun took Su Heng's hand with her other hand. "Stay close to me, we're going to find the Yang family now."