A fierce wife enters the house: She helps up a house full of spineless people.

In the afternoon, Wang Xiaobao ran back with the news.

The two families surnamed Wang in Wangjia Village, upon hearing his words, immediately decided to go with him. Without saying a word, the whole family cried and then began to go their separate ways to find relatives and neighbors to sell their land and furniture.

By evening, the house was mostly tidied up. Several large boxes and bundled bedding, covered with tarpaulins, were piled up in the yard.

This was their last day in Chenjia Village.

In the evening, no one had much of an appetite. The food Chen Yuxiang cooked tasted the same as usual, but it was bitter to eat.

It was late at night, and everyone was lying in bed, but they tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

Outside the window, the moonlight, like water, spilled into the empty courtyard. Tomorrow, they would leave this place, this place they called "home."

Before dawn, when the eastern sky was just beginning to lighten, Wang Jinzhu opened her eyes.

In the courtyard, Wang Tianfang and Chen Shi had already woken up and were doing the final checks, oiling the axle of the oxcart and tightening the ropes holding the goods.

Chen Yuxiang got up too, silently made a few flatbreads, and then wiped the stove clean. It was as if by doing this, she could preserve the last bit of warmth in this home.

Wang Jinzhu went into the kitchen and took out a large piece of cured meat and a bag of white flour buns that she had prepared in advance from her spatial storage. "Mom, take these with you and eat them on the way."

Chen Yuxiang stared at the large, glistening piece of cured meat for a moment, then nodded, took it, and wrapped it up.

Soon, Zhao Xiulan and Chen Wangda arrived with their five-year-old son, Huzi. Huzi rubbed his eyes, clearly still half asleep, and was being held in Chen Wangda's arms.

Chen Xinghua and Cao'er had also finished packing, and the two of them stood timidly to one side with only an even smaller bundle.

Wang Jinzhu glanced at the sky and said softly, "It's getting late, we should go."

Old Chen took one last look at the house. The bricks were new, the tiles were new, everything was new, but it was about to no longer belong to them. He turned around, his eyes red-rimmed, and urged, "Let's go, let's go."

The group walked out of the courtyard gate silently. Wang Jinzhu looked back one last time before locking the gate herself.

With a "click," the past was locked away.

The village was quiet; most people were still asleep. As I approached the village entrance, village chief Chen Defu was already waiting. He stood alone under the old locust tree, carrying a cloth bag in his hand.

"Father!" Chen Wangda's voice choked with emotion when he saw him.

Chen Defu didn't look at him, but handed the cloth bag in his hand to Zhao Xiulan.

"Here are some dry rations and a few of Tiger's old clothes for the journey." He paused, then took out a small rattle drum from his pocket and stuffed it into Tiger's hand, who was still half asleep. "Tiger, listen to your parents."

Tiger, still half asleep, grabbed the rattle drum and called out, "Grandpa."

Chen Defu's eyes immediately reddened, and he turned his head away, unable to look at him any longer.

"Let's go, let's go quickly! There are fewer people on the road before dawn." He waved his hand, his voice hoarse.

Chen Wangda knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to Chen Defu. Zhao Xiulan also knelt down, unable to utter a single word.

Seeing this, Wang Jinzhu felt a pang of sadness. She stepped forward and said to Chen Defu, "Village Chief, please take care."

The group didn't linger any longer. Chen Yuxiang, Cao'er, and Huzi got into the carriage, while the rest of them walked alongside it.

The oxcart started slowly, its wheels creaking on the dirt road, a sound that was particularly jarring in the quiet morning.

Wang Jinzhu looked back and saw Chen Defu still standing at the village entrance, like a statue, until their figures disappeared into the morning mist.

After leaving Chenjia Village, the group headed towards Wangjia Village.

Upon arriving at the entrance of Wangjia Village, Wang Dali and Wang Guilan were already waiting, along with two other families surnamed Wang. Having heard the news brought by Wang Xiaobao, these two families had also sold their belongings overnight and were waiting to reunite with their families.

Wang Dali's oxcart was packed full; there was no other way, as he had a large family.

Looking at her grown-up daughter and son, Wang Guilan couldn't stop the tears from flowing. She just held Wang Jinzhu's hand tightly, and all the words she wanted to say turned into the warmth of her palm.

Wang Dali, a man who would kill a pig without batting an eye, now had tears in his eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "I don't know when I'll be able to come back."

Wang Guilan took her two grandsons and got into the horse-drawn carriage. Other families with children either rode in oxcarts or with their parents.

The sky gradually brightened.

The atmosphere inside the convoy was terribly oppressive. The adults were all silent, with only a few unruly children occasionally giggling and laughing.

Tiger was awake. He wasn't crying or making a fuss; he just hugged the rattle drum his grandfather had given him and whispered to Zhao Xiulan, "Mom, where are we going? Are we coming back to see Grandpa?"

Zhao Xiulan held her son, tears welling up in her eyes again. She could only nod haphazardly, "We'll be back soon."

Wang Jinzhu walked at the front of the group, observing everything. She knew that this hastily assembled team was disunited. Fear, confusion, and unease enveloped everyone.

"Stop for a moment." Wang Jinzhu suddenly stopped, and everyone else looked at her in confusion.

Wang Jinzhu gathered all the adults together. "Uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters, I know you're all feeling very anxious right now. Leaving home is hard for everyone. But since we've chosen to come out, we have to pull ourselves together."

"From today onwards, we are one team. No matter what happens along the way, we will face it together. Let me make this clear: if anyone dares to harbor any ill intentions or abandon the project halfway, don't blame me, Wang Jinzhu, for being ruthless!"

Her gaze swept over everyone, and the two male members of the Wang family subconsciously straightened their backs.

"Now, let's rearrange things. The supplies on the truck belong to each family, and everyone knows how much food they have. If we run out of food on the road, we'll help each other out; no one can watch their fellow villagers starve to death."

"At night, the men will take turns keeping watch, two people per group. Starting today, it will be my husband Tianfang and my brother Xiaobao."

She laid out the instructions one by one, and the initially panicked crowd seemed to find their leader, gradually calming down and beginning to act according to her orders.

After regrouping, the group set off again.

As darkness fell, they found a sheltered spot by a grove of trees and stopped.

This was their first night away from home.

The men gathered firewood and started several campfires. The women began to cook. Chen Yuxiang and Zhao Xiulan took out the mixed grain flour they had brought from home, added water and wild vegetables, and cooked three large pots of porridge.

Wang Jinzhu secretly took some dried meat from her spatial storage, chopped it up, and threw it into the pot, saying it was something she had brought from home.

Although it was just simple vegetable porridge, after a long day of travel, being able to have a hot bowl of it was very satisfying.

The children were starving and ate noisily from their bowls. The adults, though not very hungry, forced themselves to eat, knowing they had a long way to go and needed the strength.

By the time we finished eating, it was completely dark.

The forest was quiet, with only the crackling of the campfire and the occasional chirping of insects.

Wang Jinzhu couldn't sleep. She looked at the flickering flames, calculating the journey ahead.

From Yongning County to the prefectural city, this family relied entirely on this oxcart, a journey that would take at least seven or eight days. Anything could happen on that road.

Just then, a rustling sound suddenly came from the nearby woods.

Everyone tensed up instantly. The men grabbed the wooden sticks and farm tools at hand and stared warily in the direction from which the sound came.

"What was that sound?" Wang Dali asked nervously.

"Don't panic!" Wang Tian shouted in a low voice, and together with Wang Xiaobao, they slowly moved towards the edge of the woods.