Sold immediately after wearing it? I took my family and fled the famine.

The family ate roasted chestnuts for breakfast.

While packing, Xiao Niu asked, "Sister, are we still traveling today?"

Jiang Xing paused for a moment.

She looked up at the sky, then at the people in the camp who were packing up their things.

Widow Sun squatted beside the cart, wrapped her two children in a tattered quilt, and wore only a single layer of clothing herself; her lips were purple.

Old Zhao was pushing a wheelbarrow with his wife sitting on it. She was wrapped in a quilt, but the quilt was too thin to cover her up.

These people didn't have enough warm clothes or extra things to keep warm, so they couldn't even set up a decent shed.

If we continue on our journey today, with the wind howling and the snow falling, I wonder how many of us will collapse halfway there.

Jiang Xing hesitated. The current amount of warm clothing for these people was far from enough. If they were to contract the disease because of this, it would surely spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred. Zhang had already shown signs of coughing a few days ago. Fleeing from famine was already difficult, and if they were to fall ill, it would be even more arduous.

Moreover, the weather is coldest when the first snow falls, so if this group stays behind, they can chop more firewood and cut thatch to weave into windbreaks.

People naturally get warm when they are moving around, but if they suddenly stop and don't have other things prepared to keep warm, they are more likely to get sick.

Either way, it would be disadvantageous for her.

She hesitated repeatedly, constantly calculating in her mind.

Should we go find the officials and suggest that they find a place to shelter from the snow, or simply rest on the spot for a day while everyone else goes to chop wood, cut grass, and build a shelter to protect against the wind and snow?

But she wasn't the village chief, the clan head, or an official; her word didn't count.

If you speak rashly, you will only be laughed at. Moreover, even if the officials listen, would those in the group who have carriages, warm clothes, and are not afraid of the cold be willing to stay and wait for those who walk slowly?

Third Uncle noticed her inner turmoil.

He squatted beside the oxcart, his pipe in his mouth, but he didn't light it. He glanced at Jiang Xing, then looked at the sky.

"Xing'er, you stay here. I'll go talk to the village chief." Third Uncle stood up and patted the grass clippings off his clothes.

"Third Uncle..."

"Don't worry about it," Third Uncle waved his hand. "I'm an old man, no one will hold it against me if I'm wrong."

Jiang Xing watched his third uncle's retreating figure and didn't stop him anymore.

He walked through the camp towards the village chief, Shen Dehou.

Village chief Shen Dehou was packing his things, preparing to set off, when he saw his third uncle walking over and stopped what he was doing.

"Third Uncle, is something the matter?"

"Dehou, it's going to snow today." Third Uncle said bluntly, "Look at the sky, the clouds are so low, and the wind isn't blowing. This is a sign that it's going to snow heavily. There are so many of us, old and young, some of us don't even have cotton-padded clothes. If it snows halfway there, I'm afraid some of us won't be able to make it."

Shen Dehou looked up at the sky, his face darkening. He was an old farmer, and his ability to read the weather was no less than that of his third uncle. As soon as his third uncle spoke, he knew what was going on.

"You're right." Shen Dehou nodded. "I'll go talk to Captain Ma and see if we can rest here for a day, so everyone can build a shed and prepare some firewood."

Before the third uncle could reply, a voice came from the side.

"Repair on the spot? Why should we?"

Jiang Caimao walked out from behind the cart next to him, his face as black as the bottom of a pot. Behind him were Jiang Dazhu and Zhou Shi. Zhou Shi was holding an empty bowl, the bottom of which she had licked clean.

Jiang Caimao was the clan chief of Jiangjia Village, but on the way to escape famine, the title of clan chief was no longer valid. The officials in charge did not recognize the clan chief, but only the village chief.

Along the way, no one listened to what Jiang Caimao said, and no one did the work he assigned. He was already seething with anger.

"Third Uncle, what business is it of yours, you old widower?" Jiang Caimao's tone was both sarcastic and sharp. "You're living the high life with that granddaughter, all warm and cozy, and you don't care about her life or death?"

Third Uncle didn't say a word.

Jiang Dazhu chimed in from the side, "That's right, look at your cotton-padded coat, is it newly made? What are our whole family wearing? Look at Qingyue, she's still wearing last year's old cotton-padded coat, as thin as paper!"

Zhou was even more blunt, her voice shrill enough to pierce the sky: "Third Uncle, you follow that girl Jiang Daya around, eating and drinking her food, don't you have any backbone? You're a widow, sponging off her at her house, aren't you ashamed?"

Third Uncle's expression changed.

It wasn't because they were cursing him, but because they were cursing Jiang Xing. Third Uncle was a member of the Jiang family, though from a collateral branch, he was of a high generation, and even Jiang Caimao had to call him Uncle.

Zhou's use of the term "widowed old man" even made Shen Dehou, who was standing next to him, frown.

Zhou's gaze fell on her third uncle's cotton-padded coat, her eyes filled with jealousy.

That cotton-padded coat was made with the money Jiang Xing earned from selling wild boar. It was made of new cotton, thick, and warm. Zhou's own cotton-padded coat had been worn for three years, and the cotton had long since collapsed, making it easy for the wind to penetrate.

"And that girl," Zhou Shi said, getting more and more excited. "She didn't use the money from selling the wild boar for her own family, but instead gave it to an old man from a distant branch of the family to make cotton-padded coats. What kind of person is she? Jiang Daya's father is dead, and her mother remarried. What right does a mere girl have to manage the household?"

"Alright," Shen Dehou interrupted in a deep voice, "Third Uncle is talking about serious matters. It is indeed going to snow today, and I need to go and discuss it with Captain Ma."

Jiang Caimao sneered: "What's there to discuss? You're the village chief, you make the decisions. What's there to discuss?"

Shen Dehou glanced at him: "I am the village chief, not the clan chief. On the road to escape famine, I have to obey the officials."

Jiang Caimao's face flushed red instantly. These words struck a nerve. The clan chief was no better than the village chief. The village chief had to obey the officials. He, the clan chief, was nothing.

"Shen Dehou, don't think you're so great just because you're the village chief!" Jiang Caimao's voice rose. "In terms of seniority, you should call me brother! But in terms of clan affairs, I am the clan chief!"

"On the way to escape famine, they did not recognize the clan leader." Shen Dehou spoke calmly, but each word was very clear.

Jiang Caimao was trembling with rage, pointing his finger at Shen Dehou's nose: "You!"

"What's all the noise about?"

A gruff voice cut in from the side.

Ma Dadan strode over, followed by two of his men.

"You refugees, always making a racket, aren't you tired of it?" Ma Dadan looked at Shen Dehou, then at Jiang Caimao: "What is it?"

Shen Dehou stepped forward: "Captain Ma, this Third Uncle is an old farmer from our village. He is very accurate in judging the weather. He said it would snow heavily today. I suggest we rest here for a day, let everyone build a shed and prepare some firewood. If it snows halfway through, there are so many elderly people and children in the group, I'm afraid something might happen."

Ma Dadan looked up at the sky, then at his third uncle.

Third Uncle stood to the side, holding his pipe, neither humble nor arrogant: "Captain Ma, I've traveled most of my life and I've never been wrong about the weather. These clouds today are snow clouds, not rain clouds. The snow will fall by this evening at the latest. If you're on your way and you're halfway there, with no village or shop in sight, the snow will be too much for the elderly and children to bear."

Ma Dadan hesitated.

He was afraid of two things: first, if he was late in reporting to the southwestern prefecture, he would be blamed by his superiors and he couldn't bear the consequences; second, if someone in the team got sick or died, the journey would be slower and the reporting would be even later.

"Captain, I think this person is exaggerating." A voice came from the side.

The merchant walked over from beside the carriage, wearing a thick fox fur coat with a fur collar that looked very warm. Behind him was a maid carrying a hand warmer.

"Captain Ma, we are fleeing famine, not sightseeing. If we rest here for a day, we will be a day late. The southwestern prefecture is waiting for our resettlement. If we are a day late, something terrible might happen." Merchant Qian smiled, a very kind smile, but the meaning in his words was very clear: he didn't care about the refugees.

"Master Qian, this isn't an exaggeration," said Third Uncle. "Look at those old people and children; some don't even have cotton-padded clothes. If it snows..."

"That's their own business," the merchant interrupted him. "They should have been prepared before fleeing the famine. If they weren't prepared, who can they blame?"

Third Uncle's face darkened.

Shen Dehou's expression also turned sour.

"Master Qian, you're sitting in the carriage wearing a fox fur coat, of course you're not afraid of the cold." Shen Dehou's tone was neither soft nor hard: "But not everyone in the team is like you. If someone freezes to death on the road, Captain Ma will have a hard time explaining it."

The merchant's smile vanished. He glanced at Shen Dehou, then at his third uncle, and snorted coldly, "If you want to stay, then stay. My family's carriage can go on its own. Captain Ma, say something."

Ma Dadan stood in the middle, caught in a dilemma.