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

Widow Sun is all alone, as thin as a bamboo pole, and she has two fatherless children to take care of. If she stays here until after the New Year, how will she survive?

Aunt Wang sighed softly, patted her shoulder gently, and said, "I have no objection either."

Wang Laoshi muttered in a low voice, "That's fine."

Widow Sun lowered her head, her hands clutching Niu Niu's clothes until her knuckles turned white. Her lips trembled; she wanted to say thank you, but something seemed to be blocking her throat.

She desperately wanted to kneel down and kowtow to Jiang Xing on the spot, but she held back. However, she couldn't stop the tears from falling onto Niu Niu's hair. She buried her face in Niu Niu's back, her shoulders trembling silently.

Niu Niu was woken up by tears. She opened her eyes groggily and saw her mother crying. She quickly reached out her little hand to wipe her face and mumbled "Mother" in her mouth.

Tie Dan woke up, looked at his mother, didn't say anything, and moved closer to her.

Granny Chen had no objection and nodded, about to speak, when Hu Shi behind her objected. Hu Shi opened her mouth, about to say something, but Granny Chen turned around and glared at her fiercely. She swallowed the words she was about to say, shrank her neck, and turned her face to the side.

But Chen Sumei did not swallow it back.

"Why should I?" Her voice wasn't loud, but it sounded like a pebble thrown into stagnant water beside the quiet campfire.

She stood up, looked straight at Jiang Xing, her lips turned down, and her eyes filled with a long-suppressed grievance and resentment: "Just now, one by one, they all said no, but now that my family has said yes, you've decided it's Widow Sun? Isn't this targeting our family? You're just xenophobic; you don't consider the Chen family as one of your own at all."

The air around the fire suddenly turned cold.

Jiang Xing turned his head and his gaze fell on Chen Sumei's face. The temperature in her eyes dropped to freezing point in an instant, so cold that the adults next to him unconsciously held their breath.

"This spot was given to me. I can let whoever I want go. I know everything about your slacking off and cheating. Sister-in-law Sun does twice the work of you. What right do you have to question my decision? If it weren't for my aunt's sake, I would have kicked you out long ago." Her tone was chilling, each word as if carved with a knife: "Don't even think about challenging me."

Chen Sumei was speechless after being rebuked by her words. Her lips trembled for a long time, and she couldn't utter a single word.

Hu's face turned pale with fright. She covered Chen Sumei's mouth with one hand and grabbed her arm with the other, dragging her towards the shed. As she dragged her, she whispered in Chen Sumei's ear, "Are you crazy! Why are you talking back to her! Do you know who she is!" Chen Sumei staggered as she was dragged and tried to struggle, but Hu held on tightly and dragged her into her own shed.

Granny Chen sighed, turned around, and looked deeply apologetic. She took Zhang's hand and said repeatedly, "Old sister, I'm sorry. I didn't discipline my granddaughter well. Su Mei has been spoiled since she was little. Please don't take it to heart." Zhang patted the back of her hand, said nothing, and just shook her head slightly.

Jiang Xing glanced at Zhang Shi, but for her grandmother's sake, she said nothing more. She then turned her gaze to the remaining families.

"Apart from Sister-in-law Sun, the rest of you want to leave before the New Year. Each household will receive two taels of silver. Captain Ma said that the first batch to leave will be allocated land near a water source and close to the county town. The remaining land will be distributed after the New Year. The rest of you will have to go deep into the mountains. Think it over and then give me your answer."

Shen Dehou remained silent for a long time. He watched the flames dancing in the fire, and slowly traced an arc in the ashes with the fire poker in his hand, then another. His wife sat beside him, not uttering a sound the whole time, only keeping her head down, one hand gripping the hem of her clothes on her knee tightly.

"My wife and I only had one daughter in our lives. She married and moved to a neighboring county a few years ago, far away from us," Shen Dehou began, his voice much lower than usual, as if speaking to himself. "We were in such a hurry when we fled the famine that we didn't have time to look for her. Along the way, I've been asking around everywhere, asking anyone who has any news about the neighboring county. I don't know if she and her husband's family escaped or not, where they went, whether they're alive or dead, there's not a single piece of information."

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing. "My wife doesn't say it, but she's always on my mind. She can't sleep at night, tossing and turning over that old handkerchief, the one her daughter embroidered before her wedding, which she's always kept close to her heart. I know she's suffering."

He turned his head, glanced at his wife, and then, as if making a decision, gently placed the fire poker on the ground and looked up at Jiang Xing. "I originally wanted to stay here and wait, just in case there was news. But your aunt's health just can't take it anymore. Her old leg ailment is getting worse, and these past few nights, the cold wind has kept her awake all night in pain. If we wait any longer, I'm afraid she won't make it to spring."

He took a deep breath, his voice not loud, but each word was firm and clear: "My family will go with Jiang girl. It'll cost two taels of silver, which I'll pay myself. Once we're settled in the new place, we'll find a way to continue inquiring about our daughter."

Aunt Wang glanced at Wang Laoshi, who didn't say anything but nodded silently. Aunt Wang then turned to Jiang Xing and said, "We're leaving too."

Granny Chen took Zhang's hand and nodded, "Sister, our family will join you. We'll pay two taels of silver." She glanced back at the direction of her own shed, where Hu was peeking in from the shed entrance, but Granny Chen glared at her and sent her packing.

"The list will be finalized by noon tomorrow at the latest." Jiang Xing stood up. "Don't talk about tonight's events. There are too many people in the camp, and it's easy for trouble to get out. Everyone get some rest. I'll go see Captain Ma tomorrow morning."

Everyone nodded solemnly and dispersed.