Outside the space, the Zhu family members were protecting Liu Shi behind them, holding tools to guard against the refugees who were approaching them step by step.

"Lord Chen, it seems these refugees are after the goods on the cart."

Grandma Zhu looked worried, gripping the rolling pin in her hand, and nervously looked at Chen Xiang.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiang glanced uneasily at the surrounding refugees and discovered that the number of attackers was quite large.

There were at least fifty or sixty people, mostly men, facing such a large number of people.

His brows furrowed more and more, and he looked at Old Lady Zhu with difficulty, pursing his lips and whispering.

"Grandma Zhu, if we cannot fight back, we will have to abandon this carriage and leave. Survival is the most important thing."

How could Old Lady Zhu bear to give up the grain behind her? If there was no grain, wouldn't the road ahead be a dead end?

"No, we have to save at least one car."

Zhu Haotian agreed with his mother and shouted at the people while holding a sickle.

"That's right. We'll risk everything if necessary. If they don't care about their lives, we can risk our lives to protect our food."

"Mother, your sister-in-law and the others should hide first. We'll take care of things here."

Zhu Chenfeng was prepared to fight to the death, tying his hands to the sickle with a rope.

Although Grandma Zhu was worried about her sons' safety, she also considered the situation of her daughter-in-law and grandchildren.

He could only nod to his son, take the sickle from Zhu Haotian, and slowly back away.

The group followed Old Lady Zhu and hid behind a big tree, cowering in fear and nervously watching the chaotic scene before them.

Worried that the children would be frightened by the scene before them, Old Mrs. Zhu turned to Liu and said, "Eldest daughter-in-law, you take the children and hide in the bushes."

"Grandma Zhu, given the current numbers, you have no chance of winning. Why not sacrifice the pawns to save the king?"

Pei Sining moved over to Grandma Zhu's side and looked at the scene before her with concern.

Old Lady Zhu knew, of course, that the two sides were vastly outnumbered and there was no chance of winning. Now, she could only try her luck.

"Lord Chen, disperse the food from one of the carts and throw it out."

Chen Xiang, who had originally planned to make a big splash, turned around to look at the grain behind him after hearing what Old Lady Zhu said, and quickly picked up the jar and threw it at the refugees.

Seeing this, the others also came to the front of the carriage and threw the grain in different places.

The refugees who originally intended to attack the carriage panicked when they saw the food scattered around them, and rushed towards it like madmen.

There was too little food and too many people fighting over it, which led to everyone fighting each other for food.

Seeing this, Old Lady Zhu quickly waved her hand to signal her daughter-in-law and grandson behind her to follow, "Hurry up and get on the carriage."

At Old Lady Zhu's urging, everyone quickened their pace and rushed onto the carriage.

Chen Xiang, Zhu Chenfeng, and the others, who were still throwing things, shouted to the others after seeing Old Lady Zhu and the others sitting in the carriage.

"Get in the carriage, let's go quickly."

Upon hearing this, everyone climbed onto the carriages. Chen Xiang and Zhu Haotian each drove their own carriages, speeding towards the official road ahead.

The refugees who had failed to seize any food turned their attention back to the wagon and chased after it like madmen.

Seeing that the refugees were about to catch up, Old Lady Zhu frantically threw the eggs next to her at them.

Seeing this, Tao and Sun stopped caring about the food and started throwing rice and flour at the refugees while crying.

"The old woman's daughter-in-law held the child tightly, and everyone held onto the handrails. The carriage was getting bumpier and bumpier."

Upon hearing Old Lady Zhu's reminder, everyone threw away the food on the carriage and grabbed the handrails.

Xixi couldn't see her grandmother's condition from inside the space; she could only hear sounds from outside.

Left with no other choice, she rushed out of the space to force herself to regain her senses.

When Xixi woke up, she saw Wen Xiuying squatting behind her grandmother, reaching out to push her grandmother out of the car.

"Oh no! There's danger behind Grandma!"

She waved her little hand while crying, pointing in the direction behind Grandma Zhu.

Upon hearing her granddaughter's prompting, Grandma Zhu hurriedly turned around, just as Wen Xiuying lunged at her.

However, he unexpectedly missed and rushed towards the front of the carriage, falling right under it.

When Grandma Zhu instinctively reached out to pull her, Wen Xiuying had already rolled into the crowd.

When Zhu Zinan saw his mother fall, he hid in a corner in fear, burying his head in his knees and trembling.

The carriage sped away, quickly leaving behind the pursuing refugees and heading towards the official road.

Several hours later, the group slowed down and found an open space to rest.

The survivors, panting heavily with exhaustion, helped each other down from the carriage.

Chen Xiang left the carriage and came to Old Lady Zhu with a worried look on his face. "Old Lady Zhu, the losses this time are probably huge."

"I know, why don't we take stock of how much grain we have left during our rest?"

With a weary expression, Old Lady Zhu, supported by Zhu Chenfeng, left the carriage. Looking at the empty carriage with heartache, her eyes instantly reddened.

Faced with this scene, the rest of the Zhu family members also hugged each other and wept quietly in hushed tones.

Chen Xiang followed Old Lady Zhu's advice and, together with Zhu Chenfeng and Zhu Haotian, took stock of the grain on the carriage.

Liu carried Xixi to Old Lady Zhu, gently patted her back, and choked with sobs as she comforted her.

"Mother, there's always a way when you're alive."

With her daughter-in-law's comfort, Old Mrs. Zhu forced back her grief, wiped away her tears, and reached out her trembling hand to take her granddaughter.

"Is Xixi scared?"

"No, I'm very well-behaved."

Liu felt sorry for her daughter. She hadn't been able to eat a proper meal during the dangerous journey, and she had to change her diaper every half day.

When it was time to change her diaper, my daughter's bottom was already red, and I saw her skin breaking off several times.

But the child didn't utter a sound and obediently followed everyone on their way.

Thinking of this, she could no longer control the shame in her heart, covered her mouth, turned her head away and cried softly.

"Mother, don't be afraid, I'm here!" Zhu Dabao felt sorry for his mother when he saw her sad and went to hug her.

Even Zhu Xiaobao stepped forward and hugged the two of them, gently patted his mother, and whispered, "Xiaobao will also protect his mother and sister."

At the same time, Chen Xiang and the others finished their inventory and came to Grandma Zhu's side with sighs, saying helplessly.

"The inventory is complete. We have 50 jin of rice, 10 jin of fine noodles, and 50 jin of brown rice left. There isn't much of the other ingredients. The only good news is that the water in the water tank is still there."

Grandma Zhu had anticipated this situation; the vehicle they were traveling in was loaded with a large amount of food.

The other vehicle was mainly loaded with water tanks and didn't carry much grain.

"With so little food, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold out for much longer."

As she spoke, she looked at the official road surrounded by mountains. They were already hundreds of kilometers away from Lujia Town and could no longer go back.

We can only keep moving forward, trying to find a solution to the food crisis as we go.