The group walked through the woods and soon arrived at the outskirts of Lujia Village, about five kilometers away. For safety reasons, Chen Xiang and Zhu Wen decided not to escort them there.

Chen Xiang still felt grateful to the Zhu family. Before leaving, he earnestly advised them, "Grandma Zhu, we brothers all think that your family are all heroes. We originally intended to escort you safely to the border."

"I never expected things to turn out this way. I can only hope you take care."

Grandma Zhu understood that Chen Xiang had done his best; after all, no one wanted to risk their life in a dangerous situation.

"Lord Chen, thank you very much for allowing us to enter Lujia Village to rescue people. Now that we have met, farewell."

Grandma Zhu nodded to Chen Xiang and continued pushing the cart toward Lujia Village.

Chen Xiang looked helplessly at their dejected figures and sighed, "Sigh! I hope they can get through this."

"Boss, should we keep going?" Zhu Wen didn't want to stay in this godforsaken place any longer; he wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Chen Xiang looked troubled and shook his head, "My foot hurts, I'll rest for three days!"

If Grandma Zhu and the others can successfully leave Lujia Village in three days, they might be able to travel together again.

Otherwise, he would have no choice but to lead his team northward.

"Three days? Isn't that too long?" Zhu Wen couldn't understand why Chen Xiang was doing this. At this moment, he couldn't afford to be indecisive.

Chen Xiang was somewhat displeased with Zhu Wen for overstepping his bounds, and with a dark face, he scolded him, "If you don't want to rest, then leave first, I will not stop you."

Zhu Wen dared not lead the team alone. Sensing Chen Xiang's anger, he quickly followed and apologized.

"Your subordinate knows his mistake and will obey your orders."

On Sun's suggestion, the group of old lady Zhu and her companions, who were on their way to Lujia Village, all put on protective suits of unknown origin.

Zhu Chenfeng couldn't quite understand the purpose of the clothes. He looked at the bodysuit he was wearing with curiosity, and the more he looked, the stranger it seemed.

"Madam, this thing is very strange. The clothes and pants are all connected together."

Tao also found the clothes strange; not only were they strange, but they were also very hot to wear.

She was already overweight and sensitive to heat, and now that she was wearing the clothes, she felt even hotter. Unable to bear it any longer, she took them off.

"I can't stand it, it's too hot. It's so hot, and you're all bundled up like this, you're going to die from the heat!"

After dressing, Liu carefully placed her daughter in the bamboo basket and covered her with a cloth.

After figuring all this out, he looked helplessly at his sister-in-law and said, "Qinru, do you want to die from the heat or do you want to be covered in smallpox and die from the discomfort?"

Tao's hair stood on end at her sister-in-law's words. She swallowed hard in fear and muttered under her breath.

"Does anyone know if this thing even works?"

[Silly auntie, of course I use that! You should cherish this warm weather.]

The days ahead are going to be very cold, cold enough to turn you into an ice cube.

If only we could buy some cotton grown in Lujia Village, we wouldn't be afraid of the cold this winter.

Tao vaguely heard her little niece's baby voice and nodded as if she understood. Since her niece had spoken, it must be true.

After getting dressed, the group put on masks and gloves and pushed their carts toward Lujia Village.

Perhaps because Lujia Village is surrounded by mountains, the hot temperature gradually turned cold as the group arrived outside the village.

Like the dead of winter, it sent shivers down everyone's spines; if they hadn't been wearing bodysuits, they probably would have frozen solid.

Many stakes have been installed outside Lujia Village to prevent outsiders from entering, and Old Lady Zhu did not want to leave her cart outside the village.

He had no choice but to instruct his son and grandson to remove the wooden stakes so that the cart could enter the village smoothly.

With everyone's efforts, the two carts finally made it into the village.

Today, most of the villagers in Lujia Village have fled the village, and along the way, one can see desolate thatched huts everywhere.

Even now, snarling rats occasionally cross the street, and a thick layer of fallen leaves accumulates on the ground.

Only a few households remained, their doors tightly shut, peeking out of their windows at the Song family entering the village.

"Mother, should we search for Xiaobao and Sining everywhere?"

Madam Liu looked around at the desolate landscape with deep concern, her anxiety growing as she looked, she became increasingly worried that something might happen to her son.

The villagers have been unable to leave the village for a long time, and the grain inside is probably already running out. What if they try to harm Da Bao and Xiao Bao?

They were no match for these villagers; if they had been a step too late, their lives would have been in danger.

Old Mrs. Zhu observed her surroundings warily and disagreed with her daughter-in-law's suggestion.

"No, we must go together. We can't be separated. The situation in the village is still unclear. If we are separated, we are very likely to be attacked."

As soon as he finished speaking, a ragged old man not far away covered himself tightly with a cloth, coughing while clutching his chest. Then his legs gave way and he fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Zhu Chenfeng quickly stepped forward to help the old man up, asking, "Grandpa, are you alright?"

The old man looked up at the sound and saw Zhu Chenfeng, whose eyes were the only part of his face. He was so frightened that he backed away.

"Ah...a ghost!"

Zhu Chenfeng wanted to step forward to explain, but before he could speak, he saw the old man stagger away.

With great interest, it peered curiously through the bamboo basket at the scene outside, blowing bubbles and muttering to itself.

We're doomed. Someone's definitely going to come out and chase us away soon.

[The last time Zhu Yanyan entered wearing protective clothing, she seemed to have mentioned that she was her father's niece.]

The villagers just let Zhu Yanyan go. If we reveal our identities, will we be able to stay too?

Upon hearing his niece's childish voice, Zhu Chenfeng finally understood why the old man had run away; he had been frightened by the clothes on his body.

Before he could process the whole incident, he saw a group of elderly people dressed in cloth clothes with headscarves wrapped around their heads, carrying forks and wooden sticks, rushing out angrily.

Old Mrs. Zhu did not expect to be obstructed by the villagers, so she quickly pushed her daughter-in-law and grandson back.

"Hide behind the flatbed carts and don't make a sound."

As soon as they finished speaking, villagers armed with weapons surrounded them and shouted loudly.

"Get out! Get out!"

"We will not give in, all of you get out!"

"Stop wasting time talking to them, just do it."

Zhu Chenfeng didn't want to get into a conflict with the villagers, so he raised his hand and loudly tried to calm everyone down.

"Everyone, we were just passing by when our child unexpectedly wandered in, so we came in without permission."

"Children? What children? We don't know anything about them." The villagers ignored what Zhu Chenfeng was saying and approached the crowd with their weapons raised.

Seeing that the villagers were about to harm his own family, Zhu Chenfeng had no choice but to reveal his elder brother's name.

“We are the family of General Zhu Shenghua. We were exiled to the frontier by His Majesty. My name is Zhu Haotian, and this is my mother.”

"Gentlemen, we really don't want to have a conflict with you."