The sun was scorching hot. Li Zheng comforted the elderly people in the village and continued on his way. Ningyuan Town was not far ahead.

Li Zheng found a shady spot under a tree, and everyone sat down there to cool off.

The old lady's legs were getting numb from sitting on the donkey cart. She pounded her legs with her hands and said, "Oh, finally I can rest. People who walk are tired, but they don't know that we who ride in the cart are tired too. Second daughter-in-law, help Grandma down."

Liang Shuyan instructed her second daughter-in-law, Liu, to take care of the children, and then she helped the old lady to the market!

Sanwang dropped the whip in his hand and followed closely behind.

"You brat, what are you doing here?" Liang Shuyan originally wanted to have a private chat with the old lady, stroll around town, and buy some food, but she didn't expect Jin Sanwang to follow her.

He rubbed his hands together and said, "Mom, I'm bored by myself anyway, so I just want to go for a walk with you!"

"Stroll around? What are you thinking about? We came here to escape famine, and you're in the mood to stroll around?"

The old lady looked at Sanwang with affection: "It's alright, Sanwang. With Grandma here, your mother won't kick you out. Stay with Grandma!"

Liang Shuyan didn't care about anything else. With the old lady backing her up, what could she complain about Sanwang? She could only let him follow behind her.

The town was bustling with people, and all sorts of stalls lined the roadside, selling wontons and cold noodles, with shouts of vendors rising and falling, and a delicious aroma that could be smelled from afar.

The man selling steamed buns nearby, wearing an apron, saw Liang Shuyan and her two companions approaching and immediately struck up a conversation: "You're from out of town, aren't you? Try our steamed buns, we have all kinds of fillings, they're delicious!"

The boss's enthusiasm left Liang Shuyan no time to refuse, and she followed him inside.

Sanwang stood to the side, staring longingly at the steaming buns, his mouth watering. He knew his mother wouldn't have the money to buy them buns, but just smelling the aroma was good enough.

"Mom, how about we have two steamed buns?"

Li Lanfang glanced at Liang Shuyan, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Where would we get the money to buy steamed buns? We're fleeing famine right now, and we don't know what we'll encounter on the road. We mustn't waste any spare change."

Liang Shuyan leaned closer and whispered a few words in the old lady's ear. The old lady hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the noodle shop across the street and said, "In that case, let's go to the noodle shop and have a bowl of noodles!"

Liang Shuyan thought about it and agreed. Didn't her mother always like to eat noodles? Since she said she wanted to eat noodles, then let's finish the noodles.

"Sanwang, do you see that candied hawthorn vendor? Go over there and buy a skewer of candied hawthorn for each of the children!"

Jin Sanwang nodded, took the silver from his mother, and turned to leave.

The shopkeeper selling steamed buns asked, "What's wrong? Won't you try our steamed buns?"

Liang Shuyan glanced at the steaming buns and said, "Okay, then please give us 20 buns, ten vegetarian and ten meat!"

"Okay!"

A moment later, Jin Sanwang came running over, panting, with a paper bag in his hand: "Mom, I bought candied hawthorns, there are some for all the kids!"

Liang Shuyan handed the steamed buns in her hand to Sanwang: "Take these, and share them with them when we get there!"

"Mother, you actually have money to buy steamed buns! So many steamed buns, it must have cost a lot of money!"

"Oh, it's nothing. Your grandma just pawned her dowry. She said she couldn't bear to see her grandchildren go hungry!"

Liang Shuyan's lie was so smooth that she didn't even flinch. The old lady blinked, not realizing what she was doing for a long time. Liang Shuyan hurriedly nudged her before she continued, "Oh, right, right. Although the bracelet Grandma is wearing was a compensation from her family, it's still an inanimate object. It's useless to keep it. Why don't we exchange it for something we can use on the road?"

With tears welling up in his eyes, Sanwang grabbed the old lady's hand and said excitedly, "Grandma, that was your dowry! How can you do this, Grandma!"

The old lady was so excited to see her grandson that she cried. She quickly helped Sanwang up and said, "Get up, come on, let's go eat noodles!"

Sanwang rubbed his eyes, but began to mutter to himself, "Grandma's dowry, such valuable things, why does she spend all that money at the noodle shop? Buying candied hawthorns and steamed buns to eat noodles, how much silver is there?"

The noodle shop was quite crowded, and Liang Shuyan found a seat by the window.

Li Lanfang looked around the noodle shop: "It looks quite crowded. I didn't expect that the people in Ningyuan Town, living under the same sky, seem to be doing quite well. Why can't we set up shop here?"

“Mother, this place is too close to our Guoshantun. Even though everything seems peaceful in Ningyuan Town now, if there are really refugees coming down here, it will probably not be peaceful here.”

Just then, the waiter came over with a bowl of noodles and politely replied, "This is your noodle dish, it has a lot of chili!"

Liang Shuyan was a filial daughter. Knowing that her mother liked spicy food, she specially asked the waiter to add more chili. Hearing the waiter's words, the old lady looked at Liang Shuyan gratefully.

"Grandma, when did you start liking spicy food?"

Sanwang was smarter than the other children. His little eyes were fixed on the old lady's eyes, but Liang Shuyan reacted quickly: "Your grandma has always liked spicy food, but she didn't have the means to eat it before. Today, when I saw the chili peppers, I asked the waiter to add some!"

Jin Sanwang said "Oh," and then brought out two bowls of noodles. He politely handed one bowl to Liang Shuyan: "Mom, you've worked hard. You've been taking care of the family and Grandma these past few days. Please eat quickly."

Just as she was about to pick up her chopsticks, Liang Shuyan's eyes were fixed on another bowl of noodles on the table. She noticed a huge locust perched on the rim of the bowl. She waved to the waiter and asked, "What's going on? You're giving away locusts in your noodle shop?"

Upon hearing Liang Shuyan's words, everyone's eyes narrowed instantly, and they all looked in their direction. The old lady, being an experienced person, naturally spotted the locust at a glance. She slapped it hard with both hands, and the locust fell to the ground. Sanwang panicked and stomped on the locust, crushing it to pieces.

"Oh no! Locusts! Quick, run!" The group didn't even have time to eat and hurriedly fled from the noodle shop square.

When the shopkeeper came out, he found that the room, which had been full of people, was now empty, leaving only Liang Shuyan and her group in the noodle shop.

"Where did you come from, you poor beggar? If you're going to eat, then eat. How can you kick everyone out of our shop?"