Yunqi had seen too many people who had lost their purpose in life. Old Mrs. Zhou was one of them. Although she had a grandson, in her heart, Gangzi was better off with a powerful group of people than with her, a frail and old woman.

This was also what she thought was the best choice for Gangzi. The only thing she overlooked was that Gangzi would chase after her and let him witness her end her life.

Looking at Gangzi, who was gradually smiling, Yunqi said, "No matter how much he has studied before, now that he is a member of our village, he should enjoy the same treatment as the other children in our village."

Liu Yuqing: "Then what should we do with this child when he goes back? We can't just let him start his own household on his own, can we?"

Yun Liping: "That really is a problem. Even if we build him another house, he won't be able to take care of himself, will he?"

Yunqi had an idea in mind, "Since it's not confirmed yet, you can stay with us for now, that way the house will be more lively."

Yun Liping glanced at her sideways, "You were complaining about how noisy the two kids were before, but now you're eager to take them back. Why don't you let them stay with us for a while? My parents are bored anyway, so let them experience taking care of the kids."

Liu Yuqing was clearly also considering it. She looked at her two friends next to her, scratched her head and said, "Usually when I go out, my mom is always home alone. If Gangzi can keep me company, I'll feel more at ease."

Seeing their enthusiasm, Yunqi couldn't help but pour cold water on them, "We've only known this child for half a day, and we don't know anything about his living habits and personality. What if he doesn't get along with the elders at home? If we send him to another place, that won't be a good thing for the child."

Yun Liping immediately retorted, "Isn't that the same as being at your home?"

Yunqi said, "I definitely need to make it clear to him first. He can stay at our house temporarily before we settle him in. Besides, as the village chief, it's perfectly normal for Brother Cheng to handle this kind of thing."

"Let's spend the next couple of days getting to know each other. If Gangzi is a good match for us, you can't stop us from doing so." Liu Yuqing also felt that it would be better to spend some time together before making a decision, otherwise things would be even more awkward, and it would be difficult to handle the situation then.

Captain Xiao also squeezed over hesitantly and said to Si Cheng in a low voice, "Just now, some people in the team asked me to come and ask if you wanted to adopt some children? Mainly, these children are orphans left behind by relatives and friends. Now that they see you taking in these children, everyone is tempted."

Si Cheng said, "This was just an accident. We didn't originally plan to take in this child. We just wanted to settle the two of them, the grandmother and grandson. Who knew these changes would happen? You can tell those people clearly that we will not take in a second child."

Captain Xiao glanced at the child on horseback and said, "Actually, you can reconsider. Since the great disaster, the birth rate has dropped a lot, and if you take the child back and raise him from a young age, it will be no different from raising your own child."

Si Cheng shook his head decisively, "You see, we're always running around outside. At home, we have elderly people and children. If we bring the children back to the village, it will only add to the burden on the elderly. I think these children in the team will grow up soon, and the families they take in now will have an extra source of help in the future. There's absolutely no need to push the children out now."

Captain Xiao sighed, "How can your own children be the same as those you've taken in? Kind-hearted people might be similar, but look at how thin some of the children in the team have become!"

Captain Xiao was pressured by everyone to make this trip. He himself felt some sympathy for these children, especially in terms of food. They were not treated like other people's biological children, but they had to put in much more effort.

Old Mrs. Zhou probably saw many similar situations before choosing to end her life that way, making it impossible for Village Chief Si and the others to refuse to take in the child. Because of her actions, many people in the team had second thoughts.

Si Cheng hadn't noticed this before. He glanced at a few of the children who were as thin as skeletons and said, "Aren't those children all with their parents? Otherwise, they're relatives, aren't they?"

Captain Xiao said, “There are many orphans here. They live with relatives or fellow villagers. But as you know, food is the most important thing at this time. Usually, the supply is reserved for their own families, so the amount they can get is limited.”

Captain Xiao genuinely hoped that Si Cheng and his team could take in these children, as it would greatly increase their chances of survival.

Si Cheng hadn't expected that Gangzi's arrival would cause so many people to have such thoughts. It wasn't that he lacked compassion; even if Pinghe Village gave everything it had, it wouldn't be able to save so many children. He could only cruelly refuse.

"Actually, when you get there, you can set up an organization to take in these children. At least teaching them some survival skills is much better than letting them struggle on their own."

Captain Xiao sighed, "I don't know if the supplies stored there have been damaged. We went there with the idea of ​​testing the waters, and with so many people waiting to be arranged, we simply can't take care of everything at once."

Although Captain Xiao knew the location of the reserves and how to enter, so much time had passed that he knew nothing about the situation inside, and he dared not make any promises now.

I know it's a bit unreasonable to ask them to take in so many children. Although I held onto a sliver of hope, it's not too hard to accept that I've been rejected.

Instead of dwelling on that topic, we started talking about our plans for the rest of the journey, what we had learned from other refugees about the road ahead, and where the best place to rest would be.

The conversation was going quite smoothly, and some refugees with ulterior motives began to have some expectations.

"I wonder if they'll agree?" Ning Hao was filled with anxiety. Ever since his brother and sister-in-law passed away, his nephew had been living with them. But since the drought, his wife had become increasingly disgusted with the child, even beating and scolding him behind his back.

He had talked to her, but when she pushed her small, thin son in front of him, he couldn't say anything more to scold her.

Looking at his nephew struggling to carry his things and hurry along the road not far away, Ning Hao felt guilty. After all, his brother and sister-in-law had taken good care of him when they were alive, but now they had left behind their only son, and he was unable to take good care of him. He even had the idea of ​​sending his nephew away.

Turning to look at his wife and son, whose withered and thin bodies were also carrying heavy loads on their way, he couldn't help but look expectantly at Captain Xiao and his men ahead.