Ye Xiuhe gave a wry smile. "Overcome? Fine, we wouldn't dare disobey your orders. But when it will be back is another matter, since we have to travel at night—"

Bai Qingping waved her hand dismissively, "Alright, as long as we can get it back. If we can't carry it all, we'll just bring some back first. Let's get through these next few days first, and then we'll go back and get the rest. Anyway, there's no one around here, so it won't get lost."

Despite her doubts and dissatisfaction, Ye Xiuhe could not disobey Bai Qingping's orders at the moment, because Bai Qingping was the one in charge here, and she was merely Bai Qingping's subordinate.

Actually, Ye Xiuhe wanted to stay and see what Bai Qingping was up to. She felt that this person was intentionally trying to make her leave.

Thinking of Jiang Qiao, her feelings were complicated. She didn't want to see such a young girl being ruined by those beasts, but considering her own current situation, she was also in a dilemma.

It's not that she doesn't want to help, but she doesn't have the ability right now. Bai Qingping may seem all smiles, but she knows how ruthless the other party can be.

Ye Xiuhe left in a hurry and didn't even have time to meet Jiang Qiao before Bai Qingping's people called her away. Jiang Qiao overheard Zhang Erhu muttering something about it while she was cooking.

"Alright, let's eat quickly and make room for them."

Jiang Qiao and her group used the same kitchen as Bai Qingping and her group for cooking. However, Jiang Qiao always cooked in advance, so once her side was done, the other side would use the pot.

The person cooking over there is a man, and of course, he's not someone insignificant, otherwise, how could he be hanging out with this group of people?

I've gotten to know Jiang Qiao and the others better over this period of time, and we can chat with them occasionally.

Seeing how plentiful Jiang Qiao and his friends' meals are, I can't help but drool.

Previously, he was also wary of Jiang Qiao, and he wouldn't eat the food offered to him.

Seeing that everyone was fine during this time, and that Jiang Qiao himself was eating, he couldn't help but feel craving it.

“Leave me a bowl of porridge. You guys do this every day, and you have a pretty good life. You’re much better off than us.”

Jiang Qiao smiled and said, "If you don't mind, I'll save you a bowl. I can't give you more than that. There are quite a few of us, so we're all on a ration. You go ahead and do your work. I still need to brew some medicine later."

Seeing Jiang Qiao and the others squatting outside, slurping down their food, the man felt relieved and ate his bowl first before leisurely starting to cook.

As Jiang Qiao brewed the medicine, she watched the other person scoop water from the water vat to make porridge, her eyes filled with a smile.

The man sighed as he cooked, "This is enough for this meal of porridge. Who knows when we'll be able to eat the next one? Jiang Qiao, what else can we eat in these mountains? Tell me."

Jiang Qiao sighed, "What can we expect at this time of year? It's hard to say whether there's any prey at all. Anyway, I've never been into the mountains to see anything."

However, if you go by yourselves, look for snakes; they're all hibernating, so they're easy to catch. As for other snakes, I don't know.

If you catch it, save me a bowl of meat, okay? I haven't had meat in ages, it's impossible not to crave it. Ugh, this godforsaken place, when will I ever get out of here?

The man gave a wry smile at Jiang Qiao's sigh and remained silent. He wanted to go out too, didn't he?

Now even he himself doesn't understand what these people who went into hiding were doing in these mountains. Was it really necessary?

So many people were waiting here just to see a girl. He couldn't help but feel that something was very strange about it. He talked to the others about it, but no one had any answers either.

It's really strange that a high-ranking special agent like him has been reduced to a cook, especially since that woman is really hard to please.

"Sigh, I don't know if this will work. I have a good idea, but if the officer doesn't agree, it's all for nothing. Let's just wait and see. When the brothers can't take it anymore, someone will definitely speak up."

Jiang Qiao smiled wryly, "I thought you guys were secretly enjoying some good food, but it turns out you weren't either?"

The man chuckled sheepishly, "How could I? We're all brothers, how could I steal food? If I have any, I'll definitely give it to you."

Whether or not, only he knows the truth. They get to eat some canned meat every now and then, but Jiang Qiao and the others can forget about it. Putting aside the other party's identity, those few half-dead people would be a waste to eat, and it would be better to leave them for the healthy people to eat.

Jiang Qiao saw that the other party had ladled out a bowl of porridge. Someone came over to take the porridge, and the man, holding the bowl and chopsticks, locked the door and left again.

Jiang Qiao pursed her lips. They were really on high alert. She was afraid the porridge would get tampered with.

She knew there was still porridge in the pot, but that was to be taken up the mountain later.

"Zhang Erhu, you two come over here right now and drink your medicine—"

The four people who were sunbathing outside slowly got up, picked up their bowls, and walked over.

"Sigh, I'm drinking this every day, I'm practically a walking medicine cabinet. When will this ever end? There's nothing in my stomach but medicine."

As Jiang Qiao poured the medicine, she said, "Alright, at least I can help you treat your illnesses. If you're hungry, we can all eat together. If there's no food tomorrow, we can ask your superiors for some."

Zhang Erhu said, "After a few pissings, my stomach is empty. This can't go on. The illness hasn't been cured yet, but I'm starving to death. Brothers, this afternoon, let's go further in and see if we can find something to eat. Damn it, I never had to go through this when we were fighting the Japanese."

The others shared the same sentiment. Jiang Qiao sighed, "Alright, I've been busy all morning. I need to go back and rest. Not to mention you guys, even I'm exhausted. Everyone should move less and save your energy."

When Zhang Erhu came over to deliver the bowl, Jiang Qiao quickly slipped a pill into his hand.

He whispered, "I ate it—"

Zhang Erhu stuffed it into his mouth, then turned and left. Jiang Qiao went to the river to wash the dishes and chopsticks before slowly walking back.

As soon as I got to the kitchen, I ran into the chef who was coming out. The man didn't seem to be in a good mood.

"What's wrong?"

Upon seeing Jiang Qiao, the man gave a bitter laugh. "I think we should just break up as soon as possible. What kind of people are we? Do you think I want to cook for them? I was forced into it by them."

They've been checking on me all day long, but I haven't seen them find anything. They're all drunk as pigs. If you don't believe me, let someone else do it."

Jiang Qiao sighed, "It's nothing serious, but it's best to be careful. If everything's alright, everyone's fine."

"Don't be angry. Hurry up and deliver the food to them. While you're at it, tell them to see if you can get any meat, whether it's snake or something else, at least we can have a decent meal."

The man nodded, and Jiang Qiao handed him the bowl and chopsticks. "Then I'll go back to my room to rest first. You go ahead and do your work."