"How many times have I told you not to go barefoot? Don't go barefoot! It's so uncomfortable to walk around barefoot when it's wet." Granny Liu stepped forward and handed him a pair of slippers. The floor in the house was all rammed mud, and it would get wet as soon as it touched water. It was incredibly dirty.

"You didn't leave your slippers outside, so I just came in after washing my feet," Xu Hongshan muttered under his breath.

"By the way, what lock were you talking about earlier?"

Upon hearing her father-in-law's question, Zhou Nianmei quickly stepped forward and recounted what had happened that morning, finally expressing her concerns.

"She dares?" Xu Hongshan's eyes widened, which was quite intimidating.

"Damn it, they dare to mess with my family. You wait, I'll call my second and third brothers and go to their house to yell at them. I'll make sure they die from all the yelling."

Xu Hongshan wished he could run to Granny Chen's house right now and give her a good scolding, calling her a piece of trash.

Granny Liu pulled him back, "Alright, alright, don't make trouble. We'll talk about it later. What good will it do to scold them? Right now, I'm just worried about the third son and his wife."

Xu Minghan, who was being worried about, had already reached the place mentioned earlier. After looking around to make sure no one was there, he stretched his head down to the edge of the field and called out, "Xuemei, Xuemei."

Zhang Xuemei was half-lying in the field with her eyes closed when she suddenly heard someone calling her. She immediately opened her eyes, listened carefully, and realized that it was indeed her husband, Xu Minghan.

"Minghan, I'm down here. My legs are a little numb and I can't get up. Come down."

Upon hearing Zhang Xuemei's voice, Xu Minghan immediately jumped down from the paddy field embankment, cleared away the pile of firewood blocking his way, and saw his wife resting half-lying down.

I quickly pulled out the egg pancake my mother had packed for me from my pocket. "You must be starving! Eat up, I also brought a pot of hot water, have some with it."

"Hmm, I was starving if you hadn't come soon." Zhang Xuemei took the bag, tore off a piece, and stuffed it into her mouth. Despite the high temperature, she didn't feel the pancake was cold.

While eating, she glanced at her husband and, noticing his empty hands, asked curiously, "What? You didn't bring any clothes?"

Xu Minghan plopped down in the field, waved his hand and said, "Don't even mention it, that old woman from the Chen family is keeping an eye on me! I might as well not bring anything, since they're all summer clothes anyway, I can buy them later."

"Who are you talking about?" Zhang Xuemei was completely confused and didn't know who he was referring to.

"Who else could it be? Chen Chunfeng. It's been so long, I'd forgotten she even existed. Otherwise, she would have left long ago."

Xu Minghan had only recently returned from his rebirth and didn't think of this person for a while.

Zhang Xuemei vaguely remembered, "You mean Xu Yuehe's mother?"

"Yes, it was her. She even had someone report us. We definitely can't go back home now. After you finish eating, we'll head straight to Tianshui City and stay there."

"Oh, it's her!" Zhang Xuemei nodded. It wasn't that Granny Chen was particularly famous, but she remembered that her sister-in-law had been taken away to work by Granny Chen's youngest daughter, Xu Yuehe, and that's how she met her future husband, which led to a life of suffering.

This time, she was determined to stop her sister-in-law from going out, but fortunately, there was still time; they could wait until after she gave birth.

"Finished eating? Then get up! Let's walk slowly." Xu Minghan helped Zhang Xuemei slowly walk up the ridge of the field.

The two walked to the main road, but dared not walk in the middle of the road, so they walked to the innermost part of the road.

"Walk slowly, I'll carry you if you get tired," Xu Minghan said softly, supporting Zhang Xuemei.

Zhang Xuemei leaned half her body against her husband and exhaled a sigh of relief. "How can you carry me with such a big belly? I can walk slowly by myself. Honestly, after more than ten years of comfortable life, you have to hide everywhere as soon as you come back."

Xu Minghan didn't dare to say anything, but just helped her walk slowly along the road.

After walking for about twenty minutes, Zhang Xuemei was panting heavily, unable to walk any further. "I can't go on, let me rest for a while, I'm just too tired."

Xu Minghan helped her to a fork in a path leading uphill and sat her down. Then he turned on the kettle and said, "Here, have some more water."

Zhang Xuemei took the water bottle and gulped down several mouthfuls before looking at her husband and saying, "You should have some too."

Xu Minghan waved his hand, "I'm going up there to drink some mountain water. It's just ahead. You wait for me here."

The kettle is filled with cooled boiled water, which is perfect for pregnant women. I can just drink some mountain spring water myself.

After resting for a while, the two prepared to set off again. Zhang Xuemei looked down at the mountain path below. It was a winding, circuitous path. Although it didn't look far, it was actually a very long walk.

"How long are we going to walk? Will we still not reach town by dark?"

Zhang Xuemei thought that, given her current walking speed, it was indeed possible.

Xu Minghan frowned and looked ahead, then comforted him, "It's alright, let's go first. Maybe we'll find a car, and we can give them some money for a ride!"

Zhang Xuemei rolled her eyes. "Come on, this isn't decades from now, when every family has a car. Right now, there are only two three-wheeled trucks in the village, and they go out early every morning. They should still be in town by now!"

Xu Minghan touched his nose and mumbled, "What if? It's not certain."

"You..." Zhang Xuemei was about to say something when she suddenly stopped and tilted her ear to listen carefully.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going?" Xu Minghan looked at his wife with a puzzled expression when he saw her stop.

"No, listen, isn't a car coming?"

Upon hearing her words, Xu Minghan immediately turned around and looked behind him, hesitatingly saying, "It seems so, no, it's just that the car is coming. Let's stand to the side and take a look first."

Xu Minghan helped his wife stand a little further inside. The sound sounded like a three-wheeled truck, probably one of the two from the village. He just didn't know who the driver was. It would be best if it was Dongxiang.

"Thump, thump, thump," the sound grew louder, indicating that the car was getting closer.

Xu Minghan walked to the middle of the road, stood on tiptoe and looked back. Seeing the three-wheeled truck behind the bend, he exclaimed with delight, "The truck is here! We don't have to go any further!"

Hearing her husband's voice, Zhang Xuemei stood up from the ground by the roadside, supporting her back.

Thinking that I could finally rest for a while, I never wanted to leave again.

Xu Dongxiang was driving while keeping an eye on the roadside, so he saw Xu Minghan as soon as he stepped out.

He stopped the car, jumped out, and shouted, "Minghan, we've finally found you! Come on, get in the car!"

Xu Minghan helped his wife walk to the back of the truck. "Why are you still in the village today? And you came out with the truck empty."

Xu Dongxiang helped Zhang Xuemei into the car and replied, "Not many people went to town today, so I didn't drive. I just went to your house to look for you, but your aunt said you and your sister-in-law went out to hide."

As soon as I heard that, I knew what was going on, so I immediately drove over. My sister-in-law is heavily pregnant and can't walk far.