"Besides, who is stupid? Our villagers went to the back mountain and found Pueraria root. Sooner or later, someone will find out. If you can hide it under such circumstances, then I think you are capable. There is no need for you to cause trouble here."

"Besides, can we dig up so much kudzu root?" Zhou Jiaojiao didn't give her a good look and said it to her so that she couldn't even raise her head.

Before Shen Lin could say anything, a woman from the village stood up and told her to stop talking nonsense.

These people could also see that Zhou Jiaojiao was a person who knew a lot. Everyone had shown her kindness, and they were grateful for what they received. Moreover, it was a year of famine, and everyone's future was uncertain. They didn't know whether they could survive. At this time, there was a leader who could make rational decisions, gain benefits, and live a smoother life. They would be foolish to offend the other party.

"Chen Lin, are you jealous of Jiaojiao? She didn't do anything to you. The Zhao family also took a lot of food back then, and now they don't want any of yours. You're taking advantage of others and still saying bad things about them. How shameless of you."

"That's right. Jiaojiao stood out with her big belly, wasn't it to protect everyone? Otherwise, if so many refugees started making trouble, who could guarantee that no one in our village would get hurt, even if there were more people in the village?"

"Didn't you just hear that those five people are murderous beasts, simply demons. If it weren't for Chu San's help, who would dare to sleep at night?"

"You mean the kudzu root? I didn't see you digging it up, you just kept picking it up here."

“I really don’t know what Shen Lin is thinking.”

"What's so strange about this? She wants us to listen to her. If you ask me, it's also strange that Zhao Changliu hasn't left any food for Chen Lin recently?" A woman laughed.

"Zhao Changliu is also strange. He told everything to his wife but never told the elders in the family. No wonder you are angry, Mrs. Zhao. If it were me, I would be angry too."

Mrs. Zhao was laughed at by the villagers and became even angrier. She glared at Chen Lin fiercely, thinking that this woman was playing tricks on her and deliberately trying to make her son alienate her.

The family started arguing again.

Zhou Jiaojiao was too lazy to pay attention. With Chen Lin's personality, she had such a good golden finger, there was nothing she couldn't accomplish. She had to have bad intentions, so the current ending was her own fault.

"My dear, you should take a rest. Are you feeling well in your stomach?" Chu San helped her sit down.

Mrs. Chu's eldest and second wives also came over to show their concern and brought over a bowl of porridge with some pickled radish on top.

Zhou Jiaojiao's appetite hasn't been very good recently, perhaps because of her pregnancy. Seeing the pickled vegetables, she found them particularly appetizing. She was a little surprised: "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, where did these pickled radishes come from?"

"I pickled it last year, and I still have some left this year. It was hot before, and no one had water to drink, so naturally we couldn't eat anything salty, so I just left it there. Now that the weather has cooled down and there's no shortage of water, I opened it and saw it's not spoiled yet."

"But you should also eat less, sister-in-law. I heard that it is better for pregnant women to eat nutritious food. Unfortunately, there are no eggs or bird eggs to nourish you at this time." Mrs. Chu was a little worried. She was also afraid that the baby in Zhou Jiaojiao's belly was too small and she would not be able to raise it after giving birth.

Zhou Jiaojiao also understood her implication and said with a smile, "Thank you, sister-in-law. I just haven't had an appetite lately. This pickled radish is delicious."

"Here, these fine-grain cakes were given by the nobleman in the backyard. Sister-in-law and sister-in-law, you can take them to feed the four children. We are older and can handle it, but the children should eat more good food." Zhou Jiaojiao asked Chu San to give the cakes to them.

When Mrs. Chu and Mrs. Chu II heard this, they felt relieved, but they could not accept the things.

"Third sister-in-law, I know you have a kind heart, but you should keep this fine grain bread. You are about to give birth, and you don't have any meat, so you still need this little bit of food. Your eldest brother and I are taking care of the two boys at home. They can just eat naan to fill their stomachs. If they eat too much, I'm afraid they will be picky and life will be even harder."

This is also what Mrs. Chu meant. She accepted Zhou Jiaojiao's kindness, at least to show that she remembered her efforts, but she couldn't really accept it. Didn't she see that her third brother's eyes fell on the fine grain cakes from time to time? She guessed that she would have to ask them to exchange them back when the time came.

Neither of them is a greedy person, so let's just drop the matter.

Zhou Jiaojiao didn't force it anymore. She leaned against the cart and drank the porridge slowly. She called Chu San to check how much food was left at home.

Chu San also ate naan. It was solid and a bit hard, but adding water could increase the feeling of fullness. To be honest, it was more comfortable than eating fine grains.

Especially when fleeing at this time, people just want to fill their stomachs and don’t have any requirements for taste and flavor.

Chu San hummed and stood up to check. He was quick and knew all the family belongings. After a while, he sat back next to Zhou Jiaojiao and served her to eat slowly.

"There's still a month's worth of food left, and some fine rice. I'll make rice porridge for the child later."

Ximi was previously stored in the Liu Mansion in Xi County. At that time, Zhou Jiaojiao and the Chu family considered the issue of feeding the child. It was natural that there was no problem in using Ximi to make porridge to feed the child. Now, it was a rare opportunity to make porridge for Zhou Jiaojiao, so some bacon grains were added in it, which was the only ten pounds of meat left in the Chu family.

It is definitely not enough to feed everyone, it can only be used for emergency situations.

When there is no oil or water and you are not feeling well, you can just endure a little bit and get by.

However, just feeding porridge to a child may not keep him alive. After all, the nutrition is too simple and he still needs milk.

"Well, I'll try to find a way to exchange money for the nobleman in the backyard. I heard a baby crying. If I'm lucky, maybe I can get some milk to feed the child."

"That's a good idea." Chu San obviously took it to heart.

Zhou Jiaojiao smiled slightly. She was also planning to find another opportunity to see if there was a check-in point where she could get dairy products. But she was not in a hurry. If it really didn't work, she could just use merit points to exchange with the system. She believed that as long as she gave enough, Xiao Si would definitely agree, but this was a choice made out of helplessness.

"Husband, let's take a break first while the atmosphere is still good. If it takes too long, I'm afraid it will be chaotic." Zhou Jiaojiao had to prepare for the worst.

Although there is kudzu root, it is not much. With so many refugees, they may not be able to hold out for long.

"Okay." Chu San first dried his body, and then let Zhou Jiaojiao lean on him to rest.

Perhaps because Zhou Jiaojiao's chanting was effective, and coupled with what Chu San did in the front yard, the nobles in the backyard were less wary of the two of them. When it was almost dark, they called Zhou Jiaojiao over to chant again.

Chu San naturally had to go with him.

Zhou Jiaojiao had already walked out, and suddenly her eyes met Shen Lin's. She noticed the resentment in her eyes and that she had become much thinner. Zhao Xiaochuan was still nestled in her arms, whining that he was hungry.

This reminded Zhou Jiaojiao.

This time was not short, and Chen Lin was afraid that she would not be able to bear it any longer. She retreated again, said something to Chu's mother and Chu's elder brother, and then left.