"Then...then Xixi, like this..."
Liu stood there, bewildered, her eyes reddening, suppressing the urge to cry, and asked in a choked voice.
Just then, Zhu Chenfeng and Madam Sun returned to the room from the outer door.
When Sun noticed that Liu's expression was off, she rushed over and asked, "Sister-in-law, what's wrong? Is Xixi feeling unwell?"
"Yes, sister-in-law, can you help me take a look?" After seeing Sun return, Liu hurriedly carried Xixi over and said anxiously.
Upon hearing this, Madam Sun immediately embraced Zhu Xixi, touched her forehead and neck, and checked her all over before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
"Sister-in-law, it's nothing, it's just too hot! Don't dress Xixi in too many clothes or cover her with too many blankets!"
Upon hearing that Zhu Xixi was alright, the people surrounding Sun Shi breathed a sigh of relief.
After confirming that his niece was alright, Zhu Chenfeng gathered everyone together and explained the current situation.
"Mother, the escort has already given the order to depart at dawn. Before leaving the post station, all the luggage must be checked."
Upon hearing her son's words, Old Mrs. Zhu's face darkened, and she immediately became agitated and retorted.
"Third brother, what do you mean? Are those guards worried we'll steal from the post station?"
Upon hearing this, Tao also became agitated, putting her hands on her hips and pointing outside the door while shouting, "What kind of bastards are they? This is outrageous! What could they possibly steal from such a dilapidated place!"
"Alright, stop talking. Don't attract the guards. Let's figure out how to hide the food and goats."
Grandma Zhu rubbed her throbbing forehead, signaling her second son's wife to be quiet, and turned back to look at the goat in the corner with annoyance.
"Mother, are we going to leave the food and goats here?"
Zhu Haotian became anxious after thinking about the goats and food situation, and looked helplessly at his mother.
“That won’t do. Goats are Xixi’s only food. They can’t stay here.”
After pondering for a moment, Old Mrs. Zhu turned around and looked around the room, then pointed to various parts of the room.
"Second brother, third brother, you two immediately check every corner of the room for rat holes or anything like that, and then check the windows!"
"A mouse hole? Mother, a mouse hole can't fit a goat!" Liu looked in the direction her mother-in-law was pointing, and immediately became puzzled after hearing the words "mouse hole".
Before Old Madam Zhu could reply, Zhu Haotian and Zhu Chenfeng had already started to move, and even Madam Tao and Madam Sun were heading to various corners.
Only after seeing her son and daughter-in-law get to work did Grandma Zhu slowly and methodically explain.
"The key to finding mouse holes is that the walls around the holes are very fragile; you only need to knock a few times to make a big hole."
"With a large hole, tie food to the goats and let them pass through the hole to leave the post station."
Although this method successfully sent the goats out of the post station, Liu was still worried that the goats would be taken away by refugees outside the post station after they left.
"Mother, what if someone takes the goat away?"
"Let's see where this rat hole leads. Once we find it, we'll see what to do from the outside!"
In fact, Old Mrs. Zhu wasn't very confident about this idea, and whether it would succeed depended on the environment outside the wall.
While Old Lady Zhu and Madam Liu were discussing the matter, Zhu Haotian still found a mouse hole in the corner of the wall that a child could crawl into.
He quickly turned to look at Old Lady Zhu and whispered a reminder, "Mother, we've found it!"
After hearing this, Old Lady Zhu glanced at Madam Liu, then pulled her along and hurriedly walked towards Zhu Haotian.
Everyone rushed over upon hearing the commotion and stood behind Old Lady Zhu, anxiously awaiting their mother's orders.
"Mother, what's going on?" Tao Shi waited for a while but then lost patience and anxiously stood on tiptoe to look ahead.
Just as Old Mrs. Zhu was feeling irritable, she heard her second son's wife urging her from behind, and angrily turned around and glared at her.
"What's the rush? Can't you see Da Bao hasn't come back yet?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Dabao's voice came from the entrance of the hole. Zhu Haotian and Zhu Chenfeng quickly pulled him out of the rat hole.
"Dabao, how are you? Where are we outside?" When Grandma Zhu saw her grandson return, she quickly went up to ask him what had happened.
Zhu Dabao dusted himself off and then pointed to the cave with a smile, reporting, "Grandma, there's a forest outside, very secluded, no one's around."
"That's great! Hurry up and break open the hole so we can get the goats and food out." After hearing her grandson's report, Grandma Zhu quickly picked up the sickle on the ground and called on her son to get to work.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Haotian and Zhu Chenfeng quickly picked up the simple hammers they had made, while the others left the room and went to the backyard to keep watch.
However, Liu, who remained in the room, held her daughter and whispered a few words to her son.
Upon hearing their mother's suggestion, Zhu Xiaobao and Zhu Dabao both laughed happily and turned to run towards the haystack.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Zhu Haotian and Zhu Chenfeng finally managed to gradually widen the opening of the hole.
Fortunately, the room had been in disrepair for a long time and was already on the verge of collapse. When breaking the hole, Zhu Haotian and Zhu Chenfeng only needed to tap lightly to widen the opening.
After widening the opening, Zhu Haotian and Zhu Chenfeng left the room and packed their luggage outside in the courtyard.
Grandma Zhu then led the goat to Zhu Dabao, who had been waiting for a long time. After her grandson took the rope, she hurriedly squatted down in front of him and gave him instructions in a serious tone.
"Dabao, this is your sister's food. Hide the goat and come back to us later."
After hearing his grandmother's words, Zhu Dabao turned to look at the goat, thought for a moment, and whispered, "Grandma, after I take the goat out, I'll hide it with me. You guys find me when you have a chance!"
"That won't do, what if you run into bad people!" Grandma Zhu frowned at her grandson's suggestion, fearfully tugging at his sleeve and shaking her head repeatedly.
But Zhu Dabao had already made up his mind. He wasn't scared at all. He smiled and withdrew his hand, quickly turned around, and led the goat toward the cave entrance, waving to Old Lady Zhu as he went.
"Grandma, I'm all grown up now, I can protect myself!"
At the same time, the voice of the escort urging someone to hurry came from outside the door. Helpless, Old Lady Zhu had no choice but to push the old table to block the entrance, and then turned around and ran out of the courtyard.
Outside the backyard, Chen Xiang, the leader of the escorts, placed his hand on the broadsword at his waist, glanced fiercely at the crowd outside the door, and said irritably.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
"good!"
Despite his displeasure, Zhu Haotian had no choice but to push the cart and turn back to look at his mother for the sake of his family's comfort.
After giving his instructions, the escort snorted coldly at Zhu Haotian and turned to leave the backyard.
After the misunderstanding was resolved, Old Lady Zhu jogged over to Zhu Haotian and Zhu Chenfeng and whispered, "It's all settled."
Sun looked around in confusion and asked her mother-in-law, "Mother, Da Bao?"
“Auntie, Da Bao is guarding the goats outside. We’ve decided to let this scarecrow take his place. If anyone questions us, we’ll say he has hives!”
Before Grandma Zhu could reply, Zhu Xiaobao carried the human-shaped straw figure to the cart and hurriedly covered it with a blanket.
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