Grandma Zhu cautiously walked towards the source of the fire, only to discover it upon closer inspection.
A tent was pitched next to the fire, with a smoke pipe on top of it, from which hot white smoke billowed out, and laughter and cheerful voices could be heard from inside.
Zhu Chenfeng stared at the strange scene before him with a mixture of fear and apprehension, pulling on Old Lady Zhu, who was trying to move forward.
"Mom, this tent looks weird, shall we go back?"
When Grandma Zhu saw the strange tent, she became even more certain that Zhu Yanyan was inside.
It seems that everything is pretty much as Xixi predicted, but since things have come to this, she has no choice but to give it a try.
"Give me the towel, you all wait here."
Zhu Chenfeng was puzzled by his mother's actions and anxiously reached out to stop her, but he was also worried that his mother would scold him.
He could only sigh and stomp his feet in place, watching helplessly as his mother walked towards the tent.
Grandma Zhu wrapped herself up tightly in a towel, carried a basket to the front of the tent, and asked in a low voice.
Is anyone home?
Zhu Yanyan, who was enjoying a warm bowl of meat soup inside her tent, immediately became alert upon hearing the noise outside.
"who?"
When Granny Wang saw that Zhu Yanyan was about to get up, she quickly pressed her back into her seat, saying, "Don't be afraid, Grandma will go."
The ordinary address made Zhu Yanyan freeze on the spot, a genuine smile appearing on her face as she stared blankly as Granny Wang walked towards the curtain.
Before lifting the curtain, Granny Wang held a packet of poison in her palm, squinted, and lifted the curtain.
Who is it?
Just as Old Lady Zhu approached, she saw Granny Wang looking warily through the curtain to peek outside.
Seeing this, Grandma Zhu smiled and took a few steps back, placing the basket on the ground.
"Hello, girl! Are you also heading to town? I saw your firelight in the bungalows behind here, and thinking about how cold it is, I thought I'd bring you some food."
Even though Old Lady Zhu placed the basket in front of the curtain, Granny Wang remained vigilantly hidden behind the curtain, observing her movements.
"Why would you be so kind? There's famine everywhere, why would you send us food for no reason?"
"Actually, I also have an ulterior motive. I want to ask you about the situation in Hengyang Town. We plan to enter the city tomorrow, but the city gates remain closed, and I don't feel very at ease."
Old Mrs. Zhu realized that Granny Wang was a suspicious person, so she deliberately revealed the purpose of her visit in an attempt to lower her guard.
Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, Granny Wang came out from behind the curtain and looked at Old Lady Zhu in surprise.
"You're also planning to go to Hengyang Town?"
"Yes! Are you the same?"
Old Mrs. Zhu carefully examined Wang Pozi, who came out from behind the curtain, and noticed that she was short, had a face covered with spots, and had long hair growing on both sides of her temples.
She was about the same age as me, but seemed to have experienced something terrible, and looked much older.
At the same time, Granny Wang carefully observed Old Lady Zhu in front of her. Seeing that she was dressed simply, she avoided the topic and continued to ask her questions.
How many of you are there?
"There are about twenty or thirty of us, all of whom came from the south."
Old Mrs. Zhu was not angry at Wang Pozi's rudeness, and patiently replied with a smile on her face.
When Granny Wang heard that Old Lady Zhu had thirty people on the other side, her eyes narrowed slightly, and her attitude immediately became more enthusiastic.
"So, are there more burly men or more women in your group?"
"They were all young men who did manual labor, but of course there were quite a few women among them."
Old Mrs. Zhu had no intention of hiding anything from Granny Wang; even if Granny Wang didn't tell her, Zhu Yanyan would tell them about their situation anyway.
Upon learning that there were young men in the other group, Granny Wang changed her cold and wary attitude and stepped forward with a smile.
"Hey girl, I'm also heading into the city soon, let's set off together! More people means we can take care of each other."
When Old Lady Zhu realized that Granny Wang completely believed her, she stopped smiling and sighed.
"It's a pity, one of the young men in our team got poisoned after coming out of the desert."
"I know what I ate. Now I just hope to get to the city as soon as possible to see a doctor."
Upon hearing this, Granny Wang's smile froze on her face. She narrowed her eyes and asked, "Have you been to that ancient city?"
“An ancient city? That’s right, we’ve been to an ancient city and rested there for two days.” Old Mrs. Zhu pretended to pause and think for a moment before nodding in agreement.
As if she understood something, Granny Wang pursed her lips, turned around, and walked into the tent, taking out two white medicine bottles from her pack.
Then, carrying the medicine bottle, he went to the door curtain and handed the bottle to Old Lady Zhu, saying, "Sister, I've accepted your food; this is my return gift to you."
"This is an antidote that can cure all poisons. Take it and give it to them. But we hope you can come into the city with us tomorrow."
"Is this... too expensive?"
Old Mrs. Zhu stared blankly at the bottle in Granny Wang's hand, hesitant to take it, and observed it warily for a long time.
"Don't worry, I've made a lot of mistakes in my life. Giving you these two bottles of antidote is like doing yourself a favor."
Wang Pozi noticed Zhu Laotai's wary expression, smiled, stepped forward, stuffed the medicine bottle into her arms, picked up the basket, and turned to enter the tent.
Grandma Zhu stared at the medicine bottle in her hand with a troubled expression, then quickly turned and walked towards her son.
Zhu Chenfeng witnessed the entire scene just now, and he hurriedly stepped forward to ask, "Mother, what is that in your hand?"
Grandma Zhu didn't dare linger for even a moment, pulling her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson along as she quickened her pace toward the bungalow.
As Zhu Dabao left, he turned back with a puzzled look at the familiar voice inside the tent and whispered.
"Auntie, don't you think the figure in the tent looks a lot like Zhu Yanyan?"
Upon hearing this, Sun followed Zhu Dabao's gaze to the tent, stared at the figure inside for a long time, and nodded solemnly.
"It seems so. That's troublesome. We'd better hurry back before she finds out."
Upon learning that Zhu Yanyan was also in the tent, Sun panicked and dragged Zhu Dabao toward the bungalow.
Zhu Yanyan stood inside the tent, staring at the situation outside, and frowned as she looked at Granny Wang.
"Grandma Wang, do you know them?"
"I don't know them. They said they were worried we'd catch a cold outside, so they brought a lot of food over."
Granny Wang took the contents out of the basket, carefully tested them with a silver needle, and only put them into the pot after confirming they were not poisonous.
Upon learning that the people outside the curtain were Old Lady Zhu and her companions, Zhu Yanyan felt immediately uncomfortable and spoke with a cold face.
"Grandma Wang, why did you take their things? None of these people are good people."
"Child, don't worry, I'm just old, not stupid. But do you know what the situation is like in Hengyang Town right now?"
Granny Wang calmly put the mutton from the basket into the pot, picked up a spoon and stirred it continuously, saying slowly.
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