Grandma Zhu didn't want to accept Chen Xiang's money, nor did she want to cook for anyone else.
She was unwilling to do this thankless task and didn't want her daughter-in-law to suffer such grievances.
"Lord Chen, our cooking skills are just average, and we're afraid we'll delay everyone's meal."
Old Liu was immediately displeased upon hearing what Old Lady Zhu said, and he glared fiercely behind Chen Xiang.
"Grandma Zhu, don't be so rude. There are only a few people here, so you can just do whatever you want."
Worried that the guards would lose their temper, Tao quickly reached out and took the silver from Chen Xiang's hand, nodding with a smile.
"It's nothing, it's all nothing. Gentlemen, please go and rest!"
Old Liu was pleased with Tao's tact and pulled Chen Xiang up with a stern face. "Boss, let's go have a drink."
Chen Xiang was somewhat dissatisfied with Lao Liu's overbearing attitude and impatiently reminded him, "Lao Liu! You need to change your temper."
"Boss, there are only a few prisoners, why are you still hanging out with them like Brother Chen?"
Old Liu fell ill before entering Lujia Village and had been resting with other patients infected with smallpox.
She didn't leave Lujia Village with the others until she recovered, and she didn't know about the matter between Chen Xiang and Old Lady Zhu.
Zhu Wen heard Lao Liu's loud voice as he emerged from the bushes pulling up his pants, and went up to kick him.
"You brat, you would have been dead long ago if it weren't for Old Lady Zhu."
Old Liu grimaced in pain and turned to look at Zhu Wen, asking in confusion, "What do you mean? Didn't the boss find the antidote?"
"It wasn't me; it was Madam Zhu, Old Lady Zhu's daughter-in-law, who formulated the prescription, which enabled everyone to recover."
Chen Xiang took the wine flask Zhu Wen handed him, took a small sip, and sighed.
Old Liu stared blankly at Grandma Zhu and her family, somewhat bewildered and at a loss. "Eldest son, did they buy these ingredients too?"
"Yes! So be nicer to them. Even though they're prisoners, they're still obligated to help you."
Chen Xiang didn't dare to reveal that he had paid for the horses himself, but instead looked curiously at Zhu Xixi in the carriage.
They met Xixi's mature eyes and both of them were stunned for a moment. Chen Xiang almost spat out the wine in his mouth.
What did he just see?
When Chen Xiang noticed that Xi Xi was looking at them, she made a "ba aba" sound, kicking her little feet and waving her little hands.
That was close; she almost got caught eavesdropping.
Chen Xiang found Zhu Xixi increasingly strange; he wasn't old and his eyesight was failing.
He had just seen Zhu Xixi staring at them.
Just as he got up and walked towards Zhu Xixi, Old Lady Zhu came to the carriage and took Zhu Xixi away.
"Lord Chen, dinner is ready."
At Grandma Zhu's prompting, Chen Xiang stopped observing Zhu Xixi's actions, nodded, and went to the fire.
The rest of the guards and prisoners lined up in front of Tao and Sun, taking bowls of rice porridge that they were given.
The rice porridge included some brown rice and minced meat, as well as a steamed potato. The large bowl of rice porridge and potato was the whole team's dinner.
Chen Xiang placed the rice porridge and potatoes in front of Wen Xiuying, patted Zhu Zinan's head, and sighed in comfort.
"Your ancestors have passed away, so please take good care of yourself for the sake of your children!"
Upon hearing the sound, Wen Xiuying looked at the rice porridge in front of her, pursed her lips, and began to cry silently.
Previously, even the most ordinary meal in their family was braised pork, but now they can only eat rice porridge mixed with brown rice with these people.
Thinking of the past, she cried even louder and hugged Zhu Zinan tightly.
Liu was feeding Xixi rice porridge when she heard the sound and looked in Wen Xiuya's direction, but her heart remained unmoved.
Tao, while munching on a potato, complained to Wen Xiuya, "When she had good food and drink, she never gave us anything. Now we have to support her. It's really unfair."
"Let's say less! Lord Chen has taken care of her meal expenses; we're just doing our part to prepare more food."
Old Mrs. Zhu showed no sympathy for Wen Xiuying's plight, if it weren't for Zhu Yanyan's persistent pursuit of them.
Zhu Borong did not die in vain. What was originally a happy family of four has now turned into this miserable situation.
“Mother, we’re about to enter the desert. What’s the use of money? There’s nowhere to buy food. If it weren’t for Lord Chen’s sake, who would waste their energy cooking for someone like him?”
Tao felt resentful when she thought about what Zhu Borong's family had done to them; she thought such people should just starve to death.
"Sister-in-law, say less! Rest after you finish eating, we still have to travel this afternoon."
Sun was applying medicine to Zhu Chenfeng's accidental injury when she couldn't help but remind her sister-in-law of her nagging.
My third aunt is right. Now is not the time to discuss this; we should focus on what happens on the road.
[Wouldn't starting a fire at this time attract deserters or starving refugees by the smell?]
These people are well-trained; we are no match for them.
There's a scene in the book where Zhu Yanyan leads her team towards the desert, only to encounter deserters halfway there.
The deserters organized refugees to linger in the vicinity. Whenever they smelled a fire, they would pretend to faint and beg for food from passing groups.
Once someone kindly offers it out, the others who have been hiding will rush out and surround the group to seize the food.
Organized by deserters, they were well-trained and could easily break through the team's defenses every time.
The Zhu family members, who were all engrossed in eating, suddenly became serious when they heard Xixi's childish chatter.
Even Pei Sining looked at the rice porridge in her bowl and lost her appetite, glancing around with a serious expression.
The forest where the team is currently resting is surrounded by mountains, and deep within the forest are thickets of shrubs.
White smoke occasionally rises from the jungle, indicating that the depths of the forest are shrouded in miasma, which is the best place to hide people.
If someone really has designs on the grain, they could steal it and hide in the miasma, and even if they went in, they might not be able to find them.
Just as he was worrying about the food supply, a weak voice suddenly rang out not far away.
"Help... Help!"
Upon hearing the sound, everyone became alert, quickly stood up, and stared intently in the direction from which the sound came.
However, before Chen Xiang and the others could investigate the cause, Wen Xiuying found the source of the sound and parted the bushes.
Inside lay a gaunt man, dressed in rags, his face sunken with thinness.
Wen Xiuying was startled by the man in front of her and scrambled away from the bushes.
When the man saw Wen Xiuya appear, he weakly reached out his hand and crawled out of the bushes.
"Help me... help me..."
No one dared to act rashly when they looked at the man in front of them, but Wen Xiuying pondered for a moment.
She quickly got up and brought the rice porridge to the man, saying, "Eat!"
"Wen Xiuying, what are you doing?" Tao saw Wen Xiuying's actions and excitedly stepped forward to kick the bowl away.
Wen Xiuying stared in surprise at the rice porridge scattered all over the ground, and angrily roared at Tao.
"Don't you have any compassion? He's starving like this, why are you treating him like this?"
"It is because of your heartless nature that my daughter and husband died with their eyes wide open in disgrace."
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