Jiang Yimian was somewhat surprised; she had thought everyone in the village had left, but she hadn't expected there to still be people around.
Upon opening the courtyard gate, a pale-faced young woman stood at the entrance.
The other person's lower abdomen was slightly protruding, clearly indicating that she was several months pregnant.
Liu Xiaoyun was surprised to see Jiang Yimian, then sighed, "You really didn't leave. That old man Jiang and old woman Wu are really scoundrels; they actually abandoned you."
She hadn't believed Gou Sheng when he said he saw Jiang Yimian in the village, but now that she saw her, she was shocked to realize that none of the Jiang family members were good people; they were actually heartless enough to leave their children to die.
Jiang Yimian recognized the other party as someone from the Song family at the village entrance and asked, "Are you planning to stay in the village forever since you haven't left?"
Liu Xiaoyun quickly shook her head and said anxiously, "You know my family's situation. My husband accidentally fell down the mountain a few days ago and is still paralyzed in bed. I'm pregnant, and Gousheng is still a child. If we really go to escape the famine, something might happen on the way."
"Never mind that. I noticed today that several families in the village haven't left yet. We've discussed it and decided to go into the mountains. Why don't you come with us? It'll be good to have someone to look after you. Sister Fengqin is sick now and probably can't take good care of you children."
As a woman herself, she knew how difficult it was to raise children, not to mention that Wang Fengqin was also ill. If she were to pass away and leave behind several children, they would likely suffer greatly.
They live in the same village, so naturally they need to look out for each other.
Knowing that the other party meant well and had come to invite them so that they could look after each other and have company, Jiang Yimian did not intend to go with the villagers.
Putting aside the fact that she has a secret space, it would be inconvenient to take things out in a crowd. Just the fact that there are many people makes it easy for disputes to arise. In this chaotic world, conflicts are not a good thing. Even relatives can turn against each other, let alone people from the same village.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "Thank you for your kindness, Auntie, but we don't plan to go with you. If you're going up the mountain, you don't need to wait for us."
Liu Xiaoyun was about to say something, but seeing that Jiang Yimian was serious, she had no choice but to give up. In the end, she only reminded her, "Okay, then take good care of yourselves. You can't hide in this village anymore. Even if you don't come with us, you should hurry up the mountain and find a place to hide."
Jiang Yimian responded and only closed the courtyard gate and went into the house after the person left. After telling Wang Fengqin what the two had said, she was a little uneasy, afraid that the other party would think that she had acted on her own initiative.
Wang Fengqin just smiled and said, "It's a good thing not to be with them. We can't always trouble others, can we? Yi Mian has grown up and knows that she has to rely on herself. That's really amazing."
As he spoke, he patted her head, his eyes filled with tender love.
Jiang Yimian was stunned.
Little Nuan'er, standing to the side, also smiled and took her hand, saying, "Sister is so amazing! Little Nuan'er likes sister the most."
The little one tiptoed to reach her hand, tilted his head back, and looked at Jiang Yimian with bright, sparkling eyes—he was excessively adorable.
Wang Fengqin feigned displeasure and asked, "Doesn't Xiao Nuan'er like her mother?"
Little Nuan'er was taken aback, then quickly said in her childish voice, "I like them all. I like Mother, I like Sister, and I like Second Brother."
After saying that, he proudly shook his head, which melted everyone's hearts.
Jiang Yimian smiled unconsciously.
*
The next day.
Just as dawn was breaking, Jiang Yimian woke up and was about to go to the kitchen to tidy up when she saw Wang Fengqin already busy at the stove.
Seeing that she was awake, he just smiled and said, "Yimian is awake. The food will be ready in a bit. You can go and pack your things first. Cough cough cough."
Jiang Yimian frowned and stepped forward to take the spatula from Wang Fengqin's hand, but Wang Fengqin dodged away and said with a smile, "Mother is fine, it's just an old ailment. We still have to go up the mountain later, so you should quickly take Xiao Ye and the others to pack their things."
Seeing that the other party insisted, Jiang Yimian had no choice but to agree and go call the two little ones.
As soon as I entered the house, I saw that Ono was already dressed and helping Xiao Nuan'er, who was still asleep, to get dressed.
Xiao Nuan'er hadn't even opened her eyes yet, letting Xiao Ye do whatever he wanted. It took them a while to get dressed.
Jiang Yimian simply said, "We'll be going up the mountain soon, so take a look and pack anything you want to bring."
After saying that, he went to the Jiang family's cellar alone.
The cellar is in complete disarray, as if it had been through a catastrophe.
The wooden racks that were originally used for drying vegetables had fallen to the ground, and the various radishes, corn cobs, dried vegetables, and other items that should have been piled up were gone, leaving only a few bamboo sieves and baskets.
Jiang Yimian put the sieves and baskets into her spatial storage, and then searched the cellar for a while before finally finding a small bag of dried radishes that had been left behind.
Carrying the dried radish outside, he put most of the grain he had snatched from Old Man Shen yesterday into his spatial storage, and stuffed the remaining small portion and dried radish into his basket. He also found a few pieces of clothing and stuffed them in as well. The basket looked full, but it was actually quite light.
Jiang Yimian finally breathed a sigh of relief after doing all this.
If she had her old, strong physique, she wouldn't have needed to do all this to hide it. But now she's too weak; carrying those fifty or sixty pounds of stuff for hours on mountain paths would leave her completely exhausted.
As it turned out, she was right.
After eating congee and vegetable pancakes, the group headed up the mountain.
After walking for more than half an hour, with the summit still nowhere in sight, the group was already exhausted and had to rest on the side.
The two children carried their own small bundles, which contained clothes and trinkets. They weren't very heavy, but they were still sweating profusely and their cheeks were flushed.
Needless to say, Wang Fengqin was so exhausted that she was panting heavily on the side, her face extremely pale, as if she was about to faint at any moment.
Jiang Yimian handed over the bamboo tube filled with water, patted the other woman's back, and said after seeing that she looked much better, "Mother, let me carry you on my back. It will be even more uncomfortable when the sun comes out."
Although it's not yet summer, the sun is already quite scorching, especially at midday, when it makes people feel dizzy.
If they don't hurry up the mountain, their strength will dissipate even faster by noon, and climbing the mountain under the scorching sun is no fun.
The heat is a minor issue; the real problem is heatstroke.
Wang Fengqin hesitated for a moment, but seeing the red sun already appearing on the mountaintop not far away, she could only nod and say, "Thank you for your hard work, Yi Mian. If you're tired, put your mother down."
At this rate, taking three steps and stopping every other step, it's practically impossible for them to reach the top of the mountain before noon. They'll likely be stuck there until nightfall, when it will be pitch black in the mountains. They won't have found a safe place to stay yet, and who knows what dangers await them.
Jiang Yimian nodded, put the basket on her back, and then half-squatted down to carry Wang Fengqin on her back.
Ono, who was standing nearby, quickly said, "Sister, let me carry the basket. Don't worry, I can definitely carry it."
As he spoke, he stepped forward to take the basket from her back, but Jiang Yimian dodged him, saying only, "If I can't carry it anymore, then you can carry it."
Just kidding, if she handed over this basket, how would she explain it? The baskets aren't heavy, and carrying a person on them isn't difficult.
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