Perhaps it was divine intervention, but before Li Rou Niang could come up with any ideas, a disturbance broke out that very night.
There were refugees who had arrived here early and had been completely swindled out of their money. They sold their children to barely survive, and when they ran out of food and were starving, they decided to fight to the death since they were going to die anyway, without any ties to them!
So these people got together and started plotting a disturbance!
The next day, when the city gates opened and the grain merchants came out, the group rushed into the city together.
This is a good time!
Li Rouniang hurriedly said to Dahe and Erhe, "Dahe, Erhe, and Xiuer, you two stay here and keep an eye on my father and children. I need to see if I can manage to get some grain out again."
Dahe quickly stopped her: "Sister, I'll go with you. It's chaotic here, don't let anyone get hurt!"
Li Rouniang thought for a moment and nodded, letting Erhe Xiuer stay.
Zhao Youtian thought that if he stayed obediently, he would only be waiting to die. He might as well join in the robbery. What did rules matter in the face of life and death?
So he said to his people, “If we still want to live, let’s fight! Women, children, and the elderly stay behind, and the men go into the city to grab grain as a family unit. Life and death are in the hands of fate, and wealth and honor are determined by heaven.”
Everyone's previously gray eyes lit up. Yes, so what if they obeyed the law? They had come to three cities in a row, almost dying on the way, but the imperial court did nothing for them. So what if they robbed? As the saying goes, the law does not punish the masses. There were so many people. It was fine. They followed the crowd and rushed into the city.
Of course, there were many, many people who shared this idea. It wasn't just a few of them; all the refugees at the city gates were flocking into the city. In fact, if it had just been those refugees who had gathered to cause trouble, they would probably have been suppressed quickly. However, since all the refugees had launched an attack at the same time, it was difficult to suppress them due to insufficient military force.
Li Rouniang squeezed into the city along with the crowd. The city was in chaos, and Li Rouniang was forced to rush forward with the crowd. It was difficult to turn back, and she and Dahe were soon separated.
She shouted, "Gather outside the city!" Dahe waved to him.
Then the two of them dispersed with the flow of people. Li Rou Niang was lucky. They were indeed robbing the unscrupulous merchant's granary. She also stepped forward. Thinking that if she put all of it into her space at once, it might arouse suspicion, she joined everyone in robbing while using her mind to store half of the grain she touched into her space. She would leave the rest for the refugees.
Then, by doing the same thing, the space was quickly filled with grain!
Li Rouniang felt that it would be enough for the entire clan to eat for three months.
So she stopped and started to walk away. By sheer coincidence, she ran into the small-time merchant who had sold her the silver pendant. He was now on the ground, seemingly having received a severe beating.
Li Rouniang quickly went over to help him up. The man seemed to recognize Li Rouniang as well. Li Rouniang said to him, "I want to redeem my silver pendant. I'll exchange it for grain. Do you think that's alright?"
The man seemed to have been beaten into submission; he didn't haggle and hurriedly nodded, leading Li Rou Niang to retrieve the silver pendant.
Li Rouniang saw that there were quite a few things in the shop, but she didn't have any ulterior motives. She was robbing the grain to survive, and if she were to take all these things and put them into the space, things would be different.
"Thank you anyway." Li Rouniang accepted the goods as a token of her gratitude, giving him an extra half-bag of grain. The peddler then gave a wry smile.
Li Rou Niang put the silver pendant into her spatial storage, then, empty-handed, followed the crowd out of the city.
At this time, most people went inside. She saw that soldiers had been brought in and were slashing at any refugees they saw. She trembled and hurriedly ran out of the city, worried about Dahe and hoping that he had escaped the city by now.
The city is likely to be ravaged by bloodshed.
Li Rouniang ran out and found that Zhao Dahe had not come out. She was really anxious and wanted to go back in, but Old Man Mo stopped her: "There are so many people inside, and it's so chaotic. If you go in and miss Dahe, it will be bad for the two of you to look for each other. It's better to wait a little longer."
Although Erhe was worried about his elder brother, he agreed with Old Man Mo's statement. So Li Rouniang could only wait anxiously. Fortunately, there was no danger. Zhao Dahe had managed to run out with half a bag of grain.
"Sister, that was incredibly dangerous! The soldiers in the city just started killing refugees without even asking them a question!" Dahe exclaimed as soon as they met.
Li Rouniang wiped her sweat, still shaken. She noticed that Zhao Youtian hadn't come out yet, but she was also worried that they might be caught in the crossfire at the city gate. So she said to the Zhao family members who were staying behind, "Why don't we go outside and wait on the main road? If a few of us stay here and see our clansmen, we can tell them where to meet up. If the situation spreads outside the city, we are all elderly, women, and children. It would be even more dangerous for us."
Everyone nodded, and then they got up and headed towards the main road, while Dahe and Erhe stayed behind. Li Rouniang and the others waited anxiously on the main road. People returned one after another; Zhao Youtian was slightly injured. Some were lucky enough to escape unscathed.
Zhao Hulu's leg was badly injured, but he wrapped it in bandages, held the half-sack of grain he had stolen, and looked satisfied.
Although Zhao Dahua was disgusted, she felt a little touched and ashamed. After all, Zhao Hulu was working so hard not for her, but for the child she was carrying that wasn't actually hers. This feeling was complicated, and it made her even more hesitant to tell the truth.
After a final headcount, only three people were missing.
"Chieftain, my Tiezi hasn't come back!" someone cried.
She only had this one son, and she originally planned to get him married, but then that happened. Otherwise, her son would probably be married by now.
My husband hasn't come back either.
"And my father."
Two more men chimed in, both from the same clan. Zhao Youtian was also worried. He led the two men back together and secretly observed the chaos at the city gate. A large number of refugees were running out, covered in blood. There were also armed constables killing anyone they saw at the gate. Many refugees were surging out, creating a chaotic scene. He dared not approach.
"We can only wait like this for now," he sighed.
"Let's rest here near the official road for a day and then we'll talk again."
This is where the deeper meaning lies. If a whole day and night has passed and these three still haven't come looking for us, then perhaps... sigh!
Li Rou Niang and her family found a sheltered spot nearby. Da He and Er He, being experienced drivers, quickly set up a small shed outside, mainly for convenience; the small tent was inside.
"Father, Dahe, Erhe, Xiuer, we won't eat wild vegetables this time. Let's have rice together!" Li Rouniang said.
The space was now full of food, so she decided to indulge herself. To be honest, a meal of white rice was considered a luxury!
"Sister, we're young and strong, we'll just have some porridge. Let's save the rice for the children." Dahe also wanted to eat, but he knew how precious food was.
“No, you’re a hero, you have to eat this meal. Let’s eat together!” Li Rou Niang said.
Zhao Dahua curled her lip, "With so little grain, they really have the nerve to show off!"
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