"My dad can't hold on much longer!"
"My child has huge blisters on the soles of their feet!"
"Jiang's sister is kind-hearted, please spare some space for my mother to rest!" Her words were filled with pleading, but also contained an unyielding sense of righteousness that left no room for refusal.
Jiang Chan stopped in her tracks.
The inertia of the cart caused her body to lean forward slightly.
She slowly turned around, her face expressionless, only her eyelids slightly lifted as she glanced at the several anxious faces that had gathered around her.
Her voice wasn't loud, like a block of ice thrown into the noisy air:
"Borrowing the car is fine."
A few sighs of relief rang out from the crowd, and some even broke into grateful smiles.
But before the smile could even reach the corners of her eyes, it was frozen by what she said next.
"Let's get the rules straight." Jiang Chan's gaze fixed on each of their faces, enunciating each word clearly, "We'll pay for your meals for each day we borrow. Whatever you eat, Xiao Tao and I will eat too, no complaints. If you don't agree, then there's no point in talking!"
Dead silence.
Those faces that were just moments before filled with earnestness and urgency instantly twisted in shock and then flushed red.
"What the hell?" The first person to jump up stared wide-eyed. "Jiang girl! Are you even from Willow Tree Village? At this critical moment, you're asking us for food? Have you fed your heart to the dogs?!" His hand trembled as he pointed at Jiang Chan.
“Exactly! You ingrate!” A thin woman next to her immediately chimed in with a shrill voice, holding a wailing baby in her arms. “We’ve all been in the same boat, so when things go wrong, we should help each other out! What do you call this? Did a dog steal your conscience?” The child in her arms was so frightened by her shrill voice that he cried even harder.
The man's expression changed as well; his previous pleas turned into blatant accusation: "Jiang family girl, put your hand on your heart and think about it! If we hadn't all come together yesterday, would you have dared to go into that deserted village alone? Would you have dared to go down into that dark cellar? Now that you've found the goods, you're turning your back on us? Grain? Why don't you just rob us!"
“My family is old and young, we really can’t walk anymore…” An old woman with half-gray hair squeezed forward, trying to grab the edge of the cart with both hands. “Girl, just consider it an act of kindness, may the Bodhisattva protect you…”
Jiang Chan neither stepped back nor reached out to help the old woman's outstretched hand.
She simply stared coldly at the pitiful face before her, then glanced around at the faces around her, some angry, some contemptuous, some fanning the flames, and some indifferent.
She spoke, her tone still flat and unchanging:
“I promised to let you rest. But,” she paused, her sharp gaze sweeping over the group, “you promised to give me food. Isn’t that normal? A fair trade! Otherwise, you’ll have the energy to walk, while I starve to death on the road—who will get the cart?”
These words were like a pebble, instantly freezing the old woman's outstretched hand in mid-air, and her pitiful expression froze.
The surrounding murmur of accusations paused for a moment.
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