The woman felt relieved and gratefully thanked Qin San Niang. She then told her husband to hurry up and dig, as Er Gou could also eat this stuff.
So this little one is called Er Gou (Second Dog), and the older one can be called Da Gou (Big Dog), right? Qin San Niang had already recognized this child as the sunflower doll who had been peeking at her eating steamed buns earlier. Compared to this, her own child's name didn't seem so out of place anymore, and even sounded a little bit better.
By noon, everyone had dug up almost all of their fill. Even those who dug less had gathered about two full baskets, which was quite a heavy load.
Each household lit a fire, washed the yams, put them in a pot, and eagerly sat down to wait for them to be cooked.
Wu Chunhua had already started steaming it. She wondered if this hard, unappetizing-looking thing would taste as good as Third Sister said. But she believed her; Third Sister's words were always reasonable and well-founded!
The child, who had been plagued by hunger since escaping hardship, picked up the cooked yam and, ignoring the heat, took a big bite, chewing with great gusto. Even though it was so hot that he was panting heavily, he was reluctant to put the yam down.
"Grandma, this is really delicious! It's even better than steamed buns, much tastier!"
"Delicious! I want more!"
The baby's sweet, childlike voice rang out, and the parents' faces lit up with happy smiles; this really was quite delicious.
Those who had dug less, like Zhao Juhua, were now genuinely regretting it; they should have dug more. They wondered how many the bachelors had dug, and if they could spare some for themselves.
Harvesting yams took up half a day today, so after discussing it, everyone decided not to leave.
Liu planned to clean out all the yams and store them properly. They were delicious and filling, and with so many people in their family, they had to be careful with their spending. Besides, she didn't want the gods to think her family were just freeloaders; otherwise, the gods would be displeased.
As for the wild boar meat, Liu dared not take it out to dry. She could only place it in the carriage, away from everyone, and hang it on vines to air dry. Fortunately, she added a lot of salt, and the distance was not close, and it was downwind, so the taste was masked quite a bit.
The people of Lujia Village had eaten their fill and were now sitting in the cave, dozing off.
Lu Li came over with some fruit to thank them, saying that his son had picked them from wild fruit trees in the mountains to give the child a treat.
The children were all sensible and quickly thanked their grandfather.
Seeing that the children, though holding fruit, weren't in a hurry to share it, surprised Lu Lizheng. He admired this family; although they looked like farmers, they probably had some other identity and were certainly not ordinary people. And that scarred, burly man carrying a bow and arrows—he was clearly no pushover and quite capable. If they could follow them out of the forest, the chances of Lu Family Village surviving would be much greater.
He was the village head of Lujia Village and also the clan leader of the Lu family. Keeping the children alive meant keeping the family lineage intact, so he had to do something about it. Fortunately, the kindness shown by Qin Sanniang gave him an opportunity.
"Sister-in-law, thanks to your wife, we were able to find so much food today. It saved the lives of everyone in the village! We are all very grateful." Lu Lizheng was about the same age as Liu Shi, and Liu Shi had just reprimanded Zhao Juhua, which still made him uneasy. He guessed that since Liu Shi was Qin San Niang's mother, she must have a lot of say.
Hearing someone praise her eldest daughter, especially since she was the village head, made Liu feel as happy as if she had eaten ice cream on a hot summer day!
In this era, the village head was also a person of high status. As the head of a village, he had the opportunity to talk with officials in the county government.
He spoke modestly, saying, "My eldest daughter only knows more from what others have told her. Besides, we are a poor family. It's all because of this unfortunate world that we had no choice but to move south. It's only right that we help as much as we can. Consider it as doing good for the children."
"What you said, sister-in-law, is absolutely right! Your children are all bright and clever. They're sure to earn you a title and make you a noble lady someday. Your good fortune is just beginning!" Lu Lizheng laughed heartily, his mustache twitching as he spoke, making it clear to everyone that he was being very sincere.
"You must be joking. I'm relieved that you're alive and well. Your children are all good too, they even managed to find wild fruit on the mountain." They've been walking for so long and haven't found any fruit yet! They don't know if it's because of the famine, but the birds have already eaten all the fruit.
"Oh, not at all. They're just mischievous little monkeys jumping around. They can't compare to your child's steady and reliable nature."
...
After several rounds of mutual flattery, people mistakenly thought the two were longtime friends! Qin San Niang was speechless, while only Pang Ya listened with great interest.
Sure enough, they got back to the main topic after a short while.
"Sister-in-law, our whole village is planning to head south, and we assume you're heading south too. If you don't mind, would it be alright if we could travel together? It would be like we're taking advantage of you. Don't laugh at us, but we've lost our way in this forest, and whether we can even get out is a question." Old Man Lu's face darkened, and he lowered his head dejectedly. Their Lu family village was located on the northern plains, and they had never seen such a deep forest before. It was normal that they had no experience.
Liu was also pondering this. She knew before that Azhi's father could leave, but now it was difficult for her to make a decision. People's hearts are unpredictable, and she was afraid that someone might have bad intentions. However, it wouldn't be without its advantages if they really traveled together. Before, her family was too weak! She understood the principle of strength in numbers, and ordinary refugees wouldn't dare to bully them.
Ultimately, it's up to the eldest daughter and her family to decide this matter.
“Village head, to be honest, our family isn’t from your Lu Family Village. Traveling with you is no small matter. We were planning to leave tomorrow anyway, so there’s no rush. We can talk about it tomorrow.” Receiving Liu’s look, Qin San Niang quickly replied.
Lu Lizheng didn't seem disappointed. He thought that since they hadn't refused, there was still hope. Just the fact that his wife had told them that yams could be used as food made him feel that this wasn't a problem.
After everyone left, Madam Liu hurriedly pulled her eldest daughter and the other adults, including Gu Qingshan, aside to discuss the matter. They all agreed that they could take them with them on the journey, since a large group could frighten even ordinary wild animals. However, once they left the mountains, it would be better for each group to go their own way.
Gu Qingshan remained noncommittal. It didn't matter to him whether he brought more or fewer people. However, one thing was true: they did have an advantage. Those who could walk out of this deep forest were not ordinary people.
He had been here before and was an excellent hunter, so getting out wouldn't be a problem for him. Besides, he was only responsible for the safety of Madam Qin's group; he couldn't and didn't want to care about the others.
In Gu Qingshan's mind, the Liu family had taken good care of him and his daughter, and had even made a coat for Azhi. Madam Qin had also given him a lot of money. This was an exchange of benefits.
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