The sun was high in the sky in the morning, and it was already so hot at 9 am that I was sweating, which made my already bad mood even worse and made me irritable.
"How has your mother-in-law been lately?" Li Zhangshi broke the silence, as she always doted on her own daughter. This was Li Zhenzhen's biological mother, Li Zhangshi.
"Not bad, he won't die for now!" Old Mrs. Li said sarcastically.
She frowned when she thought of her second daughter-in-law's family situation. There were six sisters in her family, and Li Zhangshi was thirty years old when she gave birth to her precious son, whom she cherished more than her own eyes.
Upon hearing this, Madam Li smiled somewhat awkwardly and continued with a few more pleasantries: "Zhen'er came home throwing a tantrum a few days ago, and I already disciplined her. She knows she was wrong..."
After hearing this, Old Lady Li didn't react at all, and Li Zhangshi felt a little embarrassed.
She noticed Old Master Zhen standing silently to the side and remarked, "My father-in-law is still so healthy..."
The two exchanged a few pleasantries, but that was the end of it. In fact, the Zhen family knew exactly what the Li family was planning!
They wanted to flee the famine with them! However, looking at the group of weak people behind Li Zhangshi, who only had a few quilts and very little belongings, they were afraid that they would have to help them on the way.
But there's not enough food for even our own family!
Li Zhenzhen was a little anxious. Her father-in-law and mother-in-law hadn't invited her family to join her in fleeing the famine, so that someone could take care of her parents and younger siblings along the way.
"Mother-in-law, didn't my husband say that there's a war in the north and we're going to flee south with the security escort agency?"
"My family also wants to come along, so let's go together!"
Old Mrs. Li glared at Li Zhenzhen a few times, "You're so good at getting things done!"
"To be honest, my dear in-law, we're going to be traveling for half a year to Lingnan to stay with my sister-in-law! We'll be eating and sleeping in the open along the way, and it might be difficult for us to even get into the city, so you'd better make sure you have enough food for the journey!"
Grandma Li and Grandpa Zhen had already exchanged pleasantries; it would be fine with many people on the road, but the matter of the grain had to be clarified.
Old Mrs. Li continued to play the victim, saying, "We don't have much food left. It's just enough for our family to eat and drink. We can't borrow any more!"
Li Zhenzhen was secretly worried; how would her family survive without food?
Li Zhangshi understood that this was the Zhen family giving them a heads-up! However, they still had to escape, and she believed that if they were truly desperate, the Qin family would definitely not abandon them.
“We understand. We still have some food left. We can pick wild vegetables along the way and gnaw on tree bark. We’ll make it eventually.”
Although they weren't entirely sure, Grandpa Zhen and Grandma Li reluctantly accepted the family's request to stay with them.
Only Wang Juhua had a gloomy face, kept her head down and remained silent, looking at her second son's wife with great displeasure!
Poor thing, her family wasn't shameless enough. Without food, they didn't dare to set off and just stayed home to die!
Thinking of this, she silently shed tears, not daring to cry out loud and annoy her in-laws.
Why is she so unlucky? Her family is suffering too!
After watching a major show, Zhen Wanwan concluded that things wouldn't be peaceful on the road ahead...
"Uncle, Aunt, we need to hurry on our way, otherwise I'm afraid that Chief Escort Lin won't be able to wait any longer."
Zhou Dashan's words awakened everyone.
Yes, this is no joke. Without the protection of the escort agency, the hardships on the road are unimaginable.
"Come on, second brother, move some of the luggage onto the donkey cart and go exchange it for your eldest brother's pushcart..."
After another flurry of activity, Li Zhenzhen looked around the donkey cart and pondered for a moment. Then, she quietly moved some of her family's heavy belongings onto the cart. Old Mrs. Li saw this but didn't say much. She just left a small space, just enough for one person to sit.
This donkey cart was bought by her daughter; no one is as entitled to ride in it as she is. She'll let her daughter rest in the cart during the hottest part of the day.
Li Zhenzhen thought it was for her two sons, and happily called to the two bald boys, "Gou Dan, Er Niu, get in the car quickly."
When the two hard-boiled eggs ran over, they deliberately bumped into Zhen Wanwan, which made Old Lady Li so angry that she wanted to slap Li Zhenzhen's face.
These twins were mischievous kids. Zhen Wanwan had a very deep impression of them. They would pull the original owner's hair or kick her with their legs at the drop of a hat. Xiao Hu and Da Ni also suffered from their torment.
Bratty kids are the most annoying kind of kids.
The twins were the most cherished by the Zhen family and were Li Zhenzhen's trump card. She often used the twins as an excuse to take things from her husband's family to subsidize her own family.
Li Zhenzhen left her youngest daughter, Erni, to her own devices, determined to raise her to be a "brother-supporting demon," which resulted in the little girl living a miserable life.
At that moment, she stood alone, watching her brothers climb onto the donkey cart, looking at them with envy.
Tiger and Da Ni didn't mind; they were already quite satisfied with sitting for a while in the morning.
In the sweltering heat of July, the scorching sun beats down on the earth, and the waves of heat make people feel exhausted.
Zhen Wanwan and her group had caught up with the escort agency's convoy. To express her gratitude, Zhen Wanwan secretly slipped two steamed buns to Lin the镖头's wife and children: "Sister-in-law, take these and eat them."
Sister-in-law Lin weakly tried to return it, saying, "How can you say that? You're pregnant; you should keep it for yourself."
The two women pushed each other back and forth for a while until Zhen Wanwan said she had extra, and with the two children looking on expectantly, Sister Lin finally accepted, feeling grateful to Zhen Wanwan.
After all, it's easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to provide charcoal in the snow. We must take good care of Zhen Wanwan along the way.
When Zhen Wanwan returned to her resting place, Li Zhenzhen was already extremely curious, wondering how her sister-in-law had gotten involved with the Lin镖头's family.
"What are you holding in your hand, sister-in-law?" Li Zhenzhen asked with a smile.
Just now, after coming out of Sister Lin's place, Zhen Wanwan took out three dried biscuits from her spatial storage and took the opportunity to share some with Grandpa Zhen and Grandma Li.
After all, many people only eat one meal a day nowadays. Because they are in a hurry, they only ate half a pancake at noon, and the other half is for lunch tomorrow.
Seeing Li Zhenzhen's probing gaze, Zhen Wanwan didn't want to tell her, so she replied, "It's nothing, I'm looking for my parents..."
Zhen Wanwan had already secretly eaten her fill while using the restroom. Since she hadn't found a reason to bring out any fresh food yet, she could only eat her fill first and then share some pancakes with Zhen's family.
How can they travel if they don't eat their fill at noon? Her older brothers also have to push such a heavy cart; they can't do it without strength.
Two elderly people ate only a little bit in order to save food for the children.
Li Zhenzhen was certain that Zhen Wanwan had taken something nice to her in-laws, so she quickly called over the twins: "Gouzi and Erniu, you two come here!"
She whispered in the twins' ears, "Your sister-in-law has brought lots of food to your parents! You'll be waiting for her..."
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