Huo Mingchen grabbed her hand.
A thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, as if he was going through something extremely painful.
Seeing Huo Mingchen like this, Bai was a little worried: "Shanshan, will little Huo be alright?"
No, it won't.
Huo Mingchen's illness was not yet severe, and she had plenty of medicine in her medicinal field. However, she clearly remembered that the plague would not start for some time.
Why was it brought forward so much?
Could it really have been man-made?
Thinking of what Cheng Wan'er had said, she couldn't help but look at Huo Mingchen, feeling a little uneasy: "Mother, I'll get you some more herbs later. We both need to drink some every day from now on, just in case."
"...You even have herbs?"
Bai thought Cheng Shanshan was practically a magician, always pulling out a bunch of things at the drop of a hat.
Cheng Shanshan looked at Bai Shi with a hint of smugness in her eyes: "Of course I have! Mother sold her jewelry for a lot of money, so I've prepared plenty!"
"Being well prepared is good."
Bai wasn't curious about where Cheng Shanshan had put the things, but simply instructed, "But you must keep them safe."
"Don't worry, it's very safe."
"Okay, that's good. I'll go boil some more water for you."
"good."
After Bai Shi left, Cheng Shanshan immediately wiped the smile off her face and looked at the unconscious Huo Mingchen with a serious expression: "Brother Huo, you must wake up soon, things may be about to change outside."
Huo Mingchen frowned slightly.
It seemed to be struggling, but it couldn't open its eyes...
...
After the torrential rains, floods submerged all the crops and villages.
The villagers sought temporary peace by hiding in the mountains, but after all the food was gone, everyone felt like they were about to starve to death.
Cheng Wan'er finally managed to get some millet from Cheng Shanshan, but before she could even cook it into porridge, a bunch of people surrounded her and snatched it away. She was so angry that she cried for a long time.
In the past, other men would have tried to comfort her when they saw her crying so hard, but now that was no use at all. Those men were so hungry that they had no time to pity her, and not a single one of them cared about her.
Looking at Cheng Wan'er, Old Mrs. Cheng weakly wiped away her tears: "Wan'er, don't cry, crying like this won't help."
"But I'm so hungry..."
Cheng Wan'er bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes: "Mother and Grandmother, you can't keep starving like this, people will die."
Grandma Cheng knew this too, and she stood up shakily, leaning on her cane: "Wait here, I'll go find... that girl Shanshan to get you some food."
Cheng Wan'er's eyes lit up, but she quickly suppressed them and put on a pitiful expression again: "But last time I begged my cousin for ages and finally got a little bit of millet. She said she wouldn't give us any more, even if she saw us starving to death." As she said this, tears rolled down her cheeks.
Although Cheng Wan'er's crying had no effect on others, Old Madam Cheng still felt sorry for her and hated Cheng Shanshan even more: "I am her grandmother, you just wait!" After saying that, she moved out step by step.
After watching Old Madam Cheng leave, Cheng Xiulan, who had been pretending to be unconscious, quickly sat up and asked, "Wan'er, can your grandmother ask for some food?"
"Is it possible?"
Cheng Wan'er wasn't quite sure either.
After all, Cheng Shanshan is truly heartless now.
Cheng Xiulan gritted her teeth: "That damned girl is only able to live a quiet life in that cave because she got close to Huo Mingchen." As she said this, she glared at Cheng Wan'er: "It's all your fault for betting on the wrong horse and falling for that useless Lin Sheng. Now we don't even know where he is."
"I……"
Cheng Wan'er was filled with deep regret.
But the one thing that's impossible to buy in this world is a pill to undo regrets.
On the other side.
Grandma Cheng never expected that it would take all her strength to walk from one cave to the entrance of another.
After calming down for a while, she finally shouted, "Bai, get out here!"
Bai was brewing medicine when she heard the familiar voice and her body trembled slightly. Then she looked at Cheng Shanshan in fear and said, "Your grandmother is here."
"Um."
Cheng Shanshan responded.
There was not much emotional fluctuation.
Bai was a little at a loss: "She's calling me to go out, what should I do?"
"So what if she shouts?" Cheng Shanshan frowned slightly and looked at Bai Shi, asking, "Mother, what are you still afraid of her for?"
Bai was somewhat speechless.
Perhaps some of her fears are ingrained in her bones; she had been bullied by Old Lady Cheng for many years, and now she was so afraid that she would be terrified just by thinking of her name.
Seeing Bai Shi like this, Cheng Shanshan felt both heartache and helplessness: "Mother, you can't do this. We've already left the Cheng family and are living our own lives."
Bai took a deep breath: "I know, but... what do we do now?"
"Leave it to me."
Cheng Shanshan wiped Huo Mingchen's forehead again before continuing, "Brother Huo's fever has subsided. Go and make sure he has some plain porridge."
Bai glanced at the entrance to the cave before nodding.
At this moment, seeing that the person inside had not responded for a long time, Old Madam Cheng was already furious: "Bai, you lowly wretch! If it weren't for me keeping you in the Cheng family, how could you have had so many years of peace? Now you're eating and drinking well inside, and you can even ignore your elder, right?"
"No matter what you do?"
When Cheng Shanshan came out, she exuded a chilling aura.
Old Master Cheng was startled for a moment, but quickly recovered and glared at her angrily: "I'm still your grandmother, how dare you talk to me like that, you brat!"
"My grandmother?" Cheng Shanshan found the title utterly ridiculous: "You only ever have eyes for Cheng Wan'er. I'm nothing more than a maid in your household, bullied by you while alive, and sold off after I'm dead. How can you be even remotely a grandmother?"
These words made Old Mrs. Cheng's face turn pale and then red with anger: "You unfilial daughter, are you defying me?!"
"Yes, so what?"
"..."
Grandma Cheng stared wide-eyed.
When she realized she couldn't win the argument, she simply plopped down on the ground and started crying loudly: "Heavens above, why am I so unlucky! I'm such an old woman, and I still have to be upset by a brat. What a misfortune for the Cheng family!"
Cheng Shanshan looked at her, her eyes full of impatience: "What exactly do you want to do?"
"I want to eat!"
Old Mrs. Cheng's face turned fierce: "I don't want to waste any more words with you. If you can't give me food today, I'll kill myself right here at the entrance of this cave, and then become a vengeful ghost so that you and your mother will never have a peaceful day!"
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