Gao Tiedan sat leaning against his own oxcart, afraid to lie flat for fear of reopening his wound.
Song Ning quietly walked over and whispered, "Brother Tiedan?"
Gao Tiedan couldn't sleep well because of his injuries, and woke up as soon as Song Ning called him.
Just as he was about to speak, Song Ning shushed him.
"Brother Tiedan, I've come to bring you your medicine."
"Er Ya, thank you."
"You got injured because of everyone, and the idea of patrolling was my idea, so I have to take care of you. Drink up."
Gao Tiedan took the bowl, took a sip, and asked, "What kind of medicine is this? Why is it sweet?"
"Um... tonight's medicine is sweet, drink it all, it will only work if you drink it all."
The high-speed rail egg smacked its lips; no matter how it was drunk, it didn't taste like medicine, but more like sugar water.
After finishing his drink, Gao Tiedan returned the bowl and said, "Today's events were all accidents, please don't overthink it. I did it for everyone, but also for my family."
Song Ning nodded: "I know."
After returning home, Song Ning felt much better and fell asleep without realizing it.
The next morning, people got up before dawn.
We need to go up the mountain to fetch water today.
The road ahead was all mountain roads, and cars couldn't go up. So people brought everything they could from their cars—water, etc.—and headed up the mountain in a large group.
People knew that the road ahead would likely be even drier, so they desperately tried to fetch water.
But a problem arose after fetching water.
The pots and pans are all filled with water, and the car is almost full. Where can we put the luggage?
After much deliberation, Song Ning and the two village chiefs came up with only one solution: to minimize other things.
They are on the road now, and the most important things are water and food. As long as they have these two things, they can survive. As for the rest, they can throw them away if they can.
For a time, everyone was in a state of chaos.
Those clothes that weren't needed for the time being were thrown away.
The turf that was lining the car was thrown away.
Even the blankets we used in winter were thrown away...
The women were heartbroken; these were all bought with money, what would they use after throwing them away?
"These are newly made shoes, you mustn't wear them, you mustn't wear them."
"This coat will keep you warm in winter, so we should keep it."
Everyone got busy, except for the village chief's family and Song Ning, who remained relatively quiet.
The village chief's family didn't bring much with them; there were only a few people left in the family. However, they borrowed some water containers from other families, so they could bring some water.
Song Ning didn't need it; most of her things were stored in her spatial storage, so it didn't matter.
Song Dahai and Liu Yuelan, fearing a water shortage, had already gone up the mountain.
Song Ning was sitting in the car giving Xiao Mei and Zhao Di extra help when a voice came from outside: "Er Ya, are you there?"
Song Ning quickly packed up her things, lifted the carriage curtain, and saw Zhou Ling'an standing below.
"Is there something you need?" Song Ning asked.
Zhou Ling'an looked slightly flustered and hesitated for a moment before glancing around before speaking: "Er Ya, um... I have something to tell you."
Song Ning, giving him face, jumped out of the car: "Speak, what's the matter?"
"Um... could... could you lend us some grain?" Zhou Ling'an finally managed to say.
Previously, the village chief had handled this matter, and Song Ning trusted the village chief's character and was naturally willing to lend him the money. However, Zhou Ling'an was different.
Turning her head to look at the Zhou family's car not far away, Yu Shi was still secretly glancing at her.
She used to be terrified of Zhou Ling'an having any dealings with her, so why is she not caring about it now?
“In the past, the village chief would come in person, either to exchange money or to exchange goods. What do you want to exchange?” Song Ning asked with a smile.
“I…” Zhou Ling’an couldn’t say it.
What can he offer in exchange for it now? After thinking for a long time, it seems there's nothing.
"If you can't figure it out, then think about it carefully. My food isn't given away for nothing."
As if he had made up his mind, Zhou Ling'an looked up and said, "Er Ya, we have nothing at home right now, but don't worry, once we've settled down, I'll definitely pay you back everything."
"Later? How long is 'later'? You have to give me some indication that you can repay me, right?"
Anyone can talk big, but given Yu's personality, she might borrow the money now and then deny it later, especially since that person has disliked her for a long time.
Zhou Ling'an remained silent for a long time, and Song Ning, not wanting to put him in a difficult position, relented: "How about this, I'll lend you grain, and you'll work for me in the future, so it's a give-and-take arrangement."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Madam Yu arrived: "You want my son to work for you? Dream on!"
Her son will still need to study in the future; those hands are for holding pens, how can they do manual labor?
Song Ning shrugged: "I was just making a suggestion. If you're not willing, then forget it."
Anyway, she's not the one lacking food.
After saying that, he was about to get on the bus.
"Wait!" Zhou Ling'an finally spoke.
"I'll do the work for you."
"Ling'an, are you crazy? Mother doesn't agree."
“Mother, now is a time of food shortage, so it is only right and proper for me to work in exchange for food.”
Currently, this is the only family in the entire group that is still able to return food to them.
"But...but how can you do chores for her...?"
With Zhou Ling'an at home, Madam Yu wouldn't even let her son do any work, so how could she let Song Er Ya do any work? She immediately glared at Song Ning.
"Er Ya, we're all from the same village. You can't bully us like this. Our leader is the village chief. He's been involved in your family's messes a lot back then. We just wanted to borrow some grain from you, how can you be so unreasonable?"
Song Ning looked at her incredulously, thinking that there was something wrong with Madam Yu.
Hearing her say that, Zhou Cheng, as the village chief, shouldn't be helping the villagers with their affairs?
As the village chief, isn't it his duty to serve the villagers? Isn't that what a village chief's position is all about?
In Yu's eyes, the village chief's busy work in the village was all about human relationships.
If she doesn't give away the food for free, then it's her fault.
"Auntie, you're really something. If you want grain for free, just say so. Tell me, how did a little girl like me bully two adults?"
She knew that Yu had always held a grudge against her because of what happened in the past, and she understood that, but she couldn't just take advantage of that to bully her, could she?
If she had been more cooperative, Song Ning would have been willing to help, but her immediate, self-righteous attitude made Song Ning unhappy.
“Mom, it’s just some chores, it’s nothing. Your son can handle it. Even if she gives it to us for free, we can’t just take it for nothing,” Zhou Ling’an advised.
Yu was indignant and muttered, "He said he liked my Ling'an, but he won't even give him a little food. He can forget about ever entering my house again."
Song Ning laughed, while Zhou Ling'an felt awkward.
"Logically speaking, you are the village chief's wife, an elder, and I should respect you. But what you're saying is that just because I like your son, I have to support you. You're dreaming if you think I'll give you food for free?"
"Since you don't like me, then go borrow from others. If you find any freebies, be sure to tell me so I can borrow some too."
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