Because he relaxed his grip and failed to hold on to anyone, he was quickly swept into the air by the sandstorm, along with several of his concubine sons from the second wife's family, whom he had been holding tightly.
Those who had followed Mu Wanting before now felt only relief.
Fortunately, they hadn't planned to stay in the oasis, which allowed them to remain inside the cave.
Otherwise, they would be swept away by a sandstorm at the cave entrance right now.
Old Madam Shen's eyes were bloodshot, and she was crying so hard she could barely breathe.
"My son, how pitiful you are! How could these heartless bastards just stand by and watch you die?"
Mu Wanting was speechless, while Su Yu sneered.
"Grandma, are you implying that you're also insulting the officials?"
"With such strong winds just now, if we all went up there, we would only be adding fuel to the sandstorm. If you really care about your son, please go up there yourself next time, instead of always thinking of relying on others."
These words struck a chord with Mu Wanting. Not everyone is Shen Lijun's mother, so why should anyone have an obligation to save Shen Lijun?
If they were treated well normally, it would be fine, but his presence is just a nuisance, so let's just forget about it.
Now that Shen Lijun is gone, they feel it will be quieter.
Madam Shen soon fainted from excessive grief, and Shen Linong sighed.
"I'll stay with my mother during this time."
Madam Shen, the mother, only had one son left, Shen Linong.
Mother Shen didn't say much. After so many years of serving her, she had seen through it all. No matter how hard she tried, she was just a daughter-in-law.
They can never be considered one of their own.
Two hours later, Madam Shen woke up and glared at the third branch of the family with resentment in her eyes.
Mu Wanting ignored it and took out white flour cakes to distribute to the third branch of the family. Since Old Madam Shen had been taken away by Shen Linong, Mu Wanting decided not to care anymore.
Madam Shen looked at the white flour pancakes, silently swallowed a mouthful of saliva, but didn't say anything, acting coy and waiting for Mu Wanting to bring the white flour pancakes over.
While Mu Wanting and the others were enjoying their meal, Shen Yujiao was pleasantly surprised to find that it was filled with red bean paste, and her eyes lit up.
"Sister-in-law, do you have any minced meat?"
Mu Wanting took out a meat-filled one: "Here you go."
Shen Yujiao looked at Mu Wanting with admiration: "Sister-in-law, you are so capable."
Mu Wanting's lips curled into a smile.
After waiting all night, the sandstorm finally passed, and everyone continued on their way.
This time the route was blown into even more chaos, but fortunately Mu Wanting's route drawing used Yardang landforms as markers, so it was somewhat better.
They continued along the route and encountered some exiles buried under the yellow sand, who were beyond dead.
Its mouth and nose were full of mud and sand.
Old Madam Shen cried all the way. Along the way, they didn't see any more wild vegetable oases, and everyone had a very difficult journey.
Apart from the three-bedroom units.
The others were starving and extremely thirsty.
But Mu Wanting was enjoying good food and drinks and looked radiant.
They walked for a while and then saw a person ahead. Judging from his clothes, they quickly realized it was Shen Lijun.
Madam Shen stopped crying and walked towards Shen Lijun, her voice filled with surprise and joy.
"Lijun, Lijun, are you alright?"
Shen Lijun opened his eyes and immediately saw his mother, his face filled with surprise and joy.
"I...I'm still alive!"
Madam Shen was also very happy: "Yes, you are still alive, my son."
The three wives exchanged a glance, wishing they were dead.
Indeed, evil deeds can last for a thousand years.
After Shen Linong returned, Old Madam Shen refused to follow the eldest son's family anymore and insisted on following the second son's family.
Shen Lijun rolled his eyes and agreed.
Mu Wanting didn't know what he was up to at first, but it wasn't until dinner that she realized how cunning Shen Lijun was.
The three families ate by themselves, while Shen Lijun muttered and cursed beside them.
"During this time, shouldn't you, the third wife's foster mother, be the ones providing the food?"
Mu Wanting was too lazy to argue. It was just a meal, she could afford it, and there was no need to let the third branch of the family be gossiped about.
The third branch of the family gave all the food to Old Madam Shen, but it was only enough for her alone.
Madam Shen shared some of the food with Shen Lijun, but she didn't even notice the concubines.
With no parasites around, the three families lived a more and more comfortable life.
Mu Wanting can now eat and do whatever she wants, and no one will interfere with her anymore.
In the evening, they ate some wild vegetables and smoked meat.
After they had eaten enough, everyone looked up at the stars again, and Shen Yujiao leaned over.
"Sister-in-law, what are you doing?"
She was covered by her mother and pulled aside.
"Shh, don't disturb your sister-in-law's stargazing."
Mu Wanting: "..."
She's really firmly established this persona.
The third branch of the family continued to bring food to Madam Shen every day, but Madam Shen grew thinner and thinner each day, while Shen Lijun's complexion improved day by day.
Mu Wanting didn't say much. As long as she fulfilled her responsibilities, she could give it to whomever Old Madam Shen wanted.
Finally, one day, when Mu Wanting was serving food to the old lady, the old lady grabbed her hand.
"Wan Ting, could you give me more food? I want to eat more meat and rice."
Mu Wanting said, "Grandma, we don't have any extra meat. As you know, this is a desert. The meat we have is from previous smoking. We only promised to take care of you, and there's nothing else we can do to help."
As Madam Shen looked at the bowl of rice, she was so hungry that she kept swallowing her saliva. Just as she was about to take a couple of bites to satisfy her craving, Mu Wanting turned around and Shen Lijun snatched it from her hands.
"Mother, you're getting old, it's hard for you to digest so much. I was swept away by a sandstorm a few days ago and was injured. I need to eat something first."
As she watched longingly, Madam Shen swallowed hard and nodded.
"Hey, hey, Lijun, eat more."
The amount Mu Wanting gave to Madam Shen was the same amount Madam Shen usually ate, and the old lady couldn't eat much, so Shen Lijun didn't have much to eat either.
He could only eat half full each time, but it was even more agonizing than not eating at all; the food was just too delicious.
Because this section of the road is desert, Mu Wanting and her group didn't have enough food "storage," so they stopped selling food to everyone.
They only sell food when people are starving.
The officials kept making black pancakes, and they even asked Mu Wanting and the others for water.
They spent half a month in the desert before finally emerging from it.
Madam Shen has gone from a plump, rosy-cheeked old lady to a withered, frail old woman.
She looked visibly aged.
Mu Wanting didn't say much, she just looked on calmly.
The third branch of the family was even less likely to say anything.
Madam Shen walked towards Mu Wanting.
"Wan Ting, Grandma still wants to eat with you."
Mu Wanting thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, there are still three days left to eat with the third branch of the family. After that, it will be the second branch's turn."
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