Finally, at Lin Rui's insistence, Feng Zhenniang scooped several spoonfuls of dry milk powder from the bamboo tube and brewed it. She gave the large cup to Lin Zaozao and shared the rest with Mu Tou and Niuniu. Despite the complaints and scolding, Feng Zhenniang couldn't bear to let her youngest son suffer, so she evenly distributed some to Lin Rui.
"Mom, I'm young and energetic, I don't need any supplements, you drink it!" Lin Rui insisted on pushing the milk powder in the bamboo tube to his mother.
Feng Zhenniang was not willing to do that. In her eyes, her son had left all the good things for his family along the way, while he himself had not tasted anything good and was still smiling foolishly. If she, as a mother, didn't feel sorry for him, who would?
"Drink! You must drink it. Don't leave until you finish it!" Feng Zhenniang grabbed the bamboo tube and pulled Lin Rui's clothes, as if she would force him to drink it if he didn't drink it. The pressure from maternal love was overwhelming.
Sister-in-law Lu also smiled and advised: "Rui'er, you love your mother, and your mother loves you too. The mother and son are connected by heart, so just drink it."
Lin Rui had no choice but to compromise: "Let's each have half. If you don't want to drink it, I won't drink it either. So let's pour it out."
"Okay." Feng Zhenniang drank her half. When Lin Rui was about to drink, he saw the three children, Douzi, Dunzi and Xiaozhan, squatting beside Niu Niu and looking at her eagerly.
Xiao Zhan asked Niuniu in childish words, "Sister, is this white sugar water? Is it delicious?"
Niuniu sipped the drink slowly, shaking her head as she heard the words, and replied quite seriously, "It's not sugary, it's delicious."
Children cannot resist sweet and milky things. Seeing Niu Niu drinking happily, Douzi's saliva was dripping, and Dunzi also put his little hands into her mouth to suck to satisfy his craving.
"Xiaozhan, Douzi, Dunzi, come here." Lin Rui waved to the three children.
"Uncle clan leader!" Xiao Zhan called out in a small voice pretending to be mature, but in fact he was only about eight or nine years old.
"Go home and get a bowl. The clan leader uncle still has some." No matter how poor we are, we cannot educate our children. No matter how hard it is, we cannot let our children suffer. These are the children of the Lin family. When they grow up, they will be the backbone of the clan.
He thought about it. If they were lucky enough and didn't die on the way to escape the famine, they would definitely have to settle down when they arrived at Huangmo Pass. The food, drink, and toilet of a large group of people would all cost money. Whether they rented or bought a house, they would be penniless. Even if they died of exhaustion as laborers, they would not be able to eat their fill. The people would suffer when the country prospers, and they would suffer when the country perishes. Therefore, the only way out was to do business.
More than thirty people fleeing from famine may seem like a large group, but if they want to develop into a business, thirty people are far from enough. The younger generation is the core of the Lin family. When the Lin family grows into a super large clan family, even the emperor of a dynasty cannot easily shake it.
No matter which dynasty, the ability of one person is limited, and only the power of a group of people can move the key.
If you don't want to be slaughtered and driven away like a straw dog again like this time, you have to develop your own power, have your own team, and even have your own armed forces.
Douzidunzi and Xiaozhan ran back to the camp to ask Guanniang and grandma for small bowls. Yulanhua, Zhang Dacui and their daughters-in-law were busy weaving straw sandals. They had traveled a long distance on uneven mountain roads and had worn out several pairs of shoes.
Whenever the women arrived at a station, they had no time to rest. They had to weave straw sandals for the family members to prevent them from being damaged on the road and having to be replaced.
"Oh, you mud monkeys, you never have a moment to rest. If you make trouble again, grandma will beat you!" Yu Lanhua raised the half-woven straw sandals in her hand to drive them away.
Xiao Zhan from Lu Hua's family had already taken the small bowl. Niu Qin looked at the small bowl and couldn't help laughing: "If the child is disobedient, just beat him up. Lu Hua, you really enjoy doing that."
Lu Hua smiled and pointed in Lin Rui's direction: "What are you fussing about? Xiao Zhan said that the clan leader wanted to give them some sweet water, and he said that Niuniu and Mu Tou have already drunk it!"
When Lu Hua said this, Yu Lanhua immediately got up from the ground like a volcano's butt and rummaged through the luggage to find small bowls for her two grandchildren.
Seeing the three children jumping and skipping towards Lin Rui, Lu Hua couldn't help but say, "Ever since Lin Rui became the clan leader, I've suddenly felt much more at ease." She felt that the old village head's wife was there, and she felt that she had spoken out of turn, so she hurriedly explained, "Aunt Mei, that's not what I meant. I just..."
Chen Mei waved her hand nonchalantly, "What's the big deal? My father-in-law is old and lacks energy. We've relied on Lin Rui to make decisions along the way. Without him, none of us would be alive. We're completely convinced that he's the clan leader, and we won't argue with him."
Chen Zhi also chimed in: "Follow the new clan leader and everyone can put their minds at ease. A young man who made a fortune in business, knowing that Linjing was about to fall and the bandits were killing people, still insisted on selling his property and returning to Linjia Village with his family. How could he be a bad person!?"
After a while, little Zhan Dunzi and Douzi came trotting back with their small bowls and put them close to their mothers' mouths: "Mom, try it, it's delicious!"
Tan Ying and Lu Hua had their own children shoving bowls at their mouths. Their words of refusal turned into confusion: "What is this, milk... milk?"
"Sweet water." Her saliva was dripping from the corners of her mouth. She moved her feet vigorously and raised the bowl in her hand high, wanting her mother to have a taste.
Lu Hua had already tasted it, and it was full of milk flavor. It was obvious that Feng Zhenniang had put enough milk powder in it. She said to Tan Ying, "Yingniang, try it, it tastes amazing."
Tan Ying took a small sip and immediately tasted a milky aroma in her mouth, just as Lu Hua had described.
Chen Mei and Chen Zhi also looked very greedy, but they had no children at home, so naturally they could not get the milk. Yu Lanhua and Zhang Dacui wanted to drink it, but these ungrateful little kids in their family only thought about their mother and didn't care about their grandmother at all.
"Why does what I drink taste like milk? Could it be breast milk?" Lu Hua couldn't help but ask.
Tan Ying knew what was going on: "It can't be human milk. We all breastfeed early. This morning, I heard her and aunt say that they had no milk. This rare thing, I guess, is either cow's milk or goat's milk. Rich families drink this stuff, and only our clan leader is willing to give it to the children of the clan."
Zhang Dacui grinned, her hands moving non-stop: "Haven't you heard the clan leader often say that children are our hope?"
At this time, Zhao Qing, who had gone out to look for water, ran towards the camp, shouting as he ran: "I found water, I found water!"
Lin Rui was originally holding Qingqing to comfort her, but when he heard the news that the water source had been found, he was immediately excited. He carefully handed Qingqing to Lin Zaozao and trotted in the direction of his brother-in-law's voice: "Where is it, where is it? Take me to see it!"
It would also be a good opportunity for him to see if he can find an opportunity to smuggle some of the water in the house out to solve the current water shortage.
"It's on the back side of the mountain, in a cave just a short distance from the pine forest where you found water last time. There isn't much water, but it looks very clear. It must be an underground spring."
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