Chapter 55 Everyone looks out for themselves!
"Young master, we must find a water source as soon as possible!" Although Liu Laohu said this, he was not sure in his heart.
It's obvious that everyone in this village has fled the famine. If there were water nearby, who would want to leave their hometown!
Shen Lanxi: "The dust on the table isn't thick, which means the villagers haven't been gone for long. The local villagers know the area better, so if we can figure out which direction they went, we should be able to find the water source!"
Liu Laohu's eyes lit up: "I'll go check which road has the footprints!"
Shen Lanxi: "It's not too late to go when it's cooler!"
Having devised a plan, Liu Laohu, unwilling to linger while Shen Lanxi ate, left immediately.
Not long after, Shen Yuanjing arrived with his children, both legitimate and illegitimate.
"Big brother, we didn't realize what was happening when they were making a scene. We're sorry!" Shen Yuanjing was the first to apologize.
Next came Shen Yuanjun and the others.
"Big brother, we were all stunned at the time. By the time we wanted to yell at those people, Liu Laohu had already taken care of them. It's not that we didn't want to help you!"
"We didn't realize at the time that the carriage and the food belonged to our older brother."
"Big sister, if this happens again, we'll definitely be the first to stand up and scold them!"
"Big sister, please forgive us..."
Shen Lanxi took in everyone's expressions and nodded: "I'm not angry, you don't need to apologize! I'm very grateful that you came here to talk to me!"
Shen Yuanjing and the others lowered their heads, looking guilty.
"Are you thirsty? I have some water here. Drink it, but don't tell anyone!"
Several people immediately looked up at her.
"The fact that you came here shows that you genuinely care about me. I will reciprocate the same care and love to everyone who truly cares for and loves me!"
The more she said that, the more guilty Shen Yuanjing and the others felt!
"Big brother, once I've mastered martial arts, I'll definitely protect you and prevent you from being bullied!" Shen Yuanjing said earnestly.
"Me too!"
"I also…"
Others followed suit.
Shen Lanxi: "Chunxue, go and get some mung bean cakes. Give everyone one as a reward!"
Chunxue: "Yes!"
With water and pastries provided, Shen Yuanjing and the others felt quite embarrassed.
"Big brother, I've already learned a set of boxing techniques. I'll go back and practice them diligently later!"
"I'm going back to practice too!"
Shen Lanxi: "I saw how each of you performed on the mountain, and you all made great progress."
"Yuanjing, you and the others killed four guards. You made the most progress and are good at using your brain. In the future, when you practice martial arts, you can think about which moves consume the least amount of energy and kill the most enemies!"
Shen Yuanjing was taken aback and immediately began to seriously consider the sentence.
“Yuan Jun, you’re a little timid, but you’re agile. When you’re training, you can add some weight to your load. That way, even if you encounter someone much bigger than you, you can still kill them by relying on your agility and speed!”
Shen Yuanjun also fell into thought.
“Yuan Tang, Yuan Qing, you…”
After they left, they remained silent the entire way, lost in thought.
"Why did you all come back empty-handed?" Old Madam Shen asked immediately upon seeing them return.
Shen Yuanjing frowned: "Grandmother, there's not much water left on my eldest brother's side either!"
Shen Conglian: "How could that be? Her carriage was so big, it must have been filled with a lot of water. How much could one person drink?"
"Do I even need to ask? They just don't want to share with us!" Shen Congli said with a dark face.
Shen Congwen frowned and retorted, "Lan Xi isn't that kind of person!"
Shen Congyi: "Every man for himself. We don't know when we'll find a water source. She's definitely only thinking about herself."
“Fourth Uncle, my eldest brother isn’t that kind of person!” Shen Yuanjing retorted.
A cold snort rang out, and Shen Congyi said disdainfully, "Then we'll see. Time will tell!"
Shen Congwen, his face dark with anger, rebuked, "Enough! When the prisoners asked Lan Xi to get off the bus, you didn't say a word. Now that you want your things, you remember her. Ask yourselves honestly, how much she helped us along the way?"
The three Shen brothers immediately lowered their heads and remained silent.
"She's a member of the Shen family, isn't it only right that she helps us?"
The Shen family members all turned to look at Shen Yuanzhan, some with thoughtful expressions, others glaring angrily.
“Yuanzhan, didn’t you eat the food your older brother gave you on the way? Didn’t you use the money your older brother gave you? How can you say such things?” Shen Congwen couldn’t believe that these words came from the mouth of a teenager.
Grandma Shen slammed her hand on the table: "I think Yuanzhan is right. Lanxi is also a member of our Shen family. We raised her up, and now she should help the family!"
Shen Congyi: "Brother, Yuan Jing and the others aren't up to the task. I think you should go ask Lan Xi for them!"
Shen Congli's eyes lit up: "That's right, if you don't go, then Father and Mother will have to go. If they go to Lanxi to ask for things, then Lanxi will be in big trouble!"
Shen Conglian: "She has plenty of good food and drink, but instead of taking care of her elderly parents, she only thinks of herself. If this were in the capital, she would definitely be labeled as unfilial, unjust, selfish, and vicious!"
A woman's reputation is paramount, and Shen Congwen couldn't bear to hear them slander his daughter like that, so he immediately went outside.
"I'll go take a look!"
The Shen brothers achieved their goal, and their faces were filled with smug smiles.
Shen Yuanjing and his siblings looked annoyed; their father was always like this!
Shen Congwen had only taken a few steps when he saw someone asking the yamen runners for water.
"My lord, I am so thirsty, please, just give me a sip of water!"
"Get out of my way! I'm thirsty too! If you don't leave, I'll make you drink your own blood!"
"I have money~" He handed over a piece of silver, and the constable didn't even look down at it.
Another piece of silver was handed over, and the constable weighed it before relenting.
"These can only buy one sip of water!"
"Thank you, sir, just one bite will do!"
Seeing how effective spending money was, the prisoners all pulled out their wallets to buy water. One particularly wealthy prisoner bought ten bottles of water at once, making the other prisoners green with envy!
Shen Congwen turned around and went back.
"Do you all have any money on you? Let's buy some water. If we don't buy some now, the constables will definitely sell it all!"
The Shen family members all turned their heads to the side.
"Eldest brother, we don't have any money on us. Go ask Lanxi for money!" said Madam Shen.
Shen Yuanjun: "My second aunt and fourth aunt are rich. When they escaped from the mountain, I saw them going through their money bags!"
Shen Yuantang: "Third Aunt is also rich. I saw her take things from the guard too!"
Shen Yuanjing: "Second Uncle, Third Uncle, Fourth Uncle, you've all turned it upside down too!"
Shen Yuanxin whispered, "I saw that Grandma found something too!"
Madam Shen glared angrily at Shen Yuanxin, who was so frightened that she quickly hid behind Wei Rulan!
Wei Rulan said with a sarcastic laugh, "So only the people from our main branch are honest and didn't take anything, while everyone else from the other branches took something!"
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