Xue Bao led the children and Li Lanzhen down the mountain to rest for a while.
Li Lanzhen looked at the mountain they had just run down, and next to it was a smaller hill.
"Xue Bao, let's go around this small hill and go through the ravine."
Xue Bao agreed and led the children quickly into the ravine behind the small hill.
Li Lanzhen followed. The bushes on this small hill were not very dense, but the whole hill was covered with tall, leafy trees.
Therefore, it can effectively conceal their whereabouts.
After running about a mile, Li Lanzhen called on everyone to sit down and rest for a while.
Li Lanzhen took the tofu and the big head out of the basket.
Using the basket, he pulled out a large bundle from the space.
Inside were meat buns she had smuggled from the kitchen of the Emperor's brother-in-law's residence.
"Let's rest for a while. Those soldiers won't be able to find us here anytime soon."
She took out a water bag and called the children over to wash their hands.
"Come on, kids, wash your hands first. After you've washed your hands, we'll eat steamed buns. After you've eaten the buns and drunk some water, we'll keep running inside."
By this time, the children were exhausted from running and hungry.
Seeing the steamed buns in Li Lanzhen's hand, they perked up again, and the older one washed the younger one's hands clean.
After receiving the steamed buns from Li Lanzhen, they sat down and happily began to eat.
Xue Bao ate a steamed bun in a few bites and said to Li Lanzhen.
“Aunt Lanzhen, I left marks for my father and brother-in-law along the way. They should be waiting for us on the mountain by the official road in the next couple of days.”
I was afraid we had taken the wrong path and they wouldn't be able to wait for us.
Li Lanzhen nodded, frowning as she gazed in the direction of Forget-Worry Valley.
She was constantly worried about the safety of Forget-Worry Valley.
Just then, they heard the snow leopard say that Xue Laohu and Hai Mingjiang might be coming down the mountain to look for them.
They were also worried that they might encounter soldiers and cause a conflict, fearing that the two of them would be no match for a dozen soldiers and would be captured.
She sighed, thinking to herself that she should take care of the children in front of her. There were many people in Forget-Worry Valley, and they were well-trained. The patrolmen and the guards should be able to spot the soldiers approaching Forget-Worry Valley as soon as possible.
Xue Bao saw the worried look on Li Lanzhen's face.
He comforted her, "Aunt Lanzhen, you don't need to worry about my father and the others. My father has been dealing with wild animals in the mountains all year round. If he encounters soldiers, he will definitely avoid them."
Moreover, the guards in Forget-Me-Not Valley are quite formidable!
You don't need to worry.
Li Lanzhen nodded, but he didn't comfort her.
At this moment, Pear Blossom suddenly stood up, tiptoed, and looked around.
After watching for a while, she ran forward a bit.
When Shi Tou saw her running inside alone, he called out, "Li Hua, what's wrong? Come back quickly, don't run around alone, or you'll get lost and won't be able to find her."
After Lihua ran back, she ran to Li Lanzhen and said excitedly but sadly.
"Grandma, I recognize this place. Our village should be in these mountains!"
Li Lanzhen looked at her red eyes and said in surprise.
"Pear Blossom, what did you say? There's a village in here!?"
Pear Blossom nodded. "Yes, this village is called Pear Tree Village because the mountains around our village are covered with pear trees."
My parents died when I was three years old, and I grew up with my grandparents.
When I was four years old, my aunt tricked me into going out, saying she would take me to Youzhou City, and then sold me to human traffickers.
I and several other girls were put into a horse-drawn carriage.
When the carriage reached the mountains, I jumped off and ran into the mountains. The traffickers weren't caught, and later I met Brother Stone in the mountains.
As Li Hua spoke, tears streamed down her face. Li Lanzhen stood up, pulled her into her arms, hugged her tightly, and patted her back.
"Pear Blossom, don't cry anymore. From now on, you are Grandma's granddaughter. Grandma will take you to live a good life!"
"Pear Blossom, do you still remember the way into the village?"
Pear Blossom wiped away her tears and nodded.
"Grandma, I remember, it's just after you go in through this ravine and turn a corner."
Li Lanzhen looked at Xue Bao, then at the children.
“Pear Blossom, we still can’t go into the village. If these soldiers find out that we’ve escaped into the village, it will cause trouble for the village.”
Pear Blossom thought about it and nodded in agreement. She then wiped her eyes and said, "Grandma, I know a place. I'll take you there to hide."
Xue Bao stopped her and said to Li Lanzhen.
"Aunt Lanzhen, wait a moment. We've been here for so long and haven't found anyone in the mountains."
Perhaps the people in these mountains have all fled the famine long ago.
He turned to Pear Blossom and asked, "Pear Blossom, do you remember? When you were four years old, was there water in the mountains? Was there enough food to eat?"
After thinking for a while, Pear Blossom said, "The river in the mountains has run dry. There are still some trees on the surrounding mountains. The villagers go up the mountains to dig up grass roots and peel tree bark to eat."
Looking at the surrounding mountains, which didn't seem to have been abandoned for several years, Li Lanzhen concluded that there were people in the village.
After thinking for a moment, he said to Xue Bao.
"Xue Bao, here's what we'll do: you take the children up this mountain and keep them hidden there, while I'll go into the village alone to take a look."
Don't worry, my legs will be back soon.
Xue Bao knew him. Unable to refuse Li Lanzhen, he had no choice but to agree.
Pear Blossom said, "Grandma, let me show you the way."
Li Lanzhen disagreed. "You go up the mountain with Brother Xue Bao. Grandma can go alone."
Seeing Xue Bao lead the children up the mountain, Li Lanzhen turned and ran in the direction Lihua had indicated.
The presence of this village here, whether or not it is inhabited, poses a potential threat to Forget-Worry Valley.
Therefore, she wanted to go in and find out what was going on before making any further plans.
This hill is small. After turning this bend, a village can be seen in the distance.
Li Lanzhen carefully walked along the foot of the mountain, using the trees for cover, and slowly approached the village.
The closer Li Lanzhen got to the village, the more strange she felt about it.
From a distance, the village looked quite neat, but there was no sound and not a single person in sight.
There wasn't even the sound of a child crying.
As they approached the village entrance, Li Lanzhen hid behind a large tree and observed for a while.
There was still no one moving around in the village; at least, there was no one there at the moment.
She mustered her courage and slowly approached the village.
The first house I entered the village was a courtyard enclosed by a fence. The fence and the courtyard were neat and tidy, and did not look like they had been damaged.
She pushed open the gate in the fence, walked into the yard, and looked up to see three rooms facing her, all of which were made of a combination of earth and wood.
Li Lanzhen tiptoed closer to the door of the main room.
At that moment, a fishy, foul odor wafted over.
The closer you get to that door, the stronger the unpleasant smell becomes!
Li Lanzhen covered her nose with one hand and gently pushed the door open with a large stick in the other.
The fishy smell became even stronger at this point!
When the door to the room is fully open.
Li Lanzhen was stunned by what she saw inside the door!
If she hadn't been tightly covering her mouth, she would have vomited...
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