Upon hearing this exclamation, Xue Laohu reacted the fastest.
He drew his bow and arrows from his basket and aimed them in the direction of the sound.
Han Mingjiang and Li Lanzhen simultaneously drew their stun guns and broadswords.
Their defensive posture startled the person opposite them, who shouted loudly upon seeing it.
"Aunt Lanzhen, it's us! People from the valley!"
Li Lanzhen looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was a person from the valley, Lu Dashan, the eldest son of the village chief of Lujiazhuang.
No wonder they didn't recognize the voice; they hadn't met many times and weren't familiar with it.
Lu Dashan brought two people down from the mountain.
Looking at them, he chuckled and said, "Aunt Lanzhen, Uncle Xue, Brother Mingjiang."
These past few days, the old village chief has been sending three people down the mountain every day to check on you, just in case you encounter any danger.
Today it was the turn of the three of us; we saw you as soon as we came down the mountain.
As he spoke, he saw a dozen or so livestock behind him and the supplies they were carrying. It was such a magnificent sight that he opened his mouth wide and stared in disbelief.
Li Lanzhen looked at his mouth, which was so wide open that it could fit an egg.
He chuckled and said, "I took my two children into Youzhou City to check the news."
Uncle Xue and Brother Han Mingjiang went to where we hid the horses and brought them over.
The extra horse, cow, and two donkeys were from a merchant caravan I encountered on my way back.
The wife of their team leader was about to give birth and was having a difficult labor, so I helped her. This is a gift from him to thank me.
Their caravan brought many donkeys.
They also gave us a lot of food, cotton for the winter, and some other things that I haven't seen yet.
They're all loaded onto horseback. Let's go back to the valley and see what they are with the old village chief."
Xue Laohu and Han Mingjiang stood there at a distance, watching Li Lanzhen lie through her teeth.
They didn't say anything, so let them take the blame.
With three people arriving and leading so many livestock, going up the mountain became much easier.
Gou Dan, Han Yinan, and Li Lanzhen were all riding horses, walking slowly.
The men were all leading their horses forward on the ground.
Xue Laohu arranged for Lu Dashan and his men to clear away any traces of their ascent up the mountain.
Lu Dashan and the others happily agreed. This was a survival skill, and it was taught to them by Xue Laohu, so these men all admired Xue Laohu.
An hour later they finally reached the entrance to the valley.
Xue Bao stood on a large rock at the entrance to the valley and saw them from afar.
He shouted into the valley, "Aunt Lanzhen is back!"
With just that shout, the valley erupted in excitement, and adults and children alike rushed towards the valley entrance.
The old village chief was also helped by Han Zhaoxiong to the entrance of the cave valley.
Xue Bao moved the large rock at the mouth of the valley early on.
Li Lanzhen and her men's horses arrived at the gate.
Xue Bao waved and shouted, "Aunt Lanzhen, you're back!"
Li Lanzhen chuckled and said, "You're back, Xue Bao. Are you standing here to welcome me?"
Xue Bao laughed heartily, "That's right, the old village chief has been extremely anxious these past three days, constantly talking about you all. He's been arranging for people to go down the mountain every day, and he's been having me stand here every day. Today, we finally see you all back."
He looked up and saw Xue Laohu again. Like a little leopard, he jumped off the rocks and rushed over. Xue Laohu watched his son run towards him, hugged him tightly, and patted his back hard.
"You're such a grown-up, yet you still act like a child!" she complained, her eyes full of affection.
Xue Bao put his arm around Xue Laohu's shoulder and said, "Aunt Lanzhen said that no matter how old a child is, they are still a child!"
His remark caused everyone around him to burst into laughter.
Li Lanzhen turned her head and saw Han Mingjiang's envious gaze.
She dismounted, walked to Han Mingjiang, and gently called to him.
"The second son is home. Your wife is waiting for you to come back!"
He looked away and they entered the valley together.
As we entered the valley, we encountered the old village chief and villagers who had come in a hurry.
The old village chief also heard their laughter and looked at Li Lanzhen.
She called out, "Lanzhen, you're finally back! I was so worried! Did something happen to you?"
Li Lanzhen looked at the old village chief's face, which was beaming like a chrysanthemum.
“Old village chief, don’t worry, I’m back safe and sound. Besides, I met some kind people on my trip who gave us a lot of things. Come on, let’s go into the valley and talk.”
Li Lanzhen dismounted, and Han Minghai led the chestnut horse away.
She walked and talked with the old village chief about what she had seen and heard in Youzhou City over the past few days.
Furthermore, they explained in detail how this batch of supplies came about.
The old village chief and Han Shunde heard that Li Lanzhen had saved another woman in difficult childbirth.
They learned that the caravan leader had given them this batch of supplies, along with a horse, an ox, and two donkeys, as a token of gratitude to Li Lanzhen.
As the two walked and talked, suddenly, a gasp of surprise erupted from the crowd.
With a whoosh, people gathered in the wasteland on the east side of the valley.
Time stood still!
Li Lanzhen stammered to the old village chief, "Old village chief, this, this, this is too incredible!!"
It turns out that there was actually more than an acre of land in the wasteland to the east. It was no longer a barren wasteland. Crops and vegetables were planted on the land, and they were growing lush and green.
The corn is already up to my calves, and the sweet potato vines are spreading out; I can already pinch them off and plant them in the ground.
A row of chives swayed in the wind, their leaves about two fingers wide.
After her initial surprise, Li Lanzhen looked at the plot of land and felt that the arrangement of the crops and vegetables was just like the one in her own space!
But the acreage of the land doesn't look right.
I have ten acres of land in my own space, but this area is only about one acre.
The old village chief looked at the astonished Li Lan and burst into laughter.
"Lanzhen, that's why I say you're our lucky star!"
The old village chief, hands on his hips, looked at the lush green crops and exclaimed, "These aren't just crops; they're our hope!"
"Lanzhen, just as we arrived at this land, suddenly so many crops sprouted here, and they're growing so well! Don't you think you're our lucky star?! Hahaha!"
I told you you're the lucky star of our Han Family Village, and today you've proven it once again. Everyone, listen up, Lanzhen, you're our great lucky star!
Adults and children alike responded excitedly to the old village chief.
"Yes, Lanzhen is a lucky star, we know!"
"Grandma Lanzhen is a lucky charm!"
"Aunt Lanzhen is a lucky star!"
These repeated calls of "lucky star" made Li Lanzhen feel ashamed. What lucky star was there?
These are just excuses they made up to take out the supplies from their own space.
As for the thriving grains and vegetables that appeared on the wasteland, that was none of her business.
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