Oh my god! It's on fire!
Li Lanzhen saw that the firelight from the direction of the water buffalo's house illuminated the water buffalo's yard.
The water buffalo woman stomped her feet in anger.
"That old bastard is trying to wipe out our whole family! He actually set fire to our house in the dead of night, leaving us no way to survive!"
Water Buffalo and Han Mingjiang stormed back to the village in a huff.
Han Mingjiang said, "Mom, I'll go back with Brother Water Buffalo and set the village chief's house on fire too, so they can taste what it feels like to have their home burned down!"
Li Lanzhen stopped them.
"Alright, don't go back. If they find out we're not home and are waiting for us, wouldn't you be walking into a trap if you went back?"
I've already figured out how to deal with him. I'll make sure his whole family can never hold their heads up in the village again!
let's go!"
The buffalo family looked preoccupied, walking silently without making a sound.
Li Lanzhen comforted them, "Don't worry, I will definitely avenge you."
The water buffalo led the way, the metasequoia tree continued to pull the cart, and Han Mingjiang pushed it from behind.
We walked along this deep ditch for about two miles.
Li Lanzhen sensed that someone was following her.
She remained silent and gripped the two axes tightly in her hands.
If anyone behind them dares to attack them under the cover of night, she will fight back.
Water Buffalo Girl walked ahead of Li Lanzhen, and Han Mingjiang had taken the water calf from her back and carried it on his back as well.
Li Lanzhen heard the water buffalo woman talking incessantly.
"Oh dear, our house burned down, and we don't know what happened to the three poor kids living in the back."
That damned village chief and his family are truly despicable!
Upon hearing her say that, Li Lanzhen asked a question.
"Big sister, which three children are you talking about?"
The water buffalo girl slowed her pace and followed beside Li Lanzhen.
"Alas, it's a tragedy. There's a family in the village who are quite close to the water buffalo's father."
On the day of the flood, his wife insisted on going to her parents' home to report the news. He was worried about his wife, so he sent their three children to our house and went with her. As a result, he never came back.
Later, people from his wife's village brought their bodies back.
By then, Buffalo's father had already passed away.
We helped bury them in the back hill.
His parents died early, and he grew up alone, got married, and had three children. The eldest and second eldest were girls, and the youngest son was only three years old.
Our house was destroyed by the flood. Later, the two brothers, Shui Niu and his brother, built a house for us in front of a cave in the mountains behind our house.
The three children lived there, catching fish and shrimp and digging for wild vegetables to eat.
Children without parents, how pitiful!
Yes, in this world, there are many people who suffer. Children without parents are pitiful, but children with parents who do not love them are even more pitiful!
The water buffalo stopped ahead, and everyone else stopped as well.
Li Lanzhen thought something had happened.
"Mom, Aunt, let's rest here for a while."
"Okay, then let's rest for a while."
The water buffalo woman agreed and quickly went to the cart to check on her eldest daughter-in-law and her little grandson.
Bao Ya had already fallen asleep, slumped over, in the carriage.
Under the cover of darkness, Li Lanzhen took out a cotton quilt from her spatial storage and covered her with it.
Li Lianzhen took out boiled goose eggs from her basket and gave one to each person.
The water buffalo woman held the warm goose egg in her hand and asked Li Lanzhen in surprise.
"Hey girl, are the goose eggs still warm?"
"Yes, I've wrapped it up tightly and put it in my basket on my back. Eat up, and let's keep going after we finish eating."
Shuishan first peeled the eggshell for his wife, helped her sit up, and Baoya's mother ate the goose egg little by little.
Li Lanzhen watched them choke while eating goose eggs, then took out a water bag filled with warm spiritual spring water, made a bowl of brown sugar water, and handed it to Bao Ya's mother.
"Have a bowl of brown sugar water to warm yourself up."
Bao Ya's mother accepted it with both hands, saying, "Thank you, Auntie."
"We're all family, no need for thanks."
Li Lanzhen handed out the water pouches to everyone, and each person drank a few mouthfuls.
Both children were asleep and did not eat the goose eggs.
Seeing that Han Mingjiang was carrying his son on his back, Shuishan worried that he would get tired, so she suggested that he put Anji in the carriage.
Looking at the already full carriage, Han Mingjiang said it was no problem, he wasn't tired from carrying it.
Li Lanzhen pulled a thin quilt from her basket and handed it to Han Mingjiang.
"Here, second brother, use this to cover the child and tie it to your chest. This will free up your hands."
The water buffalo helped him tie Angie to Han Mingjiang's back with a mattress.
The water buffalo woman looked down at her little grandson and saw that he was sleeping soundly.
He chuckled and said, "This child is so well-behaved; he didn't cry or scream the whole way."
Bao Ya's mother said, "Mom, he ate his fill and then went to sleep. We have to thank Auntie for that; the clothes and blankets she dressed him in were made of fine cotton, so soft and warm."
I drank chicken soup and ate chicken meat; it helped my milk come in quickly, and he's full, so why is he crying?
The whole family is grateful to Li Lanzhen and her husband.
At that moment, Li Lanzhen clearly heard footsteps approaching them quietly.
She turned around, gripped the axe in both hands, and shouted sharply.
"Who's there? Come out! If you don't, I'll throw this axe at you!"
Everyone gripped their sticks tightly, watching in the direction Li Lanzhen was looking.
With a rustling sound, three children emerged from the dark woods on both sides.
The child in the lead saw them and spoke.
"Brother Buffalo, can you take us with you?"
The little girl standing next to them seemed afraid that the water buffalo would say it wouldn't take them.
He quickly stepped forward, clenched his fists, and said crisply.
"Brother Buffalo, you have no idea, the village chief's family burned down your house, and then found no one inside. So they said they would find everyone in the village, come after your family, and bring you back!"
"They say their boat is missing, it must have been stolen by some outsiders from your village."
After saying that, she glanced at Li Lanzhen and, seeing that Li Lanzhen didn't speak, continued.
“We saw your house was on fire, so we rushed over to put it out, but they found us.”
The village chief's eldest grandson came up and kicked my sister to the ground and started hitting her.
Then he took a torch and burned down our house too.
Waaaaah! They're so mean!
The first girl to step forward had a little boy clinging tightly to her sister's leg.
The dim moonlight shone on her small face, and her eyes were filled with terror and fear!
Li Lanzhen let out a long sigh in her heart.
Sigh, these three children must be the three orphans that Buffalo's mother was talking about!
She didn't say whether she would take them or not, waiting for Buffalo's mother and the others to decide.
"The water buffalo mother called out."
"Xiaoju, it's you three children."
You three silly kids, the house burned down, so what? Why did you run to put out the fire?
That family is ruthless; what if they seriously injure you?
The oldest girl, Xiaoju, said.
“We were afraid you were inside the house, so we went to put out the fire.”
The water buffalo woman said again, "Look how fast you're running, you're not even wearing shoes, are you cold?"
He then rummaged through the cart and found two pairs of shoes for the two girls.
"Here, put it on. If it's too big, we'll tie it up with a rope."
The buffalo rushed over and picked up the youngest boy, holding his cold feet.
"Look at you, why aren't you wearing shoes and running around with your sister? What if you get sick from the cold?"
The water buffalo held the child's toes, but found his hand was wet. He raised his hand and looked at it in the moonlight.
"Your foot is cut and bleeding."
He turned to look at the water buffalo's mother and said, "Mother, let's take Xiaoju and the other two with us."
From now on, I'll work more and eat less!
The water buffalo's mother laughed and cursed.
"It's as if I'm a wicked old woman."
Okay, Xiao Ju, you can come with us now. From now on, you'll be our children.
"As long as our family works hard and follows your aunt's lead, we won't starve to death, will we?"
After the water buffalo woman finished speaking, she suddenly felt as if she had done something wrong.
He turned around and asked Li Lanzhen nervously.
"Um, sister, I... I should ask you first if we can bring these three children along?"
Li Lanzhen readily agreed, "Yes, take these three children with you!"
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