"Please have mercy! I have elderly parents and young children to support, please help us too!"
"Look at my child, he's even thinner, he's dying too, please help us!"
Tao Wanniang, with a sullen face, saw the refugees shoving up and angrily began to curse.
"Have you no shame? You're a grown man, and you can't even support your wife and kids. Get out of my way! Everyone's struggling, and if I help you, who will help me?"
"Get out of here! If you don't, I'll have my son do it. See this wolf head? My son killed it with his bare hands. Anyone want to try?"
When Tao Wanniang mentioned her son who killed the wolf with his bare hands, Ling Dahu pursed his lips and remained silent.
Ling Dapeng behind him also tried to hold his head high and walk with what he thought was an imposing gait.
The elderly woman and her granddaughter who were rescued kept their heads down and remained silent. As the ones who were rescued, they were grateful that they were not men.
"Ling Dahu, hurry up, do you have no strength in your legs, or do you want me, your mother, to get down and walk?"
Tao Wanniang turned around and shouted sternly at Ling Dahu, who was pushing the cart.
"Hey!" Ling Dahu calmed himself down, roared, and pushed the cart with all his might.
Those refugees were ultimately exhausted and could only watch as the Ling family group walked briskly forward.
"Huff, huff~" Ling Dahu ran for a long distance, panting heavily, and sticking out his tongue as he spoke.
"Mom, I can't take it anymore, I really can't. Let's find a place to rest!"
"Ling Dapeng, change into these. Walk a little further and find a secluded spot. Can't you see there are people following us?"
Tao Wanniang said warily, "The original owner's two sons are really too naive!"
"Cough~" The little girl in the old lady's arms coughed dryly, and blood seeped from her chapped lips!
"Bring me the bowl, I'll pour you some water so the little girl can quench her thirst."
Seeing this, Tao Wanniang, though her tone was very harsh, still managed to move the old woman with the water jug she took out.
"Thank you... thank you so much!"
The old woman took out the broken bowl and shakily handed it to Tao Wanniang.
Tao Wanniang looked at the broken bowl still covered in dirt, grabbed it, poured out some water, washed the bowl, and then casually splashed it on the ground.
"What are you doing?" the old woman exclaimed. Water! Perfectly good water, spilled like this! Even God would be furious!
"Isn't your bowl dirty?" Tao Wanniang asked with an air of self-righteousness.
As she spoke, she poured some more water; the bowl had a large crack, so she could only pour in this much.
"Drink up, I can afford to give you this little bit of water."
The old woman carefully held the bowl and fed her granddaughter a few sips.
"Grandma, I'm all better now. Have some water; you haven't had any in ages!"
The little girl took a few sips, and although she really wanted to drink it, she sensibly gave it to the old woman.
The old woman subconsciously looked at Tao Wanniang. She had drunk the water meant for her granddaughter, and she was afraid that her younger sister would be angry.
"What are you looking at? We've given you water, drink it if you want, but don't push your luck. We only have this much water, so don't think you can drink as much as you want."
"I don't dare to think about it, so I'll drink it..."
The old woman took a small sip with trembling hands, her expression instantly turning blank. In disbelief, she took a few more sips, each time her lips barely touched the ground.
"This...this...where can you find such clear and sweet water? Who are you people?!"
"The mountain hunters, the mountain springs, all dried up eventually. The prey in the mountains all moved away. If we don't come out, we will all starve to death."
Tao Wanniang spoke fluently without hesitation.
"Look, there's a place to rest up ahead. Let's go there and rest."
As soon as Tao Wanniang spoke, Ling Dapeng, who had taken over driving the carriage, immediately put all his strength into pushing it forward.
“Sister, my husband’s surname is Liang. People in the village used to call me Aunt Liang. My granddaughter is named Linglong, Liang Linglong. I’m telling the truth. My son is in the provincial capital. We are really going to live with him.”
Tao Wanniang looked Liang Da Niang up and down, frowned and shook her head.
It's not that she's saying anything discouraging, but what kind of son or father would let their own mother and daughter stay in a turbulent and desolate place?
"Alright, take a break. You guys soak the steamed buns until they're soft. Er Gouzi doesn't have any teeth yet!"
Tao Wanniang began to give orders to people.
"Give some food to Aunt Liang and the little girl. We don't have much for ourselves. Don't expect to eat your fill every meal. We'll be lucky if we don't starve!"
Tao Wanniang didn't cook anything special for herself; she ate the same food as everyone else. She ate dry steamed buns and drank water, simply solving her hunger problem. She sat alone to one side, looking somewhat lost in thought.
The five taels of silver she got from exchanging the rosewood chest of drawers, one tael of white rice, one tael of white flour, and one tael of water, and the two taels of silver she had, could still buy some green vegetables in the trading system. However, if someone saw her eating these vegetables, her whole family would probably be devoured alive!
If she exchanges the bracelet for another three taels of silver, wouldn't she have five taels of silver again?
Tao Wanniang was thinking about finding the best time to make the bracelet disappear in a reasonable way.
Aunt Liang and Liang Linglong, who hadn't had water and steamed buns in a long time, ate with great relish, but wisely refrained from asking for more.
"Thank you so much, sister! Thank you so much!"
Grandma Liang pulled her granddaughter, wanting to kowtow to Tao Wan's mother.
"Thank you, Auntie!" The little girl was quite sensible and immediately knelt down to pay her respects to Tao Wan's mother.
"Get up, get up right now, you little brat, always kneeling down, are your knees soft?"
“I, Tao Wan’s mother, am not truly heartless. You are having a hard time, and so are we. Raising these three little children is no easy task, is it?”
"Yes!" the son and daughter-in-law immediately agreed, agreeing with whatever their mother said.
After resting for a while, Tao Wan's mother urged her son to hurry on his way, wanting to reach the next village before dark. Even if it was an uninhabited village, at least they wouldn't have to sleep in the fields.
"Mother, it seems like there are more people ahead."
After walking for a while, Ling Dapeng shouted, "Are we almost at the provincial capital?"
"Ha, you're dreaming."
Tao Wanniang scoffed. She had never been to the provincial capital, nor had the original owner, but the original owner still had some memories of what others had said about the provincial capital.
"Don't even think about it if it takes at least ten days or half a month."
"Those must have been villagers fleeing together, little sister. If they didn't have a few children, they probably would have been willing to take you with them!"
Aunt Liang sighed, "The children are too young to do anything, but it's so hard to get a share of food!"
"I will raise my Ling family's children myself; I don't need anyone's help!" Tao Wanniang said domineeringly.
"No, Mother, they're heading back. What's going on?" Ling Dapeng exclaimed again.
"There's a locust plague ahead, everyone should take a detour and not go any further!"
Tao Wanniang's eyes lit up when she heard the sound coming from ahead. Locust plague, that's locusts, high in protein, isn't that what they need?
"Let's go, hurry up, keep moving forward! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! The locusts will come back in droves after they've finished one crop; they won't wait for anyone!"
Tao Wanniang waved her arms excitedly, pointing ahead. She was worried about running out of food, and with live food right in front of her, how could she let it go!
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