I survived the famine by scavenging and supported my family.

Zhao Ningning thought that since her father knew about herbs anyway, he would eventually have to put them out in the open, so she might as well take this opportunity to say that she could cure some minor illnesses.

Zhao Ningning first told him to go to the clinic and ask the doctor who treated Ershun today what was wrong with Ershun. She then asked the doctor to prescribe some medicine, bought it, and went back to start the performance!

By clever manipulation, the person treating Ershun became Ning's father.

Ning's father said that the way Old Man Xi looked at him when he woke Er Shun up was as if he had been possessed by a deity.

This description made the other three people laugh uncontrollably, and even the usually composed Zhao Qi couldn't help but laugh out loud.

While vividly recounting the events of the afternoon to his family, Ning's father helped Ning's mother prepare the cold dishes.

Smashing cucumbers is too noisy, so it can only be done in the kitchen. Zhao Ningning stood on a small stool and smacked the cucumbers like an assembly line.

Ning's mother was outside cutting lotus root into crispy pieces. After she finished cutting it, she gave it to Ningning, who then took it to blanch it.

Besides these two, another cold dish is green beans. Upon hearing these two words, Zhao Ningning's face turned as green as the green beans.

If she could go back to the day before she time-traveled, she would definitely throw away the green beans in the refrigerator!

It wasn't convenient to cook on the road, so Ning's mother had saved up a lot of food, and when she took it all out at once, there wasn't enough room on the table.

Zhao Ningning resignedly went back to blanch the green beans.

In addition to vegetables, Ning's mother also prepared sesame sauce-flavored mixed gluten. After soaking the gluten, she blanched it, let it cool, and then mixed it with sesame sauce. It tasted incredibly delicious.

As she was cooking, Ning's mother remembered a cold dish she had eaten before: baby bok choy, purple cabbage, carrots, onions, and cucumbers.

Cut these ingredients into thin strips, mix them together with dried chili peppers and minced garlic, pour hot oil over them to bring out the aroma, then add soy sauce and vinegar, mix it all together, and it's incredibly delicious.

No need to blanch it.

The father and son weren't idle either. Ning's mother took out two kitchen knives and a cutting board, and assigned them to chop purple cabbage and baby bok choy, respectively.

The round table was filled with three cutting boards, leaving no room for the chopped vegetables.

Ning's father moved the stool over and placed the wooden basin for the vegetables on the stool.

The family of four were all busy, and in one afternoon they prepared twenty bowls of cold dishes.

After putting the vegetables away, everyone took turns taking a shower. Dinner wasn't prepared; Ning's father went downstairs to buy some.

They serve noodles here in the evening. A savory topping is poured over the noodles, and you just stir it a few times with your chopsticks. You don't need to mix it too well. You just slurp it up from the edge of the topping, and the vegetables and juice go into your mouth together.

Ning's father ate it with gusto and kept praising it.

This kind of noodle dish is also perfect for eating on the go. Ning's dad thought: There's no time to prepare this time, but next time we go to the county town, we can just rent a courtyard and cook in the courtyard where we can really put our skills to good use.

He needs to make extra toppings. When he doesn't have time to eat on the way, he can just choose a dish, like going to the cafeteria, and mix it with the cooked noodles. That's a meal.

After dinner, Ning's mother led a few people in stretching their muscles inside the house, while Ning's father went downstairs to take care of the mule and horse.

Before going to bed, Zhao Ningning complained of the heat and gave each member of her family a tub of ice cream. After they finished eating, even Ningning's father, who is usually sensitive to heat, stopped complaining.

Everything that needed to be bought was bought, and the whole family slept extremely soundly.

In the middle of the night, Ning's father felt a stomachache. He got up, clutching his stomach, and turned on the oil lamp with a contorted face.

As soon as the light came on, Ning's mother woke up, and Zhao Qi also woke up.

"My stomach hurts." Ning's father clutched his stomach and asked Ning's mother to help him latch the door so he could go to the toilet in the backyard of the inn.

Ning's mother let him out, and as soon as he left, Ning's mother also felt a stomachache.

Clutching her stomach, Ning's mother followed Ning's father and told Zhao Qi to bolt the door.

Zhao Qi closed the door and was wondering if it was from eating ice cream, and why he was fine, when his stomach started to hurt.

Zhao Qi: "..."

—No wonder we're family!

Helpless, Zhao Qi called out, "Ningning! Ningning!"

Hearing the sound, Zhao Ningning came out of the space, looking pale, and said, "You should go quickly."

Seeing his sister's expression, Zhao Qi didn't even need to ask.

Their whole family has an upset stomach!

Fortunately, Ningning was able to relieve herself in the bathroom at home.

Zhao Qi clutched his stomach and rushed to the outhouse in the backyard to find his parents.

Zhao Ningning bolted the door, flashed back into her spatial dimension, and went to the toilet.

Half an hour later, Ning's father, smelling terrible, weakly emerged from the toilet carrying an oil lamp.

Ning's mother and Zhao Qi ate little; they went home early.

Ningning ate the whole bucket, but she had space and could go home.

Only him! Enjoying the night view of the outhouse with mosquitoes in the middle of the night.

While reviewing the situation, Ning's father walked back.

He had only taken a few steps when he heard a clanging sound from the backyard, as if someone was moving things.

Ning's father instinctively blew out the oil lamp and quietly looked in the direction of the sound.

In the dim moonlight, you could see a group of people carrying large and small bags out in the distance.

The noise just now was the sound of something colliding inside the bundle.

That direction leads to... where the innkeeper lives.

—What is he up to in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?

Ning's father frowned and walked forward, pressing himself against the wall and sticking his head out halfway to listen carefully to their conversation.

"Hurry, hurry! It'll be too late after dawn!"

The shopkeeper's voice urged them on.

The waiter was almost in tears. "Shopkeeper, I have an elderly mother at home. Please let me go back and send word! I can't leave them in Heqing County!"

The innkeeper sighed, "You have two more hours, enough time for you to send word. Finish moving your things first, and when you leave, you can have the donkey cart from the inn!"

Upon hearing about the donkey cart, the waiter's voice immediately became excited, "Manager! I knew I hadn't followed the wrong person!"

Where should I look for you later?

"If you want to follow me, go to the East Gate. Remember, the East Gate. Don't go to the wrong one."

Ning's father quietly memorized the name: East Gate.

"Those people outside really think the government is a pushover; they're incredibly audacious..."

"Even the county magistrate is running away, what can the yamen (government office) do?"

Ning's father was shocked. What?! The officials in Heqing County are running away?

Regardless of whether the government offices are corrupt or not, as long as they are still around, the county town can at least maintain a semblance of stability.

If they weren't here, this county town...

The two were still moving things, and didn't talk about anything meaningful. Ning's father quietly returned to his room.

Ning's mother had an upset stomach earlier and hadn't gone to bed yet. She was giving Zhao Qi and Zhao Ningning warm water.

"Something bad has happened!" Ning's father said. "It looks like something terrible is going to happen!"

"I overheard downstairs that the officials in Heqing County are planning to flee, and that there will be refugees coming from outside the city early tomorrow morning."

"Huh?!" Ning's mother was stunned for two seconds after hearing this.

After regaining her senses, Ning's mother stood up abruptly, "We have to go too."

"We're leaving! We also need to inform the village head and the others to come along." Ning's father said, "I'll go find them, you guys go get the car, and we'll meet in the backyard."

Ning's mother reached out and packed away all the luggage in the house. After the two children finished drinking warm water, she also put the cups into her storage space.

The group split up and acted separately.

Ning's father went to knock on the village head's door.

After knocking a few times, the village head, dressed in his clothes, hurriedly opened the door. Upon hearing what Zhao Lao Er was saying, he became extremely anxious, calling for his son inside while simultaneously calling for the people in the next room to get up.

The female relatives of the village head lived next door.

Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the village head had notified all the villagers of Wangli Village who were staying at the inn.

Even people from outside Wangli Village, who were of low intelligence, started to act upon hearing the news.

The village head forbade them to light lamps, so they had to grope in the dark.

Half an hour later, the people of Wangli Village were all ready to leave.

Zhao Ningning's family led the mule cart at the very front, with the village head's horse-drawn cart right next to them.

Heqing County was quiet under the cover of night.

But the village head still keenly heard the occasional hurried footsteps passing by in the distance.

What Zhao Lao Er said was indeed true!

We can't stay in Heqing County any longer!

They had originally planned to rest for two days and then set off the day after tomorrow, but now they've moved up the date by a whole day.

It was dark, and they couldn't see the road clearly. They weren't locals either, so they had trouble finding their way.

After taking the wrong road twice, the village head went directly to the road and found a group of people to follow, and only then did they find the right road.

At the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), the group arrived at the East Gate of Heqing County an hour ahead of schedule.

A large crowd had gathered outside the East Gate, but no one spoke.

The people of Wangli Village were also waiting, waiting for the village head and village chief to lead them out.

After a short while, the line slowly began to move.

The village head's anxiety gradually subsided.

As long as they can get out smoothly today, it doesn't matter what the situation is like in Heqing County during the day.

After leaving the city, the group from Wangli Village followed the people in front onto a small path. No one dared to stop, and they walked until dawn.

After daybreak, the group spread out, and the village chief took out a map to check. Only after confirming that they hadn't gone the wrong way did they breathe a sigh of relief.

move on.

The Zhao family of four didn't sleep well last night. Ning's father and Zhao Qi drove the mule cart for half a day, and Ning's mother called them back to rest.

Taking turns driving the cart, the Wangli Village team didn't stop all morning. Those who didn't have time to eat breakfast ate flatbread as they walked, while those without dry rations could only stare blankly and drool.

It wasn't until noon that the people in the group were too exhausted to walk any further, and the village head finally led them down the main road to rest.

Recently, it has been getting hotter and hotter at noon, so the village head has extended the lunch break to two and a half hours, from the beginning of the 9-11 am to the end of the 3-5 pm.

Travel more at night and get up earlier in the morning, so that you're not walking during the hottest part of the day.

During the lunch break, Ning's mother took out the pre-prepared food from her space, ate a simple meal, left Zhao Ningning to watch over the room, and the other three took a nap.

Zhao Ningning didn't need to go out; she stayed in the space, tidying up the clutter in the elevator lobby while keeping an eye on the outside.

After collecting a bag of trash and throwing it at the garbage collection point, Zhao Ningning clapped her hands and went back inside to wash her hands at the sink.

I changed my clothes again and sat on her little corner in the entryway.

At the hour of Shen (3-5 PM), the village headman called for the people to continue forward.

The group of people woke up with dry mouths and throats, but they had diarrhea from homework and dared not drink cold water today, only warm water.

After the three of them got up, it was Zhao Ningning's turn to rest.

Zhao Ningning slept for an entire afternoon in her small apartment in the entryway.

When I woke up again, it was already dark outside.

The procession continued onward.

Yawning, Zhao Ningning emerged from her spatial dimension, and her mother invited her to sit down and eat grapes together.

Zhao Ningning plucked a pearl, popped it into her mouth, and asked, "About what time is it?"

Ning's mother did the math in her head and replied, "It should be around seven o'clock. The village head said that we have a long rest time during the day, so we should walk around a little longer at night."

After eating the grapes, Zhao Ningning's mind gradually cleared up. She stretched, sat down next to her mother, and touched the ice curling stone.

The curling stone wasn't cold enough, so Zhao Ningning went outside the carriage to ask her father and father for it back, and then used her spatial storage to replace the ice with fresh ice.

After a while, the line finally stopped.

It's time to rest at night.

Ning's mother rested well during the day. She was thinking of cooking some flatbread soup in a small iron pot. Since her family never cooks, it easily attracts attention.

Just as Ning's mother set up the stove and hadn't even lit the fire, the patrolmen who had been patrolling around the area rushed back and said something to the village head.

When Ning's father saw it from afar, the village head's expression immediately changed after hearing it.

The next second, the village head rushed back to the carriage and started banging the gong.

"Thieves are robbing us of money and food! Run! Run!"

Most of the people in the team hadn't even unloaded their stuff yet when they heard the news, so they immediately started pulling their livestock to harness the carts.

Ning's father harnessed the horse to the cart and tied the mule to the side.

Ning's mother took the iron pot onto the carriage, and Zhao Ningning put it away to make room.

Zhao Qi placed the wooden buckets used for watering the horses on the cart.

The four of them got to work at the same time and finished tidying up in less than three minutes. Seeing that the village head was also tidying up, Ning's father cracked his whip, and the horse galloped off.

After a few minutes of disarray, the group gradually became organized once they identified their direction and started running.

At the very front was the village chief, who was riding a horse and carrying a torch to lead the way, followed closely by the village head and the village chief's family.

Zhao Ningning's house was right behind theirs.

Further on, there were families in the village with horse-drawn carriages, which went a little faster. After the horse-drawn carriages came mule carts, donkey carts, and ox carts.

Behind them were carts pulled entirely by human power; those with less cargo moved faster, while those with more cargo moved slower.

Bringing up the rear were several men on horseback.

They were led by the village head's eldest son.

During the day, they could travel at a leisurely pace, but upon hearing that there were robbers robbing them of money and grain, they all took off running as fast as they could, as if their lives depended on it.

The speed was many times faster than usual.

Before long, the faint sounds of fighting could be heard from behind.

Zhao Ningning peered out the car window and saw several men on horseback carrying torches fighting with several other riders.

Because they were riding horses and had no suitable weapons, they could only use machetes or hoes to defend themselves.

Because of riding horses, they were in a very passive position.

Seeing the torches, Zhao Ningning had a good idea.

"Father! Father! Father!" Zhao Ningning walked to the front of the car. "Go find the village head and tell him we can use fire!"

Running forward now gives us an upwind position. If we light a small cigarette at the back of the line, the people chasing us will definitely get blinded.

Even if you don't get choked, you can at least block their view and take the opportunity to throw the burning cotton cloth stones into the other side's ranks.

Upon hearing this, Ning's father exclaimed, "That's a great idea!"

They slowly drove the carriage to the side of the village head's carriage, and Ning's father struck up a conversation with the village head.

Finally, he specifically mentioned that it was his daughter Zhao Ningning who came up with the idea.

The village head nodded, eager to deal with the people chasing after them. He immediately instructed the village chief's two children to search for the items while simultaneously notifying the people behind them.

Fifteen minutes later, the last person in the line was still walking while fighting.

Following Zhao Ningning's instructions, the village head prepared the items and then had the people at the back of the line set them on fire.