I survived the famine by scavenging and supported my family.

—As long as you can get silver, you can exchange it for grain!

Zhao Huilan made a mental calculation and secretly observed the movements of her family members.

After finishing cooking, my parents rushed outside to collect rainwater.

My third uncle's family were gathered together, talking about something.

Eldest brother and sister-in-law...

Zhao Huilan gasped for breath.

—Why does my sister-in-law still have some pancakes in her hand?!

No wonder! No wonder the whole family is so thin they're barely human, except my sister-in-law still has some flesh on her face!

—It turns out her older brother was giving her special tutoring!

They must still have food... or silver on them! Thinking of this, Zhao Huilan's breathing became heavier.

There is one younger brother and one grandfather left.

Grandpa was squatting on the ground, seemingly lost in thought, while his younger brother was lying on the ground, picking at the stones.

—Great! Nobody's paying attention here!

Zhao Huilan spotted the carriage, quickly climbed up, and touched her grandmother, who was still unconscious inside.

--No!

—How could there not be!

Undeterred, Zhao Huilan carefully examined her grandmother's body.

Still nothing! She couldn't help but pull at her hair.

—Could it be that the flowers have all been spent?!

—No, that's impossible, Grandma isn't like that!

Even when their carriage was confiscated in Huangshi County last time, her grandmother was still able to squeeze some silver out of her.

She must still have some money on her!

Suddenly, Zhao Huilan caught a glimpse of her grandmother's feet.

Because they had to walk all the time, everyone's legs and feet were bound with strips of cloth, and they were only unbound when they rested.

But Zhao Huilan has never seen her grandmother untie the strips of cloth from her legs in all this time!

She reached out and touched it, and sure enough! On the inside of her calf and ankle, she felt a bump that was different from what most people would feel.

Upon unfolding the cloth strips, one by one, they discovered some loose pieces of silver inside!

She took out two larger pieces of silver and stuffed them into her bosom. Then, she carefully tied the cloth strip that had been used by Granny Qian back on intact.

After doing all this, she leaned against the car window and looked out: no one was paying attention to this side!

Zhao Huilan carefully got off the carriage.

When Mrs. Sun returned with the water, she saw her daughter standing there blankly after finishing her rice bark soup, not doing any work. She wanted to scold her, but she held back and said, "Wash the dishes after you're done eating."

Zhao Huilan realized what was happening, lowered her head and responded, then bent down to pick up the bowls and chopsticks from the ground and took them to the cave entrance to wash them with the rainwater.

There's really nothing to wash.

Zhao Huilan rinsed it a few times, washing away the dirt that was on her hands as well.

She was surprised to find that her hands had turned white!

When there were nine suns in the sky before, Zhao Huilan felt like she was going to get tanned to a crisp!

I thought I wouldn't go back empty-handed, but I never expected that in just a few days, I would go back empty-handed again!

Zhao Huilan washed her hands in the rain. Although her hands weren't as white as they had been in Wangli Village, they were much better than they had been a few days ago.

"I'll go and take some money to the villagers and ask them to sell me some grain later," Zhao Huilan thought, rubbing the grime off her arms, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

Soon, Zhao Huilan washed the mud off her hands and arms, revealing the color of her skin underneath.

That wasn't enough. Zhao Huilan put down her sleeves, picked up the bowl, and silently returned to her own carriage.

Sun scolded her for taking so long to wash the dishes, and then let her rest by her carriage.

The Zhao family members rested by circling their own car frame.

Touching the silver nugget in her arms, Zhao Huilan rolled over on the ground.

Seeing the carriage beside her, and Xiaohua's mother using a fire to warm a straw mat for Xiaohua, Zhao Huilan bit her lower lip, suppressing her jealousy, and turned to face the mountain wall.

Other mothers care for their daughters like this.

The cart frame belonging to Wang Xiaohua's family was confiscated. Xiaohua's mother quickly pulled down the bundle on it and clung to it desperately. The yamen runners saw that they were only holding a few tattered clothes and allowed them to leave.

With the silver hidden in her tattered clothes, Xiaohua Niang managed to buy a new two-wheeled cart.

They picked up things from the cart as they walked, and also exchanged money for them. Now their little cart has firewood, oilcloth, clothes, and food.

Without a straw mat, Xiaohua's mother wove a thick straw mat out of wild grass gathered from the roadside.

The straw mat was quite long, and after a day's trek, the edges and corners would always get wet from the rain.

During her rest time, Xiaohua's mother would stand on tiptoe over the fire and slowly dry the flowers before laying them on the ground for Xiaohua to sleep on.

Why?! Why?! A child without even a connection can live such a happy life!

Although she had already turned over, the scene from just now stirred up a feeling of jealousy in Zhao Huilan's heart.

—Little Flower should be like Wu Ya! Swept away by a mudslide!

Zhao Huilan bit her fingers, frantically tearing at her fingernails.

As dusk fell, the people inside the cave gradually went to rest.

Seeing that her family members were fast asleep, Zhao Huilan quietly got up from the floor.

I groped my way to the edge of the cave entrance, where lightning and thunder were still flashing outside.

The raindrops in the sky were smaller than before.

Zhao Huilan dared not go far, so she stood at the edge of the cave entrance and, taking advantage of the rain, began to wash herself through her clothes.

She focused on washing the exposed areas, and after washing, she wrung out the hem of her clothes and dragged her long, water-stained steps back to her bicycle rack.

While the fire was still burning, Zhao Huilan warmed herself by the flames.

The next day, the thunderstorm continued outside.

The village headman told everyone to take a good rest in the cave, with some drying firewood and others making dry rations.

Two families had run out of food and decided to risk going out to find something to eat. The village head tried to dissuade them but to no avail, and warned them to be careful.

Once they left, the villagers' minds began to stir.

During the previous drought, the villagers nearby had already stripped the edible things off the mountains outside. Apart from tree bark, grass roots, and rats, the people of Wangli Village couldn't find anything.

It's raining now, so food should start growing on the mountain!

If you go out earlier, you can find more food.

But it was still thundering outside, and the villagers were worried that they might get struck by lightning if they went out—Grandma Qian had been struck by lightning and still hadn't woken up!

Old Zhao poked the fire with a twig and said, "Eldest brother, third brother, you two take some men outside and look for firewood. We're almost out of firewood."

Zhao Laosan said somewhat reluctantly, "Dad, it's still thundering outside!"

He got soaked as soon as he went outside, and bumps appeared on his head and body!

"Just go when I tell you to!" Old Zhao said. "If you don't go gather firewood, do you want to separate from the family and live on your own like the second son did?"

Zhao Laosan had thought about it, but if he separated from the family and went out, he would have to do all the chores himself. Unlike now, at least Zhao Huilan was there to take care of things.

If we go out early, we can still gather firewood around, and if something goes wrong, we can quickly run back.

If you go too late, all the firewood around will be gone. If you go to collect firewood in a faraway place, you won't be able to run away in time if something happens.

Anyway, he could just pick up a few more outside, Zhao Laosan quickly said, trying to appease his father: "Dad, that won't do! I'm not like my second brother, a complete ingrate!"

After saying that, he used the excuse that his daughter and wife were not feeling well, and went out of the cave by himself with a raincoat.

Even the usually lazy third brother went, so Zhao the eldest had no reason not to go. He could only take his straw hat and disappear into the rain.

Zhao Wenyuan looked at his wife and then at himself, and could only grit his teeth and go to gather firewood.

Mrs. Sun hurriedly followed behind her husband and son.

Zhao Huilan was just worrying about not having an excuse to slip away from Old Man Zhao's watchful eye when he said he was going to gather firewood. Zhao Huilan pulled out her straw hat to shield herself from the rain and went out into the rain.

The clothes that were just dried last night have gotten soaked again by the rain.

Zhao Huilan gathered a few pieces of firewood and quietly returned.

After wringing out the damp corners of her clothes at the cave entrance, Zhao Huilan, carrying a few pieces of firewood, nervously walked to the Shang family's carriage.

When Liu Dacheng's wife saw a young girl with an unfamiliar face approaching, she immediately pulled her husband along.

Liu Dacheng asked good-naturedly, "Who are you?"

"I'm here to exchange for grain!" Zhao Huilan took out the hard lump from her bosom, clenched it in her hand, and stared nervously at Liu Dacheng. "Manager Liu... could you let me see Young Master Shang? I just need to exchange for some grain."

Upon hearing that they were looking for their young master, Liu Dacheng's smile vanished, and he said with a troubled expression, "We've been fleeing famine for so long, we don't have much food left. Why don't you go ask other families?"

This little girl is from Wangli Village. Instead of going to the village head or the wealthy households in the village to exchange grain, she came to the Shang family to exchange grain. What is she up to?

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huilan became anxious, realizing she wouldn't even get a chance to see Young Master Shang. She pleaded, "Manager Liu, please! The Shang family is much wealthier than many families in the village, and they have more grain. I'll just exchange some; I won't tell anyone else!"

Liu Dacheng was speechless. What difference did it make whether she said anything or not when she was shouting so loudly?

"You little girl, if the men in our family say there's no extra food, then there's no food!" Liu Dacheng's wife chimed in.

"I've made it perfectly clear to you. After fleeing famine for so long, no matter how much food we brought, we're down to the last bit at the bottom of the bag. We can't even bear to eat a single bite ourselves!"

Zhao Huilan was both anxious and angry. She had only wanted to exchange for some food, but she also wanted to use this as an excuse to see the young master of the Shang family!

We can't even get grain in exchange, let alone see the young master of the Shang family!

In her haste, Zhao Huilan suddenly remembered a phrase from a play: "What was that again?" That's it! "The fox borrows the tiger's power!"

The Liu family is just taking advantage of others' power!

"Your word doesn't count. I'm exchanging grain from the Shang family. I want to see the young master of the Shang family!" Zhao Huilan stamped her feet anxiously.

"Our young master isn't someone you can just see whenever you want. My wife takes care of his food, and he needs to eat the best food. We said we won't trade, and that's final!" Liu Dacheng refused outright.

Inside the cave, the houses were all very close together. Hearing the commotion, the daughter of a wealthy family nearby chuckled softly, "Oh dear, this isn't about exchanging grain; they're clearly trying to exchange it for a husband!"

Zhao Huilan blushed immediately after her secret was exposed.

Liu Dacheng didn't care about food or husband. No matter how down on his luck his young master was, he would still be there to protect him. This little girl had no chance to get close to him!

After a brief struggle, Liu Dacheng and his wife completely blocked the front of the carriage, preventing Zhao Huilan from getting close. She shouted for a long time but there was no movement inside the carriage, so she assumed that Young Master Shang had given his permission.

Unable to find a solution, she could only dejectedly drag a few pieces of firewood back home.

Halfway there, as they passed the village head's carriage, Zhao Huilan spotted in the distance that among the group of people sitting around the fire, the young master of the Shang family was sitting inside!

Even Wu Ya's father was sitting inside!

Zhao Huilan was so anxious that she scratched her head and wished her second uncle was her biological father. That way, she could easily find an excuse to go and inform him when her mother was looking for him, and strike up a conversation with him.

Unfortunately, this is Wu Ya's father...

Zhao Huilan's eyes lit up. Regardless of whether he was Wu Ya's father or not, this was a valid excuse!

Thinking of this, she hugged the firewood and squeezed through to speak when the young master of the Shang family, who was sitting on the other side, suddenly got up and followed the village head's son further and further away, and actually left!

Zhao Huilan wanted to pursue him, but everyone around the fire was watching her!

"Um, Second Uncle, it's time to gather firewood outside..." Zhao Huilan stammered awkwardly, and before anyone else could react, she grabbed the firewood and fled.

Ning's father was also completely baffled; he clearly wasn't familiar with this Er Ya at all!

The villagers didn't take the little incident to heart. The village head showed the map to the others and continued to discuss the next route.

After failing to strike up a conversation twice, Zhao Huilan ran home with the firewood in her arms, angrily throwing it on the ground.

"How come there's only this much?!" Old Zhao complained. "Go find some more!"

Zhao Huilan went out to gather firewood again. On her way back, she paid special attention to the village head's house, but the young master of the Shang family had not returned yet...

I was planning to check on her again when I went out to gather firewood for the third time, but unexpectedly, Granny Qian, who had been unconscious for a day and a night, finally woke up!

Granny Qian felt as if her head had been smashed in two by a large rock, sometimes with a cracking pain like it was being broken open, and sometimes as if the kernel of the walnut had been plucked out, leaving her completely confused.

Feeling weak and sore all over, Granny Qian lay there catching her breath. Realizing she was lying inside the frame of her own bright red wedding carriage, she exhaled a sigh of relief and called out, "Eldest son... Third son... Wen Yuan..."

There was no response from outside. Granny Qian took a breath and called out again, "Sun Shi! Er Ya!"

"You're awake!?"

The first one to arrive was neither Sun Shi nor Er Ya, nor her three precious gold nuggets, but Old Man Zhao.

Granny Qian: "Old man... oh dear... I'm sore all over and have no strength. Where are the others? Have them come over and help me up."

Old Zhao went over to help her up, saying, "Those few went outside to gather firewood."

He tried to help her up, but to his surprise, the old woman slipped and fell directly onto the cart floor with a loud thud, hitting her head.

Granny Qian: "Ouch!"

"I...I'll go find someone!" Old Zhao hurriedly got out of the car and bumped into Zhao Huilan who was returning from outside.

"Er Ya! Quick! Your grandma's awake!"

The firewood in Zhao Huilan's hand fell to the ground with a "thud".

She wasn't excited, she was terrified.

—Has the baby woken up?!