I survived the famine by scavenging and supported my family.

After meeting up with the people down the mountain, Zhao Ningning immediately returned to the front of her mule cart.

Zhou Jian also came back. Ever since his family lost their carriage during the Earth Dragon's Turnaround, they had always followed Ningning's family whenever they had to travel.

Mrs. He looked at her three children and saw that they were all safe and sound before she was relieved.

In front of his two nephews, Zhou Jian felt a little embarrassed. He scratched his head and said, "Oh, Mom—what could it be? It was just dropping a bomb on the mountain."

"You silly child!" Madam He slapped him, pushed him away, and took Zhao Ningning's hand. "Ningning, you'll be in the carriage with your grandma later."

"Sure," Zhao Ningning readily agreed.

She's already made lime bombs. She'll stay behind to guard the rear. If anyone tries to sneak up on the rear, she can stand on the roof of the vehicle and throw a few bombs out!

Ahead, after seeing their own people return, both teams immediately continued forward while it was still early!

A large group of people walked along the empty road.

Zhu Dalong sneered, "Everyone, perk up! Your chance for revenge has arrived!"

The remaining people got up from the ground, and many of them realized that they had left their knives in the woods in their haste to run away!

Some went back to get the knife, while others blocked the road.

They are not prepared to let this group of people leave alive!

The village head didn't expect them to let two teams pass. Once they reached a point where the bombs could be thrown, they immediately stopped. Wang Xiufeng ordered his men to line up in a row and shouted, "Throw!"

Add water, cover, and discard!

"boom!"

"boom!!"

The lime water immediately exploded into flowers on the opposite side of the ground.

This time, the scalding lime water came into contact with their faces and eyes, and immediately half of the people bent over, covered their heads, and ran away.

Seeing that the situation was about to spiral out of control, Zhu Dalong roared, "Retreat! If we retreat, we won't be able to catch up!"

They stepped back a few steps, but two groups of people from Wangli Village and Xiangzhong County chased after them relentlessly, throwing water out while others filled water containers behind them.

After a round of thirty lime bombs were thrown, the enemy was scattered, with only fifty or sixty people still standing!

"Kill!" Jiang Song raised his broadsword and charged forward first.

Behind them, the two groups of people charged forward, brandishing their broadswords.

Those with strength went to the front to fight, while those with less strength finished off the fallen thieves from behind!

The remaining people fought back, but little did they know that the village head had a backup plan.

Lime bombs are one thing, lime powder is another.

The first thing the person running in front did when he encountered the thief was not to raise his broadsword, but to take out a small bamboo tube from his pocket and sprinkle all the lime powder inside over!

Caught off guard, the thief clutched his eyes and hunched over in pain. The two groups seized the opportunity, drew their knives, and dispatched the group in less than half an hour!

After resolving the situation, the group pressed their advantage and went straight into the mountains and forests. They surrounded and killed the people who had gone to get the knife but never returned, who were trying to escape with the food.

The sky was bright.

A stench of blood lingered in the valley.

Hearing that there was food inside, both teams immediately moved their teams over.

Ignoring the thieves lying haphazardly on the ground, the people from both sides carried back the grain that the fleeing thieves hadn't had time to take, and put it together with the grain beside the mountain wall.

They add up to a small mountain!

Looking at the pile of grain, everyone was filled with excitement.

The village head had already discussed the fate of the spoils with Jiang Song before the operation.

Distribute the prizes to the team members based on their contributions.

Those who put in the effort a few days ago and those who are fighting on the front lines today should not be treated unfairly!

Seeing the village head pull out a list, Jiang Song slapped his forehead, regretting, "I should have made a list too!"

The village head comforted him, "No rush, no rush. We should be able to buy them once we get to Luchuan County."

Fortunately, Jiang Song's team was small and easy to divide. He dictated the amount of grain to Wang Xiufeng, who calculated it in his mind and directly helped everyone figure out how much grain each person should receive.

After the village head finished distributing the grain and other items, Granny Qian from Old Zhao's family stood there, holding a small bag of grain.

She thought this small bag was just a small amount.

She waited and waited, until the village head had distributed all the grain, before Granny Qian hurriedly went over to ask, "Village head, where is our family's grain?"

The village head frowned at her. "Didn't we already break up?"

Granny Qian was shocked. "Isn't this...isn't this just a small change?"

There are so many people in his family! Even Wang Xiaohua's family received more than hers!

The village head shook his head. "No, this is all the food your family has."

"How could this be!" Granny Qian raised her voice. "With so many people in our family, how could there be only this many? Village head, have you assigned the wrong people?"

—Yes, that must be it! The village head must have confused their family with the others.

Miao Chunfang couldn't stand it anymore and squeezed through the crowd, saying, "Didn't we say when we got you to work that whoever does the most work gets the most?"

"We asked your family to dig stones, but you refused because you thought it was too tiring. We asked you to cut bamboo, but you still refused."

"Even when we were fighting thieves today, your family hid in the back."

Miao Chunfang was speechless. Even Old Man Xi, whose eldest son and daughter-in-law had gone to dig for stones and whittle bamboo tubes, did so honestly, albeit slowly.

Granny Qian asked, "That's not how it works. Last time when the grain was distributed, didn't we get it based on the number of people?"

Li Si added from the side, "The last grain was obtained by chance. The village head thought that it was not easy for everyone to survive the earth dragon's reversal, so he decided to distribute it according to the number of people."

"Didn't we agree beforehand that whoever does the most work will get the most? Haven't you seen how hard everyone else is putting in their effort?"

After Li Si finished speaking, he pointed at Wang Yan and then at Luo Xiaozhi, saying, "The two of them do as much work as one and a half men."

Upon hearing that her name had been called, Wang Yan tied the grain bags tightly, placed them on the vehicle, and covered them with her clothes.

Granny Qian stood there dumbfounded. "Village head, with so many of us, could you give us a bigger share? Otherwise, we still have such a long way to go."

"Everyone else gets so much, but we only get this much. It's not enough to eat at all!"

The village head was shocked by her shamelessness. "The grain we distributed last time, if you eat it sparingly, will last you a long time."

After saying that, he became somewhat angry, "Everyone is putting in their effort and risking their lives. Your family is hiding in the back. There is really no reason for your family to receive any grain."

Granny Qian's heart sank. She opened her mouth wide, about to say a few more words to plead for mercy, when someone pushed her aside.

Holding half a sack of grain, Granny Qian returned dejectedly to her cart.

The main issue was grain, but there were also the carts and horses stolen by the bandits. The village headman said: those who were willing to exchange less grain for carts were allowed to do so.

There were only six carriages and horses, and those who didn't own a carriage were tempted.

He counted the grain in her hand, glanced at Zhou Jian, and said, "Xiao Jian, let's go get another vehicle!"

"Mother?" Zhou Jian felt a pang of heartache over the food. "That's food!"

"If it weren't for your sister and the others, we wouldn't have been able to get so much food. We've been working for the village these past few days, and with a little more, it would be enough to exchange for grain."

Mrs. He said, "We can't keep troubling your sister. The carriage is small, and Ningning and Xiaoqi can't even stretch their legs out when they sleep at night."

Zhou Jian felt a pang of regret for the wasted food and said, "I understand, Mother."

He packed up the grain for him and took Zhou Jian directly to the village head, where they exchanged a carriage for the first set of food.

The carriage wheels were large, and the carriage itself was also large; it was the kind of carriage that officials rode in.

When Ning Ma saw that they had returned in a different carriage without saying a word, she gently scolded them and helped carry the things over.

Actually, traveling by car isn't a big deal; the only inconvenience is that it's not easy to cook a special meal separately.

The second car was taken by Xi Ershun.

His family didn't have much food to begin with, but these past few days the couple has been working together so hard that they're collapsing into bed as soon as they get to sleep at night.

Xi Ershun had specifically asked Zhao Lao Er for some tips, and today he charged ahead and killed seven thieves in one go before they could react!

They changed to a different carriage, and their family still had a sack of grain left!

Luo Xiaozhi happily climbed onto the vehicle and looked around. Although the vehicle was a bit old, it moved very steadily.

They happily pulled the car aside, and Xi Ershun got a clean cloth from the thief and wiped the car inside and out.

After them, everyone who changed cars was from Jiang Song's team.

Old Zhao's family.

Granny Qian also wanted to change.

However, they had the carriage frame, and they wanted to exchange it for just the horse. The village headman disagreed, saying that unless they found someone willing to take only the carriage frame, they could give them the horse and the carriage frame.

Where can I find it!

Granny Qian looked around and saw that everyone either owned a car or lived alone and didn't need one.

There was one family in the group with only three people left, but they had little stuff and received less grain, so they probably wouldn't be willing to exchange their cart for a new one.

After much hesitation, the last car was taken by Jiang Song's team.

Granny Qian was so angry that she lay down on the carriage.

After distributing the grain, they began to distribute the gold and silver.

The village head gave half of the gold to Zhao Ningning and said in front of the team, "If it weren't for Zhao Ningning coming up with the brilliant idea of ​​bombs, we and the Xiangzhong County team might not have made it to Luchuan County alive."

Considering the power of the bomb, the people in the team nodded immediately, "Yeah! Thank goodness we had a bomb!"

"The bomb exploded, and the thief was instantly killed!"

"This thing is so useful!"

After a round of praise, the village head placed a large bag of gold in Zhao Ningning's hand. It was so heavy that Zhao Ningning almost dropped it.

Ning's mother helped her stabilize the situation.

After distributing the prizes to the biggest contributor, the village head distributed them to the others.

Although food is more important than money in the current situation, no one can say for sure. What if things return to normal in the next town? What if the famine ends and life returns to normal?

After receiving the silver, everyone carefully put it away.

After dividing the spoils, the village head went to examine the cave on the mountain wall.

The entrance to the cave was blocked by a fence made of several tree trunks that were too thick for two hands to grasp, with a door on top and a chain fastened to the door.

Upon seeing the group approaching, the people inside the cave shrank back.

They hadn't said a word since that group of people arrived.

But it still got noticed.

Are we going to fall from one fire pit into another?

The people inside the cave huddled together, shivering.

Unexpectedly, the old man who came over looked at the lock on the iron chain, called for people to dismantle the wood blocking the cave, and directly dismantled a door!

Two more women were sent over.

Miao Chunfang and Dr. Kang's daughter-in-law entered through the cave entrance. Upon seeing the scene inside, they first frowned, then felt heartache.

There were five girls in the cave! They were dressed in rags, their thin faces showing only two large eyes, their faces were covered in dirt, and they huddled together shivering, none of them daring to look up in their direction.

There was a stench emanating from the cave entrance; I really don't know how they survived in such an environment!

"Don't be afraid," Miao Chunfang said. "We're here to rescue you."

Upon hearing the woman's voice, the others raised their heads and cautiously looked over.

Miao Chunfang and the other woman went out first and stood at the cave entrance, saying, "The bandits outside are all dead. Our group is about to leave."

Upon hearing this, the girls inside the cave finally reacted.

Are these people not here to harm them?

Jiang Hui was worried, so she let go of the others' arms and slowly walked out of the cave that had trapped them for half a month.

It's so bright outside!

In front of the cave, a group of people, young and old, were busily packing up the oilcloth shed.

Others are loading food onto the truck.

Jiang Hui saw that there was also a little girl standing on the front of the car, stretching.

This group of people really didn't come here to harm them!

Once Miao Chunfang had called the person out, her mission was complete. Seeing that someone was willing to come out, she went back with peace of mind.

Jiang Hui immediately called out, "Madam, please wait!"

Miao Chunfang stopped and gently replied, "Good child, please speak."

"Can...you take us with you?" Jiang Hui lowered her head. "My family has been killed by these thieves."

Their team too.

"Then I'll have to ask the village head and the others." Miao Chunfang couldn't make a decision on her own, so she went back and asked. The village head didn't seem to have any objections.

Their group was much smaller, and these girls had it tough too. As long as they didn't cause trouble, it wouldn't be a problem for them to follow behind.

Once they reach a more stable city, they will probably leave on their own.

Jiang Song had no objections either.

When Miao Chunfang returned to report, Jiang Hui's face finally brightened, and she immediately went back into the cave to call for help.

"Come out quickly! They are good people!"

After shouting, only one person was willing to come out.

The remaining three huddled together, their faces expressionless.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Hui walked over and gently tugged at their arms. "Didn't you say you wanted to escape?"

No one responded to Jiang Hui.

Jiang Hui then urged, "Let's escape first. It's not hot outside and there's no rain. We can dig up wild vegetables and grass roots to eat."

After much persuasion, someone finally responded, "Go ahead."

Tang Rui said, "I...I don't want to leave."

Going out would be a dead end anyway, and since she's already in this state, she might as well die in this cave.

That saves us the trouble of digging a hole to bury it.

If the earth were to turn upside down again someday, God could just bury her body.

"Tang Rui!" Jiang Hui grabbed her hand. "Go, you have to go!"

Tang Rui was pulled to her feet and reluctantly led a couple of steps away. She tightened her grip and said, "Jiang Hui, you should go. We've only met by chance. Go do what you need to do and don't worry about me."