During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

Ye Dazhuang himself didn't know why, but the bloody images that had been haunting his mind and troubling him suddenly disappeared after seeing Ye Qingqing. His troubled heart became much clearer, more at ease, and more relaxed...

He even couldn't help but want to get closer to her.

Upon hearing this thought, Ye Dazhuang was momentarily stunned, a strange and indescribable feeling welling up inside him.

He couldn't even remember who he was, and he often dreamed of bloody battles...

Even if he falls for Qingqing, what can he give her?

It would be better to just be her big brother, someone she can rely on whenever she needs him.

……

"It smells so good, sister-in-law!"

As soon as Ye Qingqing entered the house, she rubbed her hands together and sniffed the stove hard. "Is dinner ready?"

She didn't intend to sell the turtle she brought back from Lijiatun; she wanted to keep it for herself at home.

The savory aroma of stewed turtle soup, combined with the tangy flavor of stewed pork with pickled cabbage, is simply irresistible.

"Brother Dazhuang, your wife is calling us for dinner!"

Hearing her sister-in-law say dinner was ready, she turned and clung to the doorframe, calling out, "Come in quickly, dinner's ready!"

"Um."

A smile unconsciously appeared on Ye Dazhuang's strong-featured face, and his eyes followed her without him even realizing it.

After eating and drinking her fill, Ye Qingqing slowly sipped her hot tea from a large, rough porcelain bowl.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ye Dazhuang standing like a silent stone statue. The sunlight fell on his resolute brows and eyes, softening his innate fierceness.

At the same time, Ye Qingqing was also making plans in her mind:

The fortune slip says that "a family of five" must sharpen these three "hunting knives" before the bandits launch a night attack.

Just then, a burst of wailing and cursing suddenly erupted at the entrance of the village, coming from afar and crashing into my ears in a chaotic cacophony.

"Please have mercy... give us something to eat! Our parents are dying..."

"Get lost! Where did this beggar come from? They can't even afford to cook, why would they give you handouts?"

"Grab it! Fight them! If we get food, Mom will live!"

"Beat them! Beat these hungry wolves to death!"

Ye Qingqing put down the bowl and raised an eyebrow.

coming!

She got up and walked towards the entrance of the village. Ye Dazhuang stood up almost at the same time and silently followed half a step behind her.

Hearing the noise inside, Li Chunyan clung to the window frame and shouted.

"Second Girl, it looks like there are beggars outside. Don't go and provoke them!"

Ye Qingqing didn't turn her head, she just waved her hand.

Under the locust tree at the entrance of the village, a group of twenty or thirty villagers, three or four deep, gathered to watch the spectacle, pointing and whispering.

In the center of the circle, three emaciated young men lay sprawled on the ground, while an elderly couple lay on a dilapidated wooden cart, their faces ashen and their breaths barely audible.

The three men, their cotton-padded clothes so tattered they could be used as fishing nets, covered in dirt, with wounds on their foreheads, were protecting the shivering old man.

The leader, a square-faced man, had his knees rubbed raw and bleeding. He clung tightly to the leg of a burly man, shouting in a hoarse voice.

"Uncles, all we have is a cornbread... My mother hasn't eaten or drunk anything for three days, just a cornbread will do!"

A man in the village, his face grim, kicked him aside and cursed.

"Get lost! My own kids are gnawing on tree bark, where would you get anything to eat!"

The second brother, with a violent temper, grabbed a half-broken tree branch with red eyes. Two young men then struck him hard on the back with sticks, and he screamed and curled up.

The youngest of the three, yet the most eccentric, lunged at a basket in a woman's hand.

He saw two cornbread buns inside!

As long as there's food to eat and his parents don't starve, he'll snatch it even if it means stealing it!

"What?! You dare to rob a beggar?!"

Unexpectedly, Old Wang slammed the handle of his hoe into his shoulder, cursing angrily, "Don't you even look where you are? This is our Kaoshantun land!"

The young man fell headfirst, blood seeping from his shoulder, but even lying on the ground, he still reached for the basket.

"Third brother!"

His two brothers yelled and surrounded him, shouting at the crowd with bloodshot eyes.

"Who dares to hit my brother! I'd like to see who dares!"

"Boss, we're going to starve to death anyway, let's risk it all..."

"Alright!"

Ye Qingqing pushed through the crowd, her voice soft yet as clear as a knife cutting through tofu, instantly silencing all the noise.

She stepped forward and glanced at the family on the ground.

The elderly couple had sunken eyes and their chests heaved like paper in the wind; the three brothers were so hungry that their eyes were green.

Ye Qingqing immediately understood that these were the five mouths that were "worth great use" according to the divination slip.

"Second Girl!"

Someone called out to her, "Don't meddle in other people's business! These days, food is life. Who has food to give to others?"

Ye Qingqing ignored her and only gestured with her chin towards the woman carrying the basket.

"Auntie, give me the cornbread, and go to my house to get a pound of mixed grain flour... Just say I said so."

The woman was taken aback and quickly handed her the cornbread.

Is this for real?

Ye Qingqing handed two steamed buns to one of the three brothers, saying, "Eat up."

The three brothers were also stunned.

But then, realizing what was happening, he grabbed a cornbread and stuffed it into his parents' mouths. Seeing them eating, he took a big bite and wolfed it down, choking until his eyes rolled back in his head.

However, the three of them kept their eyes fixed on her as they ate, as if afraid she would change her mind.

Ye Qingqing stood up, patted the crumbs off her hands, and said,

"Come home with me, there's hot soup and rice noodles at home."

But there's one condition—from this day forward, you will be supported by the Ye family, your blades facing outwards, guarding my home and property.

The old man thanked him, but his voice choked with emotion.

The second brother helped the third brother up, and the third brother looked at her and suddenly kowtowed.

The five people staggered as they followed Ye Qingqing back, and the village instantly erupted in chaos.

"Has Er Yatou gone mad? Raising a family of five?"

"Hmph, it's better than starving to death!"

In Ye Qingqing's courtyard, the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) was scalding hot.

She asked Li Chunyan to help the old man into the west room and give him some brown sugar and ginger water.

Three large bowls of sauerkraut stewed pork and two flatbreads were then served and placed on the stone table.

The three brothers held the bowls, their hands trembling so much that they spilled the soup, but they dared not waste a single drop, swallowing it down with the soup and the solids, sweat beading on their foreheads.

Ye Youliang said,

"What a tragedy... In a year of famine, it's not uncommon for people to exchange their own children to eat them."

Ye Qingqing gave a light humph. "Father, if we have grain, we need someone to guard it. I want to hire those three brothers to watch over our house."

These three brothers are Zhao Tieshan (eldest), Zhao Tiehe (second), and Zhao Tiejiang (youngest).

My hometown is in the north where the dam broke. The flood washed away our house. We begged our way through the flood, and my parents contracted malaria. They were on the verge of not making it.

If they can't get any food today, the three brothers will really resort to robbery if they get too hungry.

Ye Qingqing nodded.

"Now that you've entered the Ye family, your past is wiped clean. Starting tonight, you'll take turns keeping watch."

The bandits of Qingshi Mountain are eyeing my grain; we must guard against a night attack.

Zhao Tieshan suddenly looked up.

"But those men on horseback who left the message? We saw them begging in Qing Shi Town."

Ye Qingqing laughed: "Exactly. The three of you are worth thirty farmers, and with Brother Dazhuang, you should be enough to give them a run for their money."

Ye Dazhuang glanced at her, and the clear light in his eyes reappeared.

He liked her like this—calm, composed, and like a guiding star, she managed to straighten out the chaos.