Chapter 8: and

"Old man, come here, I have something to say." Mother Li, who had been tugging at Old Man Li toward the tent, let go of the grass curtain only to lift it again a moment later: "All of you, stand further away. No eavesdropping!"

The crowd: "..."

Mother Li’s maneuver only made the Li brothers, who already felt their mother had been bullied by the fourth daughter-in-law, even more convinced of it.

Their gazes glared unkindly at Qin Wangshu.

It wasn't that Qin Wangshu didn't want to explain, but she felt that in this situation, any explanation might just look like a cover-up. So, she simply stepped into the tent.

The atmosphere grew even more tense due to Qin Wangshu's attitude, and the brothers' glares toward Li Jiang became even harsher. But what could they do? Their own mother would rather die of anger than stop protecting the fourth son and his wife!

Just as the eldest and second Li brothers felt a sense of injustice, Old Man Li lifted the grass curtain.

"Fourth, Fourth's wife, come here."

*Heh*, the old lady protects you, but the old man certainly doesn't.

"Father," Li Jiang called out in a low voice.

Old Man Li’s brows twitched. He turned toward Qin Wangshu, who was lifting the grass curtain, and then shot a cold look at his son.

"I didn't intend to scold your wife." This useless boy—if it weren't for the old woman's big heart, he could have been angered to death by him.

What a blockhead.

Sharing a grass shed with parents-in-law was considered improper for Jiang and Zhang, but for Qin Wangshu, it was no problem.

A father-in-law should keep his distance, but if the father-in-law and mother-in-law are together, then that distance is decided by them. Qin Wangshu sat directly beside Mother Li, and Li Jiang, of course, hurried to follow.

Watching the grass curtain, the sourness in Jiang's heart began to bubble up again.

"Father and Mother are truly generous."

"..." Not just generous, but a bit too generous—it had already gone overboard.

The Li brothers looked at each other and saw the word "envy" in each other's eyes.

As expected, the youngest son is always different.

"Fourth's wife, why did you have such thoughts?" Old Man Li asked straight to the point. After speaking, he turned to Li Jiang: "Don't meddle, just listen carefully."

Li Jiang: "..."

Is there any way to bully his little wife more than this?

"Fourth, your wife didn't do anything to me; I wanted to cry on my own. I've already made that clear to your father." It would be a lie to say Mother Li didn't feel a bit bitter.

Sure enough, once a son grows up, he forgets his mother; once he takes a wife, he forgets his mother. He could be a textbook example of that.

Mother Li’s grumpy words finally put Li Jiang at ease.

"I know."

"Know what, you idiot!" Old Man Li suddenly felt a surge of irritation.

This brat, what does he think of his old parents?

The "troublemaker" Qin Wangshu rubbed her nose and sighed again: *Blockhead.*

"I just think that if there were enough food, the refugees would never keep moving forward. If they didn't keep moving forward, there would be no need to seize all the boats on the river. Regardless, catching even one fish is something; a single fish is life-saving grain."

"So, you conclude that the imperial court's grain is almost gone?"

"I don't know if the court's grain is gone, but it's certain that the prefectural government doesn't intend to distribute much. The refugees will only cause trouble if there isn't enough food, right?"

She really is learned; she sees three steps ahead with a single glance.

Old Man Li couldn't help but evaluate her in his heart.

Frowning, Old Man Li was silent for a long time before asking: "Do you have any ideas?"

"If it's a regional disaster, the capital is the best place to go. No matter where there is no food, the capital will have it—it must have it. It’s just a matter of it being more expensive. But if the disaster area is large, and the court is unstable, the relief grain will definitely fall short."

"If there is water, one can always find something to eat in the mountains. But with the current drought, there are no wild vegetables left. Not only are there no vegetables, but the mountains are parched. Animals that are starving might even come down."

"However, compared to wild beasts, I think starving refugees are even more terrifying. If there is no food and many people starve to death, things like cannibalism will likely be unavoidable. I’ve read in books that during years of great famine, many people survived by trading their children to eat."

The mention of "trading children" made Li Jiang gasp, while Mother Li trembled all over, covering her mouth, not daring to make a sound.

"...In the past, I had heard of such things, but I only listened to them as stories." Old Man Li’s trembling voice showed he was also shaken. "Do you think it's better for us to go into the mountains?"

"Going into the mountains at least ensures that we won't be eaten after we die." She didn't know if they could survive in the mountains, but she felt that compared to wild beasts, being eaten by people was far more terrifying. "This disaster will last at least until next autumn. If there is no rain next spring, next autumn will be even more dangerous... I'm afraid we won't even make it through this year; next year feels too far away, and I don't know how many people will die by then."

"If we go into the mountains and find a place with water, there will surely be game. If we can grow some food, we can at least make it to the year after." Clenching his fists, Li Jiang felt his heart throbbing with pain. Just the thought of his little wife being dismembered made him unable to breathe.

The weather was too abnormal. It should be the time for heavy snow, yet it was no different from the dog days of summer. Few people could believe that the climate would return to normal next year, which was why everyone kept wanting to come to the prefectural city.

There were many people in the city; with more people, the chance of an individual being harmed was smaller, and the court couldn't ignore a large crowd. But now, it seemed to have backfired.

If the court wants to manage things, it must have the conditions to do so.

No one knew the regret in Old Man Li's heart: "...I'm afraid that even if we want to leave, we can't."

"Now should be the best time to leave." Under the gaze of the three, Qin Wangshu quickly analyzed it for them: "We arrived early, and now things have settled down. If we set out as a family under the guise of cleaning up, it shouldn't attract attention."

Old Man Li’s eyes suddenly lit up: "If the village chief goes to speak, perhaps our entire village can leave together."

The mountains held countless dangers. With just their family, going into the mountains would be a dead end. But if he could help the villagers while also saving his own family, he wanted to do so.

They were from the same village; although there were occasional frictions, they had decades of friendship.

"Having more people is certainly better, but Father, even if you have good intentions, you must take precautions. After all, we are going into the deep mountains; everyone knows what's in there. Don't let people blame our family if something goes wrong. Also, once we leave, we likely won't be able to come back. Everyone must be made aware of that."

In her view, among the twenty-some households, there were several that were not very decent. She felt it was necessary to warn Old Man Li so they wouldn't start fighting among themselves before even finding a way to survive.

And such a mass exodus of an entire village would not be a small matter; it wouldn't go unnoticed.

When it came to understanding people, how could Qin Wangshu compare to Old Man Li? She didn't know how he spoke to the village chief, nor how the village chief spoke to the yamen runners, but when he returned, he told everyone to pack their things and prepare to go to the riverside early tomorrow morning.

"Father, isn't it fine here? The riverside is so chaotic." The eldest Li brother didn't want to go to the riverside at all.

Almost all the villages and towns lacking water in the entire prefecture had fled here. The camp was orderly because of the officials, but the riverside was different. Many people wanted to fish something out of the river; the bustle there was comparable to a temple fair.