Lin Shucheng looked at his daughter with a troubled expression.
Since his transmigration, he had been in a daze, simply following his daughter's lead.
But she continued shaking her head like a rattle drum: "But, this… can we really look out for each other?
Before, when my mother treated villagers, many gossiped behind her back. They said she was improper for practicing acupuncture, and when patients didn't recover, they blamed her for being unskilled and reckless. When she fell ill, no one spoke up for her, and she nearly died…"
The group that had followed them grew anxious, waving their hands in denial: "No, no, we didn't say those things. We'd never gossip behind someone's back."
"Ah, wasn't it your eldest and second brothers who said that? We never chimed in."
"It was Old Ma at the village entrance who said she was unskilled and killed people with her treatments. He doesn't trust us now and followed the people from Nan'an County north."
Lin Jinyue recalled the original host's memories—it truly wasn't these people who had spoken.
Along the journey, some had died, others scattered. These fifty or so individuals had always been on good terms with her family, even pooling together some dry rations for them.
Her deliberate remarks weren't meant to blame or cause trouble; Lin Jinyue had secretly instructed her to say this.
Although Lin Jinyue had the Farm System, only she could stay inside indefinitely. Before upgrading it, she could bring others in for at most two and a half hours inside, equivalent to half an hour outside.
Given this, it was still better to flee the famine with the larger group.
With only four people in their family, they would struggle to handle encounters with Prince Jing's troops, bandits, or wild beasts in the mountains.
After weighing the options, Lin Jinyue concluded that fleeing with the others offered the best cost-benefit ratio.
The people from Lin Village were familiar and trustworthy. In such critical times, they had shared their scarce food with her family—that alone spoke volumes.
Moreover, most in Lin Village were related by blood, and kinship ties were more reliable than anything else.
But if they were to cooperate in fleeing the famine, mutual benefit was acceptable; causing trouble for her family was absolutely not.
Some things needed to be clarified upfront.
Her family couldn't afford to do thankless work.
Hearing this, the villagers from Lin Village quickly assured them: "We wouldn't! Are we the kind to be ungrateful?"
They all looked at Lin Shucheng with eager eyes.
Initially, some had worried about the dangers of Lingnan, but now they feared Lin Shucheng might leave them behind.
Having received the desired response, Lin Jinyue said, "Since uncles and elders aren't like those unpleasant people, then…"
Her voice trailed off abruptly.
The villagers heard several familiar voices.
Lin Youliang and his family had actually found their way over. From a distance, their grumbling could still be heard:
"What cursed luck! Why does our family have to suffer all this?"
"It's all Third Brother's fault, that unfilial son. He knew something was wrong but didn't warn us earlier. Second Brother might not make it, and Father lost his last pair of shoes—his feet are covered in blood!"
"Just wait till I find him. I'll teach that family a lesson. They're all ungrateful wretches, showing no respect to their own grandfather and father."
"Father, are we going to Lingnan? The Miasma there can kill people."
"Yes, we're going. Doesn't Tiezhu's mother know how to treat Miasma? I'm her father-in-law—how dare she refuse to treat me? And Third Brother, how dare he ignore me? We'll shame them to death!"
The family entered the cave grumbling and cursing, only to find a group of people already sitting inside.
For a moment, both sides fell silent.
The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.
Lin Jinyue was annoyed at the sight of Lin Youliang and his family. She refused to acknowledge these so-called grandfathers and uncles—they disgusted her to the core.
Their earlier words had almost outright stated they intended to take advantage of her family, treating them as easy targets.
Lin Jinyue hadn’t expected Lin Youliang’s family to follow them. She shouted loudly at Lin Shucheng, “Dad, let’s just go on our own.”
As soon as she said this, the thirty or so villagers grew frantic.
They had finally managed to coax Lin Lao San’s daughter into almost agreeing to take them along. From the looks of it, he was willing to lend a hand to the villagers. Who could have guessed Lin Youliang would show up now and ruin everything?!
The village chief, Lin Youcai, was nearly furious to death.
If only they had arrived half a moment later, they could have latched onto Lin Lao San’s family.
With a scholar to offer advice and a doctor to treat illnesses, their chances of survival would have greatly increased.
But just like that, Lin Youliang had come along and messed it all up.
The village chief was seething with anger. “Lin Youliang, what nonsense are you spouting?”
Lin Youliang was taken aback by the scolding. What had he said wrong?
Lin Youliang retorted righteously, “Isn’t it only natural for a son to support his father? If you’re not afraid of people pointing fingers at you, why don’t you just abandon us and see?”
Lin Jinyue widened her eyes. Could Lin Youliang and his family really be so shameless?!
Her face turned cold. “Back then, you tried to sell me off and drove my father out of your Lin family. We’ve long since severed ties. Now that you see my mother can gather medicinal herbs, you come crawling back?”
Before Lin Youliang could retort, the other villagers immediately chimed in, “That’s right, that’s right. We all saw it. You left nothing for Lao San’s family. Since you’ve already cut ties, don’t come crawling back now.”
“Lin Youliang, don’t drag us down with you. The way you treated Lao San, he’s already shown more than enough tolerance. Lao San’s wife even helped treat your injuries before, but you just buried her efforts. When the villagers tried to pool money for treatment, you couldn’t even be bothered to bring her along.”
“Pah! With faces like yours, we don’t want to flee the famine with you. If you can treat your own son like that, who’s to say you won’t drag us down later?”
Lin Youliang was furious. In the past, he could have relied on his seniority—aside from his cousin, the village chief, who in the village would dare speak to him like this?!
But now, because of a single sentence from Lin Jinyue, everyone had started berating him.
Lin Youliang grabbed a stick, ready to teach Lin Jinyue, this disrespectful little girl, a lesson for daring to speak to her elders like that!
This time, even before Lin Xueqing and Lin Shucheng could step in to shield her, the villagers picked up whatever was nearby and stood in front of Lin Jinyue.
For a moment, Lin Youliang didn’t dare make another move.
Lin Youliang finally understood what it meant to be abandoned by all.
Lin Youcai stepped forward, his expression solemn, and said to Lin Shucheng, “Lao San, take the villagers with you. If your father insists on being unreasonable, we’ll deal with him according to clan law.”
Lin Youcai's expression was exceptionally grave as he looked at Lin Youliang and continued, "On the road of fleeing from disaster, internal strife is the greatest taboo. Your family has delayed the escape of the rest of the clan, and ever since we left the village, you've been undermining morale. And you, Lin Lao Da—while the third brother's wife was saving people, you and your wife were gossiping behind her back. What kind of intentions does your family harbor?"
With each sentence Lin Youcai spoke, Lin Youliang's family fell silent.
He added one final remark, "I'll give you two options: either separate from us and go wherever you please, but don't follow us; or if you insist on staying with the group, dare to cause trouble, and you'll face clan punishment."
Upon hearing the words "clan punishment," Lin Youliang shuddered all over.
Could it be that they intended to drown them in the pond?