Old Madame Han had always doted on the two of them as if they were children. Seeing their crestfallen expressions, her heart softened.
Relenting, she said, “Forget it, forget it. If you want to go search, then go. Just remember not to wander too far. Han Si, stay close to your wife and don’t run around blindly!”
“Okay!”
Han Yanqing’s face instantly lit up with a beaming smile. Taking Lin Yueru by the hand, he dashed toward the woods.
Once inside the forest, he neither played nor looked for food; he simply tugged at Lin Yueru’s sleeve, trailing closely behind her.
Lin Yueru wondered, “Didn’t you want to come play in the woods? Why do you keep following me?”
Han Yanqing curled his lips into a smile and shook his head.
He hadn’t wanted to play in the woods at all—it was his wife who wanted to.
Lin Yueru had no choice but to wander aimlessly with him through the trees while preparing to retrieve supplies from her Space and place them in the forest.
Items like white flour and non-glutinous rice were too conspicuous, and Old Madame Han might not even bear to eat them, so Lin Yueru ruled them out immediately.
The best choices were sweet potatoes, potatoes, and millet—foods that were easy to store and less eye-catching.
After sorting things out in her Space, Lin Yueru discreetly dropped a small cluster of sweet potatoes, still attached to their vines, behind a tree. She then left more than half a sack of millet near the edge of the woods and casually scattered a pile of small potatoes beneath a layer of fallen leaves.
Before long, Han Yanqing’s eyes brightened, and he tugged her into a trot toward the back of the tree.
“Wife, look! Sweet potatoes!”
After crying out in pleasant surprise, he quickly clamped a hand over his mouth and cast a nervous, watchful glance around.
“Shh!” He pressed an index finger to his lips and said to Lin Yueru in all seriousness, “Wife, let’s sneak the sweet potatoes back, okay? Mother said we can’t let others know we have food!”
Seeing his deadpan, earnest expression, Lin Yueru found him rather earing.
Playing along, she nodded seriously. “Alright! Let’s hide the sweet potatoes in our clothes and take them back.”
Han Yanqing immediately took off his outer garment, gathered the sweet potatoes—roots and all—and wrapped them inside his coat.
Lin Yueru seized the opportunity to run off to the other side, stashing the scattered potatoes into her own clothes. Bulging with her haul, she hurried back to rezvous with Han Yanqing.
The moment Han Yanqing saw the potatoes in her arms, his curved eyes sparkled even brighter. “Wife, you’re amazing! You found potatoes too!”
Just as the words left his mouth, his brow suddenly furrowed. He leaned close to Lin Yueru’s ear and whispered, “Wife, someone’s coming behind us!”
Lin Yueru raised an eyebrow. “How do you know?”
He pointed to his ear. “I hear their footsteps. They’re getting closer and closer to us.”
Remembering that Han Yanqing used to practice martial arts, Lin Yueru didn’t doubt his words in the slightest.
Without looking back, and holding him back from turning around, she swiftly nudged him toward the edge of the forest. Along the way, she swept the half sack of millet she hadn’t yet gathered back into her Space.
“Yanqing, we’ve been out for too long. Mother, Eldest Brother, and Second Brother must be worried!” she said in a raised voice.
Talking as they went, the two quickened their pace.
Unexpectedly, the footsteps behind them hurried as well!
They were clearly coming for them!
The heavy, ragged breathing drew ever nearer, as though the pursuer could reach out and grab them at any moment!
Without hesitation, Lin Yueru shoved all the potatoes into Han Yanqing’s arms. “Hurry, go find Eldest Brother and the others!”
With that, she pushed Han Yanqing forward and stayed behind, blocking the pursuer’s path!
The man was a burly fellow in his thirties, sallow, emaciated, and filthy from head to toe.
Seeing her hand everything over to the young man, the fellow’s wolf-like, famished gaze turned vicious and cruel!
“I only wanted to beg for a bite to eat! But since you delivered yourself to my doorstep, you can’t blame me!”
Hearing his words, Lin Yueru sneered.
In a year of famine, how many people were driven to exchanging children to eat?
A bite to eat?
Food was worth more than human lives!
The burly man closed in step by step. As Lin Yueru backed away, she located a wooden club in her Space, ready to pull it out and bash him over the head at any second!
“Wife! Look out!”
Han Yanqing’s shout suddenly came from behind. Lin Yueru moved faster than she could think, reflexively ducking and dodging to the side.
She avoided the blow, but the burly man wasn’t so lucky!
A boulder as heavy as a thousand catties crashed violently into his chest. The impact threw him back several steps, sing a mouthful of blood spurting from his lips!
Pinned beneath the heavy stone, the man collapsed onto the ground. His eyes stared blankly upward, and he moved no more.
Lin Yueru had never imagined Han Yanqing would run back—let alone lift such a massive boulder and hurl it over!
It seemed he had saved her once again.
Seeing the man motionless, Han Yanqing rushed over frantically. Taking Lin Yueru’s hands, he checked her up and down.
“Wife, are you alright? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” Lin Yueru shook her head, yet couldn’t help but ask, “Wasn’t that stone heavy?”
“Not heavy at all!” Han Yanqing patted his arm and grinned. “Yanqing is very strong!”
A few suspicions formed in Lin Yueru’s mind, but she didn’t press the matter. Taking Han Yanqing with her, she gathered the potatoes and sweet potatoes and headed out of the woods.
“Wife, what about that man?” Han Yanqing glanced back uneasily.
“Don’t worry about him.”
Though she said this, Lin Yueru still retrieved a large rock from her Space and smashed it onto the man’s head, ensuring he had drawn his final breath.
If you cut the grass without digging up the roots, less trouble will follow!
Seizing the chance, she dropped the half sack of millet by the tree line once more. As they emerged, she scooped it up and clutched it to her chest.
Seeing the two emerge from the forest noticeably laden with goods, the nearby refugees couldn’t help but look on with envy.
Lin Yueru pulled Han Yanqing quickly over to the Han family and dumped everything from their arms into the basket.
Old Madame Han nearly gasped aloud in shock.
Before she could ask, Lin Yueru leaned into her ear and whispered:
“Mother, Yanqing and I found potatoes and sweet potatoes in the woods, and we even picked up half a sack of millet.”
Before delight could show on Old Madame Han’s face, Lin Yueru hurriedly added:
“But a man tried to rob us. Yanqing knocked him out with a stone. Mother, we should get moving quickly, lest complications arise.”
Old Madame Han’s expression shifted from bewilderment to pleasant surprise, and finally to outright shock.
In the , she nodded gravely. Ignoring the prying glances of the surrounding refugees, she waved to her sons and grandsons and called out:
“The sky doesn’t look right to me; it might rain for a spell. Let’s make haste and find a cave where we can take shelter.”
An Xing looked up at the sky, utterly puzzled.
“Grandmother, the sun is still blazing so bright. How do you know it’s going to rain?”
Old Madame Han gave the back of her grandson’s head a gentle swat. “If I say it’s going to rain, then it’s going to rain! Do you dare doubt your grandmother’s words?”
An Xing rubbed the back of his head and quickly hid behind his older brother. “I believe you! Grandmother, I believe you!”
Seeing the unquestionable tone in Old Madame Han’s voice, Han Laoda and the others packed up their belongings without another word.
If their old mother said it was going to rain, she certainly had her reasons.
Thus, without even taking a sip of the newly brewed soup, the group loaded it onto the handcart and carried it along.
Since Han Yanqing and Lin Yueru had used their outer garments to carry the sweet potatoes and potatoes, both were dressed quite thinly.
Aching for them, Old Madame Han paused before setting off, pulling two garments from their luggage and handing them over.
“Put these on! Shifting between hot and cold will give you a chill.”
Obediently putting on the clothes without minding whether they fit, the two followed behind the Han family convoy as they pressed forward once more.
Though the nearby refugees sensed something unusual, none dared say a word.
Lin Yueru wasn’t afraid anyway. At most, these people would only venture into the woods to check things out once they were far off.
By the time they discovered the dead man, the Han family would be long gone!