After trudging forward with their heads down for a dozen or so li, making sure that the crowd behind them was completely out of sight, Old Madame Han finally called for everyone to slow down and rest.
Seeing there was no one around, she explained in a low voice.
“Do you know why I insisted on leaving?”
“Because it’s going to rain!”
An Xing blurted out eagerly.
No sooner had he spoken than he received a slap on the back of his head from Old Madame Han, neither too heavy nor too light.
An Xing pouted, aggrieved almost to tears. “Grandma, why did you hit me again?!”
Just yesterday, Grandma had called him her precious grandson. How could things change so fast today!
Old Madame Han scolded with a laugh, “With such a blazing sun, how could it rain? If it were raining, would we even need to run this far, fleeing famine?”
An Xing scratched his head and thought about it. That seemed to make sense.
Yet hearing her say this only made him more curious.
“Grandma, then why is it?”
Han Laoda and the others also craned their necks inquisitively.
Old Madame Han didn’t keep them in suspense.
“Earlier, Ru and Han Si said they were going into the woods to search for food. I didn’t think much of it at the time.”
“Who would have thought those two kids would actually find sweet potatoes and potatoes!”
Old Madame Han glanced toward the basket from time to time, her eyes filled with gratification and contentment.
Hearing this, everyone nearly jumped in astonishment.
An Jun and An Xing’s eyes lit up. “Grandma, does that mean we get to eat roasted sweet potatoes?!”
“What?! You can still find sweet potatoes and potatoes at a time like this?” Zhao Shuangtao couldn’t help but gasp in shock.
In an instant, everyone’s gaze converged on Lin Yueru and Han Yanqing.
Without needing Lin Yueru to say a word, Han Yanqing shifted Sanbao in his arms and shielded her behind him.
“It’s true! My wife and I found them in the woods. If you don’t believe it, take a look for yourselves!”
Zhao Shuangtao was a bold woman; she stepped forward and deftly untied the clothes covering the basket, revealing the sizable sweet potatoes and potatoes inside, along with the half bag of millet!
Zhao Shuangtao’s mouth fell open in shock.
“It really is! Mother, look, they’re quite big, too!”
Old Madame Han had already seen them, and she nodded with a smile.
Even though everyone found it peculiar to come across such things in the woods, no one was in the mood to overthink it.
As long as there was a bite to eat, who cared where it came from!
Perhaps Han Si and Ru were simply blessed people!
Han Laoda sighed wistfully, a pang of sorrow in his heart. “If the crops back home could grow this well, why would we ever have needed to flee all the way here?”
For a moment, the group fell silent.
It was Zhao Shuangtao who laughed and teased, “Oh, if we hadn’t run this far, how could we be eating these sweet potatoes and potatoes now? If you ask me, our family is just plain blessed!”
Liu Qiumei smiled, a dimple showing on her cheek.
“It’s Fourth Brother and Fourth Sister-in-law who are blessed. What does that have to do with you?”
Zhao Shuangtao deliberately huffed, “Either way, she still has to call me Sister-in-law. What’s wrong with soaking up a bit of her good fortune?”
She took two brisk steps over to Lin Yueru’s side, leaning against her playfully, and then took Sibao’s hand to touch the young couple as well.
“Come on, girl, let’s soak up more of your Young Uncle and Young Aunt’s good fortune, and pray that your father comes back soon!”
Though she spoke with a smile on her face, it only made people feel all the more sorry for her.
Lin Yueru comforted her, “Don’t worry, Third Sister-in-law. Third Brother can’t bear to leave you and the child behind. He’ll definitely return soon.”
Zhao Shuangtao loved hearing such words, and sure enough, she beamed with joy. “Fourth Sister-in-law truly has the kindest heart!”
“You were already the prettiest among us, and now that your head is clear, your words are just as sweet to the ear!”
Old Madame Han called out with a chuckle, “Hurry up and move! We need to find a place to stay for the night while it’s still light, so we can eat a warm meal!”
With more food in hand, the Han family breathed a collective sigh of relief and hastened their pace.
Their journey continued rather smoothly, and toward dusk, they found a cave.
This area was dotted with caves large and small, many of which were already packed with families who were fleeing the disaster.
Old Madame Han looked around and finally settled on one near the edge.
There was a small earthen slope next to the cave, which made it convenient to push the handcart and wheelbarrow up.
The interior was reasonably spacious. Everyone gathered some dried grass from around the area to spread as a base layer, then laid their bedding over it.
Space was tight, so there was no room to fuss over proprieties between men and women.
The men slept beside their wives, separated by the children in between, which was enough to ensure a good night’s rest.
As for the carts, food, and belongings, they dared not leave them outside; Han Laoda pushed them all inside, placing them right beside him so he could keep watch.
Once they had settled in, Old Madame Han and Liu Qiumei started brewing porridge again.
The soup made at noon hadn’t been eaten in time and had long since grown cold. Liu Qiumei peeled a sweet potato and tossed it in to warm it up, making a sweet sweet potato soup to drink.
With many watchful eyes in the cave, they dared not be too brazen. Old Madame Han only secretly tucked two sweet potatoes under the pot.
Once the soup was cooked, she retrieved the two roasted sweet potatoes first and distributed a small piece to each person.
With so many people and so little food, the sweet potatoes were gone after barely two bites, leaving only the skins.
Yet no one could bear to throw even the skins away; everyone picked out the clean parts and shoved them into their bellies.
Since the food had been brought back by Han Yanqing and Lin Yueru, their shares were naturally larger than the rest.
Even so, Han Yanqing wanted to give half of his portion to Lin Yueru.
“Wife, you’re so small, you need to eat more!”
An Jun and An Xing drooled from the side, yet couldn’t help snickering, “Fourth Uncle is so good to Young Aunt!”
Blushing, Lin Yueru pushed the sweet potato back into his hands. “Don’t worry about me. Make sure you fill your own stomach first.”
Han Yanqing pouted, wanting to say more.
Lin Yueru threatened him, “If you don’t eat it now, someone will come to snatch it in a minute!”
Frightened, he hurriedly split the sweet potato in two, stuffing one half into his own mouth and firmly shoving the other straight into Lin Yueru’s!
Caught off guard, Lin Yueru nearly choked.
By the time she recovered, the food was already in her mouth, leaving her no choice but to glare at Han Yanqing.
This fool—he gave his whole heart to people so unconditionally, he’d be stripped down to his underwear and not even know he’d been swindled sooner or later!
Han Yanqing stood by, scratching his head and grinning foolishly.
An Jun and An Xing watched with envy. In the future, they would also marry a wife as pretty as Young Aunt, and they would treat her just as well!
After finishing their small bites of sweet potato, everyone carefully licked the lingering taste from their fingers. Though unsatisfied, they were nonetheless content.
By the time people from nearby caves caught the aroma and came snooping around, the Han family had already moved on to drinking their thin rice water.
An old woman, refusing to give up, crept into the cave to make frily overtures. “Old Sister, where are you folks from?”
“We all came from up north. Just a small village, you’ve probably never heard of it!”
Old Madame Han grew vigilant, though her face remained warm and affable.
The old woman sighed and sat down on the ground without being asked.
“I wonder how things are where you’re from? Out our way, the drought took every last bit of the harvest! Our whole family is starving with nowhere to turn, we were practically ready to trade our children away for a bite of grain!”
“It’s the same everywhere, the same everywhere. We drink water for every meal too, having to pinch every single grain of rice.”
Old Madame Han also sighed repeatedly, playing up their misery.
Seeing that playing the victim wasn’t working, the old woman’s expression shifted subtly.
Too anxious to hold back, she asked directly, “Old Sister, my family is staying in the cave right next to yours. Just now, we caught a fragrant scent of roasted sweet potatoes. Do you folks still have sweet potatoes…?”