By the of her words, the old woman could no longer conceal the fervent longing in her eyes.
“Where would we get sweet potatoes?!”
Old Madame Han sighed, bringing over her unfinished sip of soup to show her.
“If we had sweet potatoes, would we be so stingy as to barely drink even this rice water?”
The old woman didn’t believe it. She suddenly fell to her knees, crying out tearfully:
“Elder Sister, to tell you the truth, my little grandson hasn’t eaten in days. He’s hanging on by a single breath of life! If he doesn’t get something to eat, I’m afraid he won’t even survive tonight!”
Lin Yueru sat off to the side without saying a word. She wanted to take this chance to see how the Han family would handle this.
The old woman wept with genuine anguish.
“I beg of you, just share one bite with my grandson! I’ll have him serve you as a beast of burden for the rest of his life to repay you!”
Startled, Old Madame Han exchanged a glance with Han Laoda. The two of them stepped forward and firmly hauled the old woman back to her feet.
“Sister, it’s not that we are cold-hearted and refusing to save a life—we are truly powerless!”
Han Laoda sighed as well, saying earnestly, “Aunty, we smelled that aroma just now too, but it didn’t come from our family! If we had food, would our child be starved so thin?”
Saying that, he pointed to Si Bao, who had been frail since childhood.
An Jun and An Xing hid behind Liu Qiumei, keeping their mouths tightly shut, terrified that the sweet potato aroma on their breath might sneak out.
Seeing that the Han family showed not the slightest flaw in their words or expressions and maintained unequivocally that they had nothing, the old woman began to doubt herself.
Could she really have smelled wrong?
Having achieved nothing, the old woman could only wipe away her tears and walk out of the cave with heavy sighs.
Watching her thin, frail silhouette, everyone felt rather uneasy inside.
Yet in times like these, survival alone was an ordeal; who had the spare strength to help the whole world?
If there was someone to blame, it was Heaven itself!
After the old woman left the cave, Han Er’er grew cautious. He followed behind and poked his head out to check on the situation.
The moment he peeked out, he locked eyes with countless pairs of eyes!
He was startled, and the many pairs of eyes outside were startled as well!
Reacting swiftly, Han Er’er turned around, grabbed a weapon, and shouted into the cave:
“Eldest Brother, there are people outside! I don’t know them. Bring Third Brother out to see if they’re looking for you two?!”
This gave the people outside a way out of the situation.
Sure enough, the other side didn’t want to blow things up either, and immediately took the out.
“We came to the wrong place, brother! Don’t be nervous. It’s too dark to see clearly—we were looking for our own brothers, but stumbled upon the wrong cave!”
Han Laoda stepped out with Han Yanqing, demanding gruffly, “Second Brother, what’s going on?”
“Nothing, nothing! Brother, we made a mistake. Our apologies! So sorry!”
Seeing two more burly men emerge from inside, the people outside lost their nerve even further and repeatedly offered soft words of apology.
Han Laoda snorted coldly, acting downright overbearing.
“And here I thought our family’s brothers had caught up to us! If you’ve got the wrong place, hurry along. The elderly and children in our family need to rest early!”
Inside the cave, the corners of Lin Yueru’s mouth curved up.
The two Han brothers looked simple and honest, but their heads were actually quite sharp!
Back when the village was fleeing famine, it was every man for himself. What “brothers” could there possibly be? It was pure bluster to scare them off!
Yet this half-truth made the people outside even more uncertain. After exchanging glances, they all retreated.
The two guarded the cave entrance for a while, and after confirming there was no unusual activity, they pulled Han Yanqing back into the cave.
Bathed in the moonlight, everyone exchanged looks, their feelings exceedingly complicated.
If they had revealed even the slightest hint of a slip-up in front of that old woman, those people waiting outside the cave would likely have rushed in immediately and stripped them clean of everything!
In times like these, speaking of human decency was the most laughable thing of all.
After this incident, Lin Yueru didn’t dare sleep peacefully that night.
Han Laoda and Han Er’er were already exhausted from pushing the carts during the day, so asking them to keep watch was simply unrealistic.
Yet an inkling of unease lingered in Lin Yueru’s heart, and she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep even with her eyes closed.
She simply gave up on sleeping altogether. While keeping an ear on the surrounding commotion, she split her attention to organize the items in her Space.
Suddenly, something brushed across her nose, tickling her so much that she nearly sneezed!
She instantly pulled her consciousness out of the Space.
Opening her eyes, she saw that it was actually Han Yanqing, who was still awake. He was holding the s of her hair, grinning as he lightly tickled the tip of her nose with it!
Snatching her hair back, she scolded him in a low whisper, “Why aren’t you asleep yet? Why are you trying to wake me up too?”
Under the moonlight, Han Yanqing’s eyes were exceptionally bright.
He called her out in a quiet voice: “Wife is lying! I could hear it—you weren’t asleep at all!”
Lin Yueru paused. “You could hear that?”
Han Yanqing raised his chin proudly. “Of course! Listen, except for Sibao, everyone else is asleep!”
Lin Yueru’s current body lacked any martial arts foundation. If a fight broke out, she might be able to win with her combat forms and muscle memory, but her hearing was far inferior.
She sat up and peeked around. Sure enough, Sibao was curled up in Zhao Shuangtao’s embrace, her big eyes darting about lively.
Time and again, Han Yanqing refreshed her impression of him.
Suppressing her surprise, she asked in a low voice, “Then why aren’t you sleeping?”
Han Yanqing curled his lips and mumbled softly, “I didn’t eat enough. I can’t sleep.”
Hearing this, Lin Yueru almost burst into laughter.
Seeing her laugh, Han Yanqing’s face flushed bright red. Like a pouting child, he turned his back on her in a huff.
“Wife is laughing at Yanqing. I’m not playing with you anymore!”
Lin Yueru quickly took him by the shoulders and turned him back around.
“Alright, alright, I wasn’t laughing at you. I just think… you’re very cute. Cuter than most people.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
While coaxing him, Lin Yueru searched her Space for something to eat.
Looking around, she didn’t find anything convenient to take out, so she had no choice but to pluck a peach from a tree.
Strangely enough, the Space seemed to maintain a constant temperature at all times; crops of all four seasons could thrive here!
After washing it in the stream water, she preted to pull it out from her bosom. “I found this today. Eat it to fill your stomach.”
Han Yanqing’s eyes lit up, his mouth watering uncontrollably.
The peach was large and ter. Just looking at it, one could imagine the sweet fragrance of the flesh; a single bite would surely s juices running down the corners of the mouth!
Lin Yueru offered it forward, but Han Yanqing swallowed his saliva and pushed it back with righteous indignation.
“Wife didn’t eat enough either. You eat it!”
Lin Yueru shook her head. “I have a small appetite. I’m already full.”
“Then give it to Mother! Or give it to Sanbao and Sibao!”
Han Yanqing couldn’t stop sneaking glances at the peach, so he simply covered his eyes with his hands.
Lin Yueru felt like laughing, yet was deeply touched.
He truly was a pure-hearted, chivalrous and courageous soul.
Lin Yueru pulled his hands down and brought the peach back to his lips.
Coaxing him softly, she said, “Eat it. We’ll have plenty of good food in the future. Do you trust me?”
Without hesitation, Han Yanqing nodded. “I trust you!”
Then his spirits sank again. “But I don’t want to sneak food all by myself.”
Lin Yueru smiled and said, “You’re not eating it for free. If you still can’t sleep after finishing it, help me listen for any strange sounds around us, okay?”
“Okay!”
Only then did Han Yanqing take the peach in excitement. He ate it carefully and cleanly, not wasting even a single drop of juice.
Once he finished and tossed the peach pit away, Lin Yueru lay back down, closing her eyes to organize the items in her Space.
In the latter half of the night, the surroundings remained utterly quiet.
Just as Lin Yueru was drifting off to sleep in a daze, Han Yanqing suddenly patted her head gently.
“Wife, someone’s coming!”
He leaned in close to her ear and whispered softly.