The next day, everyone felt full of energy after eating the meat. Taking advantage of this momentum, the Village Chief decided to start the journey early. Thus, before dawn, Shen Qingge and the rest of the Liu family got up to pack their things.
Breakfast was just a single wild vegetable pancake. Traveling is physically demanding, and it wasn’t long before Shen Qingge was so hungry that her stomach felt stuck to her spine. She made an excuse to walk a distance away so she could “open a small kitchen” for herself (eat a private snack).
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to share with the Liu family, but it would be impossible to explain where the food came from. She couldn’t take that risk. However, when she returned, she brought back some wild vegetables and fruit, claiming she had just found them.
Taking the large bundle wrapped in Shen’s outer coat, Mother Liu was grinning from ear to ear. “Our Qingge is truly the luckiest; even the heavens can’t bear to let you go hungry.”
In Mother Liu’s heart, Shen Qingge was a lucky star. Otherwise, why was it that every time she went out, she found food, while others couldn’t find a single hair? If that wasn’t a lucky star, what was? Mother Liu tilted her head proudly toward Father Liu, as if saying: See? This is the daughter-in-law I personally picked—not only lucky but so filial. Father Liu could only nod repeatedly in agreement.
After another two hours of traveling, the adults were nearly fainting from hunger, let alone the children. Ercheng, who had been jumping around earlier, now refused to get off the luggage cart; he simply couldn’t walk another step. Among them, Fourth Sister—who had the weakest constitution—was pale and lacked even the strength to speak. It was heartbreaking to see.
Shen Qingge walked over and, while no one was looking, popped a peeled White Rabbit creamy candy into Fourth Sister’s mouth. The listless girl was first startled by the sudden feeding. Then, as the never-before-tasted milky fragrance spread through her mouth, her eyes widened in surprise and joy.
“Shh,” Shen Qingge whispered, placing a finger to her lips.
Fourth Sister understood immediately and nodded obediently. Her curved, smiling eyes betrayed her delight.
This scene was fully witnessed by Liu Ji’an. He was also starving, and he felt quite miffed—why hadn’t his little wife thought to feed him something? Liu Ji’an was very unhappy. When Shen Qingge returned to his side, he immediately opened his mouth wide toward her.
Shen Qingge found him baffling. “What are you doing?”
Liu Ji’an: “I want what you just gave Fourth Sister.”
This guy must have eyes in the back of his head, Shen thought. She had specifically turned her back to him when feeding the girl. To think he still saw it. She was speechless.
“Do you even know what I gave her?”
“Just looking at how happy that little girl is, I know it’s something good. No need to guess.”
“…Fine, you’re smart.”
Shen Qingge pretended to rummage through her bundle, pulled out a candy, and handed it to him. “I poisoned it. Eat it if you aren’t afraid of dying.”
“You think I’m a three-year-old? Who are you fooling?” Liu Ji’an popped the candy into his mouth without hesitation, but soon realized something was wrong. “Why doesn’t it have any taste?”
Shen Qingge rolled her eyes. You didn’t even peel the wrapper off; of course it has no taste. She didn’t remind him, leaving him to figure it out himself.
In the afternoon, the Village Chief saw that everyone was too weak to continue and called for a rest. They were currently on a main road. Besides Liu Village, there were other groups traveling. Those people looked much worse off—they were skeletal, looking like walking corpses.
The Village Chief quickly had people warn everyone in the village: Do not start fires. They were to eat just enough to fill their stomachs and move on. If those desperate outsiders realized the village had surplus food, the consequences would be unthinkable. The villagers understood the gravity of the situation; even if they were starving, they only dared to sneak bites of their pancakes, terrified of being spotted.
The Liu family did the same. Fortunately, it was late autumn, so the pancakes didn’t spoil easily. While they were eating, they suddenly heard wailing coming from their own ranks.
Liu Ji’an and Shen Qingge exchanged a look. Both recognized a familiar voice: it was Ying Huan. Was she up to her old tricks again?
“I’ll go see what’s happening,” Father Liu said.
Liu Ji’an held him back. “I’ll go.”
Shen Qingge walked with him toward the crowd. They saw Lame Liu slumped on the ground while the Village Chief spoke to him. Ying Huan was sobbing by his side.
“What happened?” Liu Ji’an asked, grabbing Liu Jianghai—the Chief’s youngest son—who was watching the scene.
“Brother Ji’an,” Jianghai smiled at Shen Qingge, “Sister-in-law is here too.”
Shen Qingge gave a slight nod.
“Cut the talk, what happened?” Liu Ji’an gave him a playful smack. Why are you smiling so brightly at my wife?
Jianghai explained: “I just came to look. It seems Lame Liu’s mother is missing. Lame Liu is begging my father to help find her.”
“Lame Liu’s mother is gone?”
“Yeah. He says she was gone when he woke up this morning and hasn’t returned.”
“It’s already past noon, and he’s only just realized his mother is missing?”
“Exactly,” Jianghai pulled Liu Ji’an aside and whispered, “I heard Lame Liu’s mother hated Miss Ying Huan. Lame Liu was obsessed with marrying her, and the mother and son fought constantly. Most people think he made her so angry she just ran away.”
Lame Liu used to be very filial. After he broke his leg, his mother did all the farm work to support him. No matter how bad his temper was, he never raised his voice at her. But since Ying Huan moved in, the relationship had fractured.
“Brother Ji’an, what is Lame Liu thinking? Ying Huan is pretty, but not that stunning. How did she bewitch him like this? And why did she pick him? He’s a cripple, ten years older than her… is a handsome man like me no longer popular, or is she blind?”
Liu Ji’an patted the boy’s thin shoulder and said meaningfully, “You should be glad she didn’t pick you. With your brains, she’d eat you alive and not even leave the bones.”
“What does that mean?” Jianghai asked, puzzled.
“You’re better off not knowing. I’m afraid it would scare you to death.”