Originally, Old Master Su had been wavering between staying and leaving, but little by little, he had started leaning toward leaving. After all, his life was more important.
Besides, he had already asked around and learned that half the households in the village intended to move away together.
No matter how reluctant he was, he wouldn’t have dared stay behind alone.
But today was different.
His son had led the entire village in wiping out two groups of mountain bandits!
There had been more than 150 bandits in total!
And every last one of them had been killed by his brilliant and unrivaled eldest son!
His son was this powerful, so why should they leave?
Those bandits were nothing special. No matter how many came, his son could wipe them all out!
What made Old Master Su the most envious was all the spoils those two groups of bandits had delivered to them.
What was the difference between this and silver falling from the heavens?
The more Old Master Su and Old Madam Su thought about it, the more convinced they became that they should stay.
That way, they wouldn’t have to feel heartbroken about abandoning more than a hundred mu of prime farmland.
Besides, there was no need for the old couple to charge into battle themselves. They could simply lie back and pick up silver without lifting a finger.
They had never lived such a comfortable life in all their years.
Moreover, Old Master Su firmly believed that as long as his son was willing to stay, everyone else in the village would stay too.
That was why he had encouraged the eldest branch to seize the second branch’s belongings while Su Yunhai was away.
He had thought that once the second branch lost all its carts, livestock, and grain, Su Yunhai would have no choice but to compromise for the time being and agree to stay.
Instead, he discovered that he had been far too optimistic.
Su Yunhai didn’t give him the slightest bit of face. Right in front of him, he brutally beat the son and grandson he treasured most.
Old Master Su knew exactly what his second son was doing.
He couldn’t bring himself to hit his own parents, but surely he could beat the grandchildren and son they cared about most, couldn’t he?
“Second Son, Second Son, stop! If you want to hit someone, hit this old man instead! I was the one who came up with the idea. Why are you hitting them? Your father is begging you!”
“You’re trying to take your old father’s life! Are you trying to force your own father to kneel before you?”
“Fine, fine! I’ll throw away what little dignity I have left today and kneel to you!”
Su Yunhai completely ignored his shameless old father.
When his hands grew tired, he switched to kicking.
When one leg got tired, he used the other.
Seeing that his father really intended to kneel, Su Yunhai kicked him away each time and continued beating the two men. He absolutely refused to let his father kneel before him.
When Old Master Su realized that even kneeling didn’t work, his entire body seemed to deflate.
He glanced at the grandchildren hiding far away and hurriedly shouted, “Why are you hiding so far away? Are you just going to stand there and watch your father get beaten? Hurry up and stop your Second Uncle!”
The children of Su Dashan and Su Dalin retreated even farther.
They absolutely did not dare provoke Su Yunhai right now. Otherwise, his iron fists might land on them next.
Finally, Su Yunhai grew tired of beating them.
He turned toward his parents and gave them a chilling smile.
“Dad, Mom, how did you know I wanted to practice beating up some punching bags today? You really understand your son. You immediately sent over the two punching bags you treasure most for me to practice on.”
“Sure enough, after a good workout, my whole body feels refreshed. Let’s leave it at that for today. I’m tired too.”
“You have one hour. Return every single thing of ours without missing anything. Pack everything exactly the way my wife and the others had packed it onto the carts. Otherwise, I won’t mind using every single one of you as punching bags next!”
No one in the old Su family had expected Su Yunhai, who had been so mild-tempered and even-tempered over the past few years, to change so drastically over the last few days.
He was hitting people at the slightest provocation.
Whatever happened to that scholar who always settled things with reason?
The people from the eldest branch didn’t dare disobey Su Yunhai’s warning.
With aching hearts, they returned every single thing they had stolen.
They were even afraid that if they put something back in the wrong place, Su Yunhai would find an excuse to beat them again. So they knelt down and begged Shen Yuehua to tell them exactly where everything had originally been placed.
Less than half an hour later, everything belonging to the second branch had been packed up again.
The entire Su family fell silent.
Su Ping’an had brought the doctor back.
After taking Zhang Lanhua’s pulse, the doctor explained to Shen Yuehua,
“She’s suffered a threatened miscarriage and is already bleeding. The pregnancy is still very early, less than three months along, so she needs complete rest. Otherwise, there’s a risk of miscarriage.”
“The pregnancy medicine I have is made from herbs I personally gather in the mountains and prepare myself. Its effects aren’t the best. I recommend that you go to the county town and buy some better medicine to protect the pregnancy.”
Doctor Zhang looked utterly exhausted.
He had already been working at high intensity for ten hours straight. The only reason he had managed to hold out this long was because he normally paid close attention to his health and took good care of himself.
Otherwise, he would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.
The fact that he had managed to come out to treat a patient in person this time was entirely because he respected Su Yunhai, the village scholar.
Shen Yuehua’s brows knitted tightly when she heard this.
She hadn’t expected her second daughter-in-law’s condition to be so serious.
They were fleeing the famine tomorrow. She didn’t even know whether Zhang Lanhua would be able to carry this child safely.
The moment Su Ping’an heard that his wife had nearly miscarried, his face flushed with anxiety.
He looked pitifully at Shen Yuehua and pleaded, “Mom, I’ll go to the county town right now and buy medicine for Lanhua. I—I—I…”
He desperately wanted to say that he didn’t have any silver on him, but he was too embarrassed to ask his mother for money.
Shen Shuli didn’t want the foolish second brother going out and risking himself at a time like this either, in case something went wrong.
She secretly tugged at Shen Yuehua’s hand, signaling that she had medicine.
Shen Yuehua quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
“I had your father pick up some medicine to protect the pregnancy when he went to buy grain. Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to your wife.”
Zhang Lanhua lay on the kang with a deathly pale face. She looked gratefully at her mother-in-law.
“Mom, thank you.”
She genuinely hadn’t expected her mother-in-law to have been thinking about her and to have already made preparations for her.
Ever since she had heard that the family would be fleeing the famine, she had been terribly anxious these past few days.
She was afraid that her pregnancy would become a burden on everyone. She was also afraid that they would see her as a burden and simply abandon her.
The worry that had been hanging over her heart for so long finally disappeared.
Su Ping’an had never expected his mother to have thought everything through so carefully, either. He was so moved that he almost wanted to kneel down and kowtow to her several times.
Shen Yuehua paid the doctor his consultation fee and saw him off.
Shen Shuli rummaged around in her spatial storage for a long time before finally finding the medicine to protect the pregnancy.
More precisely, it was an injection.
These medicines had also been seized from smugglers back then. They were all high-end imported products.
The only problem was that they came in injectable form, which would be difficult to explain.
The pregnancy-support injection would take effect much faster than the oral medicine and was also particularly suitable for Zhang Lanhua, who was still in the early stages of pregnancy.
Shen Shuli handed the injection to her mother.
“Mom, this pregnancy-support injection works quickly, but it’s difficult to explain where it came from. There’s also oral medicine made from traditional Chinese herbs. It works more slowly, but its source is easier to explain. You can decide which one to use.”
“Let’s use the injection. I’ll drive everyone out later and secretly give it to her after she falls asleep. We can give her the oral medicine regularly afterward.”
Shen Yuehua was worried that her second daughter-in-law wouldn’t be able to hold on. Since the injection worked faster, it was safer.
Shen Shuli nodded.
The two of them walked back to the room together.
“Lanhua is weak and needs plenty of rest. You all have things to do, so go on. Don’t stand around here blocking the room and making the air stuffy.”
Shen Yuehua drove everyone out.
Zhang Lanhua was already half asleep. As she happened to be lying on her side, Shen Yuehua quietly gave her an injection in the hip.
By the time Zhang Lanhua realized what had happened, the injection was already finished.
Seeing that she wanted to say something, Shen Yuehua quickly changed the subject.
“Close your eyes for a while. I’ll go make you something to eat. Eat first, then go back to sleep.”
Zhang Lanhua stared blankly at her and nodded.
Everyone had already been exhausted for an entire day and night.
No one had the energy to prepare anything elaborate.
The second and third branches worked together to cook a huge pot of thick white rice porridge.
They added plenty of shredded dried meat, dried wild vegetables, and boiled eggs, turning it into a savory porridge that they ate with the dry rations they had specially prepared over the past few days.
There was also a huge pot of tender, stir-fried beef.
The meal was simple, but everyone ate until they were thoroughly satisfied.
That night, after being pushed to the absolute limit by exhaustion, everyone slept deeply.