Lu Yao never expected to see his autistic son, Lu Zhuoyuan, anywhere other than the boy’s own bedroom.
What’s more, the expression on his son’s face actually looked quite happy.
Following behind Lu Zhuoyuan, he watched the boy enter a room. After waiting a moment, Lu Yao walked over and gently pushed the door open.
The moment the door opened, a rich, aromatic scent of fish soup filled his nose.
Peering through the crack of the door, Lu Yao saw an iron pot sitting inside the room. His son was currently standing on tiptoe, using a ladle to scoop out whatever was inside the pot.
Forgetting all concealment, Lu Yao pushed the door wide open and stepped inside quickly.
Hearing the sound of the opening door, Lu Zhuoyuan instinctively turned his head and caught sight of Lu Yao walking in.
Unprepared for his father’s sudden return, Lu Zhuoyuan lost his footing in fear. He pitched forward, on the verge of tumbling straight into the iron pot…
At the critical moment, Lu Yao reached out and grabbed Lu Zhuoyuan, saving him from falling in.
Frowning, Lu Yao set Lu Zhuoyuan down safely, turned around, and walked outside to call the nanny in charge of taking care of his son.
Looking at the nanny with a stern tone, he demanded, “Why is there a pot in Yuan’er’s room?”
There was even fish soup in it…
Had he not walked in when he did, his son would have fallen right into a pot of scalding soup!
Hearing Lu Yao’s tone, the nanny hastily explained, “The young master took a liking to the pot, so I helped him move it into his room.”
Lu Yao remained deep in a frown. “Even if Yuan’er likes it, you can’t just put anything in his room!”
The nanny nodded repeatedly. “Yes, sir. I’ll remove the pot from the young master’s room right away.”
Lu Yao nodded coolly. “Mm. Go on.”
The nanny hurried into Lu Zhuoyuan’s room.
After Lu Yao stepped out, Lu Zhuoyuan stood dazed in place for a short while before turning back around, using the ladle to scoop the fish soup from the iron pot once more.
When the nanny walked in, he had just brought a spoonful of fish soup to his mouth.
Seeing this, the nanny rushed to Lu Zhuoyuan in a panic and asked anxiously, “Young Master, what did you just drink?”
She knew for certain she hadn’t given him anything to drink, so she was terrified he had consumed something unclean.
As if completely deaf to her words, Lu Zhuoyuan only thought about how delicious the soup was.
Though it lacked saltiness, it was exceedingly fresh and possessed a subtle hint of sweetness. He had never tasted such delicious fish soup in his life.
Just as the nanny moved to stop him from dipping the ladle back into the pot, she realized that the iron pot—which was supposed to be completely clean and empty—actually contained nearly half a pot of fish soup!
Where on earth did this fish soup come from?!
The nanny was utterly dumbfounded.
Having eaten and drunk their fill, the Shen family resumed their journey toward Lingluo County.
Shen Qiang and his brothers all carried bamboo baskets on their backs. Only Old Man Shen, Old Lady Shen, and little Xihe carried none.
Little Xihe was far too young—only three years old—and simply couldn’t carry a basket.
As for Old Man Shen and Old Lady Shen, they needed to take turns carrying little Xihe on the road, so they didn’t carry baskets either.
After all, if they let three-year-old Xihe walk on her own, she would never be able to keep up with the adults’ pace.
…
It was not until the sky turned pitch-black that Old Man Shen led the family to find a place to sit down and rest.
Since their bamboo baskets were filled with rice, Old Man Shen deliberately picked a spot far away from the other crowds.
However, while they wanted to stay clear of the refugees, the refugees were used to huddling together for safety, constantly on guard against wild beasts that might appear in the wilderness at night.
Consequently, a group of refugees soon gathered around the Shen family’s resting area.
Shen Qiang noticed one tattered refugee whose face was covered in dirt, yet looked strangely familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
Keeping a wary eye out, he mentioned this to Old Man Shen and Old Lady Shen.
Upon hearing this, Old Man Shen immediately alerted everyone in the family, telling them to stay vigilant and not sleep too soundly tonight.
Sure enough, in the middle of the night, several figures remained awake and crept toward the Shen family’s campsite.
Shen Fu and Shen Gui, who were on night watch, noticed their approach and instantly called out to wake the rest of the family.
Even little Xihe, sleeping soundly in Gu Hanmei’s arms, woke up.
Gu Hanmei hugged little Xihe tightly and hid behind her husband, Shen Fu, eyeing the refugees with deep guard. Seeing that stealth had failed, those refugees had clearly decided to resort to outright robbery.
The refugees knew that with just the few of them, they might not be able to snatch food from the Shen family.
However, they were simply too starved. Even if the odds were slim, they had to try—otherwise, they would just starve to death!
Besides, they had been quietly observing the Shen family for a while. Though the Shens were as filthy as the other refugees, not a single one of them looked like they had been starving for days.
Especially that little girl called “Guibao.” Unlike the skin-and-bones children of other families, she actually had enough pinchable chubby meat on her cheeks…
Therefore, they suspected the Shen family had food hidden away.
The Shens wore tattered clothes and had to travel every day; the only place they could possibly hide food was in those bamboo baskets on their backs!
Seeing the refugees charge straight toward the baskets containing their food, Old Man Shen immediately shouted, “Eldest, Second, Third, Fourth—grab your woodchopping knives and fight them!”
“If they get hacked to death by your knives, they asked for it! Who told them to pick on our Shen family!”
Even at this moment, Old Man Shen didn’t mention that the refugees were trying to steal their food; instead, he framed it as them picking on the family.
He knew that the surrounding refugees, who seemed to be asleep, might not actually be sleeping.
If the rest of the crowd realized there was food hidden in their baskets, things would inevitably spiral into a far worse situation!
A swarm of desperate refugees would rush over to loot them clean.
When that time came, they would be facing far more than just these few thieves…
Hearing Old Man Shen’s words, the four brothers—Shen Qiang, Shen Zhuang, Shen Fu, and Shen Gui—gripped their woodchopping knives tightly.
Their wives, children, and parents were right behind them. No matter what, they had to hold these refugees off!
Hearing Old Man Shen’s shout and seeing the gleaming woodchopping knives in the hands of Shen Qiang and his brothers, the advancing refugees involuntarily slowed their pace.
After all, they were only guessing that the Shen family had food; they weren’t entirely sure.
If they could get food, being hacked by a knife might be worth the risk.
But if there was no food, wouldn’t they be getting chopped up for nothing?
Just as those refugees hesitated on whether to back off, an excited voice suddenly called out from behind the Shen family.
“Brothers, I got a basket! Let me see if there’s food hidden inside…”
The refugee who had looked familiar to Shen Qiang earlier had actually taken advantage of the dark to creep around behind the Shen family and steal one of the bamboo baskets.
Hearing those words, the expressions of everyone in the Shen family darkened instantly.
Oh no!