Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 130: Recognizing Relatives

Chapter 130: Chapter 130: Recognizing Relatives

Having eaten her fill, Nanzhi started surveying the cafeteria.

No matter how she looked at it, it deeply resembled the canteen at her school.

Nanzhi was lost in thought, and the others commenced deliberating about their future stay.

"What if we stay on this mountain? We saw this morning, the soil in this stronghold is very fertile!" Father Lin spoke as he stroked his stubble.

Having not shaved for several days, his stubble had grown quite long.

"But this is..." Lin Yicheng started to speak, glanced around at the others eating, and continued in a hushed voice: "This is a bandit hideout."

"The eldest brother is right. Although this place looks good, it is still a bandit hideout. If we indeed decide to stay, we wouldn’t even qualify as refugees." Mother Lin spoke, mildly shaking her head.

Even though she was unwilling, she had to admit that at this moment, they were refugees. They were indeed refugees, but if they reached Yan City and settled there, they could continue living as common people.

But if they became bandits, settling down would become a challenge...

Right now, Shen San also hesitated about whether or not to stay on this mountain with his family.

After all, the relatives in Yan City were only his wife’s brother, and they had not been in correspondence for the past two years. He wasn’t sure if it would be convenient for their whole family to show up there.

But this stronghold had water and fertile land, and he and his son still had some strength left. If they wanted to stay here, it certainly shouldn’t be a problem.

Seeing his indecisiveness, didn’t Aunt Guihua know what he was thinking inside?

He felt that taking his family to his brother-in-law’s place would cost him his dignity.

"Are you planning on being a bandit here, you old fool?" Aunt Guihua glared at Shen San, her face filled with anger.

"We’re not at a stage where we’re starving to death, so why become bandits? Even if we don’t go to Yan City to my brother’s place, can’t we go somewhere else to settle down?"

Although Aunt Guihua was furious, she suppressed her voice, making Shen San lower his head.

His wife was indeed making sense, even if this stronghold was good, they had not reached the point of becoming bandits.

Lin Yicheng and Lin Ercheng sat with their wives and children, waiting for their parents to decide.

They were a family and needed to stick together, no matter what.

"Are all of you okay?" Chi Sheng relaxed when he saw Nanzhi and her group were fine as he entered the cafeteria.

Earlier, he had gone halfway up the hill, and suddenly, the sky darkened, followed by a heavy hailstorm. His head had been hit twice and it was throbbing even now.

Finally, when the weather returned to normal, he hastily returned.

Looking at the hail and debris, he couldn’t help but feel distressed.

Even though the tiles were homemade from the stronghold, he wondered how many were damaged by the hailstorm!

However, apart from a few who were unlucky not to have taken shelter in time and got a lump on their head, there was no real harm done.

Nanzhi and their group were all in the cafeteria by now, chatting about something. He decided to greet them.

"We’re fine, we’re fine." Father Lin and Shen San had been lectured by their wives and had lowered their heads, so Lin Yicheng and Lin Ercheng quickly responded with a smile.

"We should really thank the leader for the meal."

"It’s not a big deal." Chi Sheng responded with a warm smile, then swiftly changed the topic: "Would you consider staying in the stronghold for good? These are tough times, and if you continue your journey, you might encounter refugees who fled earlier.

Based on the information gathered by our brothers, Xin City is refusing to take in more refugees ahead. Going further to Yan City would take at least another two months of travel. With elders and children along, the journey could be difficult."

After speaking, Chi Sheng looked at Nanzhi smiling.

Everything he said was true, and even if they traveled by mule cart, getting to Xin City would take at least another half a month.

The worst thing on the journey is not being without water or food, but dealing with starving people.

Although he was not sure why they were fleeing now, two months ago, many refugees had already started to leave Qingyun County towards Xin City.

However, within five days, Xin City began to control the number of people entering the city, and by the tenth day they only allowed people to leave, not enter.

How many people have hurried past in just over a month?

If they were really foolish enough to go forward, they might end up being robbed or even have their things secretly stolen without a fight.

But he also had ulterior motives.

Since Yuanbao is so fond of that woman, wouldn’t he be happier if she stayed in the village?

Not to mention, all the men around her were strong, and if they could all stay, it would save a lot of work in the village during the spring ploughing next year.

The group who had decided to leave in the afternoon is now a bit hesitant.

Because they had stocked up on food and water in advance, they were able to start fleeing the disaster a month later than people from other villages.

If they were to run directly into those people now, it would undoubtedly be like sheep entering a tiger’s mouth.

Shen Miaomiao’s face turned pale. She had heard that some people were so hungry they would eat their own children.

If one day she fell asleep and was tied up to be eaten...

Miaomiao shrank back towards Nanzhi as she thought about it.

"No need, no need. We will pack up and leave in a while, so we won’t bother the leader." Nanzhi hurriedly said, as if she were afraid that her father would agree if she were one second too late.

It was just in time to take advantage of Yuanbao’s absence, it was better to leave quickly.

As for the issue of the fleeing people, they could avoid it by taking a detour.

After all, if they really stayed in Qing Fenghan, all of them would become bandits.

Shen Wenchen and the Twelfth were all from the military camp. If they bumped into them while suppressing bandits, wouldn’t they be shocked?

Moreover, she had written a letter to Shen Wenchen, telling him that they were heading to Yan City. According to his character, he should have already sent people to Yan City first.

The longer the delay, the greater the risk of missing Shen Wenchen’s people.

Hearing Nanzhi’s refusal, Chi Sheng wasn’t too disappointed. After all, she was already married and he couldn’t force her to stay.

After thinking for a moment, he still asked, "I don’t know if Mrs. Shen can do me a favor?"

"Just tell me."

"Yuanbao has been without a mother since childhood, but he recognizes you. I know you are already married, so I thought about having Yuanbao be foster relatives with you."

Nanzhi was taken aback and, seeing the young girl crying at her earlier, she felt a pang of heartache. Thinking about the original book, it didn’t mention much about Yuanbao, so it should be feasible. Finally, she agreed.

"Yuanbao is such a lovely child, I don’t mind becoming her foster relative, it’s just..."

Seeing Nanzhi’s struggle, Chi Sheng laughed and said, "Mrs. Shen, don’t worry about the rest. I will explain it properly to Yuanbao. I just hope you can remember to visit her in the future."

"Alright."

Nanzhi nodded in agreement, and Chi Sheng immediately ordered someone to prepare for the fostering ceremony.

Down the mountain—

Xiaoqi couldn’t stop his tears from overflowing when he saw old Master Wang, whose head was covered in blood.

That morning, when he saw the villagers carrying their belongings away, he hurried to carry his sister, planning to use a handcart to flee the famine together.

But as soon as he returned home from carrying Yueyue, the handcart in his courtyard was stolen.

The few remaining grains they had were also stolen.

He thought he and Yueyue were going to die in the village, but then old Master Wang came and asked them to follow him.

For the past few days, Old Master Wang had been making medicine for Yueyue to eat and sharing dry food with them. But now, the kind old man had been beaten over the head in the dark just for stealing food.

"Grandpa Wang, you, don’t close your eyes, I will go and find some medicine for you." Xiaoqi wiped away his tears and said tremulously.

Old Master Wang just shook his head lightly, smiled at Xiaoqi, and as his hand fell, his gaze was still on Wang Jingzhi, who was standing stupefied.

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