Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside
Chapter 54 - 054: Feeling Fortunate

Chapter 54: Chapter 054: Feeling Fortunate

Elder Zhou and Elder Lin were resting nearby; seeing several Gu Family People gathered and talking, then noticing Qin San Lang suddenly leaving, they felt something must have happened.

The two elders hesitated for a moment, then stood up and approached the rest area of the Qin and Gu families, stopping two meters away, they asked Elder Qin: "Old brother, what are you folks discussing? It’s getting dark, it’s not safe outside, why did that young man run out?"

Elder Qin, aware they came to snoop for information, looked toward Third Grandpa and asked with an inquiring tone, "Brother Gu, what do you think?"

Since Elder Qin was familiar with the route heading south, his importance within the group had grown, but he deeply respected Third Grandpa, knowing that when the time came for them to settle down, they would rely on the Gu Family People. Thus, he often consulted with Third Grandpa on many matters and seldom made decisions on his own if Third Grandpa disagreed.

Third Grandpa, understanding the concerns of the Zhou and Lin families, nodded and said, "There’s nothing to hide here, telling them wouldn’t hurt."

Elder Qin then informed them about Wu Da and his group being nearby.

Upon hearing this, Elder Zhou and Elder Lin were instantly alarmed.

Elder Zhou said, "How could they be here too? What do we do now? That group is very troublesome, always finding reasons to exploit people. Many families were ruined by them along the way."

That group was very greedy, always stripping disaster victims of all their money and grain, completely indifferent to the survival of these victims.

"By the sound of it, old brother, do you know them?" asked Elder Qin.

Elder Zhou and Elder Lin hurriedly waved their hands in denial: "No, no, we don’t know them. We just recognize their faces from escaping the disaster all the way from Xiyu Prefecture."

They worried that Elder Qin might misunderstand their relationship with Wu Da’s group, so they quickly clarified.

Seeing how nervous they were, Elder Qin smiled and said, "You two old brothers needn’t worry this much, we won’t misunderstand anything."

He reassured them: "Don’t worry too much about it. That group is just a bunch of street ruffians, few in number, and can’t really cause much trouble."

The real villains were people like Elder Cao and Peng Changyong; Elder Qin didn’t even regard Wu Da’s group as significant. He sent Qin San Lang to keep an eye on them, fearing they might do something despicable that could harm the women and girls of their families.

Elder Zhou and Elder Lin were still worried and didn’t leave, instead, they waited nearby, hoping for Qin San Lang’s return to learn more news.

Qin San Lang took quite a while, only returning after four hours.

Knowing everyone was anxious, he immediately reported upon his return: "That group is resting in a bitter sapling forest near the mountain pass. They have sixteen able-bodied men, three women, and two children, armed with hoes, firewood knives, and sharpened wooden sticks."

"Wu Da wasn’t there. They likely left him in the ruined temple. Their current leader is that disfigured woman’s man, we don’t know his name, they call him ’Brother Hu Si’, and he’s a thug from a gambling house."

"A thug from a gambling house!" Third Grandma, who was weaving straw clothes with other women nearby, exclaimed upon hearing this: "No wonder they have so many tricks to swindle people."

Those involved with gambling houses are the best at swindling and deceiving, and are extremely troublesome, shameless people.

Qin San Lang glanced toward Third Grandma, saw all the girls present, and with slight embarrassment, lowered his head but still revealed another piece of information he heard: "That disfigured woman is called Sister Liu; she’s not from a proper family, and she’s not truly married to Hu Si. Their kid was picked up on the road, mainly used by them to orchestrate scams."

Hearing this, the eyebrows of all the adults furrowed. Not from a proper family—could she be a brothel girl?

"Oh my, what kind of people are these?" Third Grandma felt upset upon hearing this and quickly had Ms. Chu and Mrs. Cui take the girls to rest, not allowing them to hear any more.

Yet, Third Grandpa stopped them: "Wait, sit down and listen."

"Old man, have you lost your mind?" Third Grandma, holding the straw rope in her hand, flung it toward Third Grandpa, frustrated. Were these matters appropriate for young girls to hear?

Third Grandpa said, "Those people love to use tricks, and we have many children around here. It’s better for them to hear and be aware, so they can be cautious and not fall into someone else’s trap."

If it were in Gu Family Village, he would naturally not let the children listen to these troubling matters, but now they are on the road fleeing from famine, and they had conflicts with that group of people before, so they couldn’t hide it from the children, who otherwise would not understand and could easily get into trouble.

Third Grandma had no choice but to let the children from several families stay.

Elder Qin asked Qin San Lang, "What else did you hear?"

Qin San Lang replied, "That Sister Liu is even crueler than Wu Da, they plan to use food to deceive some pretty girls and sell them in the next Prefecture."

The more the families heard, the more frightened they became. How could these people be so evil?!

Elder Lin and Elder Zhou turned pale with fear, feeling extremely fortunate that they had shamelessly come to ask Elder Qin for information tonight, otherwise they wouldn’t have learned such useful news.

Both the Zhou and Lin families had several young girls; if they hadn’t heard this news, and their daughters were lured, their lives would be ruined.

That was all Qin San Lang had heard.

After he finished speaking, the families discussed and decided they must stay far away from that group, and if that group settled down near them, they would have Qin San Lang and Qin Er Lang take turns watching them, to prevent them from targeting their daughters.

They also instructed the girls: "If any woman or child approaches you on the road to talk, do not engage with them, do not follow them, stay close to your parents, and if you encounter danger, shout loudly, grab anything you can use to defend yourself, and run at the first chance."

Third Grandpa specifically cautioned Gu Jinli and Luo Huiniang, "Xiao Yu, Girl Hui, don’t go out to forage alone these next few days."

Both girls liked to forage for food, and he was worried they might encounter that group on the way.

Gu Jinli and Luo Huiniang assured him, "Don’t worry, Third Grandpa, we understand."

Gu Yumei suddenly spoke up, "The enmity with that group is all Xiao Yu’s fault. If Xiao Yu hadn’t crippled Wu Da’s hands and feet, they wouldn’t be targeting us."

Hearing this, Gu Jinli couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation.

Third Grandma was displeased and sternly said, "Sister Mei, Xiao Yu attacked Wu Da only after that disfigured woman and Brother Hu Si came to ask for medicine. You can’t blame Xiao Yu for this; they had already set their sights on us."

Gu Yumei certainly knew this had nothing to do with Gu Jinli, but she disliked Gu Jinli. As the village chief’s granddaughter back in Gu Family Village, all the girls tried to curry favor with her.

But now, everyone only saw Gu Jinli, not recognizing her own worth.

This discontent lingered in her heart, always looking for an opportunity to criticize Gu Jinli.

Hearing Gu Yumei’s words, Gu Dafu frowned and felt displeased, but since he only had Gu Dexing and Gu Yumei left, he was reluctant to scold Gu Yumei and ended up apologizing on her behalf, "Third Aunt, Sister Mei didn’t mean it, please don’t be angry."

Elder Zhou and Elder Lin felt awkward and didn’t stay long, quickly taking their leave.

After the Qin, Gu, and Luo families from Luotian arranged the night watch, they too began to rest. The issue stirred up by Gu Yumei wasn’t pursued further by the families.

The next morning before dawn, everyone was awakened by the cold. The weather was getting colder, and after the families got up, they put on all their warm clothes and woven grass garments, packed up their belongings, and started on their way.

Other disaster victims, remembering Squad Leader Gao’s words and fearing the Yuchang Prefecture soldiers might catch up and kill them, also set off before dawn.

On the road, the Zhou and Lin families stuck closely to Elder Qin and his group, fearing falling behind and losing their protection.

Gu Jinli held on tightly to Gu Jinxiu’s hand, occasionally scanning the crowd for the disfigured woman, and actually saw her chatting with other disaster victims while leading a child.

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