Quickly wear the boss and don’t be cannon fodder

After resting for an hour, they continued on their way. Every extra quarter of an hour they wasted increased their danger, but at least if they kept going, they might find a water source.

The Li family looked back at the end of the line and saw that Su Yan and her three daughters were still following the group, and they seemed to be in good spirits.

At least it wasn't worse than when I was with the Li family.

Old Man Li whispered to his second son, "Keep an eye on them, don't let outsiders take advantage of them."

Li Shan nodded, and Li Hai comforted him, "Don't worry, they won't last long. They're dehydrated and have no appetite, they won't be able to keep going."

Hearing these words, Li Shan felt a mix of emotions for the first time. He was the children's father, and he had once been their everything, but now he was waiting for them to die, hoping for their deaths.

He wasn't completely heartless; the little bit of conscience he had left condemned his inaction and disqualification as a father.

But what could he do? That's just how the world is. He just wanted to live a few more days. Did he really want his whole family to die together before he was satisfied?

"I know."

Hearing his answer, Cui Yan felt a little contemptuous. If she were Su Yan, she would have divorced him long ago. He was a useless coward who only knew how to bully his wife and daughter.

Seeing Su Yan and her daughter leave the Li family, they actually looked better. Even if they were to die, they wouldn't be squeezed dry by the Li family.

Zhang Xiu, from the third branch of the family, held her son and daughter in her arms, telling them to avoid going near the Li family as much as possible.

She worried that the Li family wouldn't be able to survive and would try to take advantage of her children, so she also started secretly hiding her own food rations for each meal.

She used to eat half a wild vegetable pancake, but now she only eats a quarter of it at each meal, hiding the remaining quarter in her inner pocket.

If the Li family sets their sights on her child, then she must at least have the means to leave.

Otherwise, leaving the Li family would also mean certain death.

The woman worried that her child would be used to exchange for food, while the man was eyeing other people's property.

We passed through another village, but the village was already deserted.

Everyone went from house to house looking for anything usable, but most of the usable items had already been taken by others.

Only things that you really can't take with you will be left at home.

Su Yan also led the children to search inside a house where the walls had collapsed.

Su Yan took out a small knife from his spatial storage and handed it to Daya.

"Hide it well, and take it out to use when you encounter danger."

Daya accepted it solemnly, a flash of excitement in her eyes.

She knew, of course, what a knife meant; having a knife gave her at least half the confidence she needed.

Then Su Yan pretended to take out a few taels of silver from under the bed.

The children were overjoyed to see the silver. Su Yan made a shushing gesture, and the three of them quickly covered their mouths, but their eyes couldn't hide their excitement.

Su Yan told them to act naturally and not let anyone notice.

With money, at least if we can reach places where the disaster is not severe, we won't have to worry about seeing food and drink but not being able to afford them.

Then Su Yan went to the next room and, before the children came in, exclaimed "Eh!" again.

"There's still a thin blanket!"

Hearing the noise, the children rushed in and saw a quilt covered in pudding. It looked old, but it was very clean.

"There really is a blanket, that's great."

Although it wasn't cold at night, sleeping on the ground inevitably felt a bit chilly, and it would get cold after a while; a single piece of cloth was simply not enough.

People also went into and searched the other houses in the village.

Most of the wells in the village had dried up, so finding one that was still leaking some water was a pleasant surprise for everyone.

Families lined up to fetch water, and those at the back of the line were very anxious because the water coming up from behind was getting increasingly murky.

I'm just afraid that my well will run out of water when it's my turn.

Instead of queuing up, Su Yan took advantage of the time while everyone else was queuing to get water to pick the few remaining leaves, wild vegetables, and weeds around her.

The original inhabitants of this village may have left some time ago, and after a period of rest and recuperation, some new grass has grown in this place.

It's not much, but it's better than nothing.

At least on the surface, eating grass is better than eating dirt.

Seeing this, the Li family members looked at Su Yan and her three daughters with disdain as they picked leaves and gathered grass.

When others saw this, they hurriedly followed suit, picking grass and leaves, and even taking bark.

A mouse scurried past Su Yan's feet, startling her, and four or five people quickly gave chase.

Daya and Erya watched with some regret as others chased the mice.

Su Yan is terrified of rats. She would rather starve to death than eat rat meat, let alone eat it.

Old Mrs. Li also cursed, "Pretentious! Such good things have passed right by her, she wouldn't even be alive to eat them."