Quickly wear the boss and don’t be cannon fodder

Cui Yan hated the Li family to death, but there was nothing she could do. Her husband had broken his leg, and if she didn't compromise, the Li family would kick her family out of the Li family.

Without the protection of the Li family, they are all old, weak, sick, and disabled; how could they possibly survive?

The group of Su Yan and his companions took a mountain path. Widow Zhang and the others were worried that there might be wild beasts on the mountain, and it would be very dangerous if they didn't know the way.

However, with 999 as his navigation system, Su Yan could not only avoid wild beasts but also take shortcuts, so he didn't have to worry about getting lost.

Those who followed Su Yan were doing it as a last resort, thinking it was better than starving to death and being eaten.

The first two mountains we crossed were bare, with only some withered branches and fallen leaves.

The trees on the hillside had their bark stripped off, and even the roots of some trees had been dug up and eaten.

The group walked up the mountain, becoming more and more tired as they went higher. The path became more and more difficult, which meant they had to give up some things.

Su Yan and her three daughters had little luggage to begin with, so they didn't need to discard anything. However, the other families all had handcarts, and the mountain road was rugged, making it difficult to move forward without abandoning their handcarts.

Su Yan urged, "I know how to find my way. If you trust me, just follow me. I guarantee you won't get lost."

Widow Zhang asked worriedly, "What if there are wild beasts?"

Su Yan chuckled: "Look at this barren mountain. It would be better if there were wild beasts around, at least people wouldn't starve to death."

There was a family of three surnamed Zhang. The father was a little lame, and the mother had a high fever years ago but they couldn't afford treatment, which eventually damaged her brain and made her a little mentally unstable.

The son is normal and very strong; the Zhang family now depends on him for support.

Zhang Gang asked somewhat uneasily, "Once we cross this mountain, we'll be deep in the mountains. Are you really able to tell which way to go?"

"Don't worry, I would never joke with the lives of my four daughters and me. Have you ever heard of a compass? That's what the merchants above use to determine direction. I happen to have one."

Su Yan took out a compass from his bosom, or rather, from his spatial storage.

Everyone crowded around to look, and Su Yan continued, "This needle is pointing south. No matter how we move, it will only point south. As long as we follow the direction of the compass, we won't go wrong."

"It really is true, the needle is always pointing in that direction, no matter where I am standing."

Knowing that Su Yan had a compass, everyone felt relieved.

They weren't worried about the wild beasts in the mountains; at least there were twenty-odd of them, enough to intimidate them. One of the families were hunters with hunting skills.

Now that we don't have to worry about getting lost, it's time for everyone to make a decision.

Things that should be discarded must be discarded.

"You have to give up something to gain something. Don't worry, the wild beasts in the mountains are no more dangerous than people," Su Yan advised.

Hearing her say this, everyone had no more hesitation. They abandoned the cart, the empty buckets, and the extra clay pots, and only took the necessary supplies up the mountain.

We didn't encounter any wild beasts along the way, not even a pheasant.

However, the further into the mountains they went, the more green plants there were. Although the deep mountains were dangerous, at least for the moment, they wouldn't starve to death.

Around 5 p.m., Su Yan, using 999's scanning, found a cave to use as a temporary resting place.

To everyone's surprise, they actually found a safe cave. The cave was neither too big nor too small, and it could comfortably house twenty-two people.

Su Yan said to everyone, "You can choose to eat the dry rations you brought, or you can come with me to find other food and see if there is any water nearby. Remember, you cannot act alone. If something happens to you while you are acting alone, don't blame me."

Everyone understood this principle; since they had agreed to go up the mountain with her, they had prepared for the worst.

Among the hunters in the group was a family surnamed Zhao. The one who was hunting now was Zhao Fu, an adopted son of the hunter family. The hunter Zhao had injured his body while hunting before and could not have his own children. Later, he adopted an orphan, who is now Zhao Fu.

Hunter Zhao is getting old, and he has many old injuries. His knees and hands hurt, so he can't do heavy work and can't even draw his hunting bow.

The hunter's wife was fine, but she wasn't very strong; she was already panting heavily as she helped the hunter Zhao walk.

Therefore, the only person this family could rely on was Zhao Fu.

A group of elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people who wanted to find food were initially Zhao Fu, Zhang Gang, Zhang Tong, Liu Mazi, and Qian Gui.

Liu Mazi and Qian Gui were the strong laborers of the other two families. There was also a family surnamed Song, who had only one daughter, Song Chun, who was only thirteen years old. Of course, the Song family couldn't bear to let her go, so they sent Old Man Song to go with them to find food.

Widow Zhang originally didn't want her son to go and planned to go herself, but Zhang Tong said, "Mother, I'm all grown up now. You have to teach me to be independent, otherwise how will I survive in this world?"

The others didn't say anything, after all, their own circumstances weren't much better.

Widow Zhang was reluctant to let her son go on the risk and wanted to go herself, but Su Yan advised, "It's relatively safer for him to come with us to find food now. This is also one of the few opportunities for him to train himself. You should let him grow up. A fledgling bird eventually has to learn to fly on its own. You can't protect him for a lifetime."

After listening to Su Yan's words, Widow Zhang finally made the difficult decision to let Zhang Tong go out with them to find food.

As for the three sisters, Da Ya, Su Yan planned to take them all with her. Carrying San Ya on her back wouldn't hinder her movement. Da Ya was ten years old, and Er Ya was seven. Just as she had advised Widow Zhang before, the same advice applied to herself.

Let them learn to grow on their own. Besides, they learn quickly at their age, so there's no need to think of them as too fragile.

Of course, with her around, at least there's no danger to my life.

Su Yan secretly gave each of the three sisters a protective amulet. Even if there was danger, this amulet could at least protect them from one death.

The reason she brought all three sisters with her was because she trusted no one but herself.

In this chaotic world, she dared not gamble with people's hearts.

The others saw her carrying Sanya on her back and didn't say anything.

Along the way, Su Yan had Daya and Erya follow behind her and taught them some basic knowledge about climbing mountains.

In areas where the grass is tall, you must knock it down with a stick to avoid hiding poisonous snakes and other wild animals. You also cannot lean against trees indiscriminately, and the more brightly colored the mushrooms are, the more poisonous they are.

Sleeves and trouser legs should be tied tightly to prevent insects from getting inside, etc.

Listening to Su Yan's rambling on and on, they weren't as scared as they had imagined.

Occasionally, Su Yan would stop to pick medicinal herbs and tell the others what kind of herbs they were and what their effects and uses were.

Zhang Tong exclaimed in surprise, "Aunt Su, you know so much! How can you identify medicinal herbs?"