Dressed as a farmer's widow, she brought her daughter to stock up on food and reached the top

Aunt Wu sighed and said, "The hexagram says this is a drought that happens only once in a century."

The old village chief's sons and daughters-in-law were all listening and were suddenly in an uproar. Some began to sigh, while others panicked.

Wang Shufen forced herself to remain calm, looked at Xiuying anxiously, and asked, "Is there any way to resolve this?"

Unconsciously, she has regarded Xiuying as her backbone, and she will not panic when Xiuying is around.

Xiuying pondered for a moment and said slowly, "There are solutions. We all need to work together as a village, digging more wells, building reservoirs, and conserving water. If we all work together, we can get through this."

Everyone nodded, a glimmer of hope ignited in their eyes, and they felt that what Xiuying said made sense.

At this moment, Li Shenghui, the youngest son of the village chief, sighed and said, "I'm afraid our village is about to be hit by natural and man-made disasters. It is said that Dayan and Shang are about to go to war, and the emperor wants to sue for peace and cede Qingshui County to Shang."

Everyone was shocked when they heard this, and the atmosphere became even heavier. This was also the reason why the old village chief was frowning. Unexpectedly, Xiuying brought another bad news.

The village chief's face was gloomy and he clenched his fists: "What should we do?"

Aunt Wu frowned, looking worried: "It's really a troubled time."

Wang Shufen bit her lip and said firmly, "No matter what, let's deal with the current drought first. As for national affairs, we ordinary people can only leave it to fate."

Xiuying asked Li Shenghui if his information was accurate. Li Shenghui had also heard it from others, but it was true that Shang had been eyeing Dayan covetously in recent years. It was said that the Wu family army's request for war was rejected by the emperor, who only wanted to seek peace.

The Li family leader frowned, bewildered. "How could the emperor do this? Our Wu army has always been brave, so why wouldn't they let us fight?"

Li Shenghui shook his head helplessly and sighed: "Who knows? We can't figure out what's going on in the court."

"What other reason could there be? He just wants to cede land to sit firmly on the throne." The second son of the Li family muttered, his tone full of resentment.

Everyone looked at each other, their faces filled with a mixture of anger and helplessness.

Xiuying clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, "It's chilling that this emperor doesn't care about the lives of the people."

Aunt Wu sighed and said worriedly, "I just hope this drought will pass quickly and nothing more will happen."

He doesn't care who becomes the emperor, and he doesn't care whether the land is ceded or not.

For a moment, everyone fell silent, their hearts filled with worry and confusion about the future. The wind blew quietly, bringing a hint of coolness.

The village chief said worriedly, "No matter what, we should take care of our own little piece of land first. If Qingshui County is really ceded, who knows what will happen."

If Qingshui County really has to be ceded to the Shang State, there is nothing we common people can do.

Everyone was silent, their hearts filled with worry, and a depressing atmosphere permeated the old village chief's house.

For the people of Futian Village, they would not give up their land. Even if they ceded the land, they could still have food to eat by guarding their own land. If they ran away, they would only become refugees.

The most important thing in troubled times is to have enough to eat. Now, what Xiuying lacks the least is food. Not only herself, but the entire Futian Village has food. Now every household has stored black noodles, and most families in the village have also planted drought-resistant and high-yield rice.

Xiuying walked along the small path on the hillside and saw everyone's busy but hopeful figures, and a relieved smile appeared on her face.

In the fields, people were working and talking about this year's harvest.

"This rice looks good. If the harvest is good, we won't have to worry about going hungry."

"Thanks to Xiuying, I got this drought-resistant, high-yield rice. It hasn't rained these days, but it hasn't affected me at all."

Children played on the ridges of the fields, their laughter echoing through the village. They were unaware of the adults' worries and only enjoyed the joy of the moment.

At night, Xiuying sat in the yard, looking at the starry sky, and prayed silently in her heart, hoping that this chaotic world would end soon so that everyone could live a peaceful life.

Xiuying opened the mall's savings space and saw the silver and five gold ingots stored inside.

Look at the more than a hundred chickens and ducks, seven or eight rabbits in the yard, there are two pigs in the pigsty, and there is a cow and three donkeys in the barn.

A satisfied smile appeared on her face, and she felt much more at ease. She thought to herself, "With these belongings, even if times get tough, I can get by for a while."

At this time, Xiao Laoliu and Xiao Laoqi ran over and surrounded Xiuying, chattering.

"Mom, when will these chickens and ducks lay eggs?"

"Mom, the chickens and ducks laid fewer eggs today."

In the past, we had to collect eggs twice, but the chickens and ducks at home were laying eggs, so we only collected them once this morning. Xiuying, the two little chubby girls, began to feel uneasy.

I muttered to myself, "What's going on? Is there something wrong?"

Xiuying smiled and touched the child's head, "It's almost there, it's almost there."

Xiuying hasn't bought the eggs that should be laid in the evening from the supermarket and put them in the chicken and duck pen yet.

She thought that the food stored at home should be enough to deal with the drought, but when she thought about the war, Xiuying began to worry. She lived in peacetime and had never experienced war.

She sat in the yard, her eyes a little dull, muttering to herself: "War? What kind of chaos and danger will that be?" Her heart felt like it was being pressed by a huge rock, so heavy that she couldn't breathe.

She stood up and looked at the dark night sky. The rumors and descriptions about the war kept appearing in her mind: smoke, displacement, bloody killings... The more she thought about it, the more panicked she felt.

What would she do if she and her seven daughters were caught in a war? She should have made plans earlier. It seemed that the two hundred thousand yuan in the mall was too little. If war really broke out, prices would inevitably rise, and her exchange business would probably be cut off.

Xiuying was pacing back and forth in the yard with a worried look on her face.

She bit her lip and thought to herself, "No, I have to think of a way to save more money and supplies."

Although the seven daughters didn't know what was going on, seeing their mother's anxious expression, they all gathered around her obediently. The eldest daughter, Taohua, said softly, "Mom, don't worry too much. No matter what happens, we are here. We are all grown up and can share your burden."

Xiuying looked at her sensible daughters, feeling both relieved and sad. She held her eldest daughter's hand tightly and said, "Children, the days ahead will be difficult. We must all be strong."

Wu Junfan saw Xiuying's nervous expression and thought of the refugees he saw on the road before coming to Dayan. He slowly said, "Auntie, don't worry. Shangguo and Dayan won't fight for the time being."

Xiuying's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she asked hurriedly, "Junfan, are you serious?"