Traveling Through Farmhouses: Taking the Baby on a Famine Escape

Since Shen was still asleep, Zhang Wenbo and the others went out to buy things, leaving Zhang Xixi at the inn to keep her company.

Zhang Xixi was a little bored. Since there was no one else in the inn and the two bad guys were locked in the room, Shen Shi should be safe. So she went for a stroll.

When Zhang Xixi arrived at the backyard of the inn, she saw that there were people in the kitchen. She immediately gripped the large knife in her hand and became vigilant.

"Who's there? Show yourself!"

After a while of silence, Zhang Xixi went into the kitchen, looked around, and pulled a person out of the rice bin.

"Don't kill me, don't!" the girl cried, clutching her head and trembling.

Zhang Xixi sized up the girl in front of her, whose face was dirty like a tabby cat's. She was about 12 years old and her clothes were dirty, but the fabric looked good. She wondered to herself if this girl was in cahoots with the innkeeper and his gang.

"Young lady, what's your relationship to this boss?"

Duanmu Yun secretly raised her head to glance at Zhang Xixi. It wasn't those two bad guys, and they didn't seem to be with them either. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"I...I don't know them."

Zhang Xixi raised an eyebrow: "Then what are you doing here?"

"I was traveling home with my wet nurse and the others, and we stayed here for the night, but they were arrested, so I secretly went into hiding."

Duanmu Yun started to cry softly when she thought of her wet nurse. She was so scared to be alone and didn't know how her wet nurse and the others were doing!

Zhang Xixi looked at the girl crying sadly, feeling helpless, and could only try to comfort her: "The innkeeper and his wife have been tied up by us. Your nanny and the others might still be at the inn. Why don't I go with you to look for them?"

Duanmu Yun choked up: "I secretly saw the wet nurse and the others being taken away by a group of bad people. They even said, 'As expected of servants of a wealthy family, their meat looks so tender and must be delicious. They must be gone by now.'"

Zhang Xixi gasped. Could those people be cannibals? Although she had read about cannibalism in books before, she never expected to actually encounter it herself.

She was almost boiled alive. This famine year was terrifying. Zhang Xixi was really grateful for the system, otherwise she would have been reduced to ashes!

System: The host has finally started to appreciate my good qualities. It's really not easy for the system!

Seeing Zhang Xixi's silence, Duanmu Yun, unsure of her identity or whether she could trust her, tentatively asked, "Sister, who are you?"

Zhang Xixi replied, "We came here to buy things and ended up staying at this inn by accident."

Duanmu Yun was deep in thought when Zhang Xixi asked again, "Why don't you escape from here?"

Duanmu Yun shook her head. "Besides this inn, there's no one else in this town. I don't know which way to go."

Zhang Xixi was startled, realizing that the town was practically a ghost town, and all the shops were probably empty. It seemed she would have to rely on her, but she needed to get rid of the girl first.

Duanmu Yun looked at Zhang Xixi pitifully again: "Sister, can I go with you? Don't worry, as long as I find my family, I will definitely repay you."

Zhang Xixi thought it wouldn't hurt to bring the girl along. "Miss, to be honest, we're refugees from famine, and the journey has been difficult."

Duanmu Yun quickly said, "Sister, I'm not afraid. As long as we get to the next inhabited town, I can contact my family. You can just drop me off there."

Zhang Xixi nodded in agreement!

Duanmu Yun: "Thank you, sister, thank you!"

"Miss, I have something to attend to. Could you please check if the person in the rightmost room upstairs is awake?"

"No trouble at all, I'll go right away." Duanmu Yun happily walked out.

Seeing Duanmu Yun leave, Zhang Xixi immediately bought some rice, flour, and seasonings from the system and put them in the kitchen. Most importantly, she bought 200 jin of salt and piled it aside. This should be enough for a while!

After finishing her work, Zhang Xixi felt a little hungry, so she started a fire to cook rice. There were no vegetables, and when she saw the meat hanging from the rafters, she thought about frying some meat, but she didn't know what kind of meat it was. What if it was...? She decided to fry some eggs instead.

The food would take a while to cook, so Zhang Xixi thought about smuggling some more things. She picked up a large knife, went out, cut the lock on the warehouse door next door, and went inside.

Ha ha!

Unexpectedly, the warehouse only contained a few bolts of cloth, but this conveniently allowed her to cheat. Zhang Xixi bought some sulfur, iron rods, and oilcloth from the system and put them in the warehouse.

After a while, Madam Shen and Duanmu Yun also came down!

"How are you?" Zhang Xixi asked, looking at Shen Shi.

"It's alright, Third Aunt!"

"It's okay!"

Zhang Wenbo and his team, however, had a very bad experience. They went from shop to shop, and although the doors were open, none of the shops were occupied, and the shops were completely empty, having been looted long ago.

When Zhang Wenbo and the others returned, they were empty-handed and dejected. However, they managed a forced smile when they saw Zhang Xixi and Shen Shi. They just stared blankly at Duanmu Yun, wondering where this girl had come from.

"Little sister, who is she...?" Zhang Wenbo pointed at Duanmu Yun.

"Brother, nephews, let's eat first, and we can talk while we eat."

Shen had already set out the meal. Seeing that it was white rice and scrambled eggs, everyone happily started eating. Zhang Xixi also told everyone about Duanmu Yun's matter and that there was grain and salt here.

When they heard about cannibalism, Zhang Wenbo and the others were horrified. Had the world become so cruel?

After finishing their meal, Zhang Wenbo and the others packed up everything in the kitchen and storage room. Zhang Xixi then suggested that they also tidy up the guest rooms upstairs, and everyone agreed.

Just as Zhang Wenbo and his group reached the door of the room where the couple was being held, they heard two people talking inside. Weren't they supposed to be gagged?

Everyone looked at Zhou Yuping and his brother, who were also puzzled!

Zhang Xixi shushed everyone, signaling them to be quiet, and then pressed her ear against the window to listen.

"Honey, what do you suggest we do?"

"What can we do? We can only wait. When Boss Niu and his men come down the mountain, those guys will be dead," said Lai Laosan, the innkeeper, fiercely.

"What if they leave? Those few people are worth a lot of grain."

"I'll just accept my loss and leave. Next time I run into them, I'll make them pay!" Lai Laosan had never suffered such a loss before.

"I don't know when Boss Niu will bring his men down. I'm in so much pain, and being tied up like this isn't going to work." The proprietress, Wang Dacui, carefully moved her head and continued speaking with a ferocious expression.

"Madam, I estimate that the men we brought back last time, including Boss Niu, have almost finished eating, and they'll be heading down the mountain soon!"

Zhang Wenbo and the others outside were furious when they heard this. They thought the two men were worse than animals and had no humanity whatsoever.

Zhang Xixi kicked open the door, and the two people inside immediately trembled in fright.

"You two scumbags!" Zhang Xixi said menacingly, pointing a large knife at the necks of the two men.

Wu Dacui and Lai Laosan exchanged a glance, realizing they'd been exposed, and decided to drop the pretense. "So what if we're going to arrest you! We're Boss Niu's men from Qingfeng Mountain. If you dare touch us, Boss Niu will definitely not let you off."

Zhang Wenbo said sternly, "Selling people is illegal and will land you in jail. Aren't you afraid we'll hand you over to the authorities?"

Lai Laosan scoffed, "There's no one around for miles, so what government office is there? If you want to sue, go ahead!"

"Besides, I've found those people a good home so they don't have to suffer anymore. They should be thanking me."

Zhang Xixi had never seen such a wicked and shameless person before. They were truly despicable!

"Brother, don't waste your breath on them. Let them fend for themselves here! Let's pack our things and get out of here quickly."

"Yes, let's hurry, it would be bad if those bandits came!" Zhou Yurong and the others said worriedly.

In the end, Zhang Xixi and her group ransacked the inn, loaded their belongings onto the carriage, and prepared to leave.

Shen looked up at the second floor and exclaimed, "Look, there's a fire over there!"

Zhang Wenbo and the others looked up and it seemed to be the room where the couple had been. Zhang Wenbo asked, "Who started the fire?"

Everyone shook their heads. They were just ordinary people who usually slaughtered chickens and ducks; they wouldn't dare to set fires or kill people.

"Forget it, they deserved it. Let's go!"

Zhang Xixi glanced at Duanmu Yun sitting next to her. It seemed that this girl was the last one to come downstairs. Could it be that she put it there?

At this age, she would have been in junior high school in her previous life, but in this ancient world she actually dared to kill and set fires. This girl is truly ruthless!