Traveling Through Farmhouses: Taking the Baby on a Famine Escape

The journey was truly thrilling, but Zhang Wenbo and his companions were both happy and uneasy about bringing back so many things.

Zhang Xixi could only comfort him, "Big brother, those couple didn't kidnap us, so consider these things as compensation for our emotional distress. Besides, maybe they even robbed us!" But in his heart, he thought to himself, "I'm the one who brought out most of these things, so what's there to be uneasy about?"

Hearing this, Zhang Wenbo and the others smiled helplessly. After all, they had brought the items with them, and they certainly couldn't bear to throw them away.

Because she returned by horse-drawn carriage, Zhang Xixi arrived at the camp in the evening.

The villagers were relieved to see that they had finally returned, and they were even more excited to see that they had brought so many things with them!

Chen pulled Zhang Xixi in front of her and examined her carefully before letting her go, making sure she wasn't injured.

Looking at her mother's worried face, Zhang Xixi thought to herself that her family's excessive concern for her was a sweet trouble!

Chen looked at the little girl following Zhang Xixi and asked, "Xixi, who is this girl?"

Zhang Xixi thought it wouldn't be good to tell her mother that she had encountered human traffickers, lest she scare her mother. She decided to come up with another explanation!

“Mother, this girl got separated from her family. I felt sorry for her because she was all alone, so I brought her back!”

"Honey, are you planning to keep her with you forever?"

"Let's see if we can help her find her family. If not, we'll see!" Zhang Xixi thought that with her own abilities, she could raise a little girl!

Although Chen was unwilling to add another burden to her daughter's family, she felt sorry for the girl and couldn't abandon her.

"What's her name? We can't keep calling her 'girl'!"

Zhang Xixi was stunned for a moment. She really didn't know and hadn't asked.

Duanmu Yun, who was standing nearby, was worried that the older sister's family would not agree to bring her along, but upon hearing this, they agreed. She quickly stepped forward and bowed obediently: "Madam, my name is Duanmu Yun. You can just call me Yun'er."

Hearing her called "Old Madam," Madam Chen felt rather uncomfortable and quickly waved her hand, "We are just farmers, not some fancy family. Since you call me 'sister,' just call me Aunt Chen. Make yourself at home here and don't be shy!"

Seeing that the girl was not much older than her grandson and had gotten separated from her family, Mrs. Chen introduced her to her family members again.

After Zhang Wenbo and the others finished dinner, they went to tell Zhou Dashan and the clan elders what had happened down the mountain.

To prevent retaliation from the bandits, Zhou Dashan instructed the group and anyone who knew the truth to keep the matter a secret and tell everyone that these items were left behind by a wealthy family who couldn't keep them, and that they picked them up when they saw them.

When it came to dividing the items, since none of the things they brought back had been paid for, and considering that several of them almost didn't make it back, they decided that, apart from the salt, the items would be divided equally among those who had come to the city this time.

Zhang Xixi discussed it with them again, saying that they would only take a small portion of the items, and that they wanted a horse instead, which Zhang Wenbo and the others agreed to.

After distributing the items, Zhang Dacheng was already waiting for Zhang Xixi by the roadside. "Daughter, that fruit is truly amazing!"

Seeing Zhang Dacheng's excited expression, Zhang Xixi smiled and said, "Dad, I told you this a long time ago!"

Zhang Dacheng rubbed his hands together, looking embarrassed, and said, "It's just in case!"

"Dad, if everyone in our family becomes stronger, how are we going to explain this to the villagers? Have you thought about it?"

"I've been thinking about this for the past couple of days. We can't keep everything to ourselves. Keep two of the fruits from your place for your younger brother, two for your older brother and two for your second brother, and give the rest to Zhou Dashan. We'll see what he does with them."

Zhang Xixi thought her father was quite shrewd. If he gave the fruit to Zhou Dashan, as the head of the clan, he would be reluctant to refuse. But there were so few fruits that it wasn't enough to go around, and he would definitely be in a dilemma.

Zhang Xixi thought that eating alone would indeed arouse jealousy, and if her family stood out, it would cause resentment among the villagers, and they would eventually be ostracized. One fruit should be effective, so why not take out more?

Seeing that his daughter hadn't spoken for a long time, Zhang Dacheng realized she didn't agree to give it to anyone else. "Daughter, do you have other ideas?"

"Dad, actually I have quite a lot of fruit here. Besides the ones for my family, I was thinking of giving one to each family in the village."

Zhang Dacheng exclaimed in shock, "So many! Just one might not be very effective!"

Zhang Xixi nodded, "As long as it works, that's fine. What if they're lucky enough to find the fruit on their own someday?"

Zhang Dacheng thought for a moment. Since they had already shared the secret of the fruit, it wasn't like they were keeping it all to themselves: "In that case, we'll listen to you. The strength of the villagers will also benefit us!"

"Dad, wait here, I'll go get some fruit for you!" Zhang Dacheng didn't follow, because he knew his daughter must have other secrets she didn't want him to know, judging from the shoes she was wearing!

Zhang Xixi took out the fruit, put it in the basket on her back, and carried it to Zhang Dacheng.

"Dad, this is for you. It's just that my second sister-in-law and Yuhan can't eat it, so we didn't prepare any for them. These are for the villagers."

Zhang Dacheng nodded to indicate that he understood, "Daughter, aren't you going?"

"Father, you and my eldest brother go! I'm not suited to go to that kind of scene!" Zhang Xixi thought it best for a newly widowed woman to keep a low profile.

Zhang Dacheng thought to himself, if she doesn't want to go, then so be it. His daughter has contributed so much to the village, even though it was voluntary. He couldn't let those people think it was their due. He and his son would handle it.

That night, the Zhoujia Village outpost was bustling with activity for a long time, but Zhang Xixi went to bed early because she was too tired.

She didn't know what her father and the others said, but when Zhang Xixi woke up the next morning, she found that many people were looking at her gratefully!

Several clan elders and Zhou Dashan came up to thank her. Looking at their sincere eyes, Zhang Xixi felt unworthy of their gratitude. The scene was too uncomfortable!