Traveling Through Farmhouses: Taking the Baby on a Famine Escape

After everyone saw that Zhou Dashan's family had acquired a lot of goods, several other villagers came to trade with Zhang Xixi.

The villagers would bring Ganoderma lucidum or ginseng to exchange for it, and Zhang Xixi would give them plant growth nutrient solution and grain in return.

Within two days, all the places around the encampment where vegetables could be grown were planted by the villagers, and the Zhang family also reclaimed some wasteland next to Zhang Xixi's vegetable garden and planted some vegetables.

The villagers were overjoyed to see the thriving vegetables in the field; these were all a source of hope!

That day, Zhang Xixi and Duanmu Yun were weeding in the vegetable garden. They saw that the cabbages were growing plump and clustered together, but the weeds next to them always seemed to steal the spotlight. They grew back every day they were cleared, showing their tenacious vitality!

The effects of this nutrient solution are truly amazing! It would be even better if it only worked on vegetables!

Zhang Xixi pulled up a handful of weeds and threw them outside the fence. She stood up, rubbed her aching back, and muttered, "If there were herbicide, we wouldn't need to pull weeds like this every day!"

Duanmu Yun also stood up and stretched her slender waist. Looking around, she felt very emotional. Being a farmer is really too hard!

"Sister Xi, do you still have any herbicide?"

Zhang Xixi's eyes darkened as she thought of the herb-killing agent from her past life. "Of course I have it, but that herb is too harmful. It's better not to use it!"

Suddenly, Zhou Yujie ran over and said, "Sister-in-law, someone is looking for you. Brother Zhang wants you to take Miss Duanmu back."

"It must be someone sent by my family to find me!" Duanmu Yun excitedly walked out of the vegetable garden and turned to look at Zhang Xixi.

"Go ahead, I'll be right there." Zhang Xixi smiled and followed behind.

Zhou Yujie didn't go back with them, but instead went into the vegetable garden.

"Yujie, go back first, come back to pull it out this afternoon!" Zhang Xixi said immediately when she saw this scene.

Zhou Yujie scratched his head and laughed, "Sister-in-law, I don't know those people. There's nothing for us to do back home, so let's stay here and pull weeds!"

Zhang Xixi didn't press Zhou Yujie; she just told him to go home early and then left.

As soon as Duanmu Yun returned, she saw a familiar figure pacing back and forth under a tree. Upon seeing this, she immediately rushed over and hugged the woman.

"Nanny, you're still alive! That's wonderful!"

Madam Xu hugged Duanmu Yun tightly and comforted her, "Miss, this old servant is still alive, don't cry!"

“I thought you had been killed by those bandits…” Duanmu Yun said, crying.

"It's alright, the wet nurse is alright. Fortunately, she was rescued by Vice General Wang and the others!" Madam Xu looked at Duanmu Yun's current state and felt extremely sorry for her. Her young lady had been pampered since childhood and had never suffered such hardships. It was all the fault of those damned bandits.

"Miss, you've suffered so much!"

“Nanny, I’m fine. Look, I’ve even gained weight!” Duanmu Yun pointed to Xu’s double chin.

Madam Xu released Duanmu Yun and looked her over carefully. She nodded and saw that her complexion was indeed rosy and she looked very energetic. It seemed that the family had taken good care of their young lady.

A young man in armor nearby also hurried over to Duanmu Yun and the others, excitedly calling out, "Miss!"

Duanmu Yun turned to look at him and exclaimed happily, "Uncle Wang! What brings you here!"

"Miss, you've been late, so the commander sent me to fetch you!" Wang Zhong felt guilty looking at Duanmu Yun, who was dressed in coarse cloth with mud on her trousers and shoes. If they hadn't been delayed on the way, the young lady wouldn't have had to suffer like this.

Duanmu Yun smiled slightly: "Thank you for your hard work!"

"It's not hard work at all, it's you who have suffered, Miss!"

"Uncle Wang, I'm not suffering at all. I've been doing very well ever since Sister Xi saved me."

Duanmu Yun looked at Wang Zhong and asked curiously, "Did you find your way here because you saw the mark I left?"

"Yes, if it weren't for those markings, we wouldn't have been able to find you right now!" Wang Zhong said with a smile.

Duanmu Yun was also glad that she had learned a little bit of martial arts from her grandfather when she was a child, otherwise they would have missed out!

"How is Grandpa?" Duanmu Yun asked immediately, thinking that she hadn't seen her grandfather in a long time and wondered how he was doing.

"The Duke is well, but he misses you very much!"

"I miss Grandpa too!"

"..."

When Zhang Xixi arrived, she saw Duanmu Yun and the others catching up, so she didn't disturb them and went straight to Zhang Wenbo's side.

"Brother, these people don't look like ordinary people!"

Zhang Wenbo whispered, "These people seem to be from the Northwest Army. The one leading them is a deputy general. The young lady you rescued has quite a background!"

"How to say?"

"As far as I know, the current commander of the Northwest Army is Duke Duanmu Xiong of England, and this Miss Duanmu may be a direct descendant of the Duke of England."

Zhang Xixi responded with an "Oh".

"Little sister, aren't you surprised at all?" Zhang Wenbo asked curiously.

"I'm not surprised. After all, when I first met Duanmu Yun, I knew she was no ordinary person. I just didn't expect her to be of such high status."

"Brother, you don't have some kind of plan, do you? We're just ordinary people, it's best not to get involved with those powerful and wealthy people!"

Zhang Wenbo said irritably, "Is your older brother the kind of person who seeks repayment for favors and flatters others?"

Zhang Xixi gave a dry laugh, "I was just afraid you might make a mistake, big brother!"

Zhang Wenbo glared at Zhang Xixi. The Duanmu family was the Empress's maternal clan. Now that the princes had grown up, the struggle for the throne was bound to be fierce, and he didn't want to get involved in those power struggles.

“I’m very clear-headed. I know that I should only do what I’m capable of. Right now, I just want to settle down as soon as possible, open a school, and teach and educate people.”

"That's a great idea!" Zhang Xixi gave Zhang Wenbo a thumbs up. "Big brother, I believe you will have countless students in the future!"

"I'll lend you some good words!"

Zhang Xixi and Zhang Wenbo looked at each other and smiled!

Zhang Wencheng returned carrying a load of firewood. Seeing the two men grinning foolishly, he scolded them, "With so many guests here, why aren't you going to help?"

"We'll go right away!" Zhang Xixi and Zhang Wenbo immediately headed towards the Zhang family's simple kitchen.

"Oh! We're having dumplings for lunch today!" Zhang Xixi exclaimed with delight as she entered and saw the Chen family gathered together making dumplings.

"Didn't you keep saying you wanted to eat this?" Chen replied with a smile.

"Mom, should we cook some more rice? There are quite a few people." Zhang Xixi thought that the people who came were all soldiers, and they must have big appetites. They had to be fed.

"Mother didn't consider this. Mother made two big basins of dough, enough for more than twenty people!" Chen said reproachfully.

A short while later, Duanmu Yun and her wet nurse also came to the kitchen to thank Zhang Xixi.

Madam Xu bowed deeply to Zhang Xixi, "Madam Zhou, thank you so much!"

Zhang Xixi quickly wiped her hands with a rag, stood up and helped Madam Xu up, "Madam, I just gave Yun'er a ride, it's nothing serious, and Yun'er has already thanked me, you really don't need to make such a big gesture."

Upon hearing this, Madam Xu's smile became much more genuine. This family was indeed as simple and kind as the young lady had described, and they didn't cling to the debt of saving her life.

After standing up, Madam Xu grasped Zhang Xixi's hand and said sincerely, "Madam Zhou, if it weren't for you, I don't know what would have happened to my young lady. We have no way to repay your life-saving grace. If you need anything, please just let us know."

Zhang Xixi replied with a smile, "We have everything we need right now, there's really no need to be so polite!"

“Sister, it’s just a small favor, no need to thank me. The food is ready, let’s eat!” Chen said as she came over.

After enjoying a delicious meal of dumplings, Duanmu Yun and her companions cut a few cabbages planted by Zhang Xixi and then rode away on horseback.

Before leaving, Xu gave Chen and Zhang Xixi each a five-hundred-tael silver note without saying a word. It was like money falling from the sky!

Duanmu Yun gave Zhang Xixi a token, telling her that if she encountered any problems she couldn't solve in the future, she could take the token to the manager of Jinxiufang.