The anti-Qing movement began with the looting of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

Ignoring the cursing behind her, the young woman led Tie Niu quickly home.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, I saw a little boy, about four or five years old, playing on the ground. He was barefoot and naked, wearing only a tattered adult's outfit, and covered in mud like a mud monkey.

"Dog Egg!" the young woman called out.

"Auntie!" The boy looked up, saw his mother, and immediately ran over happily.

The young woman squatted down, patted the mud off the child, and picked him up in her arms.

"Dog Egg, where are your parents?" The mother asked with heartache, handing him half a steamed bun.

Dog Egg took the steamed bun and started taking big bites, not having time to answer his mother's question at all.

"Sigh!" The young woman sighed, picked up Gou Dan and walked into the house, with Tie Niu following behind.

"Father, Mother, Brother, I'm back!" The young woman called out twice as she entered the house, but no one answered. The house was quiet.

The young woman carried the child to the bedroom next door. Zhang Tieniu put down the bag on his shoulder and sat down on a stool.

"Father, Mother! What's wrong? Husband, come quick!" Suddenly, a young woman's tearful cry came from inside the room. Zhang Tieniu quickly got up and went into the room.

Upon entering the inner room, they saw two elderly people lying on the kang (a heated brick bed). The young woman was weeping helplessly.

Zhang Tieniu walked over and touched the old man's head. It was warm, and he was still breathing faintly.

"He's still breathing, he must be starving! Go quickly and boil some hot water, then make some cornmeal porridge." Zhang Tieniu had seen many people starve to death, so he could tell at a glance.

"Okay!" The young woman stumbled and ran towards the kitchen.

After a while, the young woman brought over a bowl of boiled water. Zhang Daniu first helped the old man up, then used a wooden spoon to scoop up the boiled water, blew on it a couple of times, and fed it to him. After feeding him most of the bowl, he put him down again and gave his mother-in-law half a bowl of hot water as well.

Seeing that the two were breathing a little faster, the young woman hurriedly went back to cook some porridge.

The old woman woke up first, opened her eyes and saw Zhang Tieniu sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). She tried to sit up, but having been hungry for days, she could only manage to move her head a few times with all her strength. She was also sweating profusely.

"Mother, you're too weak, don't move! I'm going to make you some porridge!" Zhang Tieniu hurriedly said.

"Tie Niu, you've come!" The old woman gave a weak smile. "Don't waste food on us. Leave it for Gou Dan and the others!"

"Mother, we brought a lot of food this time, so don't worry!" Just then, the young woman brought in a large bowl of fragrant porridge.

The young woman scooped up a spoonful of the paste, blew on it to cool it down, and fed it to her mother. But the old woman refused to eat it, keeping her mouth tightly shut and turning her head away.

The young woman, in desperation, burst into tears, saying with tears streaming down her face, "Mother, please eat something! You don't need to do this, we really don't lack food now!"

“Really, Mother! I’ve joined Lord Shen’s new army now, and I get a monthly salary that can support the whole family. We can’t let you go hungry, can we?

"Look, Mother, this is the cornmeal we brought this time. I also cut two pounds of meat for you!" Zhang Tieniu said as he ran into the main room and brought in the bag of flour and meat to show the old lady.

Seeing so much food, the old lady finally believed that the Zhang family had prospered. So she started eating.

The young woman smiled, wiped away her tears, and quickly fed her mother porridge.

"Cough, cough!" Just as she finished feeding him most of a bowl, her father woke up. Zhang Tieniu quickly took a bowl of porridge over and fed it to him while he was still not fully awake, so as not to have to talk to him again later.

The old man was starving. In his dazed state, he felt food in his mouth and, without caring what it was, swallowed it in large gulps.

After finishing a large bowl of porridge, the two elderly people finally recovered. Leaning against the wall, they looked at their daughter and son-in-law with smiles on their faces.

"Sister, you're back?" Just then, a surprised voice came.

Then a tall, thin young man entered the room, carrying a basket. Behind him was a frail young woman, holding a dog named Gou Dan by the hand.

"Big Tree, look at how you've been living! You didn't even tell me you were starving. Our parents almost..." The old woman said, tears streaming down her face again as she sobbed.

Ge Dashu lowered his head in shame!

"Alright, alright!" Zhang Tieniu patted his wife's shoulder, letting her lean on him.

"Big tree, where did you just run off to?"

"Sister, brother-in-law, we're really out of food at home. My wife and I will go to Wang the rich man's field and see if we can find some sweet potato roots!" Ge Dashu said embarrassedly, scratching his messy hair.

Zhang Tieniu glanced at the basket and saw only some withered sweet potato stems inside. There wasn't a single potato root, not even the size of a finger. He figured the ground had been turned over countless times; finding potato roots wasn't going to be easy.

"I made some cornmeal porridge, everyone hurry up and drink two bowls!" The young woman was both angry and heartbroken.

"The porridge is delicious! I want to eat porridge!" Gou Dan shouted happily. His mother quickly pulled him aside.

"Hey! Sister-in-law, come and have a couple of bowls too. You've really suffered since you married into the Ge family!" The young woman stepped forward and took her sister-in-law's hand.

"Sister, it's not hard, it's not hard! Everyone's like this nowadays." Big Tree Lady quickly shook her head.

"Sigh!" The young woman sighed and led the group into the main room.

Watching the family of three gulping down cornmeal porridge, the young mother felt a pang of worry. Her younger brother was a simple, honest fellow who knew nothing but farming.

The Ge family had fled famine from elsewhere and rented ten mu of land from the wealthy Wang family in the village. After paying rent and poll tax at the end of the year, there was hardly anything left. This year, the Boxer Rebellion broke out, and the government increased taxes, leaving them completely penniless. No wonder their parents wanted to starve to death!

"My lord, I..." The young woman looked at her husband, unable to speak.

"Hey! Let's send them ten catties of cornmeal every month from now on! That way they can manage to survive." Zhang Tieniu knew what his wife wanted to say at a glance.

"I'll talk to Mother when I get back!" Zhang Tieniu patted his wife's hand. Ten catties of cornmeal only cost a few dozen coins, which the family could still afford.

"My husband, you are so good to me!" The young woman burst into tears again.

Zhang Tieniu hadn't heard his wife call him "husband" for many years, and a thought stirred within him. He reached out and wiped away the tears on his wife's face.

By the time her younger brother and his family of three finished eating, it was already quite late. The young woman quickly took the things out of her bundle and gave the pastries her mother-in-law had given her to her parents.

Seeing so much grain and clothing, the old lady and old man beamed with joy. They praised Tie Niu for being such a filial son-in-law!

After giving her younger brother a few more instructions, Nenniang and Zhang Tieniu got up and went home.