In a chaotic world of infrastructure development, a woman's path to survival after being reborn

As they traveled, the number of people in the team increased, but the available manpower was still insufficient.

Zhao Zexuan had already considered the lack of available manpower. Now that Su Li asked him this question, he said, "Now that the world is in disarray, all forces are recruiting soldiers. I plan to go down the mountain and take in some refugees depending on the situation."

Upon hearing this, Su Li immediately understood Zhao Zexuan's intention and nodded, saying, "It's fine if you have a plan, but there has to be a limit to how many people can receive it. Even if we get this batch of grain now, it won't amount to much if it's divided among everyone."

Su Li's reminder was exactly what Zhao Zexuan needed to consider. He nodded and said, "I understand, I will think it over carefully."

……

Nighttime should be peaceful, but it was anything but quiet at this moment. The camp was brightly lit, and apart from some young children, the adults were still awake.

The soldiers took turns carrying the grain, and the people in the camp were overjoyed as they watched bag after bag of grain being carried back. They were more excited to see the grain than to see their own mother.

Su Li returned with the first wave of soldiers who carried grain back to the camp. As soon as she returned, she was surrounded by the aunties who had stayed in the camp and were unaware of what had happened. They asked her what had happened.

Seeing the increasingly excited faces of the village women, Su Li paused for a moment before saying, "It's so late, why aren't you women asleep yet?"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Liu, who was standing to the side, hurriedly said, "How can we sleep? Seeing bag after bag of grain being carried back, our hearts are pounding. We're not at ease at all, afraid that if we fall asleep, we'll wake up and it will all be a dream. It just doesn't feel real."

Hearing this, Su Li smiled and explained, "This is not a dream, ladies. Don't worry, all this grain is genuine and belongs to us. Ladies, go to sleep now. We have a lot to do tomorrow, so you must get some rest."

Seeing that Su Li did not explain the source of the food, the village aunties understood that this was something that could not be discussed, and they did not continue to ask. However, they were curious about what they would be busy with and what they would be doing tomorrow.

This was something that could be asked, so Aunt Liu and the others cautiously inquired, "What are you going to do tomorrow? Is it something good or something bad?"

"I can assure you, Auntie, that it's absolutely a good thing. You'd better get plenty of rest," Su Li said.

Upon hearing this, the women present all breathed a sigh of relief and said repeatedly, "That's good, that's good. I just feel a little uneasy, my heart is pounding."

Su Li was not surprised by the aunts' answer and said with a smile, "Then aunts can be excited for a while longer, I'm going to take a nap."

"Alright, alright, you should go and rest!"

***

Seeing that the village women were still excited, Su Li shook her head helplessly, turned around and went back to her tent to rest. Little did she know that her every move was being secretly observed.

They should have been sleeping at this time, but because of the changes in the camp, the Pei family members were all awake. Like everyone else in the camp, they were very curious, watching bag after bag of food being transported back to the camp. Their feeling of being scratched by a cat reached its peak.

Pei Jiaojiao had been secretly observing Zhao Zexuan's movements. In the afternoon, she saw Zhao Zexuan return and then hurriedly leave with his men. A sense of curiosity arose in her heart. Under her observation, she discovered that Su Li was also not in the camp, and guessed that Zhao Zexuan had gone out to look for her.

Feeling that she had learned the truth, Pei Jiaojiao was a little unhappy, but then she secretly hoped that something bad would happen to Su Li outside. However, nothing happened. Not only did Su Li return safely, but he also returned with a large amount of grain.

Looking at Su Li standing in the crowd, Pei Jiaojiao felt inexplicably uncomfortable. She always felt that all of this should be hers, and that she should be the one being surrounded.

Not knowing what her daughter was thinking, Old Madam Pei sat upright on the bed and asked worriedly, "What exactly happened? Why is there such a commotion?"

The women of the Pei family gathered together, looking at the bustling camp, feeling somewhat worried and at a loss.

Pei Jia Dalang and the others were gathered around the head of the Pei family, discussing the matter.

Looking at the attendant who came to report, Patriarch Pei asked, "Have you found out anything?"

The attendant shook his head silently and said, "I went to inquire, but the soldiers were very tight-lipped. If I asked them a few more questions, they would press me for details. I didn't dare to ask too many questions. I only know that they brought back a lot of grain from outside."

Upon hearing this, the Pei family head fell silent and waved for his attendants to leave.

When the attendant said this, the rest of the Pei family were present. Upon hearing this, Pei Dalang said indignantly, "Father, they are guarding against us!"

The head of the Pei family was well aware of this. He knew that Zhao Zexuan did not trust them, and that the Pei family was the only outsider in this group.

"So what if it is? Do you have any other way?" Patriarch Pei said meaningfully.

Pei Dalang remained silent, unable to respond.

Perhaps feeling aggrieved, the head of the Pei family snorted coldly and said, "If you're living under someone else's roof, you should act like one. If you continue to be so presumptuous, they'll kick us out."

Upon hearing this, the rest of the Pei family members fell silent, not daring to utter a single word.

Watching the soldiers rushing to and fro, Patriarch Pei finally let out a long sigh and said, "We made a mistake back then. Let's take the initiative to find Zhao Zexuan tomorrow. If we don't take the initiative, we'll have nowhere to go!"

……

Putting aside the Pei family's entanglements, Su Li slept soundly until dawn. She glanced at the seat next to her, which remained unmoved, suggesting that Zhao Zexuan hadn't returned all night.

After a moment of stunned silence, and a moment of admiration for Zhao Zexuan's efforts, Su Li got up to tidy herself up, hoping to finish breakfast as soon as possible and bring back the things she had discovered yesterday.

Stepping out of the tent, Su Li looked around the camp and saw the soldiers lying on the ground resting, looking exhausted. She avoided them and went to find the aunties who were sitting together talking quietly.

"How did you all sleep last night? Did you sleep well?" Su Li asked.

Aunt Liu and the others were still thinking about what Su Li had mentioned yesterday. When they saw Su Li approaching, they couldn't help but step forward and ask, "Does what we talked about last night still stand? Should we set off to work now?"

Seeing that Aunt Liu and the others were all looking at her intently, Su Li quickly asked, "Have you all had breakfast? The place we're going to today is quite far, and it might take a long time to get things done, so remember to bring some snacks!"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Liu and the others nodded repeatedly and said, "Don't worry, we've already prepared everything, and the children have been asked to be looked after by their grandparents. There won't be any problems."

Hearing this, Su Li nodded and said, "I'm all packed, let's go then."