Famine and exile: I brought the Spirit Spring to save the entire Marquis's mansion.

"Who will marry whom?" Sang Ning picked at her ear.

Seven or eight men and women arrived at the door, all with beaming smiles on their faces.

Not only did he look at her, but his eyes darted around the Huo family members, not even sparing the two younger ones, Jinxin and Jinxiu.

This is absolutely intolerable!

The person speaking on behalf of the village was Lu Zhiming, the village chief of Lujia Village.

He looked to be in his forties or fifties, and was clearly tanned and chapped from working in the fields. Yet he tried to look sophisticated by wearing a long robe that had faded from washing and looked like it was from some unknown time period.

nondescript!

He was holding a cloth bag containing a lump of rice and flour, a pumpkin, and two pieces of linen clothing.

Lu Zhiming's beard twitched as he watched Sang Ning emerge, and he couldn't help but nod.

He certainly has a blessed appearance, with a round face, fleshy earlobes, bright eyes, and an extraordinary demeanor.

As expected of Shi Shen, he has excellent taste.

"In this situation, we won't be picky. Keep the rice and flour, pack up and move them to Shi Shen's house."

"Go out and have some fun tonight, and you'll be one of the villagers."

"Shi Shen is the most outstanding young man in the village. You are a blessed person."

"Nonsense!" Huo Jingya was so angry her nose almost twisted.

"You should give this good fortune to the girl from your own village! She won't go!"

Huo Jingya dared not say that Sang Ning was her sister-in-law because she did not know about Sang Ning's health condition.

She was afraid that the doctor would refuse to treat her.

The village chief's face darkened: "How can you be so insensible and ungrateful!"

The people behind him also looked at Huo Jingya critically, openly discussing, "This one is no good, she has too much of a temper, my family wouldn't dare to take her."

"The one behind her looks good. Although she's a bit older, she looks sturdy and should be able to have children."

Li Yuzhi and Huo Jingya were being talked about like livestock, which was extremely humiliating. They glared fiercely at those people.

"What are you glaring at me for! Lu Family Village kindly took you in, gave you food and clothing. Isn't that better than being taken to a desolate place?"

Moreover, I don't know how many times those two constables have slept with me along the way. If my son weren't so old, do you think I would want you trash?

"This is hilarious! The prisoner's acting all high and mighty!"

A black woman with a flat face and thick lips spoke with extremely vicious words, making disgusting "tsk tsk" sounds.

The Huo family had never suffered such an insult before; the blunt and vulgar language was simply disgusting.

What kind of kindness in taking them in? They forcibly brought them into the village! These robbers!

Seeing that she had "intimidated" the group, the woman was very pleased with herself, raising her head like a proud rooster.

I want to continue spewing profanities.

"Stop talking." Sang Ning fanned her nose with her hand, revealing a disgusted expression.

"If it weren't for the shape, I would have really thought that someone's excretory organs were attached to it."

Her voice was calm, unlike Huo Jingya and the others who were furious.

The words he spoke did not sound vulgar, but they were far more damaging.

What do you mean?

The woman in black still didn't understand.

The person next to her said, "Excretion is pooping, and the excretory organ is the buttock. Aunt Peony, she said your buttock is on top."

The explanation is very accurate.

Aunt Peony's face twisted in pain, and then Sang Ning chuckled, "Aunt Peony, is it a Black Peony? A rare variety."

Xie Yurou immediately grasped Sang Ning's essence and replied, "It is indeed a rare variety. The darker it is, the rarer it is. The most famous one should be the Black Bull. I heard that it is a hybrid variety cultivated by hundreds of gardeners."

What, what peony? Why are you talking about varieties?

The black woman stared blankly, her small eyes gleaming with a foolish light.

She's incredibly good at swearing, but if you don't understand her, you don't know how to respond.

Huo Jingya mimicked her earlier actions, clicking her tongue twice in mockery.

Someone nearby said, "Aunt Peony, she said you're a black bull, a bastard."

The woman let out a loud "Aww!"

"You little slut—"

"Shut up, all of you!" Lu Zhiming shouted.

He glared angrily at Sang Ning, "Stop spouting nonsense. No matter what your status was before, how many words you knew, or what grand principles you understood, you are all exiled criminals now. And you still dare to make a scene here!"

This woman doesn't seem like a docile person.

Shi Shen is such an honest child, I'm afraid I can't control her, so I need to suppress her a bit early on.

"Aren't you also exiled criminals?" Sang Ning asked in confusion.

“We’re not like you! It was our ancestors who committed the crime!” The village chief was furious.

"If it weren't for this, do you think we would have rescued you!?"

That's well said, we've got you rescued.

He clearly wanted to find women for the old bachelors in the village!

Sang Ning's eyes were cold, but she smiled.

"It's definitely different. We've just become prisoners and haven't gotten used to it yet. But for you, it's a family tradition. Your grandfather was a prisoner, your son was a prisoner, your grandson is a prisoner, your ancestors and descendants are all prisoners. You can only hide in the mountains; going out means certain death."

We're considered new offenders, while you guys are probably what you'd call "veteran offenders"? Amazing, huh?

Lu Zhiming's face suddenly darkened, like the sky before a storm.

Black Peony shouted, "What nonsense are you spouting! How are we prisoners?!"

"You don't actually think you're innocent people, do you? Tsk tsk, you're not even as good as us! At least we went to Liangzhou, and after a few years, we were released from prison and started anew."

You guys are different.

Sang Ning clicked his tongue and shook his head: "You hid for a while, but you harmed your descendants. The word 'criminal' is engraved in your bones and blood, never to see the light of day again. How tragic, how miserable!"

Have your children ever eaten hibiscus cake? They've also eaten glutinous rice cake, osmanthus cake, rose pastry, chestnut cake, cloud pastry... pan-fried goose ribs, honey-roasted pigeon, stir-fried shrimp with soy sauce, chicken and turtle soup...

"Suck~"

Black Peony and everyone who came with her were drooling.

"What are those things? They look delicious."

"I haven't heard of anything else, but I've heard of the yellow croaker with soup filling. My second grandfather kept saying he wanted to have one more bite before he died, so it must be extremely delicious."

Even Huo Jingya and the others started swallowing hard.

I haven't had such delicious food in so long, I'm so hungry!

Xie Yurou's stomach had already started rumbling.

Lu Zhiming stared at the villagers' spineless appearance, which made him even angrier.

He's craving it too!

He knew more than the villagers. He had heard his elders talk about it in his younger days, and when he recalled it, he described it in great detail. He knew all the flavors, and the elders were drooling as they talked about it.

He was drooling beside him.

Around the corner, two more people were swallowing hard.

One of them was Lu Shishen, who was clutching a piece of red cloth in his hand. Inside was what he wanted to use as a betrothal gift: the only pair of silver bracelets left by his grandmother.

The other person was his partner, Feng Dali.

Feng Dali was strong and healthy and made a living by hunting.

He was also someone the village assigned to interact with the outside world.

He and another hunter were the ones who went to buy seeds and trade goods for spring planting in the village.

He had eaten outside food before, but he hadn't tried anything fancy, since he only stayed in the nearby towns and didn't dare to go far away.

Swallowing hard, he said, "This girl is nice. I want her. Once I hunt some good meat, I'll have her cook it for me."

"She can't do it!"

His usually easygoing friend was unusually stern, looking at him with displeasure.

"She is Miss Aning."