Granny Wang swallowed hard and spoke slowly.

"For the Zhang family to pay more than three taels of silver, it must be more painful than cutting off a piece of their own flesh. You'd better be careful."

"Don't worry, Grandma, I'll go to town tomorrow, spend the money, and buy some food and stuff. Once the money's gone, the Zhang family and the villagers won't care anymore."

"So what if you spend it? Don't flaunt your wealth. If you do, sell it off quickly. Grandma supports you."

After all that fuss, Xiao Nan's stomach started growling. When Wang Po heard this, she smiled and said kindly.

"You stay here and drink water from this bowl when you're thirsty. Grandma will cook porridge for you."

After saying that, Granny Wang got up and went to the kitchen.

At this moment, Xiao Nan leaned against the wall, feeling a little dizzy, his vision blurring, and his stomach growling with hunger.

I thought to myself, if only I had this space, I can't let myself starve to death!

As soon as he thought of Cao Cao, a cone-shaped black vortex suddenly appeared before his eyes. Upon seeing it, Xiao Nan grinned and laughed foolishly.

While the old woman was away, with a thought, a small bottle of clear nutrient solution appeared in her hand. She unscrewed the cap, quickly poured it into her mouth, and then threw the bottle into her spatial storage.

This nutrient solution was taken from the science and technology building; it can quickly restore physical strength and replenish various vitamins that the body lacks.

However, it didn't satisfy my hunger.

Just as she was about to check the space, Granny Wang placed a bowl in front of her.

"Girl, eat up, it's a little hot, take it easy."

Xiao Nan looked at the bowl of dark, unappetizing stuff and asked, "Grandma, what is this?"

"Mixed grain porridge? This is the only thing we produce here. You've never had it at the Zhang family's house?"

Xiao Nan shook his head, stirred the porridge with his chopsticks, and asked, "Grandma, tell me about our place, like what dynasty we belong to."

Granny Wang sat down, watching her sip her porridge, and her thoughts drifted away:

“Alas, our village is too remote. We used to be able to hear it, but since my husband passed away, we haven’t been able to hear it anymore. However, if you want to know, I can tell you a thing or two. We are citizens of the Dragon Kingdom.”

"Dragon Country?"

"Yes, this is the name of the country. Generations of monarchs have used it. Legend has it that we are all descendants of the dragon."

Xiao Nan's eyes flickered, but he didn't interrupt again and listened slowly to Granny Wang's story.

"Our village is called Ping'an Village. It's far from the official road and the town. No matter how chaotic the war was, it never affected us. The village chief's surname is Ji, and most of the villagers are Ji clan members. There are a few families who came from outside the village. The Zhang family is one of them. My husband's surname is also Ji. He's too honest and is always bullied by his clan members. Everyone says he's a coward, but he's very good to me..."

After listening to Wang Po's story and finishing the porridge, Xiao Nan summarized a few points that would be useful to him.

First, this is the Dragon Kingdom. The village we are in is called Ping'an Village, and the town is called Zhengde Town. It is more than 20 miles away from here.

Second, the national war has not stopped, internal strife is rampant, and the outside world is unsafe.

Third, the village chief is not someone to be trifled with.

Fourth, Zhang's second son not only studied in town, but also befriended a group of shady characters. The Zhang family is not to be trifled with.

Fifth, there are a few shrewish women in the village. If you have nothing to do, just stay at home and avoid getting into conflicts with them.

Sixth, the family urgently needs food, but it won't last long.

Seeing Xiao Nan in a daze, Granny Wang took away the bowl, washed it clean, went back into the house to make up the kang (a heated brick bed), and came back to look at Xiao Nan's clothes, face, and hair. She sighed and said...

"Grandma will boil some water for you, why don't you wash up?"

"Okay, I haven't washed in three years, I'm already smelly."

"But there's not much water left."

I'm going to fetch water.

She stretched out her hand and looked at it. Her ten fingers were slender, like chicken claws, and dark. If her hands were like that, then the rest of her body must be no different.

So she picked up the carrying pole in the yard, took two wooden buckets, and went to fetch water.

As darkness fell, mosquitoes became more numerous, and the villagers all went home, making the water collection process go smoothly.

Xiao Nan locked the gate and looked at the wall. It was uneven and couldn't stop anyone with ulterior motives from peeping.

Granny Wang boiled water, found a piece of cloth, marked off a small area in the yard, and then found a clean set of men's clothing and placed it aside.

"Girl, go inside and wash. Your clothes are so torn they can't be mended. Wear your grandpa's for now. They're all clean, so don't mind."

"No problem, no problem at all. It's perfect. It'll be more convenient to wear men's clothes when we go to town tomorrow."

After washing several times, Xiao Nan finally emerged from the veil dressed in men's clothing. Wang Po looked at her by the moonlight, and her eyes suddenly reddened.

Looking at her husband's clothes on this girl, it was as if she saw him in the past.

"Come on, let's go back inside. Grandma will comb your hair out. Look, it's all tangled."

"Thank you, Grandma."

"From now on, we're family, no need to be so polite."

The two sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), and Granny Wang combed her hair. Some of the knots that were difficult to comb were simply cut off with scissors, making her hair look even better.

The room was dark; she never turned on the lights.

After combing her hair, Granny Wang lay down and pointed to the spot next to her: "Girl, go to sleep. I'll wake you up first thing tomorrow morning."

Xiao Nan thought to himself, "In my previous life, this would only be eight o'clock. I went to bed so early."

That was a real slap in the face; she fell asleep as soon as she lay down.

Meanwhile, in the main room of the Zhang family's house.

Granny Qian was sobbing softly. Despite her fierce demeanor outside, she was quite gentle and vulnerable in front of her husband.

Zhang Dashan was silently drinking wine at the kang table, while Zhao was coaxing the two children to sleep in the east wing.

After Xiao Nan severed ties with the Zhang family, Zhang Dashan returned to the main room with a gloomy face, turned around and slapped Qian Shi hard across the face.

Then he roared, "It's all your fault! That bitch stole more than three taels of silver and even got hold of our family's secrets!"

Ms. Qian was beaten by Xiao Nan and then by her husband, and she felt extremely wronged.

"Why did you hit me? I was only doing it for the good of the Zhang family. I thought she was easy to manipulate, but I didn't expect her to do this."

"Even a clay figure has some earthy spirit. I've told you countless times not to go too far. Now look what's happened. With this leverage over you, it'll be hard to kill her in the future."

"What's so difficult about it? If she dares to travel alone, I'll take action against her."

"Pah, you actually did it? Who got choked today?"

The Qian family was speechless, and the blame was shifted eastward.

"It's all Zhao's fault. The eldest son is gone, and she couldn't keep her husband, so she remarried. Why did she have to seduce the second son? If that bitch keeps her mouth shut, that's fine, but if she tells anyone one day, the two of them will have to be drowned."

"Hmph, we can't let this go unpunished. Sooner or later, I'll get my revenge on her."

"Absolutely, that's more than three taels of silver, enough to buy so much meat."

"Say that again, and I'll punch you!"

The next day, before dawn, Xiao Nan was woken up by his grandmother, and then he slept very soundly.

She stretched, tied her hair up high, like a village boy, and bound it tightly with a strip of cloth.

As soon as I stepped out of the house, I saw the old woman had set out bowls and chopsticks on the table. Seeing that it was another bowl, I asked her what it was.

"Grandma, aren't you going to eat?"

"I'll eat later, you eat first, and then hurry up and leave. By the time we get home, it will be dark."

Xiao Nan pursed his lips, knowing that his grandmother hadn't eaten last night and was saving food, so he said.

"Grandma, you can eat this bowl of rice. I have some money on me, so I can eat in town. I won't go hungry."

"No, you have to eat. It's a 20-mile journey. You won't have the strength if you don't eat. Hurry up and eat."

Xiao Nan arrived at the woodshed, picked up a thick wooden stick and tucked it behind his waist, then came out and said...

"Grandma, you eat it. I have a sore throat and it's getting worse. Eating that will only make it hurt more."

After saying that, he turned and ran away, not giving the old woman a chance to speak.

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