After transmigrating, he supported his family by working at a garbage dump.

In the Xu family courtyard, Li Quanfu and his wife were overjoyed to see that Xu Wenjie and his family were all safe and sound.

Despite his joy, Li Quanfu also showed a hint of shame.

Xu Zhuzhu, with her sharp eyes, noticed that his eyes were bloodshot, clearly indicating that he hadn't slept well all night.

Before Xu Wenjie could ask any further questions, Li Quanfu had already spilled the beans, recounting everything that had happened the night before.

Xu Zhuzhu listened silently and roughly pieced together what had happened.

According to Li Quanfu's recollection.

Yesterday, they did hear the wolves making noise in the village. To prevent the wolves from rushing into the village and causing casualties, Li Quanfu made a quick decision and immediately started beating gongs and drums to gather the men in the village to patrol the perimeter of the village in groups.

This matter concerns the safety of the entire village. Even the Zhang family, who always like to trip him up, didn't do anything wrong. At most, they were just scrambling to arrange manpower and other minor matters, which Li Quanfu didn't care about.

Upon hearing this, Xu Wenjie guessed, "Could it be that Brother Li discovered we were missing last night and has been searching for us around here ever since?"

Li Quanfu fell silent.

"No."

He sighed and denied it with some difficulty.

“Your house is the farthest from the village and the closest to the howling wolves, but it’s a matter of life and death. When I first suggested that we come to your house, everyone readily agreed and had no objections.”

He paused for a moment, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

"Everyone had reached the village entrance when, after exchanging a few words with Zhang Sanye and Zhang Erye, they suddenly became unhappy. They tried their best to stop them, saying that your family were newcomers from outside the village and not worth the risk for them. They refused to come over and even threatened the others not to let them come over."

“The villagers were afraid of the Zhang family and said they wouldn’t come. In the end, only Old Man Deng and four strong young men who were not afraid of the Zhang family were willing to come with me.”

This is understandable.

In the face of danger, people must first ensure their own safety. Unless they are absolutely certain of victory, most people are unwilling to risk their lives for others.

However, Xu Zhuzhu was not surprised by what the Zhang family had done.

Traveling on a snowy night is difficult. When Li Quanfu and the others arrived, the courtyard was quiet and there was no light. No matter how much he knocked on the door, no one answered.

A sense of panic welled up inside him, especially when he saw the messy wolf footprints in the front yard; his heart skipped a beat.

At his insistence, the group mustered their courage and went around from the front yard to the back yard, only to find bloodstains in the back yard. They followed the bloodstains into the yard and finally stopped in front of the window.

Seeing the shocking pool of crimson blood, the group felt that the worst was to happen. He peered through the window and saw that the bed was covered in blood. Overwhelmed with grief, he assumed that Xu Wenjie and his family had been murdered.

Just then, the wolves howled again, and it seemed they were not far away. The group was terrified and hurriedly ran away.

Only Li Quanfu and Old Man Deng were left out, outnumbered and outmatched. They knew that if they encountered a pack of wolves, they would be doomed. With no other choice, they followed them...

"I should have come sooner; thankfully, it was wolf blood."

At this point, Li Quanfu felt fortunate to have some self-reproach.

Xu Wenjie patted him on the shoulder, "Brother Li, why blame yourself? It's a good thing you didn't come. If you had come and gotten hurt, wouldn't I be living in regret for the rest of my life?"

Li Quanfu scratched his head, unsure of what to say.

Last night, he spent a restless night at home, enduring a night of howling and wailing.

The howling of wolves finally stopped at dawn.

He immediately grabbed a shovel and rushed over, thinking that even if he couldn't save their lives, he had to find their bodies so that their friendship wouldn't be in vain.

As a result, Hu Sanniang insisted on coming along, and Li Quanfu couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he let her come.

The couple then struggled to walk this way, one carrying a machete and the other a shovel. Just then, they ran into Old Man Deng, who was coming over, and the couple persuaded him to turn back.

Upon hearing this, Xu Wenjie cast a grateful glance at Li Quanfu and repeatedly bowed to express his gratitude: "Brother Li is so kind and righteous, I am truly unworthy of such praise."

Li Quanfu waved his hand. Seeing that Xu Wenjie and the others were alright, he felt much more relaxed after being worried all night. "Brother Xu's words mean he doesn't consider me a friend."

Hu San Niang chimed in, "It's good that your family is alright. We should be ashamed that we weren't able to help much."

Zhang He was also deeply moved. "Sister-in-law, what are you saying? It's kind of you two to think of us. Otherwise, if something had really happened to us, I'm afraid we would have been left to rot in the wilderness, without even a cenotaph."

"I'm not going to say anymore, I'm not going to say anymore!" Hu Sanniang interrupted repeatedly.

"It's good that everyone's alright." She held the two children's hands, her eyes immediately reddening.

When she came over in the morning, the bloodstains in the yard were truly terrifying. She didn't dare to look, afraid of seeing something she couldn't bear.

Thankfully, everyone is alright.

Thinking this, she couldn't help but hug the two children and then took Zhang He's hand to put her mind at ease.

However, Hu Sanniang wondered, "If you're not inside, where have you gone? This door is locked so securely that Quanfu and I tried to open it for a long time but couldn't. We had to peer through the window, but we didn't see anything."

Xu Zhuzhu saw that her mother was completely stunned, probably because she didn't expect anyone to come looking for them, and for a moment she didn't know what excuse to make up to get out of it.

Seeing this, her father immediately took over the conversation.

However, he came up with a terrible excuse, saying that he was too scared to run around, so he hid in the haystack all night, not daring to make a sound or move.

Li Quanfu and his wife were filled with joy for Xu Zhuzhu's family after surviving the ordeal, and didn't think much of it.

Seeing this, Xu Wenjie quickly changed the subject.

"I wonder if the wolf pack will return. I wonder if Brother Li has any animal traps at home? I'd like to borrow them for a few days."

Wolves haven't appeared in the village for many years. The only hunter is the family living in the house where Xu Wenjie lives now. Nowadays, there's no one in the village who catches wild animals. However, if we're talking about animal traps, Li Quanfu's family does have some.

“When my older brother was still at home, he liked to catch pheasants and rabbits. He had two animal traps, but I never used them and I don’t know if they still work.”

Li Quanfu hesitated.

Hu Sanniang rolled her eyes at him, scolded him for being inflexible, and then made the decision for him: "Why do you care if it works or not? Just let Brother Xu try it and we'll know if it works or not. What's the point of dawdling about it?"

"That's right."

Li Quanfu chuckled; he was so happy he was almost delirious.

After saying that, he hurried home to get the animal trap, and then stopped by Old Man Deng's house to let the grandfather and grandson know that he was safe.

Hu San Niang didn't leave; she stayed there to help Zhang He tidy up the courtyard.

Looking at the devastated yard, she was very worried: "With the house in this state, it's not safe if wolves come again at night. Why don't you stay at my house tonight? Although the house is small, we can still squeeze in and sleep."

Xu Zhuzhu had heard her father mention that Li Quanfu's family only had one bedroom, just enough for the whole family to rest in.

His parents always disliked troubling others, and it was such a cold day, it would definitely be inconvenient for them to go to Li Quanfu's house. No wonder his mother would agree to it, especially since they weren't really homeless.

At least the garbage dump is a completely safe place.

Zhang He thanked her and then declined.

Xu Wenjie, who was repairing a window nearby, chimed in, "It was my oversight. We should have just fenced off the path in the backyard. There are so many of us in the family of four, how could we trouble you?"

"What do you mean by trouble..."

Hu San Niang tried to persuade her again, but Xu Zhuzhu knew her parents wouldn't agree, so she took the opportunity to move between the two of them.

Clutching at Hu Sanniang's sleeve, he looked at her with wide, pitiful eyes and said, "Auntie, do you still have any chicks? My chicks were taken by wolves, and my mother said they can't be found."

Seeing Xu Zhuzhu's aggrieved look, Hu Sanniang was immediately swayed and pinched her cheek to coax her, "Of course there are some. As soon as this batch hatches, Auntie will send them to our Zhuzhu right away."

Xu Zhuzhu burst into laughter through her tears, nodded obediently, and turned her face away, giving her mother a smug wink. Zhang He covered her mouth and chuckled to herself.

However, Xu Zhuzhu reminded her that the old hen that Hu Sanniang had given her had also been taken away by wolves. Thinking of this, she felt guilty and apologized to Hu Sanniang.

"I'm so sorry, Second Sister-in-law. I really didn't expect there to be wolves. The hen you lent me was also taken away, and nothing was left."

"If you don't mind, Second Sister-in-law, you can name your price and I'll pay you accordingly. If you do mind, I'll go to town tomorrow to buy a hen and send it back to you."

Upon hearing this, Hu Sanniang's smile vanished instantly. She waved her hand sternly, "What time is it? Why are you saying these things? If that's the case, then I've already eaten all the rice you gave me a while ago, and I have no money. Where am I supposed to pay it back?"

"How can these be the same..."

Zhang He understood Hu San Niang's good intentions, but she felt bad about it.

Before I could retort, Li Quanfu had already rushed back with two animal traps.

However, with him were Old Man Deng and Deng Tuanyuan, both with worried expressions.