Armed with a machete and a gun, armed with a system, they fled the famine.

"North? You mean you want to go to the capital?"

Chen Youjin frowned, his face haggard, as if he had aged several years in an instant.

He is worried.

They waited outside the city gate for so long, only to see that the porridge distribution had decreased from twice a day to once a day, and the porridge was getting thinner and thinner. In the past few days, there was hardly a single grain of rice in the porridge, and it was more like watery soup.

Seeing everyone looking pale and slumped on the ground, Chen Youjin felt an indescribable sadness.

Hey.

What should we do now?

"Yes, we're heading towards the capital."

Chen Chong slightly raised his eyes, his sharp gaze fixed on Chen Youjin. "Uncle Youjin, do you think we have any other way out?"

Now that retreating south is impossible, they have no choice but to continue fleeing north.

Only the capital city is the safest place.

Before Chen Youjin could express his opinion, the other villagers in Chenjiagou started making a fuss.

“No way, Muramasa. It will get cold in two months. How far can we go in two months on our own? We might freeze to death on the way before we even reach the capital.”

"Yes, Uncle Muramasa, my mother is getting old and can't keep walking anymore. If she keeps going, I'm afraid..."

What's there to be afraid of? Everyone knows the answer.

Of the remaining fifty-odd people in Chenjiagou, the majority did not want to continue fleeing north, and only a very few families agreed with Chen Chong's suggestion.

Chen Youjin rubbed his aching temples and slammed his fist on the cart behind him.

"What's all this fuss about? If you don't want to leave, then stay! Nobody's forcing you to listen to me!"

The noisy crowd immediately fell silent.

Chen Youjin had thought it over, and what Chen Chong said was indeed true.

His imposing eyes swept over everyone present, and he said in a calm voice, "Now we only have two paths before us. First, stay and wait to die. Second, continue to flee north, where there might still be a chance to survive."

"Judging from the actions of the soup kitchen these past two days, Magistrate Wei clearly doesn't want to care about our lives anymore. If you want to stay here and wait to be fed, I advise you to open your eyes wide and see clearly what we've been drinking these past few days."

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's bland and watery.

Chen Chong interjected at this moment, "I asked the people from the south, and they said that the plague in the south has completely broken out, and the people in a village, town, or even county have all died. If they hadn't run away quickly, they probably wouldn't have escaped death either."

“When we left Chenjiagou, there was already a plague in Baima Town and Yong'an County. Maybe now, just like in the south, countless people have died there.”

"It's impossible to go back to our hometown. Staying will only mean waiting to die. We can only continue to flee north."

Some people were still unwilling to give up and loudly questioned, "Does the government not care about us disaster victims? We can't go back to our hometowns, but the government in Weixian County should at least take us in, right?"

Yang Zhangshi, who had been lying there in a daze, immediately perked up upon hearing this.

“Yes, wasn’t it said that the government would take in the disaster victims? We’ve waited so long, why doesn’t Magistrate Wei make any arrangements for us? We don’t need to settle in the county seat, just be settled in one of the villages below.”

Granny Mei rarely looked at Yang Zhangshi directly, and then complained, "That's right, in the past, when other places encountered natural disasters, weren't the disaster victims arranged to settle in other places? Why is it our turn? These damned officials don't care at all?"

"laugh--"

Chen Chong chuckled and slowly shook his head.

“Manage? A terrible plague has broken out throughout Yuzhou. The government wants to manage it, but it can’t. Now, it’s better to rely on ourselves than on the government.”

Regardless of what others think, he has already decided to continue his escape north.

"okay."

Chen Youjin interrupted the discussion and said, "I won't force those who want to stay, and those who are willing to leave, we'll set off first thing tomorrow morning."

"It's getting late, everyone should get some rest."

After saying that, he returned to his own territory and instructed his family to pack their belongings in the dark.

When they left home, a donkey cart helped carry their belongings. Now that they are leaving again, they are packing all their possessions and stuffing them into the donkey cart.

This makes walking much easier.

Chen Chong also went back to discuss leaving the next morning with Chen Tietou and his brother.

Those who were willing to continue fleeing north with Chen Youjin obediently went back to pack their things, while those who really didn't want to continue the journey went back with sighs.

Yang Zhangshi, her two dangling triangles flashing, approached Chen Youjin's territory with a fawning expression.

"Hey, Brother Jin, I see there's still some space on your donkey cart. Can I borrow it to put some things in?"

She felt that given her relationship with Chen Youjin, he would most likely not be able to refuse her.

Unexpectedly, Chen Youjin only glanced at her and refused her without any politeness.

“Yang Zhangshi, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but my donkey cart is only so big, and it’s already piled full of things. If I put yours on top of that, my donkey won’t be able to handle it.”

"Besides, I have a few little kids at home. They can't walk very far, so I need to leave them a place to rest."

"So, Madam Yang, you'd better leave quickly."

After saying that, he didn't look at Yang Zhangshi again, turned his back to her, and continued to fiddle with his pipe.

Tian Meiying came over with a cold face, blocking Yang Zhangshi's gaze that kept wandering towards her old man.

"What are you looking at? Get out of here!"

Her gaze shifted, and she suppressed her disgust as she leaned closer to Yang Zhangshi, whispering sarcastically in her ear, "Look again, Chen Youjin isn't your man either. Yang Zhangshi, why don't you look in the mirror and see what kind of scum you are? Do you really think any man would want someone like you?"

After saying that, she quickly retreated, giving a disdainful snort, "Get lost! If you keep flirting with my old man, I'll gouge out your dead eyes!"

"you!"

Yang Zhangshi was so angry that her face turned ashen. She had only uttered one word when Chen Youjin suddenly turned his head and looked in her direction. Startled, she immediately changed her expression and managed a forced smile when Chen Youjin looked at her.

Chen Youjin frowned and asked her, "What? Is there something else?"

"...No, no."

"If you don't have it, go back quickly."

Tian Meiying proudly raised her chin at Yang Zhangshi.

"……understood."

Yang Zhangshi's arrogant demeanor instantly vanished, and like a defeated hen, she slunk away.

After Tian Meiying had completely left, she suddenly turned around and looked at Chen Youjin with a scrutinizing gaze.

Chen Youjin felt a chill around his neck and asked guiltily, "What's wrong?"

"Humph!"

The only response he received was a muffled snort.

Before dawn the next day, Chen Youjin and the others got up one after another. Without waiting for the soup kitchen to distribute the soup, they drove their donkey carts and continued north along the official road.

They initially thought not many people would follow them north, but when it was time to leave, all the remaining villagers from Chenjiagou chose to continue north.

Chen Youjin smiled with satisfaction and led the way in the donkey cart.

After having breakfast, Zhao Yan and the others began to go about their business in an orderly manner.

Today is the day the real estate agency comes to collect the property.

Zhao Yan was worried that the brokerage firm would cheat her out of their services, so she went to the brokerage firm after breakfast to intercept them.