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

The person who came was the original owner's nephew, the second son, Zhao Yunjie.

His clothes were so worn that their original color was no longer visible; they were gray, wrinkled, and clung to his body. The cuffs and trouser legs were noticeably too short, exposing a large portion of his arms and ankles.

His face was completely devoid of flesh, his bones protruded, and he was extremely thin; an eight-year-old looked only five or six.

Zhao Yan reached out and pulled her stunned nephew to her side, squatting down to be at eye level with him.

“Yun Jie, I am your aunt, Zhao Yan.”

Tell your aunt, what happened to your older brother?

Now she was certain that the "Brother Chen" that Little Firecracker had mentioned earlier was Zhao Yunchen.

Zhao Yunjie stared blankly at Zhao Yan, who had bright eyes and spoke clearly.

aunt?

So she was my aunt.

So it turns out my aunt isn't stupid after all.

It's no wonder he reacted that way.

When the original owner married Yang Sanlang, Zhao Yunjie was only two years old and had no memory of his aunt Zhao Yan.

Moreover, after the original owner got married, she never returned to Zhao Family Village.

Even the three-day homecoming was refused by Madam Yang Zhang, who claimed that the original owner was ill.

Zhao Yunjie's knowledge of his aunt came only from the stories told by the village women. He knew that his aunt had been mentally challenged since childhood and had been sold by his great-grandmother for two taels of silver.

Although he went to Chenjiagou with his father once later, he was only three years old at the time and didn't remember many things.

After his father passed away, he thought about going to find his aunt, but his older brother said that his aunt was also having a hard time, so he gave up the idea.

Thinking of his elder brother, who was suffering terribly, he rushed into Zhao Yan's arms and burst into tears, as if he had finally found a savior.

"Wow—Auntie, my brother's face is ruined, and his leg is broken. He hasn't eaten or drunk anything for the past two days, and it looks like he doesn't want to live anymore... Waaah... Please save him..."

"What do you mean by not eating or drinking? What's wrong with your older brother?"

Zhao Yan's heart pounded wildly.

She suddenly had a bad feeling.

Zhao Yunjie's face was covered in snot and tears. He wiped it haphazardly with his sleeve and stammered, "Big brother... Big brother went up the mountain... encountered a herd of wild boars... while running, he accidentally tripped and fell... fell down the mountain. His leg... his leg was broken... and his face was also torn open by tree branches..."

Ever since Zhao Dahai passed away, Zhao Lao Er and his wife have been eyeing Zhao Yunchen's house, and they often look at the three brothers with cold, calculating eyes.

To ensure his second and third children had something to eat, Zhao Yunchen got up earlier than the chickens and went to bed later than everyone else every day, taking on most of the household chores himself.

But Old Lady Zhao still disliked the three brothers, cursing them for bringing bad luck to their parents and having too much of a life, and wanted to kick them out.

Zhao Yunchen begged his great-grandmother not to send them away. Their father had just passed away not long ago, and the three of them were still children. Without an adult to protect them, he was afraid that the three brothers would not survive.

At this time, Zhao Lao Er's wife had an idea. She persuaded Zhao Lao Tai that as long as Zhao Yun Chen could occasionally go to the mountains to catch some food for the family to supplement their diet, she would agree to let the three brothers stay at home.

Zhao Yunchen readily agreed, and the next day before dawn, he went into the deep mountains alone.

He had originally intended to try his luck and see if he could catch a wild boar.

It wasn't wishful thinking on his part; he was naturally strong, and although he was only twelve years old, he was as tall as an adult man.

He was confident he could take down a wild boar if he encountered one.

Unfortunately, he didn't encounter just one wild boar, but a whole herd!

Faced with a group of enormous wild boars, even with Zhao Yunchen's superhuman strength, he wasn't arrogant enough to think he could take them all down.

Without attracting the attention of the wild boar herd, he decisively turned around and prepared to go back first.

But perhaps he didn't check the almanac before leaving home, and accidentally made a noise during his retreat, which alerted the wild boars, who swarmed towards him.

He disregarded everything else and sprinted down the mountain.

The wild boars stopped chasing him after a short while, but he accidentally fell down the slope on his way down the mountain.

Zhao Yunchen broke his leg!

Uncle Zhang from the village touched his leg and said that he had fallen too hard and that his right leg would need to rest for a full hundred days to fully recover.

How could Old Lady Zhao let him lie in bed all day?

The day after he broke his leg, Old Lady Zhao kicked the three brothers out of the Zhao family home.

Aside from giving them a few tattered clothes, they received nothing else.

“At first, my third brother and I went up the mountain every day to find wild vegetables, and my eldest brother could barely eat anything. The villagers had eaten all the food nearby, so my third brother and I made a plank out of wood and dragged my eldest brother to the town to try to survive.”

"My third brother and I take turns begging, and we can barely find food."

Zhao Yunjie recounted his miserable experiences over the past month to Zhao Yan in detail.

"After my older brother broke his leg, my great-grandmother and great-grandfather refused to help him and didn't even find a doctor to treat his leg. During this time, my older brother has been complaining of leg pain every night and doesn't eat much during the day."

"Waaaaah... The third brother said that our eldest brother doesn't want to be a burden to us, he doesn't want to live anymore..."

Zhao Yan felt a sharp pain in her heart.

The original owner's older brother passed away two months ago due to illness.

No wonder he never came to see the original owner.

The original owner's own grandmother was a scoundrel.

They were willing to sell the original owner for two taels of silver back then, and today they can still kick Zhao Yunchen and the others out of the house to lighten their burden.

She had absolutely no good feelings towards the original owner's grandmother's family.

Wiping away Zhao Yunjie's tears, Zhao Yan straightened up and pulled him towards Miao'an Hall.

"Come on, Auntie will take you to find Grandpa Yuan."

Yuan Tianbao had already told Yuan Yutang about the matter.

Just as Zhao Yan turned around, Yuan Yutang led his grandson Yuan Tianbao out of Miao'an Hall.

He said calmly, "Girl, don't panic, I'll go with you right away."

Zhao Yan bowed deeply to Yuan Yutang, "Uncle Yuan, thank you for your trouble."

He then said to Zhao Yunjie, "Yunjie, lead the way."

Overjoyed, Zhao Yunjie wept tears of joy and led the group to a dilapidated temple where Zhao Yunchen was.

South of the city, a dilapidated temple.

In the haystack in the northeast corner, Zhao Yunchen lay stiffly, his right leg bent in an odd position below the knee.

He stared blankly at the drafty window, his brow furrowing from time to time.

Zhao Yunqi found half a bowl of water from somewhere, filled it with a chipped, broken bowl, and carefully brought it to Zhao Yunchen.

"Brother, have some water."

He held the rim of the bowl to Zhao Yunchen's chapped lips so that it would be easier for him to drink.

Zhao Yunchen pulled his head back and gently shook his head.

"Brother isn't thirsty, you and Yun Jie can drink it."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yunqi suddenly burst into tears.

"Brother, have some water. You didn't drink any water yesterday. A sip will soothe your throat."

“Big brother, I don’t care what you think, you are our big brother, and Yun Jie and I can’t just stand by and watch you go without food or water.”

“If we work hard, we can get through this. Brother, I beg you, please don’t do this, we’re all doing well…”

Zhao Yunchen moved his lips, but ultimately didn't know what to say.

He's already a useless person.

His existence would only be a burden to Yun Jie and Yun Qi.

Besides, his leg really hurts so much.

The pain numbed him, made him feel unbearable agony, and made him wish he could be free.

He really couldn't take it anymore.

He shook his head, repeating the same thing: "I'm not thirsty, you and Yun Jie drink."

"Big brother-"

Just as Zhao Yunqi was about to burst into tears, a shout filled with joy and surprise suddenly rang out outside the dilapidated temple.