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

Chapter 435 Isn't that...

Zhang Liang thought to himself, it's not that they are scary, it's their military uniforms that are scary.

When these villagers saw them, they must have been reminded of the time when the officials and soldiers of the previous dynasty conscripted men.

So he waved his hand behind him and commanded in a deep voice, "Stop."

The hundred or so men behind him immediately stopped in their tracks.

Zhang Liang bent down, dismounted, and threw the reins to his men behind him.

He said to Yu Hao, "Haozi, you guys wait here first, I'll go over and ask about the situation."

After saying that, he walked towards the nearest villager's house.

As luck would have it, he was looking for Qiu Zhen's house.

Qiu Zhen built two houses in one go. She gave the larger one to her youngest son and his wife, and she and her husband moved into the smaller one on the left.

While the other villagers were chatting outside, she didn't come out; instead, she stayed home and cooked chicken soup for her youngest daughter-in-law.

Yesterday, Zhou Renbin took Qi Caixia to the farm across the street to see Yuan Yutang.

Yuan Yutang took Qi Caixia's pulse and said that she hadn't been eating well for many years, and her body was severely depleted, so she needed to replenish it properly.

So, Qiu Zhen asked her youngest son to go to town and buy a few more live chickens that day, planning to make chicken soup for her daughter-in-law every few days.

She refused to believe she couldn't make it up to Qi Caixia.

At the same time, she also instructed her youngest son that he must not let anyone get pregnant before Qi Caixia's health had recovered.

A woman's health also plays a role in pregnancy and childbirth. If her body is already severely depleted, then getting pregnant will be troublesome.

What can Zhou Renbin say? Naturally, whatever Qiu Zhen says goes.

It's just that he's holding back some things.

Zhang Liang stepped forward and knocked on the door, politely asking, "Is anyone home?"

Hearing the sound, Qiu Zhen, who was simmering chicken soup in the kitchen, called out, "Hey, I'm here. Wait a minute."

She quickly pulled out a few pieces of firewood from the stove, leaving only one piece inside to simmer slowly.

Then, she casually rubbed her hands on her clothes in front of her chest a couple of times before turning around and walking out.

When Qiu Zhen opened the door and saw Zhang Liang standing outside, her eyes narrowed, and she immediately tried to close the door.

What the hell? Why are soldiers here? Are they here to conscript men again?

Zhang Liang's eyes flashed, and before the gate closed, he quickly said, "Auntie, don't be afraid. We're not here to arrest anyone. I'm just asking how to get to the farm."

After hearing this, Qiu Zhen left the door only a crack open and asked through the crack, "What are you going to the farm for?"

Surely they're not going to capture Saburo and the others?

Zhang Liang smiled and explained, "Auntie, please don't misunderstand. My name is Zhang Liang, and I'm good friends with Yang Sanlang, who lives on the farm. I've come here to visit my old friend. Auntie, we really don't mean anything by it."

The emperor instructed that the matter of the sweet potatoes must not be revealed, so he naturally could not disclose the true purpose of their trip.

What he didn't know was that the villagers of Huaihua Village had already tried planting sweet potatoes, and they had already planted them for two seasons. Now, every family had harvested piles of sweet potatoes, so they weren't afraid of going hungry at all.

Upon hearing this, Qiu Zhen opened the door a little wider.

She looked up and down at Zhang Liang's face. Seeing that Zhang Liang had clear eyes and a decent appearance, he didn't seem like the kind of officer who would arrest anyone he saw.

So, she mustered her courage and opened the door, asking again to confirm, "You're really not here to arrest someone?"

Zhang Liang shook his head helplessly and said, "Yes, we really didn't come here to arrest anyone. I just happened to be passing by to visit an old friend."

Just then, Yu Hao suddenly jumped out from behind Zhang Liang and said with a smile, "Yes, auntie, do the villagers here think we are all like those soldiers from the previous dynasty who randomly conscripted men? Oh, auntie, let me tell you, we used to be the Dou family army from the north, how could we randomly conscript people?"

Upon hearing that they were actually the Dou family army from the north, Qiu Zhen slapped her thigh in delight.

"Oh my, you're General Dou's men! That's incredible! So you've really come to see Yang Sanlang?"

She had heard her youngest son mention that Yang Sanlang had indeed served as a military officer in the Dou family army in the north.

In retrospect, he really did serve as a military advisor.

Look, all his old friends have come to see him.

Yu Hao immediately nodded and said, "Yes, yes, of course we came to see how Brother Yang is doing. Brother Yang hasn't come back since he left the capital, and I haven't seen him for a long time."

"Auntie, where is the farm? Yang Sanlang said he lives on the farm."

Qiu Zhen pointed to the opposite side.

"That's a farm."

"Your Brother Yang is in the second house. You should go find him quickly."

Yu Hao and Zhang Liang looked in the direction she was pointing and indeed saw several large brick and tile houses standing opposite.

A look of amazement flashed in their eyes. They clasped their hands in greeting to Qiu Zhen, then quickly mounted their horses and led their men to the other side.

The sound of horses' hooves and the footsteps of the soldiers were perfectly synchronized, demonstrating strict discipline.

As soon as the soldiers left, the villagers of Huaihua Village started sticking their heads out of each house's gate to look around.

Some of the bolder ones went to Qiu Zhen's house and asked about the soldiers.

"Aunt Zhou, what are they doing at the farm across the street?"

"Yes, Auntie, aren't they here to arrest us?"

Qiu Zhen chuckled and explained to everyone with considerable pride, "Hey, they used to be part of the Dou family army in the North. How could they possibly be here to arrest us? Do you know the Dou family army in the North? They are all good soldiers who care about the common people."

“They used to be friends with Sanlang, so they came to see him.”

Upon hearing this, everyone exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my, so Yang Sanlang once served in Dou's army in the north! No wonder they were so upright; it turns out it's because of this!"

"That means they always think of us when something good happens to them, which shows they are really good people."

Yu Hao couldn't wait to knock on the door of the kind-hearted Yang Sanlang's house.

When he opened the door and saw Zhang Liang and Yu Hao outside, he immediately smiled and went over to them, giving each of them a playful pat on the shoulder.

"Hey buddies, what brings you two here?"

Yu Hao said with a grin, "Brother Yang, of course we missed you, so we came to see you and your wife."

Yang Sanlang would never believe that.

On second thought, he realized that Dou Qingran must have something to ask him.

Zhang Liang curled the corners of his lips and said to Yang Sanlang with a smile, "Brother Yang, let's go inside and talk."

"Okay, come with me."

Yang Sanlang nodded to the two men and led them home.

Zhang Liang ordered all his men to rest outside the door.

Zhao Yan was playing with Xiao Fu Bao and Xiao Fu Niu in the yard when she saw Yang Sanlang bring Yu Hao and Zhang Liang in, and her eyes flashed.

Ha ha.

Here comes the stuff I need.

"Hello, sister-in-law. Hello, little Fu Bao and little Fu Niu."