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

"Ouch! Auntie, be gentle, it hurts."

Zhao Yunjie held his head in his hands, looking at his aunt with a mournful expression.

Zhao Yan chuckled lightly, asked no more questions, and began to wander around the valley.

The others were either busy or resting, but Zhao Yunjie and Zhao Yunqi followed closely behind Zhao Yan.

In the middle of the valley, there is a large open space covered with fine grass. A stream flows from west to east across the northern hillside.

The stream was crystal clear. Zhao Yunjie ran over, bent down, scooped up a handful of water, and took a sip. A cool and sweet taste instantly filled his mouth.

He exclaimed with delight, "Auntie, this water is sweet!"

Zhao Yan pulled Zhao Yunqi closer, squatted down, dipped her hand in the stream water, and put it to her lips.

"Yes, it is indeed sweet. It's probably spring water flowing down from the mountain."

Zhao Yunqi was a man of few words, but upon hearing this, he also scooped up a handful of stream water and put it in his mouth.

The cool stream water instantly washed away the heat from his body, and he comfortably squinted his eyes.

Zhao Yan waved for everyone to come over, and they set up camp by the stream at noon.

"Sister Tian, ​​we're running low on water."

Tian Xiue casually replied, "Okay, I'll make lunch first, and then I'll boil water after we eat."

Although the stream water had a sweet taste, Zhao Yan instructed that they must drink the boiled water.

They've been getting through these past few days like this.

Zhao Xiaomi, still half asleep, was led over by Yuan Yutang.

Zhao Yan held her daughter in her arms and tapped her little nose.

"Xiaomi, are you awake? Are you thirsty? Do you want some water?"

"Mom, Grandpa Yuan gave me some water."

Zhao Xiaomi leaned close to Zhao Yan's ear and whispered, "Grandpa Yuan secretly slipped me a piece of candy. Mom, look, I saved half for you."

Zhao Yan lowered her eyes and indeed saw half a candy lying quietly in her daughter's palm.

My heart softened instantly.

She patted her daughter's head affectionately and said, "Xiao Mi, eat by yourself. Mom doesn't like sweets."

She had a lot of candy on the shelves, all kinds of candy, as well as chocolate, bread and cream cakes that weren't available here. She would definitely let them try them when she had the chance.

Yuan Yutang looked at the beautiful scenery before him, first nodding, then shaking his head.

"It's a great place to escape the summer heat, but unfortunately, we can't stay there for long."

It was already late May, and the summer heat was intense. The valley, being low-lying, offered a refreshing respite.

After playing for a while, Zhao Yunjie came over and asked, "Grandpa Yuan, why can't we stay here longer? The environment here is beautiful and the climate is pleasant. It's really nice."

Before Yuan Yutang could explain, Zhao Yunqi rolled his eyes at his second brother.

"Fool, it's summer now, and the valley is low-lying, so of course you feel comfortable. But when winter comes and it snows heavily, there will be no food or water, and the weather will be cold. Then you'll be left with no one to turn to."

Yuan Yutang glanced at Zhao Yunqi approvingly and added, "Yunqi is right. This valley is beautiful, and it's fine for sightseeing, but it's not suitable for long-term residence."

"We've been walking in the mountains for about ten days now, and we've at least gone deep into the Yulin Mountains. Without proper preparation, we're very likely to be short of food and clothing."

Living in the deep mountains without food and clothing is tantamount to suicide.

Zhao Yunjie moved his lips, his little face turning slightly red.

Can he say he just misses his father?

If only Dad were still here.

Seeing his expression, Zhao Yan laughed and joked, "Yun Jie, what's wrong? Don't you want to leave? Or maybe..."

"Need not."

Zhao Yunjie quickly interrupted his aunt.

He glanced at Zhao Xiaomi, who was looking at him with curiosity, and said with a blush, "Auntie, I can still walk. I just... I just... miss my dad..."

As he spoke, his eyes slowly reddened.

Upon hearing the news, Zhao Yunchen was at a loss for words. He simply stepped forward, pulled his second brother into his arms, and gently patted his back.

Zhao Yunqi stood silently by his side, his eyes also reddening.

Zhao Yan was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized who the "father" Zhao Yunjie was talking about was.

To be honest, she didn't really remember the original owner's older brother. She only knew that he cared about the original owner a lot and wouldn't look down on her because the original owner wasn't very bright.

Her nephew missed his father, and she... After thinking for a long time, she finally said, "Didn't you all want to eat grilled fish before? Come on, Auntie will take you to catch fish, and we'll have grilled fish for dinner tonight!"

Ever since they tasted Zhao Yan's spiced dried meat, these kids have been craving grilled fish.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yunjie instantly forgot his sadness, scurried out of his older brother's arms, and grinned at Zhao Yan.

"Auntie, you're not lying to me? We're really having grilled fish tonight?"

Zhao Yan glanced at him and curled the corners of her lips.

Why would I lie to you? Auntie keeps her word.

"Then I'll have it mildly spicy."

He accidentally choked on a piece of extra-spicy pork jerky last time, and had diarrhea for two days.

My aunt said that if he really wanted to eat it, he could try it slightly spicy.

"Auntie, I want cumin-flavored grilled fish!"

Yuan Tianbao had been asleep until just now. As soon as he got off the carriage, he heard Zhao Yan's words and hurriedly ran forward, shouting his demands.

Zhao Yan patted his little head with amusement.

"Okay, Auntie understands."

"What about you two? What flavors would you like?"

Zhao Yunchen replied nonchalantly, "I'm fine with anything."

Zhao Yunqi whispered, "I'm the same as my older brother."

Zhao Xiaomi, who had been ignored all along, suddenly became unhappy.

"Mom, me too! I want to eat grilled fish with five-spice flavor."

"Okay, five-spice, cumin, and slightly spicy, all of them."

Zhao Yan put her daughter down on the ground, changed from holding her to holding her hand, waved her hand and said, "Let's go, let's go catch some fish first."

"Okay, okay, let's catch fish."

The boys swarmed towards the stream.

Believe it or not, this valley probably has never been entered by humans before. The fish in the stream didn't hide from people at all, and kept coming closer to the feet of the little children.

Zhao Yunjie bent over, clasped his hands together, and slowly approached the black fish in front of him.

Just as they were about to reach each other, they suddenly squeezed together with both hands—

"Hahaha, I caught a fish! Auntie, look—"

Zhao Yunjie gripped the fish's gills tightly and struggled to lift it above his head to show Zhao Yan.

"Yun Jie is awesome."

Zhao Yan gave a thumbs up without hesitation.

A sense of pride welled up within him, and Zhao Yunjie happily tossed the black carp into the earthenware jar before returning to continue catching fish.

The fish in the stream were so silly, everyone gained something from it.

Even the youngest, Zhao Xiaomi, managed to catch a half-pound blackfish under Zhao Yan's guidance.

They did nothing all afternoon but waited by the stream to catch fish.

They finally gave up when there was nowhere else to put the fish.

Dinner was naturally a pot of fragrant wild vegetable and fish soup, along with more than thirty grilled fish of various flavors.

There were over thirty fish, ten people, and each person shared no less than three grilled fish. Everyone ate to their heart's content.

Zhao Yunjie patted his round belly, looking completely satisfied.

"Auntie, I want to eat grilled fish again next time, and I want it mildly spicy."