During my escape from famine, I survived by eavesdropping on the whispers of food.

"Qin Shuangshuang, someone's here! Bring them out quickly!"

Before she could answer the person calling for help, Lu Jun's voice came from outside.

Time was of the essence, so Qin Shuangshuang nodded and pulled the person who had called for help to their feet. "Come with me."

With a road ahead, escaping with them shouldn't be a problem.

After an incense stick had burned, they escaped.

After being rescued, they knelt down before Qin Shuangshuang, crying and saying, "Thank you both, young heroes. Otherwise, we would have been ruined by that corrupt official."

Qin Shuangshuang said, "It's no trouble at all. You'd better leave Lushan County. That corrupt official doesn't seem like the kind of person who would let you off the hook."

If Lu Shanxian hadn't been arrested by corrupt officials, Qin Shuangshuang wouldn't have gone to rescue him. She's not that noble, so she doesn't need anyone's gratitude.

After parting ways with them, Qin Shuangshuang led Zhou Shi to reunite with the refugees.

"Qin Shuangshuang, you're finally back! I almost took them to the authorities tonight."

Qin Shuangshuang, who was about to say a few words, stumbled as soon as she heard the report to the authorities.

If the corrupt officials knew about this, they might arrest her too. If Uncle Li were to report it to the authorities, he would be more likely to harm her.

Looking at the kind-hearted refugees, Qin Shuangshuang felt it necessary to remind them, "Uncle Li, the local officials in Lushan County are not good people; they have plundered a lot of the people's wealth."

"Alas, we are refugees with nowhere else to go. We can't even get enough to eat. It seems that there is no hope for us in the future."

Under the moonlight, Uncle Li looked more than ten years older.

After a long sigh, he waved to Qin Shuangshuang, "Your mother has just been found. You can have a private talk with her. I'm going to see my Dabao."

Qin Shuangshuang stared at his reflection and hummed in agreement, then led her family to rest in a corner.

……

As soon as it was light, all the refugees who had been sleeping in the open woke up.

Qin Shuangshuang took out some coarse dry food and distributed it to the people around her. "Mother, eat quickly. After you've eaten your fill, we'll think about what to do in the future."

They can't live as refugees forever, constantly on the run. Even if they have food, they don't want to live such a hard life.

Therefore, we need to carefully plan for the days to come.

Zhou patted Qin Shuangshuang's head and said gently, "Mother will make sure you have a good life, so you siblings don't need to worry."

Having not drunk any water all day, Zhou's lips were cracked, and blood even flowed out when she smiled at Qin Shuangshuang with her lips pursed.

When Grandma Qin found them, she saw a scene of maternal love and filial piety.

"Well, you bunch of ingrates! You leave me, the head of the household, to starve while you eat dry biscuits. Hurry up and bring them to me."

Since their last parting in the cave, she had been starving for a long time. When she saw the dry rations in Zhou's hand, she didn't care about saving face at all and pounced on them to try and snatch them.

But who could this weak and powerless old woman possibly defeat?

In the end, he didn't get the pancake, but he did get a few solid slaps from Qin Shuangshuang.

With her swollen face trembling, she pointed at Qin Shuangshuang and cursed, "You little bitch, I'm your grandmother. What's wrong with eating some of your food? You only feel happy when you see this old woman starving to death on the street."

As soon as she pretended to be wronged, people who acted as righteous started to support her unreasonable behavior.

“Young lady, these days we don’t have enough food. When there is food, it’s always reserved for the elders. You should take out the flatbread and give it to your grandma. It’s better to be a little hungry than to be called an ungrateful wretch.”

"I think their grandmother was right. The whole family are ungrateful wretches. Do they want to see their grandmother starve to death?"

They were all overflowing with sympathy, but Qin Shuangshuang had no interest in playing along with them and directly dragged over the two who were the loudest in their insults.

“I remember you still have some dry rations on you. You can’t bear to see others go hungry, right? Then bring the rations to this old woman.”

"Besides, we've already separated from the family. This isn't our grandmother. I don't have a grandmother who wants to kill me at every turn."

No sooner had Qin Shuangshuang finished speaking than the refugees and Lu Jun in the group rushed over.

They started throwing punches, and nobody dared to say a word.

Qin Shuangshuang then glanced at the old woman beside her, "Get out of here! Nobody here is related to you."

One harsh word terrified Old Lady Qin. Only when she saw Qin Shuangshuang's dirty face did she remember her purpose.

"Qin Shuangshuang, even if we've separated our families, I'm still your elder. Your grandfather and I have arranged a marriage for you. Go wash your face and come with me to meet the prospective spouse."

That's right, they came here to find Qin Shuangshuang in order to exchange her for food.

Qin Shuangshuang, who wanted to settle things peacefully, hardened her fists upon hearing this. She looked at Old Madam Qin with disgust and said, "Stop looking at me with that calculating gaze. We're barely surviving now, who would even think about marriage?"

Enraged by being publicly insulted by a younger generation, Old Lady Qin grabbed a shoe sole and pointed it at Qin Shuangshuang, cursing at her.

"You bitch!"

"You really are stubborn. It's an arranged marriage, and as long as your grandma isn't dead, I'm the one who calls the shots. Come with me now."

As long as we take Qin Shuangshuang's food, we can get it. No matter how much this bitch makes a fuss today, we have to marry her off to him.

When they arrogantly tried to snatch people, all the strong men in the group started rubbing their fists and feet.

Before they could even begin, a sharp, piercing sound ripped through the sky.

"Old woman, I've finally found you! It's been several days, and my silly son is still clamoring for a wife. Why haven't you brought your granddaughter over yet? Don't you want the food anymore?"

Their arrival attracted all the refugees.

The woman was dressed fairly well; although she wasn't fat, she didn't look as emaciated as a refugee, and it was clear that her family had enough food.

Old Mrs. Qin spat at Qin Shuangshuang's feet and then walked forward eagerly, saying, "My granddaughter is right here. You can take her away."

“Not bad,” Qin Shuangshuang said. Although his face was ashen, he still looked quite good, so he was no longer so harsh when talking to the old woman. “Take the person back to my silly son, and take your grain with you.”

Zhou stood protectively in front of Qin Shuangshuang, saying, "No one is allowed to touch my daughter. If anyone wants to exchange people for grain, go find them. We don't know this old woman."

If Old Lady Qin is heartless, then don't blame them for being unjust. Now, their family is completely severed.

"What stupid thing are you doing? They have plenty of food. If your daughter marries into their family, she'll have enough to eat, and they can even help us exchange for some food. Why are you saying you don't want to?"

With the grain almost in her grasp, Old Lady Qin wasn't about to let it slip away; she rushed over, intending to grab Qin Shuangshuang.

She forgot that she was facing Qin Shuangshuang's entire team, so before she could even touch Qin Shuangshuang's sleeve, she was kicked away.

Qin Shuangshuang glanced expressionlessly at the person who grabbed her, "This old woman is still quite attractive. She also wants food. If you really want to find a wife for your silly son, take her with you."

After saying that, she turned to look at the refugees behind her and deliberately raised an eyebrow to ask.

"Do you agree with what I said?"