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

When Zhou heard what the second wife said, she suddenly felt a pang of sympathy.

After all, they were once family, and they once sat at the same table and ate together, so it's inevitable that they would have some reservations.

Zhou hesitated for a moment, and Uncle Li, seeing her expression, quickly said, "Don't be soft-hearted. Don't forget how she bullied your eldest sister and those two old people from the Qin family."

You'd better think this through. If you take it in today, what will happen if Shuangshuang finds out later?

"Wouldn't all the dignity and face she'd worked so hard to maintain for you be wasted just because you took her in today? Where is Shuangshuang supposed to put her face now?"

Zhou knew what Uncle Li meant, but she didn't know what it was.

After all, Qin Shuangshuang had put in so much effort to maintain her image and had worked so hard to keep the family afloat. If she were to accept this person now, she might not be able to avoid Qin Shuangshuang having a negative opinion of her.

But she was still hesitant.

Uncle Li was about to say something more, but the second wife was coughing incessantly and even vomited blood.

Seeing this, Zhou quickly went over to him and said, "Never mind, I'll talk to Shuangshuang properly when she comes back."

The second wife was overjoyed to see that Zhou was still so soft-hearted. She said to his aggrieved face, "As expected, family is still the closest. Family is always much better than outsiders."

Uncle Li felt a chill in his heart upon hearing this, after all, he had always acted as a bodyguard in this house, protecting everyone here.

Now, Zhou actually wants to accept this woman who used to treat her so badly, leaving Uncle Li speechless with his feelings.

Seeing that Zhou had helped the second wife to the backyard, since there were still many people living in the center of the courtyard, if she were allowed to come in, everyone would definitely get sick.

Zhou helped her to her own courtyard and told everyone not to come near her, so as to avoid catching the rat disease.

Now, the second wife is looking around, and the house and rooms here are surprisingly large.

The house was quite large, and the second wife smiled smugly.

After all, she had gotten in so easily. If Qin Shuangshuang knew, she probably wouldn't even want to see her mother's face again.

The thought that he had so easily sowed discord between the mother and daughter was unbearable.

The second wife felt that she was indeed too clever for her own good.

At this moment, Zhou went to get the medicine she had stored and said to the second wife, "These are the medicinal herbs that Shuangshuang gave me before. I'll go and brew them for you now. After you drink them, your fever will go down."

"Once you're better off, you should leave as soon as possible. I already dislike the people in this house, and besides, the conflict between our two families was too great, so we should stop having any contact."

Upon hearing this, the second wife deliberately pretended to cough very badly.

Coughing incessantly, she sobbed as she said to Zhou, "Sister-in-law, if you don't help me, who else will take care of me?"

My husband doesn't care about me anymore, and you're the only one who can take care of me. Don't worry, once I'm able to work, I'll find you some food to repay the kindness of saving my life today.

Seeing that she spoke quite nicely, Zhou didn't think much of it and went to the kitchen to start brewing the medicine. While she was brewing the medicine, everyone around her was staring at her.

She knew that people no longer liked her.

After all, she brought in a woman who had contracted rat disease. Even though some of the elderly people in the house also had it, they gradually recovered thanks to the medicine Qin Shuangshuang brought.

Now, Zhou has brought in women who had treated her badly in the past because of her own selfish desires. They really don't know if Zhou is truly confused or just pretending.

After Zhou finished brewing the medicine, she was about to turn around and leave.

Several women surrounded Zhou and earnestly said to her, "I'm telling you, eldest sister, you're really foolish!"

"Do you know that what you've done has broken Shuangshuang's heart? When Shuangshuang comes back, she'll know how much her aunt, who looked down on her, has oppressed her."

Now, she's living in her own house. Do you know how sad she must be?

"That's right, sis, you'd better get her out of here quickly."

Zhou was also thinking of her daughter, and at that moment, she said to everyone, "Don't worry, I will send her away after she gets better. Right now, I'm only thinking of the last bit of family affection I have left."

Upon hearing this, everyone reluctantly believed it.

Everyone made way for her to leave.

Watching Zhou's departing figure, everyone shook their heads helplessly.

After all, it was her daughter who saved everyone's lives, so they didn't dare say anything.

……

Lu Jun returned to the county town overnight. Now he hurried to the two houses to see if the vegetables Qin Shuangshuang had planted had grown.

Pushing open the door to the courtyard, I was greeted by a stench of decay. I almost rubbed my nose, but when I looked through the window, I saw a glimmer of life.

He hurriedly pushed open the door and was overjoyed to see that the soybeans had actually sprouted leaves. He muttered to himself, "I can't believe they actually grew! Qin Shuangshuang is truly amazing!"

Things that seemed impossible actually happened; that's truly amazing.

Then he pushed open the door of another courtyard and went inside. The vegetable leaves there were growing even better, and the firewood was burning constantly, making it feel very warm in the middle of winter. The soybean sprouts were also growing very well.

In addition, Qin Shuangshuang also planted other vegetables in these two houses. She watched as the vegetables grew taller and taller, much taller than the leaves that were completely invisible before.

Lu Jun crossed his arms and couldn't help but sigh, "Just who is this Qin Shuangshuang? She's so amazing that she can grow vegetables even in the dead of winter. It seems that our country is truly fortunate to have her."

Then, Lu Jun carefully closed the door.

Just then, two constables who had returned from patrolling outside saw Lu Jun arrive and hurriedly brought over the food they were carrying. "We didn't expect you to come back so soon, young master. We just went out and are only now returning. Have you had lunch yet?"

If not, then eat something.

Lu Jun smiled and expressed his gratitude, "Thanks to you all for guarding this place these past few days. If it weren't for you, I think the seedlings here would have been stolen long ago."

Thankfully, your seedlings are growing better and better. But this news can be kept under wraps.

"I absolutely mustn't let anyone else near this place, otherwise I'm always worried they might have bad ideas and eat these vegetables that have finally grown."

Upon hearing this, the two constables, their eyes filled with caution, quickly nodded and said, "Don't worry, Lord Lin gave us these instructions before he left. We two brothers have been guarding this place just in case."

"So you don't need to worry about these things, just leave them to us."

Lu Jun nodded, looking at the vegetables they were carrying. It was clear now that they weren't anything special, probably having been reheated several times.

Lu Jun showed concern and looked up, saying, "The rat infestation is serious right now, so you should avoid going into the city center. Eat what you can, and throw away what you can't."

"Eat more of the konjac powder that Qin Shuangshuang pickled before; at least it will come in handy now."

The constables nodded in agreement, saying, "It's fortunate that Miss Qin left that valuable item; you wouldn't believe how sought-after it is in the yamen now."

"If it weren't for the konjac powder, we really wouldn't have anything to eat. But these dishes still need to be eaten by someone, so we gave the konjac powder to some people who believed in it."

"As for the better food, we gave it to the sick people."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jun nodded and said, "You are all very kind. Well then, I will leave you first. Just stay here and guard this place well, and don't leave."

The constables nodded and then watched him leave.