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

The knocking on the door grew more and more urgent.

A hint of tension flashed in Lu Jun's eyes. He immediately said to Qin Shuangshuang, "You go inside, I'll open the door. Don't come out without my permission."

Qin Shuangshuang was worried and grabbed his arm, saying, "I'll go with you. This person came in aggressively, and it looks like he's here to cause trouble."

Seeing that she was so adamant, Lu Jun had no choice but to agree to go with her.

He replied helplessly, "Fine, then you follow me and stand behind me. Don't come out. After all, I'm a grown man, and I certainly won't let them gain the upper hand so easily."

Qin Shuangshuang lowered her eyebrows slightly in response.

She followed behind him, and the two walked forward one after the other.

Soon.

Lu Jun opened the door, and there were several burly men in official robes in front of him. They shouted at Lu Jun, "Hand over all the children here! Our adults are injured and need them to give us blood transfusions to save their lives!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Shuangshuang was shocked. "What era is this? They're already giving blood transfusions?"

Qin Shuangshuang was the first to disagree, saying, "If you draw blood from a child, do you think the person can still live?"

Isn't this just playing with people's lives?

The official before her gave a mocking smile, his air of superiority as he looked at Qin Shuangshuang and said, "You little wench really don't know what's good for you. Our officials have poured their hearts and souls into protecting this county."

"If it weren't for your safety, why would we be fighting here? Hand over the baby now so our family can receive medical treatment. If you don't, we're going to break in!"

Arrogant and unreasonable!

Seeing this, Qin Shuangshuang directly confronted them, saying, "We can't hand over the people. We don't have any children here, just people our age. If the officials want to arrest us, then go ahead and take them away."

However, the officials were enraged by the girl's words. The leading official angrily said to Qin Shuangshuang, "The sir was injured for the sake of the people around here and for all the common people. You only need to hand over a little child to ensure your safety. What's wrong with that? As long as you protect this place well..."

"Only you have food to eat, right?"

Qin Shuangshuang laughed it off and sneered, "Sir, do you think you can get food on your own? For so long, the government has never sent even a pound or two of grain to help the people here. We can agree to other things, but this is a matter of life and death. You should leave."

Upon hearing Qin Shuangshuang's ungrateful behavior, the official in front of him raised his hand to slap her.

Lu Jun reacted swiftly and grabbed it tightly.

He pinched the other person's wing so hard that their face hurt.

The other person cried out in pain as the young master's hand gripped them.

Lu Jun snorted and tossed the hand aside. "Take your hand away! You're officials, how can you bully ordinary people like this? Aren't you afraid I'll report you to your parents?"

The officials in front of them looked at each other, as if they had something to hide.

The man in the lead, who had learned his lesson, looked embarrassed and said to the two men, "Since you two refuse to listen to reason and are making things difficult for us, then don't blame me."

The group then forcefully barged in, and Qin Shuangshuang and Lu Jun hurriedly followed.

Qin Shuangshuang shouted at them from behind, "Is it okay to bully ordinary people like this in broad daylight? Where is justice?"

At this moment, the people inside the house heard Lu Jun and Qin Shuangshuang's commotion, especially Qin Shuangshuang's shouts, and hurriedly came out into the courtyard.

Seeing that Zhou had brought Qin Hao out, and that Qin Hao was now standing in front of Zhou, Qin Shuangshuang quickly gave Qin Hao a meaningful look.

Qin Hao was a smart man after all. He quickly hid behind Zhou Shi and then carefully retreated into the house.

Qin Shuangshuang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The officials quickly focused their attention on the children held by the parents and were about to snatch them away.

The burly men quickly blocked them.

Seeing that people were trying to stop them, the officials drew their swords and shouted at them sternly.

"You all get out of the way at once!"

"I told you to get out of the way. If you don't, none of you will leave here alive today!"

Qin Shuangshuang stepped forward to block the crowd and said to him, "We are all elderly, weak, women, and children here, some disabled, some weak, and some haven't even had a full meal yet. It's going too far for you to make things difficult for the people like this."

Besides, you really should go back and investigate that quack doctor. Wasn't he just prescribing random medication? How could someone possibly need a child's blood transfusion to save a life? Isn't that a joke?

"Don't you consider a child's life just another life?"

When the adults around heard that they were going to use their children to treat their parents' illnesses, they were so frightened that they hid their children in their arms or even inside the house.

The children's big eyes stared longingly at the chaotic scene.

But the leading official remained unceremonious upon hearing this, saying, "Alright, my master fell because of the safety of the people. What's wrong with having a few children make a contribution and do their part for our country?"

The official then rallied his men behind him, and with a wicked glint in his eyes, they rushed forward to snatch the child from the adults.

For a time, the entire government office was filled with the mournful cries of the elderly, women, and children, especially the children who cried louder and louder.

Seeing Qin Shuangshuang's current situation, she quickly led several strong men to separate the soldiers from the refugees. Lu Jun took the lead and used a broom to block the group.

Just then, Qin Shuangshuang's ears went blank, and a bunch of chaotic sounds came out again.

"That girl is so brave! I never imagined that following these soldiers transporting supplies would lead me to witness such courage. I should have let the other tribesmen come and see her too!"

"Come on, we're like rice in its husk. Only a few of us were lucky enough to escape. The rest of our clansmen have probably already been husked and eaten. Our lineage is probably going to die out."

"That's not necessarily true. My older cousin secretly told me that that charlatan Taoist priest stole over three thousand of his relatives from him."

Rice? Grain?

Unhulled rice plants have the potential to be grown into paddy rice. If there are even a few, they will be cultivated to produce more and more, and eventually there will be no shortage of food.

Whether for the sake of the children or the rice seeds, Qin Shuangshuang decided she had to find a way to go and see for herself.

Qin Shuangshuang blocked their way and said to him, "Gentlemen, isn't all you want is for the child to have blood? I'm not very old, please take me with you."

My blood alone is enough. Don't make things difficult for everyone. Just take me with you. I'm the one who's eaten the most and has the most nutrition here. It will only benefit your families.

The officials in front of her looked at Qin Shuangshuang with some doubt. They sized her up from left to right. She looked neither too young nor too old, like a child and an adult at the same time.

That really raises suspicions.

At that moment, Qin Hao couldn't stand it any longer and rushed into the crowd, standing in front of Qin Shuangshuang.

He said to Qin Shuangshuang, "I'll go in your place, sister. I'm old enough to go. They only want blood. As long as I go, they won't make things difficult for the younger brothers and sisters here, that's fine."

When everyone saw Qin Hao break out, Qin Shuangshuang hurriedly told him to leave, but the stubborn child wouldn't budge.

Zhou hurriedly came over and grabbed her son, saying, "None of you can go. If any of you go, it will cost me my life."

Qin Hao stubbornly shook his head and said, "My sister has already worried enough about everyone's livelihood. Now, in order to make sure everyone has enough to eat, she has never thought of stewing children like us like Grandma and the others have. I'm all grown up now, and I can protect my sister."

Having lacked parental love since childhood, Qin Shuangshuang was inevitably moved by what she heard. She squatted down and hugged the little child in both arms, saying to him, "Don't worry, with your older sister here, I will definitely not let anyone bully you."

Qin Shuangshuang stood up and said to them, "Take me away."