She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

If it weren't for the sudden heavy snow that completely blocked the road to Xiaoyao Village, perhaps the disaster victims would have already flooded into the village. For the villagers, the prospect of a peaceful and tranquil New Year like this would likely have become a distant dream.

On the tenth day of the Lunar New Year, the sky was a clear, jewel-like blue, and sunlight shone through the thin clouds, bringing warmth to the earth.

After ten consecutive days of sunny weather, the roads that were blocked by ice and snow finally thawed and returned to normal, allowing pedestrians to pass freely.

Early in the morning, Lanxiang took Shenman and prepared to go to the wasteland to check if the bees were alright.

As they reached the village entrance, a group of figures suddenly came into their view.

The group included elderly people with white hair, young children, and middle-aged and young men and women, numbering well over a hundred.

Their faces were haggard, their eyes revealing despair and helplessness, their skin rough and cracked from hunger and exhaustion. Their hair was disheveled, covered in dust, as if it hadn't been combed in a long time.

Some of them had clothes that were already tattered and torn, the thin fabric barely concealing their frail bodies, their bones clearly visible, as if a gust of wind could blow them over.

But the leaders held sticks tightly in their hands, their eyes fierce and ferocious, like bandits coming down from the mountain, which made people feel a chill.

Lanxiang's heart tightened, and without hesitation, she grabbed Shen Man's hand and ran home.

As she ran, she shouted, "Oh no! Oh no! Refugees are coming into the village! Everyone run!"

Her voice echoed through the village, plunging the once peaceful village into panic. Hearing her cries, the villagers quickly shut their doors and windows, fearing that disaster would befall them.

The entire village fell into a deathly silence in an instant, with only the sound of the wind and Lanxiang's shouts mingling together.

This isn't the first time refugees have entered a village. In the past, some refugees have come to the village to escape war, but they usually only stay for a few days and then leave, always bringing their own rice and food.

However, this time the situation was very different. These disaster victims were clearly different from those in the past. They carried nothing but sticks and clubs, and were obviously there to rob food.

Shen Man's house was located at the outermost edge of the village, making it the primary target of the disaster victims.

Sure enough, just as Lanxiang brought Shen Man home and closed the courtyard gate, they heard a rapid knocking at the door.

"Open the door! We'll smash it up if you don't open it!" shouted the disaster victims outside the door.

Shen Man and Lan Xiang huddled together, their faces pale.

Shen Man had long anticipated a wave of disaster victims after the New Year, but she did not expect them to arrive so quickly.

Although she had asked the doctor to buy a lot of rice and grain, which was now stored in the house, she didn't intend to just give it away to these disaster victims who were coming in such a fierce manner.

"How could so many refugees suddenly arrive? It's terrifying!" Lanxiang hugged Shen Man, her body trembling violently with fear.

Shen Man took a deep breath and comforted Lanxiang, saying, "Mother, don't be afraid, our courtyard gate is sturdy, they can't get in."

As soon as Shen Man finished speaking, someone outside shouted, "This family's house is so big, they must have stored food. Smash it as hard as you can! As long as we break in, no one will go hungry!"

Immediately following was the sound of the disaster victims violently banging their bodies against the courtyard gate.

Just as the courtyard gate was about to be smashed down, an angry shout rang out: "Stop right there! Where did you come from, and what do you want in my Xiaoyao Village?"

Shen Man quickly walked to the opening in the courtyard wall and looked out. She saw the village head leading a group of villagers over, the villagers carrying knives, sticks, shovels and other weapons.

"We are disaster victims from Dongping Town. We heard that your village was not affected by the disaster, so we came here to ask for some food!"

Seeing the villagers' posture, the disaster victims knew they had met their match and immediately lowered their stance.

"Is this how you beg for help? You don't look like disaster victims, you look more like bandits who came down from the mountains to rob people! We're all from the same county, and maybe you even have relatives in this village. How can you do this to us?"

The village head snorted coldly and continued, "Our Xiaoyao Village isn't wealthy either; we don't even have enough to eat for ourselves, let alone any extra food for you. You'd better leave now, or don't blame us for being impolite!"

The disaster victims pleaded, "Local head, please have mercy and give us some food. We haven't eaten for days, and we'll starve to death if we don't eat soon."

The village head shook his head helplessly. "It's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that our abilities are limited. Your village has run out of food, why don't you report it to the county government?"

“Sigh, it’s infuriating to even think about it. We had no food before the New Year, and the village head went to the town and county to ask the government for relief grain. But those officials didn’t take us seriously at all. More than a month has passed, and we haven’t even seen a trace of relief grain.” An old man with white hair and beard stepped forward and said to the village head.

The village head sighed, "What a tragedy! But the imperial court needs time to approve the allocation of disaster relief grain, so please wait a little longer."

The old man looked utterly desperate. "I simply can't wait any longer. So many people in our town have already starved to death. I'm old enough to be fine, but my grandson, he's only three years old... Sigh!"

"Why don't you go somewhere else? Why did you have to come to our Xiaoyao Village?" a villager asked, puzzled.

"We've heard that among the surrounding villages, only Xiaoyao Village wasn't affected by the disaster. We can't travel to places that are too far away, so we had to try our luck here..."

After pondering for a moment, the village head looked at the disaster victims and said helplessly, "Although our village was not affected by the disaster, the government has doubled our taxes. We really want to help you, but we simply don't have any surplus grain."

Upon hearing the village head's words, the disaster victims all showed expressions of disappointment.

At this moment, a young man stepped forward. "Lord Village Head, we know this will cause you trouble, but we really have no other choice. If you are willing to help, we can do the work, as long as we have something to eat."

The village head hesitated for a moment, knowing that the disaster victims were indeed in a difficult situation. But with the New Year just over, there really wasn't much work to be done in the village.

Just then, the courtyard gate opened, and Shen Man appeared before everyone with her hands behind her back.

"Man'er, did you hear what they just said? They're willing to work in exchange for food. Do you have any jobs for them?" The village head asked Shen Man as if she were his savior.

"I have a way to save you, but there's one condition. If you agree, you can receive your food as early as today. If you don't agree, then pretend I didn't say anything!"