CH 43

The Shen family couldn’t quite figure out what Lizheng and his group were up to.

However, if they were up to no good, they would surely reveal their true intentions soon.

So, they decided to be prepared for any possible outcome and handle it accordingly.

But they didn’t have the luxury of time to listen to him ramble on. They wanted to take advantage of the break and get back on the road as soon as possible.

Grandma Shen’s expression turned serious, and she pulled grandpa Shen’s aside.

“We won’t rest. If there’s nothing urgent, we’ll hit the road again.”

After speaking, without looking at Lizheng’s grim expression, grandma Shen pulled grandpa Shen back into the group and they continued on their journey.

When they had walked a certain distance and were sure no one behind them could hear their conversation, the group started muttering and talking among themselves.

Wulang and Liulang walked on one side of Shen Yu’an, admiring her greatly and occasionally asking her some strange questions.

However, most of the questions were related to fighting, and they also asked if there were any rare treasures in Shen Yu’an’s “little treasure box.”

Liulang walked while looking up curiously and asked, “Big sister, doesn’t Grandpa Lizheng remember that he kicked us out? Why did he still try to talk to our grandpa just now, even though our grandpa didn’t want to talk to him?”

Shen Yu’an lowered his head and whispered, “Who knows what he’s plotting. Liulang, don’t be fooled by him.”

Liulang also imitated Shen Yu’an and whispered, “Don’t worry, big sister. Liulang is clever.”

The others were amused by the brother and sister’s interaction, and the tense atmosphere caused by Lizheng’s behavior had also eased.

Because Shen Yun’s arm was injured, they did not let him drive the cart or push it.

He walked behind and said, “That’s right. Lizheng kicked us out. According to his proud character, why would he lower his face to talk to us?”

Grandma Shen heard this and rolled her eyes at him, looking at him as if he were a fool.

“For what other reason? He must have some ulterior motive to come and talk to us so warmly.”

The others nodded in agreement, also believing that it was the truth.

But when they turned around, they saw that the people from Shen’s village were still following them from a distance.

Shen Yu’an frowned. Earlier, Lizheng had asked her grandfather if they wanted to stop and rest, so they should have reached the resting point by now.

The conversation between the two groups is not as friendly as before. The members of the Shen family are wondering what the other group is up to, but they can’t figure it out.

They decide to continue walking and not pay too much attention to the other group. However, they notice that the other group is following them without making any noise or disturbance.

The Shen family members become suspicious and wonder why the other group is still following them without taking any break.

They continue walking at a normal pace, while the other group murmurs amongst themselves in an unfriendly tone.

Just now, Lizheng stepped forward to talk to everyone and everyone was watching. They originally thought they could take a break together and took the opportunity to pressure the Shen family to share their food with everyone.

But those people from the Shen family were shameless and just walked away.

So everyone had no choice but to continue walking, munching on a few pieces of dry rations along the way. Even though their feet were almost too tired to lift, they didn’t dare to stop.

Aunt Wu turned her eyes and thought of a good idea. She quickly walked a few steps to Lizheng’s side and whispered her idea to him.

“Hey, why don’t you just go and ask them to come back to the group? They will definitely be grateful and give us their food,” she suggested.

Aunt Wu felt very proud of herself for coming up with such a good idea. She thought that when the food was distributed later, she would get a little extra for herself.

Feeling happy with her idea, Aunt Wu blurted out her thoughts.

“I gave you a good idea, so you better make sure my family gets more food when it’s distributed,” she said.

But Lizheng became angry when he heard her speak. He knew that Aunt Wu had caused a lot of trouble in the group these past few days.

Whenever there was an issue, Aunt Wu would bring up Lizheng’s name and threaten to kick people out of the group. This caused a lot of resentment among the others, and they began to view him in a negative light.

Shen Lizheng had warned her before, but she was shameless and didn’t listen.

Now, whenever Lizheng saw her, he would try to keep his distance.

But Lizheng’s wife was not pleased when she heard Aunt Wu’s words.

If her husband managed to get food from the Shen family, it would be her family’s merit, and they deserved to get more food than others.

The two women started arguing and quickly became heated.

“Shut up!” Lizheng intervened.

Lizheng was annoyed by their argument and turned to glare at them.

His look was far from friendly, and the two women immediately stopped arguing and followed him quietly.

But their argument couldn’t stop others from discussing the situation.

Some people felt that relying on the Shen family for food was unreliable.

One person said, “No matter how we get the food, it’s still in the hands of the Shen family. Can they give us food if we demand it from them?”

“Also, don’t forget that time when someone went to demand food from them. That girl even held a knife to someone’s neck. It was terrifying,” another person added.

The group started to feel uncertain about their chances of getting food from the Shen family. It had been some time since the incident, and if no one had brought it up, they might have forgotten about it altogether.

At this moment, Ma Shi pulled Lin Chunyan over and happened to overhear everyone talking about the issue.

Upon hearing it, she wondered if they were afraid to ask for food?

But that’s not acceptable. Her family never received any grains to begin with, and when the Shen family was selling them, they didn’t sell any to them.

Although Wang Zhicai received two hundred pounds more than the others in the village, when it comes to fleeing from the famine, that amount of grain is not enough.

Ma Shi spoke up, “Why wouldn’t they give it to us? The Shen family is the most benevolent in our village. They will surely have a soft heart seeing that we are all starving.”

“If we keep begging them, the food will eventually become ours,” Wang Zhicai replied.

Lin Chunyan also spoke up, “My mother said that the Shen family had only sold you that little bit of grain. We have been walking for so many days and had only just left our county’s borders. If we head east, who knows how many more days we will have to travel? Without any grain, how will we survive?”

Lin Chunyan talked on and on, watching the faces of the women become more and more serious, she is feeling secretly pleased.

She continued, “Don’t think too much about it. With more than two hundred of us here, they won’t dare to lay a hand on us.”

“Besides, they won’t be able to finish all that grain themselves. Carrying it with them will only be a burden. Giving it to us can be seen as helping them lighten their load,” Lin Chunyan added.

The more they listened, the more they believed her words. Soon, their doubts were shaken, and they were convinced by Lin Chunyan’s persuasive words.

At that moment, they didn’t feel tired from the continuous walking anymore. Instead, they felt energized and motivated as if the road ahead was a great place waiting for them.

A women laughed joyfully, praising Lin Chunyan as they walked. “Oh, you are such a bright girl. If anyone dares to speak ill of you in the future, we will not let them get away with it.”

Lin Chunyan blushed and smiled shyly, but inside, she was beaming with joy.

Even if she had left the group, she wouldn’t let Shen Yu’an and her companions get away with ruining her reputation.

She was determined to make them pay the price for their actions!