Chapter 21: Escaping from Famine

Jiang Shuyue lifted a corner of her veil: "Madam, you are right. I just want to ask for some well water."

The woman had kind eyes. Seeing Jiang Shuyue's extraordinary beauty, she kindly said: "The emperor recruits beauties from all over the world. With your appearance, why don't you go to the palace to fight for your future."

Jiang Shuyue smiled lightly: "Thank you, Madam. I am married and my child is still young. We have finished the dry food we brought. Now, I come to ask for some water to cook porridge for my child."

Most people here think that entering the palace is a very honorable thing. Jiang Shuyue knew that the woman had no ill intentions.

Entering the yard, while the woman entered the house, Jiang Shuyue moved her mind and poured the spiritual spring water into the bucket beside the well.

When the woman came out again, she was seen filling several water bags with water.

"Alas! When will it rain today! If it weren't for the support of this old well in my house, the people in our village would have to leave to escape the famine." The woman sighed and said.

"Who knows? I heard from people in the capital that people fleeing famine can't enter the city gate. Now, everyone has gone to other places."

Receiving a favor, Jiang Shuyue told the woman the news that they couldn't enter the capital, so that they wouldn't have to go in vain when they couldn't hold on.

After a while, several people came to ask for water.

At this time, a woman came in from outside, and she looked at the refugees queuing for water.

Smiling, she said: "Mrs. Wu, there are more and more refugees these days. Why don't you sit by the well and collect money? One penny for a bucket of water, and you can collect a lot in a day."

The woman's face was slightly cold: "You said that everyone is a refugee, how can I take their money? Don't make such a joke, I don't want to be stabbed in the back."

Jiang Shuyue cast an admiring look at the woman. Along the way, there were really villagers selling water. There were not many people who could not take advantage of the fire.

"Yes! It hasn't rained in our hometown from winter to spring now. We had no choice but to leave our hometown. Our family ran out of food. How could we have money to buy water?" A middle-aged man stood up and said.

"Yes, many people have sold their children along the way. The host is kind and we are grateful." Someone stood up to echo and bowed deeply to Mrs. Wu.

Mrs. Wu was moved. She said to everyone: "It's not easy. This is a century-old well in my family. It has never dried up. Everyone can draw water with confidence."

Everyone thanked again.

The woman who instigated Mrs. Wu to collect money was embarrassed and left in a huff.

"Sister."

Su Jin came over and took the water bag from her hand.

As night fell, a pot of porridge was cooked. Aunt Su first served a bowl to Grandma Xu.

There was a little pickled chicken in the porridge, which was delicious without pickles.

After dinner, Sui Sui and Shui Sheng pestered Su Hui to tell stories.

"Do you want to listen to Little Red Riding Hood or Du Shiniang's angry sinking of the treasure chest?" Su Hui asked the two with a smile.

These stories were told to her by Jiang Shuyue, especially the story of Du Shiniang's angry sinking of the treasure chest, which she liked very much.

After listening to the stories told by her elder sister, she realized that women should not put all their hopes on their husbands. If their husbands are ruthless, it will be a disaster.

"Auntie, Sui Sui likes to listen to the story of Calabash Brothers." Sui Sui tilted her head, and her soft and cute appearance was very cute.

"This..."

"Auntie, I haven't heard the story of Calabash Brothers yet."

So, the style of the painting changed, and Sui Sui told stories to Su Hui and Shuisheng.

Qiu Ju washed the dishes and fed the dishwater to the horses. Lin Miao went to fetch water for tomorrow morning with a wooden bucket.

Jiang Shuyue looked up at the sky. The moon was bright tonight.

She shouted to Qiuju, "Qiuju, let's go around the area together."

"Miss, I think those traffickers have bad eyes, so you have to be alert tonight."

"Let's go to the opposite side and see how far the traffickers are from us." Jiang Shuyue pointed to the bonfire in the distance.

Along the way, most of the people fleeing famine brought their families with them. There were mule carts, ox carts, and many people walking on foot.

The two walked around the area and didn't see the traffickers' carriage.

Suddenly, not far away, a familiar figure came into view. A man and a woman walked into the woods nearby.

The man walked in front, and the woman followed closely behind, and the two were sneaky.

Qiuju widened her eyes, tugged at Jiang Shuyue's sleeve and said, "Miss, do you think that person looks like Widow Li? Why did he go with a man?"

Looking at the figures of a man and a woman quickly disappearing at the edge of the grove, Jiang Shuyue turned her head and said, "It's not surprising that people look alike."

"No, Miss, Widow Li's house is next to Shuisheng's. I can recognize her even if she turns into ashes. It's really her!"

"So what if it's her? It's hard for her to be a widow with a child. In order to survive, it's not a bad thing for someone to help her along the way."

Qiuju sighed.

"Miss, you're right. There are many people who gave up their sons for a bag of rice along the way. Widow Li lived with others to survive, which is much more noble than those who sold their children."

When the two went back, they saw Su Jin was about to come out to look for them.

The two of them were very tacit and kept silent about seeing Widow Li.

At night, there was silence all around, even the sound of crickets was gone.

Aunt Su and Su Hui slept in one carriage, Grandma Xu and Shuisheng slept in another, and Jiang Shuyue, Qiuju and Suisui slept in another.

Su Huairen, Su Jin, Sunan and Lin Miaoshou spread straw mats on the ground and slept next to the horses.

Su Jin was afraid that there would be thieves stealing horses at night, so he tied the reins around his wrist before going to bed.

Hearing Qiuju's even breathing, Jiang Shuyue had an idea and put Suisui into the space.

In order to let Suisui sleep soundly, Jiang Shuyue stuffed a nightgown into his hand.

Every half an hour, Jiang Shuyue went into the space to see if he was sleeping soundly.

Everyone was tired after the bumpy journey and soon fell asleep.

Suddenly, a cry of surprise rang through the night sky.

"Catch the thief! Someone stole the child."

Su Jin and the others suddenly turned over from the ground.

"Sister, where is Suisui!"

Jiang Shuyue put Suisui back into the car when she heard the cry in the distance.

She lifted the curtain: "Suisui is fine, go and see Shuisheng."

"Catch him." Lin Miaoshou saw a few people shaking not far away and chased after them with a brisk step.

"Oh no, Shuisheng is gone!"

"Go after him!"

Soon, several men and Su Nan rushed out.

Qiuju hugged Suisui in fear.

Grandma Xu was awakened by everyone's shouting, and saw that there was no one around her.

She burst into tears: "Shuisheng, my grandson! This damned human tooth!"

"Don't worry, Grandma Xu, everyone is chasing after him." Aunt Su, Su Hui and Jiang Shuyue hurried over to comfort Grandma Xu.

"I want to go and see." Grandma Xu said and was about to get off the carriage.

Aunt Su had to help her get off the carriage.

Hearing the cries of the refugees on the opposite side, Grandma Xu's eyes went black and she fainted.

Jiang Shuyue quickly pinched the acupuncture points.

On the other side, Lin Miaoshou chased out and saw the thief climbed onto the horse's back.

He ran back and led a horse to chase after him.

For a while, there was a mess of crying, shouting, and horse hooves.