and reads books and learns to recognize characters."The whole family started teasing Dong'er. After finding out he wasn't Hu Ailan's son, Zong Bai and Yu Lian didn't have any objections to the child...Zongyu watched the three huddled by the fire, shivering. He handed them a bag of jerky and dried rations.

This is all she dug out before going to sleep, afraid he would go hungry.

Zhao Yi and Zhao Er were famished, their stomachs growling. They had been busy all day and only managed to snag a hard, rock-like biscuit while rushing to get somewhere. Since then, their stomachs hadn't felt any warmth from food.

Shen Li was also staring at the meat, swallowing hard.

Zhao was halfway through his movement when he suddenly glanced at Zong Yu.

"Grandpa, aren't you eating"

Zongyu sat down and fiddled with the fire.

"Finished, here's yours."

If he wants to have a full stomach, the three of them are probably going to starve until tomorrow morning.

And since entering this village, Zongyu always had a bad feeling.

Tonight is probably going to be a restless one.

I hope he overthought it.

Zhao Yi and Zhao Er, upon hearing the news, hurriedly emptied their bags of dry food and jerky. They couldn't wait to roast them over the fire; instead, they grabbed a piece of jerky each and started gnawing on it.

Fang Jinshiu's homemade jerky is unlike the hard kind that ordinary people make, which can chip your teeth.

The texture is just slightly harder than regular cooked meat. The taste is fresh and fragrant, lingering for a long time, it's simply delicious!

Zhao Yi couldn't stop after taking a bite.

He also slipped a few coins into Shen Li's hand. The three of them devoured the food ravenously, finishing all the jerky and cakes that Zong Yu had given them in no time at all.

These rations weren't hard because they were put directly into Fang Jinshiu's spatial storage after being prepared.

It tastes exactly the same as when it was first made, and the moisture inside is perfectly preserved. Of course, it's delicious!

After everyone had eaten their fill, Zong Yu finally spoke.

"Tonight, the three of you will take turns keeping watch with me."

Zhao Yi and Zhao Er were already used to listening to Zong Yu and Fang Jinxiu's words. Since Shen Li had amnesia, it was even simpler. The couple were the only ones in his short-term memory who had actively given him something to eat.

Their words are true, you can eat your fill! And they can even treat their master's illnesses.

After nightfall, Zong Yu sat against the wall. The wall behind him was Fang Jinxiu's sleeping quarters.

Zhao Yi and Shen Li are asleep. Now Zhao Er is keeping watch with him.

The crackling of burning firewood filled the air, and a faint sound came from the wooden door, which should have been tightly shut.

Zongyu remained still, eyes closed but ears twitching.

Zhao Er hurriedly turned his head to look at him, thinking Zong Yu had fallen asleep and was about to remind him.

But Zongyu shook his head.

Now if we went out there, we could catch them red-handed. But if they insisted that they had no purpose and just walked in the wrong door, there's nothing we could do about it.

It's better to wait and see what these people are up to.

A slender bamboo tube was inserted through the crack in the door, and Zhao Er watched wide-eyed as people blew medicine into their house.

As for what kind of medicine it is, you don't need to think about it to know it's not something good.

Shen Li became alert and barely slept. Seeing the tube in the crack of the door, he pushed Zhao Yi aside and motioned for him to hold his breath.

After a while, there was finally the sound of voices from outside.

"Village head, it should be alright now."

"These people are rare and valuable sheep, generous with their spending."

Then came a slightly low male voice, "Wait a moment, these people don't seem like ordinary folks."

"It's not too late to make a move once they're sound asleep."

"Village head, now that we've taken the grain, why not just kill them all That way they won't come back to seek revenge."

The village head remained silent, then let out a soft sigh.

If we weren't forced to, we wouldn't have stooped to such despicable acts for survival.

"Don't harm them. After we take what we want, we'll follow the old routine: take everyone in the village to the cellar and hide for a few days. They won't find us, and they'll leave soon enough."

"Try not to do too much harm."

Zong Yu's brows moved slightly.

"Almost done, let's get to work!"

The wooden door creaked softly. Zongyu and Zhao Er hung their heads, eyes closed as if already asleep.

They searched them thoroughly, but besides the dagger on Zong Yu's person, they found nothing else.

At that moment, someone suddenly spoke up, "Village head, there's still a woman inside that house. All these men are guarding outside, which means the food and valuables must be on her."

"You're right, let's go search!"aw comforting Tie Zhu, his eyes brimming with love. His daughter-in-law was truly unlike any other woman; facing such adversity, she remained so optimistic.She seemed to have never known what it meant...