Xiao Hong responded and followed the water fetcher with the bucket.

Gu Qing built the stove, and Uncle Ma looked for Gu Fei: “Where’s the rabbit meat?”

Gu Fei shook her head: “Uncle Ma, I’m afraid we can’t eat it today, look around us.”

Uncle Ma knew that there were disaster victims all around without looking, and he slapped his head: “Look at me, I forget everything when I get greedy. Let’s eat it another day.”

Mrs. Chen instructed Lian’er to cook a pot of porridge, put some dried vegetables in it, and distribute steamed buns to everyone.

While eating, Xiao Hong’s voice came from Mrs. Qian’s side: “Auntie, you forgot to give me steamed bread.”

Mrs. Qian frowned: “What steamed bread? No!”

“My family is running out of food, and I can’t afford to feed you. You should find another family. I have also fed you for so long, and I am worthy of you.”

Everyone understood when they heard it. Mrs. Qian was reluctant to take the three hundred coins into the city.

Xiao Hong bit her lip and glanced at Gu Fei’s house. Everyone in the Gu family lowered their heads and looked at the sky to avoid accidentally making eye contact.

Xiao Hong lowered her head, and raised it after a long while, looking at Mrs. Qian pleadingly: “Auntie, I don’t want to eat steamed bread anymore, so let me sleep for a night before leaving. It’s cold tonight, and I don’t have a blanket.”

Seeing the girl begging softly, Mrs. Qian softened her heart for a moment: “Okay, you sleep for a night, and don’t follow us tomorrow.”

After dinner, everyone discussed whether to pay the money tomorrow.

Gu Zhang didn’t say anything. He was thinking now that if Gu Fei didn’t go home, he didn’t know what kind of life his family would live.

The village chief sighed: “There’s nothing we can do about it.”

Zhang Laoda’s family was quite well-off, otherwise, they couldn’t afford a carriage. The cheapest horse costs about thirty taels of silver.

He sighed and said nothing. Pay it. What else can he do if he doesn’t pay it?

Although his uncle’s family lives in the mountains, he and his two sons are good hunters. He can also nitrate leather. In a year, he can save at least ten taels of silver.

However, his family was used to saving money and was reluctant to eat fine grains. They still have a lot of silver.

Gu Zhong still has his mother’s pension in his hand, two taels a year, and he has saved ten or twenty taels in these years.

The only one who had no money was Gu Rong. He only had a few coins in his hand, which was not enough.

He grabbed his hair and was about to speak, but Gu Zhang touched him, and Gu Rong was silent.

Aunt Huang didn’t say a word from beginning to end. There were only two people in her family anyway, so she could afford this little money.

Seeing that no one said they would not go into the city, Uncle Ma said: “Then everyone should go to bed early. Go into the city tomorrow and buy what you need, especially food and water. Meet at the East Gate at noon and set off.”

Everyone went to bed.

Gu Fei was getting dressed when she suddenly heard Mrs. Qian’s scream: “Where is my millet? Where is my bag of millet?”

Everyone panicked when they heard it and quickly checked their food. Fortunately, it was all there.

Gu Zhong said impatiently: “Look again, you put that little bit of food here and there all day long, who knows where you put it.”

Mrs. Qian madly turned over everything in the cart and sat on the ground: “It’s gone, it’s all gone.”

She suddenly got up: “Who were the night watchers yesterday? What were you watching for? Didn’t you see anyone stealing my things?”

The uncle stood up and frowned: “I watched with Dalang in the first half of the night yesterday, and didn’t see anyone approaching the cart.”

“Your husband watched in the second half of the night, ask him!”