The night fell.
Another tree appeared outside Jiang Mianmian's house, one was a hawthorn tree, and the other she didn't know its name.
The leaves were large and thick.
The head of the household, Jiang Changtian, returned home.
He learned from the hawkers at the county government office that his family almost fell apart, losing two-thirds of its members out of five.
Jiang Changtian still smiled as he watched the hawker couple, listened to the gossiping crowd.
"The kidnappers are despicable."
"Kidnappers should be beaten to death."
"These two kidnappers are also pitiful, being injured like this, all deflated."
...
Jiang Changtian smiled lightly, earnestly watching and listening.
No one could tell that he was the victim.
He even talked in detail with people about where these two kidnappers came from and how they kidnapped.
It was said that they were rescued by a group of young heroes.
If they hadn't been rescued, they would have been sold into adobe caves, so pitiful.
The girls in the adobe caves were not treated as humans, they were treated like animals.
The kidnappers said they had their difficulties, they had a dumb son who needed medicine.
The hawker's hometown was in the same county, not far away. They entrusted someone to take care of their dumb son, but they still engaged in such activities outside.
How could medicine be so expensive, they must have been deceived...
...
Jiang Changtian turned and left.
He walked quickly home.
Even on the way home, he wore a smile on his face and greeted people warmly.
He was such a person, the more he hated inside, the warmer his smile on the outside, the more his appearance shone, as if even deliberately concealed, it seemed impossible to hide.
He thought, his mother was right, he was a bad person, bad to the bone.
There was wickedness and cruelty in his bones.
Always on the verge of going crazy.
Just like now.
On his way home, passing by the forty-fourth, forty-fifth, forty-sixth, forty-seventh streets...
His steps didn't pause.
He walked forward as usual, turned a corner, and bought four meat buns.
Then he walked back.
As usual.
Walking briskly home.
He, with the appearance of a thin scholar, carried meat buns and a sharp knife in his pocket.
A little small, sharp, very sharp.
The knife was his courage.
His family was his soul.
...
Arriving home.
Seeing Xiaomei planting trees.
Seeing Feng Ge leaning on a chair with his hand drooping.
Seeing Yu Jie holding Mianmian.
Seeing everyone there.
He slowly exhaled.
The hand under his sleeve still couldn't stop trembling.
Shaking badly.
He habitually wanted to cough, but couldn't.
It seemed that the snake bile Xiaomei fed him had a very good effect.
Otherwise, he felt that he couldn't support himself to walk home. The closer he got home, the more afraid he became.
Afraid of finding no one at home.
Afraid that the news he heard was false, and the kidnappers had already sold the people.
Now seeing everyone at home, he still couldn't stop trembling.
He gave the meat buns to his second daughter and reached out to hug his youngest daughter.
Feeling the slight weight in his arms, soft and milky, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It's not a dream.
His family was all here.
...
For dinner, they had a hearty meal of unknown cured meat (python meat) cooked vegetables, coarse grains, and meat buns.
After the terrifying day, Jiang Mianmian could already secretly add extra ingredients for her family.
The living environment was too harsh, she urgently needed to improve everyone's physical fitness.
Not seeking great wealth and prosperity, but just striving to survive.
The family enjoyed their meal with exceptional relish, thinking it was the aroma of the meat, especially with the addition of meat buns, how could it not be delicious.
Jiang Yu ate particularly heartily, wiping tears as she ate, thinking, if she really were sold, she definitely wouldn't get to taste such delicious meat soup and meat buns again.
Jiang Feng ate with great relish, burying his head in his food, one arm still hanging limply, afraid to look at his parents, unsure how to explain his ambush outside the city.
Jiang Changtian ate very seriously, savoring each mouthful, elevating the wild vegetable soup with an air of elegance.
Qin Luoxia ate a lot, she had to eat more to produce milk.
Food not only filled their empty stomachs but also compensated for their mental unease.
At any time, it's best to eat first, then you'll have the strength to carry on.
After finishing the meal,
Mother fed Mianmian.
Father washed the dishes.
Jiang Mianmian cleaned up.
Her elder brother tried to help but was pushed away, feeling a bit flustered.
Mianmian ate her meal with gusto, grabbing onto her mother, devouring it voraciously.
She was scared enough as it is.
Her swaddling clothes were all torn up by Little Black, leaving marks everywhere they went.
Mother was really clever, she actually found them.
Mianmian became even more reliant on her mother, she swore that next time her mother went to gather wild vegetables, she would throw a tantrum and insist on going along, even if it meant rolling around and making a mess.
Although her elder sister was also very good, her elder sister followed her stomach...
And her elder brother, Mianmian wondered how her mother would deal with him if she found out he went out to rob.
Mianmian wanted to wait and see the commotion...
But after drinking her fill of milk, she unexpectedly couldn't control her drowsiness and fell into a deep sleep.
Really, she couldn't control it, too tired, too sleepy.
She slept so deeply that she snored.
When Mianmian woke up again, she found it was very dark outside, it should be midnight already.
But there was only father in the bed, mother was not there.
"Mama, mama," she called out with her mouth wide open.
Jiang Changtian picked up the child and comforted her, "Your elder sister got scared during the day, she's got a slight fever now, your mother went to take care of her, she'll be back soon."
In the dark night, father rocked her gently in his arms.
She also wanted to see how her elder sister was doing, after all, she was just a little girl in her early teens, according to modern standards, a primary school student, she would definitely be scared.
"Mama, mama," Mianmian tugged on her father's sleeve.
Jiang Changtian surprisingly understood, he wrapped a piece of clothing around the little girl and carried her out.
Qin Luoxia saw her husband carrying their daughter over and took her in her arms to feed her.
"Husband, you should go back to sleep for a while, Yu'er is fine, just a slight fever, it's probably because she drank the water the peddler gave, it's not clean, she's had diarrhea several times, the poor girl is embarrassed for you to see." Qin Luoxia said while feeding the baby.
Jiang Changtian yawned but didn't go to sleep, instead, he went to the kitchen to boil water.
Mianmian drank her milk, her eyes rolling around, in the middle of the night, she was completely awake, full of energy, thinking that her elder sister had diarrhea, it must be because she added spring water to her dinner.
But her elder sister hadn't drunk the diarrhea version of spring water.
Based on her observations, Auntie became stronger after drinking the Spirit Spring water. Her milk became tastier, seemingly larger, and more abundant, although other changes remained unobserved.
Her elder brother also likely gained strength; otherwise, the peddler couple wouldn't be so aggressive, defeating her other brothers easily. Armed with a spear, her elder brother could catch them effortlessly, and they couldn't escape.
Another change in her elder brother was his affectionate gestures, often rubbing her head and sticking close.
As for Father, after drinking the Spirit Spring water, his cough seemed to vanish. Although he didn't appear physically stronger, he held her with a light touch, and his hands still felt a bit chilly. However, his appearance seemed noticeably improved.
She wondered about her elder sister's situation. Watching her limp towards them, legs numb, and emitting a foul odor, she sipped her milk while using her hand to push her sister away, reluctant to let her get close.
Jiang Yu: ...
She genuinely witnessed her milk-drinking sister roll her eyes and express disdain. Really!
Having enjoyed good health since childhood, rarely falling ill, this time was a hardship. The stench from her illness was unbearable, probably due to the peddler's tainted water. She vowed never to consume dubious substances again, promising to taste before considering finishing the meal.
Jiang Mianmian innocently continued drinking milk, benefiting from a healthy and abundant milk source, growing taller and taller.
