Chapter 30

At this moment, facing his wife’s question, Ding Gui could only recount what had happened earlier. Both he and Xiaodie had a bad feeling about it, but to avoid causing unnecessary worry among everyone, they decided not to say it outright.

He pretended to be relaxed and said, “It’s a good thing the village chief came back. He said it’s nothing serious. Let’s cook and have a good meal today.”

At the mention of food, Wang Dafeng’s eyes lit up immediately. She stood up and volunteered, “I’ll go skin the rabbit!”

Zhang Xiu looked at her husband and daughter, sighed, and said, “Then you two take a break first. Cooking rabbit takes a while. But… what if the smell of the meat drifts out?”

“It’s fine. Just cook it,” Ding Gui waved his hand.

They lived each day in fear and anxiety—might as well eat their fill today.

Zhang Xiu nodded and went downstairs to the kitchen to help Wang Dafeng.

Only then did Ding Xiaodie speak up: “Dad, take a rest. Who knows what might happen tonight.”

There wasn’t much else they could do. Both father and daughter decided to nap for a while. Once they were well-rested and full, they would hear what the village chief had to say.

Meanwhile, at his home, Laifu had made the same decision. He told Dabao and Erbao to cook all the rabbits. Soon, the rich aroma of meat filled the house.

Not a drop of the rabbit soup was wasted.

They would scoop out two bowls at a time for everyone to take turns drinking. After adding some water given by Xiaodie, they’d continue cooking until the rabbit meat melted in the mouth—tender and flavorful.

Only then did the family begin their first real meat meal in almost half a year, with mixed emotions.

—-

Likewise, when Ding Xiaodie and her father were awakened, the aroma of meat reached their noses.

Zhang Xiu had also washed two black truffles and sliced them. The dense texture, lightly sprinkled with salt, gave off a rich earthy aroma that made one salivate before even tasting it.

As for the other wild mushrooms, they were simply washed and stir-fried into a dish.

Wild mushrooms, though delicious, spoil quickly once removed from the soil—especially in this weather. If not eaten today, they’d rot by tomorrow.

Once all the dishes were on the table, Wang Dafeng eyed the sliced black truffles curiously. She wasn’t sure if they were tasty, but they certainly looked better than leaves.

Her gaze quickly shifted to the pot of meat.

With meat on the table, who would eat mushrooms?

This time, Ding Xiaodie didn’t stop her. There was enough rabbit meat and mushrooms to feed the three of them anyway. So, since Wang Dafeng wanted some, she scooped some for her.

She even praised her a little: “Grandma did well today. Most of the men in the village only left because you scolded them awake. I’ve always said Grandma is useful—not the useless eater Uncle and Second Uncle make her out to be.”

Wang Dafeng, mouth greasy, replied while eating, “Girl, you’re still young. You don’t understand how people really are. When you grow up, you’ll see—there are no good guys or bad guys. Just people. Everyone has weaknesses, and everyone knows when to be shameless or not.”

The Ding family trio stared at the old lady: “…”

Not bad—she could actually say something that deep.

But Wang Dafeng didn’t care about their stares. She kept eating. Once everyone was done, she even gulped down the leftover soup.

That wasn’t all—she licked the bowl too.

The sight made the rest of the family very uncomfortable. They quickly left the kitchen.

Once they were gone, Wang Dafeng put down the bowl and furtively looked around. Seeing no one, she crawled under the table to pick up a piece of truffle she had dropped and stuffed it into her mouth.

Strange. It looked ugly, but it tasted amazing. She really liked the flavor.

“Grandma, what are you doing?”

Unexpectedly, Ding Xiaodie had returned. Seeing the old lady under the table eating something off the floor made her heart ache a little.

Wang Dafeng quickly climbed out like nothing happened. “Nothing. What is it?”

Ding Xiaodie chose not to expose her. “Brother Dabao said there’s going to be a meeting. Everyone, young and old, has to attend—you too.”

Of course Wang Dafeng had to go. She might not be good at much, but when it came to joining a crowd, she was never left out!

When the grandmother and granddaughter arrived at the street, the villagers were already seated along both sides of the road.

Village chief Laifu hadn’t started speaking yet, but there was only one topic among the crowd.

“Do you smell that? There’s a meaty aroma on this street.”

“Yeah, I smelled it too!”

“Which household is so rich to still have meat these days?”

“Right? Just smelling it makes me want to eat a few more bites of that coarse grain bun.”

Having always been the poorest, Wang Dafeng felt a bit smug hearing all this.

Back in the village, people used to look down on her family for being poor. But now, the tables had turned—others were actually jealous of them!

She couldn’t resist and was about to show off the grease still on her lips when—

“Alright, everyone quiet down. Let me say a few words.”

Laifu suddenly stepped forward, interrupting her.

Holding a tobacco pipe, he stood solemnly under the setting sun, looking weathered and full of gravitas.

“Here’s the thing. Two hours ago, I followed a man on horseback. You’re all probably curious who he was and where I went. I’ll tell you everything now.”

“To put it simply—there’s still a family living in Yangliu Town! The person who brought me there was their guard.”

What? There are still people in Yangliu Town?

No one had expected this. Since they arrived, the villagers had entered every house they could find and claimed what they could, but had seen no one else.

Now, hearing Laifu’s words, everyone was stunned.

An uneasy feeling spread through the crowd. They had known they wouldn’t stay long, but hearing that someone else still lived in the town made them suddenly worried about losing their place.

Laifu continued, revealing the full story.

It turned out that a wealthy man named Lu Yan still lived in the town. A lifelong businessman, he had amassed great wealth and eventually settled in Yangliu Town, owning countless fields and properties.

When disaster struck and the townsfolk fled, Lu Yan stayed with his entire family.

He felt this was his home and decided not to leave.

In fact, everything the villagers from Aozi Gou had done since arriving had been under Lu Yan’s watch.

Today, he summoned Village Chief Laifu for one purpose—to discuss the possibility of letting Aozi Gou villagers stay.