Chapter 137: Unified caliber

“Don’t worry, we will never tell anyone,” Zhang Bingliang promised.

Li Rui, being a smart person, realized that the individual in front of him was not just the wealthy person he had initially imagined, but perhaps someone far more powerful.

He patted his chest and vowed, “I can swear to God.”

“There’s no need for that. I trust you all. Just remember, if anyone notices that you’ve been in contact with us, many people won’t care whether you just met or not.

They might not know the full story. They would rather kill by mistake than let someone go,” Nan Jingzhi warned again.

These words frightened both Zhang Bingliang and Li Rui.

Su Yin said, “Later, everyone will tell their families not to go to this side of the riverbed.

There are many corpses here, and a virus that can infect people. If anyone asks us about our activities, we will discuss our follow-up itinerary and agree on a unified explanation.”

The group then discussed the details of their story, and after coming to an agreement, the five of them returned to their respective teams.

As soon as Zhang Bingliang came back, Old Man Zhang immediately pulled his son aside and asked in a low voice, “What happened?”

“It’s okay, we are just discussing how to proceed next,” Zhang Bingliang replied.

Old Man Zhang was confused but sensed his son was holding something back.

He understood that there were some things that couldn’t be discussed, so he didn’t press further.

“It’s okay,” Old Man Zhang said with a smile.

When Li Rui returned to the camp, he encountered a similar situation as Zhang Bingliang, being pulled aside by his father for questioning.

Old Man Li hurriedly asked, “What happened with them?”

Li Rui’s brothers also listened in, very curious.

Li Rui smiled and said, “It’s okay, we are just discussing our follow-up itinerary.”

“Did you tell us how to arrange it?” Old Man Li inquired.

“The situation along the way wasn’t very good. They decided to speed up and travel as quickly as possible to leave Nanshan County and enter Linzhou,” Li Rui explained.

“By the way, some people were carrying stones before and saw a lot of corpses on the riverbed.

Those corpses are starting to rot. It’s best not to go there. It’s easy to get sick, and there’s no cure; you can only wait for death,” he added.

Old Man Li nodded, “Go and talk to some of your uncles’ families, especially the children, and tell them not to run around there.”

“Yes,” Li Rui replied, getting up to inform them.

When Su Yin came back, her mother had already set up the stove and started cooking with the help of her second cousin, Yang Hua.

Su Baozhu returned with firewood and glanced at the rice and a small piece of dried meat in the pot, licking her tongue in anticipation.

She turned to Su Yin and said, “Yinyin, I haven’t eaten the food you cooked in a long time.”

Since entering Nanshan County, Su Yin hadn’t cooked even once. There was a good reason for this: there were frozen bones on the way, and many people couldn’t eat.

When someone was full, cooking a lot of fragrant food became a source of temptation and potential conflict.

When they first began fleeing the famine, the people on the road had families and belongings. They weren’t afraid of others robbing them, but that was no longer the case now.

“When we go south and settle down, I’ll prepare delicious food for you every day,” Su Yin promised.

Not to mention her sister-in-law’s greed, she herself felt quite hungry. Recently, they’ve been eating clear, watery soups, and the food lacked any oily flavor; her palate had long since grown dull.

Su Yin then shared their earlier discussion about catching up.

Mother Su nodded in agreement, “Okay, I’ll bake some dry flour pancakes later, and you can eat them while you’re on the road.”

The pancakes they had baked before had been finished two days ago.

Su Baozhu went to the car to retrieve the flour and noticed that the supply was running low. “Third sister-in-law, there isn’t much flour left.”

Mother Su reassured her, “There’s still plenty. I can bake a lot of pancakes.”

Su Baozhu went to the car to get the flour while Su Yin helped knead the dough. The dough that Mother Su prepared was smaller than before, and although the pancakes she baked were about the same size as before, they were thinner.

Wan Sanye took a piece of the freshly baked pancake and remarked, “It would be nice if there were some side dishes.”

When he said this, his eyes unconsciously drifted towards the bag containing the dried meat.

“Not much left,” Su Baozhu said, tightening her grip on her pockets. With a long way still to go, she had to conserve her resources.

“Little girl, you are not generous,” Mr. Wan Sanye said, feigning annoyance.

Su Baozhu turned her back to him, her expression defiant.

Seeing Wan Sanye reach out his hand again, Mother Su couldn’t help but interject, “Fat Master, you need to save some for yourself.”

Wan Sanye retracted his hand with a mock look of disappointment.

Since entering Nanshan County, not only had the quality of food declined, but the quantity had also shrunk.

Too bad!

Meanwhile, in Lijia Village, Li Si and his wife took advantage of the complete darkness to gather more firewood from the woods.

Suddenly, Yun Niang felt a cramp in her abdomen and bent over in discomfort.

“Yun Niang, what’s wrong with you?” Li Si asked, quickly putting down the firewood he was carrying.

“My stomach hurts,” she replied, wincing.

Li Si’s face turned pale with fear, and he quickly helped her to a nearby spot to sit down.

Mrs. Li noticed the commotion and was about to say something, but seeing her daughter-in-law’s pale face, her tone immediately changed, “What’s wrong?”

“Mom, I don’t know either. Yun Niang suddenly felt pain. It’s really strong,” Li Si said, his anxiety evident.

Hearing the commotion, Li Rui came over to inquire about the situation. “There’s a doctor over at Su Yin’s place. We should get the doctor to take a look.”

Seeing that Li Si was still standing in shock, Mrs. Li urged, “What are you doing just standing there? Go quickly!”

“Oh,” Li Si responded, standing up hurriedly.

Li Si went directly to Su Yin and explained the situation. Su Yin put down the things in her hands and led him to find Dr. Li.

When Dr. Li learned that someone was feeling unwell, he immediately stopped his work and accompanied Li Si without hesitation.

As soon as Dr. Li arrived at the Li family camp, everyone stepped aside to make way for him.

When Yun Niang saw the doctor approaching, she hesitated and said, “Mom, I’ll be fine if I just take a rest. There’s no need to see the doctor.”

However, Dr. Li observed her pale face and could tell that resting alone would not be sufficient.

Li Erniang chimed in, “Don’t think foolishly. You need to let the doctor check you.”

Receiving the signal, Dr. Li began to take Yun Niang’s pulse.

After a while, he set his hand down and addressed the Li family, “I have good news for you: your daughter-in-law is pregnant.”

The Li family was initially stunned by the news but quickly transformed into expressions of joy.

However, Dr. Li’s next words made everyone’s hearts drop. “But this pregnancy is not stable. The pregnant woman is weak, overworked, and there are signs of miscarriage.”

This was not unexpected. After all, during their escape, they had not been able to eat or sleep well.

Normal adults would find it hard to maintain their strength under such conditions, let alone a pregnant woman.

“What should we do?” Li Si asked, concern etched on his face.

“I’ll do my best to protect her pregnancy for now. However, during the first three months, it’s crucial for pregnant women to get plenty of rest.

Once you reach three months and the fetus stabilizes, things should improve,” Dr. Li explained.

“Thank you, doctor,” Li Si said, relieved yet anxious.

As Dr. Li prepared to leave, Li Si thought to himself that the doctor might refuse to take any payment. “I don’t need the consultation fee.

I just wonder if I could offer you some water in return?”

Dr. Li was aware that the people in Lijia Village were not short on water; in fact, they had more than Su Yin and her group.

Right now, the most pressing issue at home was the lack of water.

Although the Li family knew that water and gold were precious, they were still happy to be able to share it without having to pay.

Li Si slipped out a bamboo tube of water, and Dr. Li happily accepted it.

This was better than receiving a few taels of silver; he was genuinely pleased.