Chapter 8

“Yeah, where’s all that meat and feast you promised? Didn’t you say once we reached Yangliu Town, we’d have enough to eat and drink, and no one would have to die anymore?”

“Laifu, you bastard, have you been lying to us this whole way?”

“Liar! The village chief is a liar!”

Ding Rong’s angry shouts were like opening a floodgate — all the villagers started yelling, pouring all the suffering they had endured onto Chief Laifu.

Some of the younger and stronger men even rolled up their tattered sleeves, ready to fight: “If you don’t come up with a solution today, we’ll beat you to death right here in Yangliu Town.”

“Yeah! Beat him! Beat him!”

It was a full-blown outcry, leaving the Ding family of three completely stunned.

Whoa, what the heck?

What kind of people are these?

Chief Laifu had tried everything to find them a way to survive — even this trick of distracting them with hope was just out of desperation. Now that they couldn’t find food, everyone turned on him like ungrateful wolves.

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Laifu’s family naturally stepped forward to stand with him.

But the sight was pitiful — a 90-year-old grandma, a 70-year-old mother, his wife, and two 18-year-old twin sons. They were planning to get married this year, but because of the drought, the brides’ families had long disappeared.

Even though the whole family stood with Laifu now, with two frail elders and women and men equally split, if the villagers turned on them, they were sure to be overwhelmed.

The instigators were already gearing up for a fight, and no amount of pleading from Chief Laifu was working anymore.

But Ding Xiaodie knew — this fight must not happen.

Once it started, there’d be no stopping it.

Without thinking twice, she rushed forward, her little legs darting through the crowd…

“Bao’er?”

By the time Ding Gui and Zhang Xiu realized, she was already gone.

“No fighting! No fighting!”

Ding Xiaodie squeezed between people and spread her short little arms to shield the chief’s family. She tried to make her kitten-soft voice sound louder: “Don’t forget why the chief brought us out — it was to survive! If we stayed in Aozi Village, could we have survived?”

Everyone: “…”

Wait, how did that little Ding girl have the guts to step out like this?

She looked small and scrawny, one braid lopsided, still with a faint footprint on her face from the night before.

But on that dirty little face, her big eyes shone clear and firm — nothing like the timid, weak girl she usually appeared to be.

Everyone froze.

The place went completely silent.

Between the two sides, the little one tilted her head and said, “The situation in Yangliu Town was never something Uncle Laifu could control. He could’ve just taken his own family and escaped, but instead, he brought everyone to try and find a way out. Shouldn’t you be grateful to him?”

“…”

The troublemakers were dumbfounded — were they being schooled by a little kid?

Chief Laifu felt tears welling up. Who would’ve thought — of all the villagers, it was this little girl who understood his hardships best.

The silence lasted a solid five seconds. No one said a word.

Even Ding Rong and Ding De’s families stood frozen.

Was that really Ding Xiaodie?

Suddenly, the silence was broken — by Ding Gui.

He carried Wang Dafeng on his back, Zhang Xiu beside him. The three of them pushed through the crowd and stood with their daughter, shouting with all they had: “We support the chief!”

Wang Dafeng chimed in, “Count this old woman in too!”

The villagers were stunned again: “…”

Ding Gui’s changed?
What’s up with Wang Dafeng?

Right then, a sudden sob broke the silence — Chief Laifu’s 90-year-old grandma burst into tears.

That cry was like a catalyst. The moment was so raw and righteous it moved the crowd. One by one…

“My family supports the chief too.”

“So does mine.”

“I speak for my whole household — we support the chief.”

Voices of support rose up all around. More and more people moved to stand behind the chief’s family.

Though everyone was angry and starving, deep down they knew Ding Xiaodie had asked the right question — would they have survived if they stayed in Aozi Village?

Clearly not.

By the time they started escaping, even the bark of the thousand-year-old tree at the village gate had been eaten.

Staying there would’ve only meant death.

If they had fled separately, they wouldn’t even know where to go. It was thanks to Chief Laifu that they had a direction at all.

As the shouts of support died down, villagers began scolding the troublemakers.

Seeing their plan fail and themselves becoming the target, the wives of the instigators smartly dragged them forward by the ears to apologize.

They kept saying they were wrong, that they’d listen to the chief from now on, never make a scene again, and so on.

Ding Xiaodie rolled her eyes — hard. “Tch.”

“Xiaodie, thank you!”

“Here, Xiaodie.”

Just then, two nearly identical faces appeared before her — Chief Laifu’s twin sons, Dabao and Erbao. Dabao’s dimple was on the left, Erbao’s on the right. Aside from that, they looked exactly the same.

Thick brows, bright eyes, sharp features, tall noses, and perfectly shaped lips. Only problem — they were kind of… honest to a fault.

So honest it hurt.

Right now, they felt Xiaodie had saved their whole family, so they brought out some rations — half a white flour bun. That was a rare treasure these days. Erbao held it in his big hand, insisting she take it.

These days, what better way to say thank you than sharing food?

But Xiaodie was mortified. “Erbao-ge, put it away!”

The villagers had just been fighting over not having food, and now they were showing off theirs? Did they want trouble? She pushed the bun back with her tiny hand. “I’m not hungry. Give it to your grandma.”

“It’s fine. We saved the other half for her,” said Dabao, solid as a rock.

Erbao forced the bun into her hand and smiled, showing a row of white teeth: “Xiaodie-meimei, if your family ever needs anything, just let us know. We’ll help you out.”

With that, the two honest fools turned and went back to their family.

Ding Xiaodie looked up, uneasy, only to see her parents watching her with meaningful looks.

“Bao’er, good job,” Ding Gui said with a knowing smile. “Make friends if you can, don’t just stay holed up at home all the time.”

He’d said the exact same thing in her past life — back then, he urged her to go out and socialize, worried his badass police-daughter wouldn’t be able to marry anyone.

Naturally, Zhang Xiu also blinked at her.

Their daughter might be little — though her soul was that of a 20-year-old — but it still wasn’t time to think about boyfriends. However, making friends with Dabao and Erbao, these two hulking boys, as bodyguards? That gave Zhang Xiu a great sense of security.