Yun Erman delivered the wolf and the earth dragon to Prefect Chen's residence and then drove the carriage home.
He had drunk too much water at noon and found it inconvenient to use the privy at Prefect Chen's house.
Once in the carriage, he whipped the horse and sped off.
After finally leaving Heyang County, he reined in the horse, dismounted, and relieved himself.
However, during this time, an old woman emerged from the tall grass.
Seeing Yun Erman with his back to her, the old woman beckoned behind her.
"Hurry up and get out, climb up!~"
A girl of twelve or thirteen and a young wife crawled out.
They tiptoed to the front of the carriage and quietly slipped inside.
"I'm dying of holding it in!~" Yun Erman fastened his belt, feeling refreshed.
If he had held it any longer, he would have wet his pants.
His family was planning to stew wolf meat tonight, and he had to get back quickly.
He had never eaten wolf meat in his life.
"Giddy up!~"
Yun Erman sat in the driver's seat and flicked the reins.
The chestnut horse neighed and galloped towards Dashui Village.
The carriage was covered by a curtain, and Yun Erman never noticed that there were three people inside.
Yun Family Courtyard.
"Dad, did you buy me candy?" Yun Jinshan followed Yun Erman, reaching out for candy.
"Go away, go away, too much candy gives you a toothache!~" Yun Erman shooed him away.
All he thought about was eating.
If he were to buy candy, it would be for his sister.
Although he had a few silver ingots in his pocket, it was late, and the candy seller had already closed up shop...
Yun Erman led the chestnut horse into the stable.
Just as he was about to unload the carriage, he suddenly heard a cough.
"Cough, cough..."
Yun Erman scratched his face, thinking he had misheard.
When he untied the reins, the cough came again.
This time, even Yun Jinshan heard it.
"Dad, there's someone in the carriage!"
"How could there be anyone?"
He had returned late today, and the villagers who usually hitched a ride had already gone home.
What was sitting in the carriage...
Yun Erman mustered his courage and pulled open the curtain.
"Oh my god..."
When had three living people gotten into the carriage?
It was so dark, he thought he had seen a ghost.
Yun Erman was so scared he sat down on the ground, stammering, "Who... who are you?"
No, that white-haired old woman looked a bit familiar.
He seemed to have seen her somewhere before.
These past few days, he had been killing earth dragons, hunting wolves, and receiving rewards from the prefect.
He had seen too many people.
He couldn't remember who was who...
Yun Jinshan blinked, not knowing what to say.
It would have been one thing if his father had brought back three men.
But the carriage was occupied by three women.
Moreover, the young wife in red wore her hair in a married woman's bun and was pretty and charming.
Even the girl had rosy lips and fair cheeks, with a hint of shyness and bashfulness in her youth...
The Yun family members rushed over upon hearing the commotion.
Old Man Yun leaned forward to get a closer look and suddenly remembered, "Oh my, isn't this Sister-in-law Hu from Xinwang Village?"
Upon Old Man Yun's mention, Yun Erman also remembered.
When they went into the mountains to hunt wolves earlier, two villagers, an old man and a child, had been bitten to death by wolves.
He heard the village chief say their surname was Hu.
When they were carried down the mountain, it was this old woman Hu who wailed over the bodies.
No wonder she looked familiar...
Xiao Xitian carefully observed them and a guess formed in her mind.
These three women were probably not here with good intentions!
The Yun family was now thriving, and Yun Erman had become famous.
People who wanted to curry favor with them came every day.
If her guess was correct, these three were here to seek marriage with the Yun family...
The last rays of the setting sun slowly faded.
The night sky was filled with twinkling stars and bright moonlight.
Old Man Yun looked at Old Woman Hu and chuckled, "Sister-in-law Hu, we've arrived at Dashui Village, please get out!~"
He assumed these three were also hitching a ride and didn't think much of it.
The villagers of Dashui Village always borrowed carriages to transport goods when they went to the county town.
Those they were close to would give a few more eggs.
Even distant villagers would pay a few copper coins.
But they were not related to Old Woman Hu, so why were they staying in the carriage?
Yun Daman walked over with a lantern, the dim light illuminating Old Woman Hu's face.
"Auntie, this is our home, please get down!~" Yun Daman frowned.
His second brother went to the county town, how did he bring back three clingy people?
Old Woman Hu was old and had difficulty moving.
The girl and the young wife jumped down first and helped Old Woman Hu off the carriage.
"The main gate is over there!~" Liu Cuirong reminded them impatiently.
The wolf meat had just been stewed, and she hadn't had a chance to eat it before this happened.
Unexpectedly, Old Woman Hu's knees buckled, and she knelt on the ground.
The two women also knelt down.
"Please, kind people, give us orphans and widows a meal!~"
Since Hu Daquan and his son died, they hadn't eaten a full meal in two days.
They had only drunk water to satisfy their hunger, their stomachs bloated like large inflated balls.
Other disaster victims had men who could hunt in the mountains and fish in the water.
They were helpless and could only dig for wild vegetables and chew on grass roots.
This was not a long-term solution.
They would starve to death sooner or later!
Old Man Yun was slightly taken aback and then reacted, "Eldest daughter-in-law, go to the kitchen and get a few flatbreads!~"
"Understood, Dad!"
Zhao Guihua quickly brought over a stack of cornmeal flatbreads.
The flatbreads had just come out of the oven and were still steaming...
Old Woman Hu looked up but didn't reach out to take them.
Instead, she tugged at the girl and the young wife beside her, "Xi'er, Huaihua, quickly kowtow to our benefactor!~"
The girl, Hu Xi'er, and the young wife, Jin Huaihua, kowtowed three times in front of the Yun family.
Jin Huaihua had exerted too much force, and her forehead was broken.
A trickle of blood flowed down, making her look pitiful...
Old Man Yun was flattered, "Oh my, what is this? Get up quickly!~"
It was just a few flatbreads, why the fuss?
Disaster victims passed by the Yun house in droves every day.
If everyone kowtowed in thanks, the line would stretch to the horizon.
Gu Shi narrowed her eyes and said indifferently, "Take the flatbreads and leave quickly, we're closing the gate!~"
Although she didn't know the origin of these three women,
She could tell Old Woman Hu's intentions from their eyes and expressions...
"Hey, why aren't you taking them? Do you want to sponge off us!?"
Liu Cuirong's temper flared up, "If you don't leave, I'll kick you out!"
Upon hearing this, Old Woman Hu covered her face and began to cry.
"Wuwuwu, this life is unbearable..."
"I beg you, my benefactors, to keep my daughter-in-law and daughter, they can do all the chores like washing clothes, cooking, carrying water, and chopping wood!"
"I am old and frail, I can still beg for food back in the village, but Xi'er and Huaihua cannot suffer with me..."
"Huaihua, although she is my daughter-in-law, she is still pure and had not yet consummated her marriage with my son when Xiao Quan passed away!"
"She, she is only nineteen years old this year! Wuwuwu..."