Back to the village

As Dan Bin helped Jiang Chuan, he handed him three pieces of cornbread. In this day and age, every family had very little food. Those from poor families had to split a cornbread into two and share it among themselves. It was rare to see people like the village chief who still cared about others.

Jiang Chuan took the cornbread and gave it to Zhou Lan and Jiang Xia; he could not help but feel grateful.

Dan Bin was appointed to be village chief by the higher-ups. At first, the villagers were unhappy with the arrangement of some outsider being the village chief. However, as time passed, the villagers were convinced. Putting everything else aside, how he protects his villagers was something no other village chief could do.

For example, he had previously left all the food in the village for the villagers while he had to bear the pressure from the leaders asking him to hand over the food. Another example was when he had to run back and forth a few times in the mountain for Jiang Chuan's family.

In fact, during this drought, most villagers were busy keeping themselves alive; they paid no attention to how others around them were handling it. However, Dan Bin still reminded them to show some care to others. 

It was also because of this village chief that no one in Tong Shan Village had starved to death. Even though everyone was hungry, they were still alive, weren't they?

Going down the mountain was much faster than the journey up the mountain. Now that they have found Jiang Chuan and his family, they could not care less about them. They only wished they had rockets on their leg, allowing them to fly home.

After a while, the village chief was the only one left behind with the three of them.

"Chief, thank you so much. If you didn't bring people to find us, our family might die in the mountains." Jiang Chuan said weakly after eating the cornbread.

Jiang Xia supported Zhou Lan by holding her arms. The two of them were not used to the mountain path and were stumbling as if they had no energy due to hunger.

"You're from our Tong Shan village, and I would never allow myself to abandon our villagers. In the future, don't take such risks anymore! "

"Chief, we didn't want to come here, but you know what's happening in my family." Jiang Chuan forced a smile and stopped talking.

It wasn't that he was looking for someone to pour out his grievances, but he wanted to separate from the rest of the Jiang family. He had to lay some hints.

The village chief also knew Jiang Chuan's difficulties, so he shook his head and sighed.

"Ah!" Jiang Xia screamed suddenly. Jiang Chuan and Dan Bin immediately turned their bodies and looked at her.

When all three of them looked at her, Jiang Xia explained, "I accidentally scratched a tree."

After ensuring that Jiang Xia was fine, Jiang Chuan said, "Slow down, you two. Look out when you're using the tree for support."

"Alright," Jiang Xia nodded in agreement while she replied.

After Jiang Chuan and the village chief turned around, Zhou Lan asked in a low voice, "Are you really fine?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Jiang Xia replied and glanced at the small cut on her hand. It was only a reflex when she screamed previously, and she was okay, she then put her hand back into her pocket.

Because the cut was not immediately treated, a drop of blood oozed from Jiang Xia's hand to the bamboo-shaped jade.

Although their speed was not considered fast, they didn't dare to go too slow. After all, there were still wild beasts in the mountains. If they were completely alone, the risks would increase.

It took them more than an hour to finally get down the mountain. Because everyone was walking in a straight line holding a torch, it looked a lot like a dragon.

They would have to pass another village to return to Tong Shan Village. But it was already mealtime, and the fragrance of food could be smelled from every household, making everyone drool. The village chief was no exception. He swallowed his saliva and thought that Jiang Chuan's family must have had no choice. Otherwise, why would they go so far up the mountain?

When they returned to the village, the strong laborers were already hungry, so they all rushed home.

The village chief wanted to send Jiang Chuan and his family back to their home, but Jiang Chuan refused by saying, "Chief, please head back first! I'll talk to Zhou Lan for a bit.".

In the past, Jiang Chuan and his wife used to address each other directly by their first names, Jiang Chuan had not forgotten this and tried to change his habits.

"Alright! Then I'll head back first." The village chief said. 

The village chief knew what Jiang Chuan wanted to say to his wife without even asking. It was about how they were going to explain to the Jiang elders that they didn't bring back any food.

Before the village chief left, he did not forget to glance at Jiang Xia, his eyes full of sympathy. He thought to himself, "It seems like Jiang Chuan is going to lose her second daughter soon, it's been hard on the child."