The eight sisters-in-law and Qin Hanyue had been drooling over the braised beef jerky, and with Old Lady Mo's words, they no longer had any qualms about eating it.
"Mother is right. We are no longer the wives and daughters of wealthy families. Now, being able to fill our stomachs is already very good."
"Forget about all these rules. I, Yang Manxin, don't want them anymore."
It must be known that starving people will think anything tastes good when they see food.
Moreover, the braised beef jerky Li Xinyue took out looked very delicious and even smelled better than they had eaten before.
Seeing the once graceful and proper women sitting on the ground and wolfing down the food, Li Xinyue reminded them.
"Don't hurry, everyone, there's more in the package. We can take out more if it's not enough."
Anyway, the items in her space had a regenerative function, so there would be as much braised beef jerky as needed.
Old Lady Qin took a bite of the braised beef jerky and felt it was the most delicious meat she had ever eaten.
However, she disagreed with Li Xinyue's words.
"Keep some of what your parents gave you for yourself. You don't have to take it all out to share."
"Mother, I still have a lot!"
Li Xinyue said, taking out another large handful of braised beef jerky to distribute to everyone.
Seeing this, Old Lady Qin did not try to persuade her further. After all, she also really liked eating it.
Looking at the Qin family women sitting there ravenously eating steamed buns and braised beef jerky, the people from the other four families were already envious.
Why did the Qin family get to eat white flour buns?
And the guards had taken the initiative to give them water pouches.
They knew their stomachs were rumbling with hunger, and if they wanted a drink of water, they had to beg the guards, who might reward them with a mouthful if they were in a good mood.
Because they had learned their lesson from the whipping earlier in the day, those people were furious but did not dare voice their grievances aloud.
Their eyes were like fire, staring fixedly at the Qin family members eating and drinking.
With so many unfriendly gazes on them, the Qin family women were not oblivious.
However, following Old Lady Mo's instructions, none looked up; they kept their heads lowered as they ate the white flour buns.
After the Qin family women had eaten and drank their fill, Old Lady Qin took the initiative to move next to Li Xinyue and whispered:
"We must think of a way to let Jiuye eat something too."
Even without Old Lady Mo's reminder, Li Xinyue had thought of this.
"Mother, wait a little later after everyone else is asleep. I'll bring food for my husband."
Qin Yichen, lying prone on the wooden cart, also smelled the aroma of braised beef jerky.
This man, who usually did not care much for food, started unconsciously swallowing mouthfuls of saliva.
Unfortunately, in others' eyes, he had already lost consciousness, so he could not jeopardize the plan for a mouthful of food.
Qin Yichen endured the torment there with great difficulty while the Qin family women finally ate and drank their fill.
Old Lady Qin instructed everyone to find a place to rest independently.
Speaking of resting, except for Li Xinyue, the other women's faces fell.
"Mother, we're just going to sleep like this?" Although Qin Hanyue knew this was the case, she still could not help but complain a little.
Old Lady Qin was also very helpless.
"Hanyue, our Qin family is not what it used to be. It's already a luxury that we are alive, so don't overthink."
Hearing this, Qin Hanyue's tears flowed down uncontrollably.
However, she was sensible enough not to say anything more about it.
Old Lady Qin had given birth to ten children, and Qin Hanyue was her only daughter. Qin Hanyue had been doted on since she was little.
Seeing her daughter's appearance, Old Lady Mo's heart ached terribly.
But she had no choice but to bow to fate and make Qin Hanyue accept reality sooner.
"If you can't even endure this much bitterness, then you are not fit to be a child of our Qin family."
Qin Hanyue was most proud of becoming a child of the Qin family.
Her father and brothers were great heroes who defended the Great Shun Dynasty. Hearing her mother say she was unworthy of being a Qin family child, she immediately stopped crying and hurriedly wiped away her tears with her sleeve.
"Mother, the Qin family is not afraid of hardship, and Hanyue is not afraid either."
After speaking, she curled up and lay beside Old Lady Mo.
Old Lady Qin did not dare look at her daughter again. It pained her the more she looked, so she could only turn her head elsewhere.
Li Xinyue lay right against the wooden cart, making it convenient to bring Qin Yichen food later at night.
In her previous life, she had often slept outdoors during missions in the wilderness, so she did not find this too unbearable.
Seeing the mother-in-law and the others lying down to rest, the sisters-in-law did not show similar thoughts, huddling closely together as they slept on the ground.
Perhaps because everyone was exhausted from travelling, they fell asleep soon after lying down.
Li Xinyue did not sleep, only leaned there pretending to doze.
Just as she was about to open her eyes to observe and see if everyone was in deep sleep, she discovered the second sister-in-law had sat up.
The second sister-in-law groped silently to Li Xinyue's side and whispered: "Youngest sister-in-law, are you asleep?"
Li Xinyue replied in a volume only the two could hear: "Not yet, second sister-in-law. Do you need something?"
In the moonlight, it was evident the second sister-in-law had a conflicted expression, clearly having something to ask for.
"That... um... youngest sister-in-law, I want to ask you for a white flour bun."
As the second sister-in-law spoke, she was noticeably nervous, stuttering and continuously tugging at the hem of her clothes with both hands.
Li Xinyue immediately guessed the second sister-in-law's intention: to bring it to her maternal family.
However, she did not want to be the kind of pushover who did foolish good deeds; after all, several families were hostile towards the Qin family.
Even if the second sister-in-law's maternal family had not insulted the Qin family like the other families, the hatred in their eyes towards the Qin family was impossible to conceal.
"Second sister-in-law, you didn't eat your fill?" Li Xinyue deliberately played dumb.
The second sister-in-law vigorously shook her head.
"No, it's because I want my nephew to eat."
Hearing this, seeing that Li Xinyue had not given her a bun, the second sister-in-law knew she was probably unwilling.
"My younger sister-in-law, father, and the others must have misunderstood the Qin family. We only got to talk about this with so many people earlier.
I figured that while it was late at night and everyone was asleep, I would bring a bun to my nephew and ask what happened.
Seeing the second sister-in-law had said this much, Li Xinyue could not remain indifferent.
Moreover, the other party wanted buns for a little child to eat. The grudges between adults had nothing to do with little children.
It was an excellent opportunity to discover why those families harboured such great hostility towards the Qin family.
Li Xinyue took a white flour bun from the bag and reached into her package to take two slices of braised beef jerky.
"Second sister-in-law, take these."
Seeing there was also braised beef jerky, the second sister-in-law thanked her profusely and moved.
"Thank you, youngest sister-in-law. I will ask about the situation clearly before coming back."
"Second sister-in-law, go quickly!" Li Xinyue revealed an innocuous smile.
After the second sister-in-law had left, Li Xinyue looked around again.
The guards had dispersed to the vicinity of each family, with one person on night watch duty at each location.
The Eighth Old Zhou was in charge of watching the Qin family. He had probably intentionally been lenient, and seeing the second sister-in-law head towards the Xie Family, he did not try to stop her.