Chapter 36 – Cannon Fodder Old Woman Fleeing Famine (Part 6)

That night, Wang Daya lay in bed, her mind busy with one problem: how to inform her sons that they must flee south, without exposing her secret.

After much thought, she decided that using her psychic ability would be the most efficient. However, her powers had recently regressed back to Level 1.

So, she retrieved a Level 2 crystal core from her space and used it to upgrade her powers, allowing her to use Level 2 mental illusion.

This skill was something she had developed herself in the first world—a way to enter people's dreams and weave a controlled illusion.

That night, all three Lin brothers had the same dream. In it, Father Lin, who had long passed away, appeared and told them:

"Our whole family must flee Border Prefecture as soon as possible. Chaos is coming. I've left a treasure for your mother—on the road, you must listen to her completely. But this matter must stay within the family. If even a word leaks out… our entire family will perish without a trace."

Wang Daya added this warning to the dream on purpose, to prevent her sons from acting out of sympathy and trying to help others.

In the original story, while fleeing, the Lin family tried to help villagers fight off bandits. But once the villagers saw the Lin family being overwhelmed, they abandoned them without hesitation.

The villagers had used the Lin family as cannon fodder, while they themselves escaped to safety.

That's why Wang Daya had no fondness for the village folk. A group that could so easily discard their companions wasn't worth joining. She planned to lead her entire family away in two days.

The next morning, the three Lin brothers got up early and gathered in the main hall, in front of their father's memorial tablet.

The eldest son spoke first:

"Did you both have the same dream last night?"

Lin Tieshi didn't dare speak the full details, only hinted at it—after all, their father had warned them not to leak anything.

His two younger brothers nodded solemnly, confirming they had the same dream.

That settled it—their father's message had been real. The three of them began to panic. Thankfully, the youngest brother, Lin Tiefeng, had a clear head and suggested they go to their mother.

They figured, if their father had appeared to them, he surely had also given a message to their mother, especially since he mentioned leaving her a treasure.

They hurried to find Wang Daya. Unbeknownst to them, she had been monitoring their discussion with her ability—she wanted to see how they'd react and whether they could be trusted.

Now that they were coming, she sat calmly in her chair, prepared to greet them.

When the eldest knocked, she immediately responded. The brothers exchanged glances—none of them expected their mother to be awake this early.

It was only just past 3 a.m. (the beginning of the yin hour). Usually, no one but them would be awake at this time—yet their mother was already up.

It confirmed what their father had said.

Before they could even speak, Wang Daya said:

"I know you want to ask about the dream. It's real. I dreamed of your father the day before yesterday. That's why I called your youngest brother home and arranged travel permits for the whole family yesterday."

Upon hearing this, the second son couldn't help but grumble internally:

So Dad loved Mom the most after all… telling her everything first. We're always a step behind.

Wang Daya continued:

"Now listen—Tiefeng, write three letters using your left hand. Just write: 'War is coming. Flee immediately.' No names, no other words."

"Eldest, go check what we still have in the cellar."

"Second, keep a close eye on your wife these next two days. Don't say a word to her. If she tells her whole family, they'll drag us down with them."

Faced with their mother's serious tone, even the normally lazy second son didn't dare argue.

As soon as she gave the orders, the other two sons immediately left to carry them out, leaving only the second son still standing there awkwardly.

Wang Daya frowned at the sight and said:

"Go out and collect more firewood. Don't slack off."

Lin Tiezhu, the second son, who had just been thinking he could sit back and relax, was dumbfounded. Under their sharp and capable mother's leadership, there was no room for idleness.

Wang Daya was doing this intentionally—unlike the original host, she had no intention of going easy on her lazy second son.

They were about to flee for their lives—no one could afford to be a freeloader, not even the children.

Soon after, the youngest son returned with the letters. Wang Daya took one look and sighed:

"Tiefeng, take one of these and sneak into town tonight. Slip it into Teacher Zhao's house. The other two—we'll wait to deliver them the night before we leave."

She wasn't handing them over now because she didn't want anyone interfering with her escape plans.

People talk. Her daughters-in-law's families weren't under her control. She could only manage her own family of eight, and even that was already a stretch.

Lin Tiefeng didn't waste time. He nodded and set off to town.

Soon after, the eldest son returned and calmly reported:

"In the cellar, there's 100 jin of brown rice, 20 jin of corn, and two jars of pickled vegetables…"

In total, they had barely enough food for a month, and that was with wild vegetables to supplement. They had nine mouths to feed.

Wang Daya calculated in her mind and said:

"When you go to the fields tomorrow, harvest what's deeper in the plot—leave the outer crops untouched. Collect the corn quickly. As for the sweet potatoes, we'll have to dig those up at night."

Though it had been a year of drought, there was still some harvest left. It wasn't much, but better than nothing. As for rice, their family hadn't planted any this year due to the lack of rain.

As dawn broke, the eldest daughter-in-law began preparing breakfast.

Wang Daya made sure to treat both daughters-in-law equally, rotating household chores fairly. Compared to the village's abusive mother-in-laws, she was already quite reasonable.

On this point, neither of the daughters-in-law had anything to complain about.

During the day, Wang Daya and the two daughters-in-law made dry food cakes at home. The three sons secretly went to harvest corn, while the three grandsons were sent to dig up wild vegetables.

As the head of the household, once Wang Daya gave orders, no one dared disobey. Even if they had doubts, they didn't dare speak up.