Chapter 47 – Cannon-Fodder Old Woman Fleeing Famine (Part 17)

When Wang Daya returned with the children, the tense expressions on the adults' faces instantly relaxed. They no longer looked like ants frantically scurrying on a hot pan.

In fact, her sons were quite confident in their mother's abilities, mainly because they believed she possessed some treasure their late father had left behind.But still, she was getting old, and they couldn't help but worry a little.

The ones who were truly anxious, however, were Madam Wang and the eldest daughter-in-law.As for the youngest daughter-in-law, Zhang Zhaodi, her attitude was quite complicated. She seemed to care only about herself and her husband's survival, showing little concern for her own daughter.

Back when Zhang Zhaodi's first child turned out to be a girl, she had been resentful ever since.Who would've thought that after giving birth to this child, she would never again find peace of mind?

In this era, without a son to carry on the family name, a household was considered as having no descendants.After death, you'd need nephews to perform burial rites and ancestor worship, which women were not allowed to participate in.

Two years ago, Zhang Zhaodi had even spent a few coins in secret to consult Fortune Teller Jia, who, after a quick calculation, told her:"Your first child should've been a boy, but a jinx came and drove him away."

From that day on, Zhang Zhaodi loathed her daughter, believing she was the jinx who had driven away her longed-for son.So, she pretty much ignored her daughter entirely. Even on the road fleeing the famine, it was Lin's second son who took care of the little girl more often.

In reality, Fortune Teller Jia had only said that because Zhang Zhaodi's complaints had already made her feelings clear.The fortune teller simply told her what she wanted to hear, knowing full well that Zhang Zhaodi just wanted to shift the blame for not bearing a son onto her daughter.

So yes, Zhang Zhaodi had held this grudge in her heart all along and treated her daughter coldly.But to her credit, she still had a conscience—she never thought of harming the child.

The rest of the Lin family never realized this was going on, so they didn't think much of Zhang Zhaodi's neglect. After all, valuing sons over daughters was common in this era.

In hardworking peasant families like theirs, the girls often bore the brunt of abuse from their female elders, perhaps due to rivalry among women.

Yet the original Wang Daya had always treated her grandsons and granddaughters equally.When she was young, she had desperately wanted a daughter, but ended up giving birth to three sons in a row.Her last child had even been born posthumously. As a widow, she had long accepted that she would never have a daughter in her lifetime.

Now, Wang Daya's entire focus was on how to ensure her family survived this famine.She had neither the energy nor the interest to change her youngest daughter-in-law's mindset—after all, you can never wake someone pretending to be asleep.

Some people's fate is sealed from birth. Lin Chun'ya was simply destined never to experience her mother's love.

At present, the Lin family was no longer being stalked by those once-oppressive, prying eyes.The others didn't realize Wang Daya had played a role in this—they simply assumed the cannibals had lost interest in them.

As the cannibal groups grew, trust between people disintegrated rapidly. Refugees now dared not travel with strangers, most choosing to stick only with people from their own villages.

And if you thought that traveling in a large group would guarantee safety, you would be gravely mistaken.

Cannibals would sneak into large groups at night to steal children, and sometimes, villagers would betray each other, especially those who had food or children.

Some cannibals weren't even desperate for food anymore—they had simply become addicted to the taste of human flesh, much like opium addiction.It was something they could no longer give up.

These devils would use their leftover food as bait to lure desperate, starving families.

For those on the verge of starvation, some were unwilling to join the cannibals, nor did they want to sacrifice their own children.So dark thoughts would creep in—they would trade other people's children instead.

These situations had already happened multiple times, especially among families who had pre-existing grudges with others.In the end, such groups would inevitably fall apart.

At first, the Lin family would sigh and lament when witnessing these things. But after seeing too much of it, they grew numb.

By now, everyone in the Lin family knew their own limits. None of them were foolish enough to meddle.

Wang Daya was very satisfied with this.If the original host's family had insisted on causing trouble on this road of survival, she wouldn't have hesitated to use special methods to deal with them.Fortunately, they were still relatively self-aware.

What the Lin family didn't know was that an epidemic had already begun spreading.

In ancient times, the dead were typically buried, but famine refugees rarely had time to bury the dead properly.Coupled with the cannibals' grotesque practices, the speed of contagion had accelerated significantly.

From the moment cannibalism began, Wang Daya had required everyone to wear cloth coverings outside, with modern masks hidden underneath, which she had secretly taken from her space.

The cloth was just to prevent others from noticing—the masks inside were the real protection.

These masks had to be used, because Wang Daya knew from her knowledge of modern history:Droughts were always followed by major plagues. She had been preparing for this from the beginning.

Her precautions did draw the attention of other refugees, but after a few glances, they simply dismissed the Lin family as fools who didn't know how to endure the heat.

Most of the Lin family obediently wore their masks, but there were always people who liked to defy orders.

For example, Zhang Zhaodi thought her mother-in-law was just being overly cautious, claiming to prevent disease when no such thing was apparent yet.

Sometimes, she would secretly remove the mask under her cloth covering.

After Wang Daya noticed this and warned her several times to no avail, she finally issued an ultimatum:If you don't wear the mask, leave the group immediately.

This scared Zhang Zhaodi senseless.She knew very well that if she left the group, she wouldn't survive even half a day.

Wang Daya didn't issue this warning out of kindness—she was afraid that if Zhang Zhaodi got sick, she would infect the rest of the group, which would endanger her mission.

The more she thought about it, the more Wang Daya resented Zhang Zhaodi's self-destructive behavior.She directly ordered Lin's second son to keep a close watch on his wife, and if she violated the rule again, both of them would be kicked out together.

This threat was specifically aimed at Zhang Zhaodi, because Wang Daya understood her—she didn't care about the rest of the Lin family, but she did care about her husband's safety.

As for Lin's second son, he was just collateral damage.Well, that's what he got for having such poor judgment and marrying a woman like this in the first place.

The rest of the Lin family, including Madam Wang and her three children, didn't fully understand why Wang Daya was so strict, but seeing her serious expression, they couldn't help but comply.