The rest of the villagers looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
After a while, they finally wore helpless expressions, returned to their temporary shelter to gather some things, and slowly made their way toward Zhao Chunhua.
Of course, there were still a few who stubbornly thought they could hold out and stayed where they were.
Seeing the villagers carrying their things toward Zhao Chunhua, members of the first and second branches of the Zhang family immediately grabbed one of them.
"Why are you taking these things to her?" they demanded.
The villager replied, helplessly, "Alas, my husband is very sick and cannot hold on any longer. I'm going to exchange these things for some herbs to treat him."
"What? That cruel woman actually asked you to exchange things for herbs?"
Bai Xiaowei screamed, staring at the villager in disbelief.
The villager felt that her words were far too harsh. Not only did they insult Zhao Chunhua, but they also belittled the value of her husband. She glared at her, pulled her hands away, and walked off.
"Second sister-in-law is so cunning! She tricked so many people into coming to her. Look at all the things they're carrying!"
Zhu Fangfang's eyes reddened with jealousy.
Zhang Defu and Zhang Laosan looked even more displeased.
"Brother, we might as well take advantage of this instead of letting that cruel woman profit," Zhang Laosan said viciously, glancing at the villagers.
He pulled Zhang Defu aside and whispered his plan.
Zhang Defu immediately understood and nodded in agreement.
"We can also gather herbs. Instead of going to her, why don't you come to us?" Zhang Defu called out, rushing to catch up with the villagers.
Seeing that he had everyone's attention, Zhang Laosan quickly added, "We're not as greedy as that woman."
When no one responded, he winked slyly at his wife.
"Do you really think she will sincerely save you? I know my second sister-in-law's character very well. She holds grudges tightly. She's surely still thinking about what happened two days ago."
Zhu Fangfang immediately covered her mouth dramatically and sighed.
Bai Xiaowei quickly piled on. "Third sister-in-law, you're right. Second sister-in-law has always been vengeful. Anyone who offends her never ends well."
She then pulled out her son, pointing to a scar on his forehead. "Look, last time my son tried to eat her food, she beat him. The scar hasn't even healed yet."
Her words sounded so convincing that everyone couldn't help but remember the old dispute between the two families over food.
Seeing their hesitation, Bai Xiaowei pressed further. "She's so cruel to her own family, let alone outsiders. If she asks you to deliver the goods this time, who knows what she'll do?
We're all refugees, and food is as important as life. You have to think carefully."
The villagers hesitated. "But now she's the only one who knows how to use herbs. Someone in our family is really sick and may not survive without her medicine."
Hearing this, Bai Xiaowei pushed Zhang Defu forward.
"Who said she's the only one who knows herbs? The head of our family knows as well."
Zhu Fangfang quickly stepped up too, tugging her husband along. "My husband knows too!"
The villagers looked at them skeptically, clearly not believing their words.
"If you don't believe me, look at how healthy we are—we know how to find herbs to treat illnesses," several of them said, speaking as if rehearsed.
Seeing their rosy complexions, the villagers felt a flicker of doubt.
At first, these people had been quite ill, especially Zhang Defu, who had been coughing for days. But now, they seemed perfectly fine.
"Our herbs are far more effective than hers," Zhang Laosan boasted, glancing at everyone's reactions. He patted his chest and added, "And we're not as black-hearted as my second sister-in-law. We only need half of what she wants."
Zhu Fangfang stared at the items the villagers were holding.
"Half isn't too little. After all, there are so many villagers," she thought.
When the villagers heard they want only half of what they were to give Zhao Chunhua, they hesitated only slightly.
"To be fair, we're not greedy, so we're only taking a little. We're not charging intentionally—after all, it's difficult to find herbs," Zhang Defu continued, speaking slowly and deliberately. His words immediately convinced many of the villagers.
"That makes sense. My family don't have enough food either. We should try and save as much as possible. I'll trust you this time."
With that, one person handed the cloth bag in his hand to Zhang Defu.
Once the first person stepped forward, the rest followed suit.
After a while, most of the villagers had been brought over by Zhang Defu and his men.
The two Zhang branches happily collected everyone's offerings with smiles on their faces.
"Wait a moment—we're going to gather medicinal herbs," Zhang Defu said. He and the others walked to a corner and began sorting through their harvest.
"These will be enough for us to eat for half a month," Zhu Fangfang said, her face lighting up.
She nudged Zhang Laosan gently. "Laosan, go with your brother to collect some herbs and stabilize those people first."
They exchanged glances and couldn't help smiling.
In truth, they didn't know anything about herbal medicine. A few days ago, they had secretly used the herbs Zhao Chunhua had found, boiled them, and the concoction had really worked.
After drinking it, they were fine—but naturally, they hadn't told the other villagers.
Meanwhile, Zhao Chunhua noticed that half of the villagers didn't come. She saw Zhang Defu and the others sneaking up the mountain and immediately understood what was going on.
"We are different. We trust you. We were wrong last time. We hope you can forgive us and save us this time," the villagers who stayed behind said, approaching her with flattering smiles.
"We're all from the same village. I'm not the kind of person who would just stand by while someone suffers," Zhao Chunhua said calmly.
"But I have to make it clear that I'm not a real doctor. I just know some herbs, and I can't guarantee they'll cure the disease," she added.
Hearing this, everyone felt a pang of disappointment.
"This…"
Zhao Chunhua ignored their expressions and continued, "If you trust me and want to try the medicine I've prepared, then stay."
The villagers thought for a moment, then gritted their teeth and said, "We believe you."
They handed over the things they had brought.
"My husband started having a fever yesterday, and now he's burning up all over. Please… give him some medicine. I'm afraid he won't last much longer," a woman said, handing Zhao Chunhua a small bag of brown rice. She clutched Zhao Chunhua's hand tightly, tears in her eyes.
Zhao Chunhua recognized her—she was the wife of Zhang Dadao from the western part of the village.
Zhang Dadao's parents had died several years ago, and the couple have no children. They had support each other and their bond is very close.
"I'll go to the mountains now," Zhao Chunhua said, gently patting the woman's hand to reassure her.
She then asked Zhang Tianbao and Zhang Tianfu to finish packing, and borrowed a bamboo backpack from the village chief before heading up the mountain in search of medicine.
By chance, she soon spotted people lounging in the shade of the trees—Zhang Defu and his companions.