Without CT scans, electrocardiographs, or various medical equipment, Gu Chaobei relied on years of accumulated medical experience, observing, listening, asking, and examining. After a thorough check, Gu Chaobei told the family:
"The elder has no serious illness, just fainted from hunger!"
"Hunger, fainted from hunger?"
The family members finally understood.
Indeed, after a night of fleeing floods and tossing and turning, without sleep, and not having eaten anything since morning, it was understandable that an elder would faint from hunger.
Gu Chaobei took out a small piece of brown sugar from his pocket. It was reserved for making brown sugar water for his wife, but it was put to good use now. He put the whole piece into the elder's mouth.
The elder, though fainted from hunger, was not entirely unconscious, just extremely weak.
With a piece of candy in his mouth, as saliva dissolved it, he slowly began to swallow. The sweet taste went straight to the crown of his head, bringing not only sweetness to his mouth but also a rapid increase in his blood sugar.
Soon, the elder slowly opened his eyes, and his clear gaze indicated his consciousness had returned.
"It's nothing serious, we'll feed him some congee later."
Gu Chaobei breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Uncle Gu, for saving my grandfather!" the elder's family member said gratefully. "I'll find a way to return the sugar to you later."
How precious a piece of sugar was, capable of saving a life at this moment, it was truly a life-saving elixir!
The elder's family was impoverished; they couldn't even afford salt. Currently, they couldn't afford to repay the sugar.
Gu Chaobei understood their situation and repeatedly shook his head, saying:
"Forget it, no need to return it. Just take good care of your grandfather."
"You are our benefactor, our savior!"
The young man was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes.
Gu Qingcheng watched from the side, greatly impressed.
She never imagined that a small piece of brown sugar could save a life.
Moreover, she thought her father's act of saving someone was incredibly cool!
As the elder's family expressed their profuse thanks, Gu Chaobei quickly helped him up, repeatedly saying he didn't deserve it and that it would shorten his lifespan.
Just as Gu Qingcheng's blood was boiling, the system sent her ten more "refreshment points," sourced from her admiration for her father!
After the situation calmed down, Gu Qingcheng stepped forward and tugged at her father's sleeve, saying:
"Dad, let's find a place to have breakfast!"
"Alright." Gu Chaobei, who wasn't tired from saving someone, was exhausted from deflecting the patient's family's gratitude.
Nothing was more important than having three regular meals a day. Hearing his daughter say this, he knew she was hungry and quickly agreed.
The villagers were all huddled together that morning, not spread out much. It was inconvenient for them to start a fire and cook, and they didn't want to attract too much attention.
Gu Qingcheng then bought ready-made sandwiches from the Mountain Cat Supermarket.
The Mountain Cat Supermarket offered a wide variety of sandwiches, and one could even choose flavors.
Gu Qingcheng chose tuna, seaweed, and shredded pork. Her father chose beef and purple cabbage. Her mother had a more unusual choice: pork, preserved vegetables, and shredded pork flavor.
Gu Qingcheng didn't know when sandwiches started having a preserved vegetable flavor.
But as long as she liked it, it was fine.
The family found a sheltered, secluded spot and quickly ate their sandwiches, then gulped down a large bottle of energy drink: Happy Fat House Water!
The three of them immediately felt refreshed and full of vigor.
What satisfied the family of three the most was that since arriving here, they no longer had to worry about their weight.
Previously, Gu Chaobei and Hu Lanfang had both shown signs of middle-aged spread, weighing ten to twenty pounds over their ideal weight.
They would joke about it being "happiness weight" while also wishing they could lose weight.
But losing weight was never easy. Eating light meals would leave their mouths feeling bland after three days, and they would then binge eat violently out of hunger. The few pounds they managed to lose would be quickly regained with an extra two pounds through compensatory overeating.
As for exercising, they had bought gym memberships, but the gym had absconded with their money before they had even visited three times.
But now, it was wonderful. They could eat as much as they wanted without gaining weight. Perhaps it was due to the immense exertion of their journey. With this realization, they could indulge their appetites to their hearts' content.
After appeasing the villagers' emotions, Village Chief Gu decided they had to continue their journey in the afternoon, hoping to reach Jinsha City before evening.
Some villagers were like overgrown babies. Upon hearing that they had to depart immediately, they refused, sitting on the ground and crying:
"Village Chief, we just experienced a great flood last night and almost lost our lives. Our homes were heavily damaged, and now you want us to rush on our way? We don't want to go!"
"Yes, we're exhausted! Walking, walking, walking all day. What's the point of reaching Jinsha City? We'll still be broke and unable to buy anything!"
Some villagers echoed these sentiments.
These negative emotions, if allowed to spread through the group, would cause the entire party to disintegrate.
Village Chief Gu was the patriarch of the Gu family, but he also had to consider the integration and unity of other families.
As the village chief, he deeply understood that these villagers, who were inherently weak in their ability to resist hardship, could only survive by sticking together to reach the south.
Moreover, reaching the south wouldn't be the end. Only by uniting could they secure territory there, not be looked down upon by other powerful factions, or even be conquered and reduced to slavery.
Even if he didn't consider himself, he had to think about the future of his descendants.
Village Chief Gu therefore painstakingly said:
"Jinsha City is merely a transit point on our journey south. They have fresh Hula Tang and fragrant meat pies. Those with money can satisfy their appetites, and those without can work odd jobs in Jinsha City for a few days to support their families.
We will rest in Jinsha City for a while. Once everyone has gathered more food and supplies, we will continue our journey. In the pleasant climate of the south, vast lands await us to cultivate, and our descendants will have endless food and drink."
Village Chief Gu's words were very practical and directly addressed everyone's needs, while also providing a vision of a bright future, painting a grand picture that everyone yearned for.
They were all tired of a life of spending money without earning any along the way.
Although they were poor villagers, when migrating as a family, they would always bring some valuable items, even if they were poor on the road.
Things like ancestral silver bracelets, silver chains, and old ginseng items were the confidence these villagers carried on their journey.
However, these were the most valuable items they possessed. With daily expenses for food and drink, their accounts were always outflows, never inflows. Who wouldn't feel uneasy?
Even Liu the Butcher's family was struggling to hold on.
Upon hearing Village Chief Gu's words, everyone's spirits were immediately lifted.
Indeed, it was not right to only be fleeing famine. Finding a place to stay and taking on odd jobs to supplement their income was comforting to the heart.
Gu Qingcheng noticed that Village Chief Gu was quite capable and good at stirring people's emotions. After his speech, most people's spirits were reignited, and they prepared to head to Jinsha City.
As expected, those who could be leaders were not simple.
Seeing so many overgrown babies throwing a tantrum earlier, she was ashamed for them. How old were they to refuse to move? If they didn't want to go, she would just leave them behind.
If she were the village chief, she wouldn't coddle them.
But she never expected that Village Chief Gu's few words would re-ignite their enthusiasm for the journey.