Chris Clark said softly, “Big brother is knowledgeable and experienced; he’s not an ordinary person. And you should know, he’s not the type to talk nonsense... Since he said so, he must have his reasons. Big brother is right—these days, with war and chaos everywhere, where can you find any justice? Henry Miller can act with impunity even in the county seat, let alone in our small Zhongyang Town... People like him simply don’t care about reason.”

　　“So what should we do?”

　　“Well... I haven’t figured that out yet.”

　　The Bolton Family hesitated for a moment, then stammered, “How about we go to the girl’s place? Didn’t she send word a while ago, asking us to come over... I heard that Andrew Thompson is generous and virtuous, and life over there is pretty good. Plus, there are a lot of relatives on that side, so if anything happens, at least we’ll have someone to speak for us... What do you think?”

　　Chris Clark thought for a moment, then grinned, “That would be nice, but if we go there, we’ll be living under someone else’s roof, always having to watch their faces...”

　　“So what if we’re living under someone else’s roof? Here in Zhongyang Town, we’re not, but when something happens, aside from Big Brother Harris, who has ever stood up for us? Our son-in-law isn’t a petty man; he’s always said we should come over. Besides, don’t you have your skills? Even if we go there, it’s not really living off others!”

　　Hearing this, Chris Clark was moved.

　　What the mother of my children said is true. My skills may not be top-notch, but I can do repairs and odd jobs, so we wouldn’t have to rely on our son-in-law’s family for support.

　　Supporting ourselves is just a matter of changing places—what’s the difference?

　　“What about Big Brother Harris...?”

　　“If you can’t bear to leave Big Brother Harris, then let’s talk to him... He has Hutou with him, and even if he leaves Zhongyang Town, he doesn’t have anywhere else to go. Why not go together? We can look out for each other. Big Brother Harris is so capable—maybe in a new place, he could really make something of himself.”

　　Chris Clark nodded repeatedly, clearly persuaded by The Bolton Family.

　　“Then let’s go talk to Big Brother Harris now. If we really are moving, it’s going to be a hassle.”

　　Chris Clark and The Bolton Family discussed for a long time. Seeing that it was getting late, they decided to make dinner before going to find William Harris to discuss things.

　　However, when the couple entered the inner room, they found that Ryan Clark had already fallen asleep on the couch... So they left the prepared food on the stove, didn’t wake Ryan Clark, and quietly closed the door as they left.

　　Not long after the couple left, the door quietly opened a crack, and a small, thin figure slipped out, disappearing into the night...

　　...

　　Of course, William Harris agreed with Chris Clark’s idea!

　　In fact, if he and his son left Zhongyang Town, they really had nowhere else to go.

　　A few of his old comrades were still alive, but most had become bandit chiefs in the mountains, not the kind of people William Harris wanted to get involved with. It had taken great effort to escape that mess—why jump back in? For Matthew Harris’s sake alone, William Harris didn’t want to take that path! Being a bandit never ends well.

　　As for Chris Clark’s son-in-law, William Harris knew a bit about him.

　　Chris Clark’s son-in-law was named Samuel Foster, from Deng Village in Jiyang...

　　This Deng Village, while not a famous or noble clan, was still well-known in Jiyang—a sizable clan village.

　　The whole village had over a hundred households, nearly six hundred people.

　　More than seventy percent of the residents were surnamed Deng, forming a considerable force in Jiyang.

　　Currently, the head of Deng Village was named Peter Foster, a subordinate general of the Governor of Jingzhou, James Madison, stationed in the county seat of Xinye... Chris Clark’s son-in-law Samuel Foster was from a collateral branch and didn’t have a close connection with Peter Foster. But being a Deng still meant a decent background, and now he served as an assistant official in the Jiyang county office. The position wasn’t high, but it was a real job with authority... With his support, William Harris and his son, as well as Chris Clark’s family, would have someone to rely on.

　　Previously, Chris Clark was still reluctant to leave his homeland.

　　But now, with things as they are, he didn’t think about it so much. After discussing with William Harris, William Harris immediately raised both hands in agreement...

　　“Brother, in my opinion, we shouldn’t delay—let’s set out as soon as possible.”

　　Chris Clark scratched his head and said softly, “Brother, is there really such a rush...?”

　　“The longer we wait, the more things can go wrong, brother!”

　　William Harris advised, “Don’t worry so much. Let go of what needs to be let go. Once we’re settled, we can get everything back.”

　　“In that case... I’ll do as you say, brother.”

　　The two families discussed for a long time, and before they knew it, it was very late.

　　Chris Clark and his wife took their leave, while William Harris woke up Matthew Harris to get ready to pack.

　　“Dad, when are we leaving?”

　　“The sooner the better, of course!” William Harris took a large leather bag from the chest and packed up his bows, arrows, and other weapons. In these troubled times, you can’t be without weapons. These bows and weapons were all collected from the battlefield back in the day, and were quite well made.

　　“By the way, where’s the knife I bought you yesterday?”

　　William Harris suddenly asked.

　　Matthew Harris was taken aback and replied casually, “Frank borrowed it... He thought my knife looked nice and wanted to play with it. I’ll get it back from him in the morning.”

　　“Frank is leaving?”

　　William Harris nodded, about to continue packing, when he suddenly shuddered, turned around and asked, “Why does Frank want the knife?”

　　Matthew Harris said in confusion, “I don’t know!”