Ordinary observers in fast time travel

Chapter 1204 A New Beginning

Shi Jia opened her eyes, and what greeted her was a cascading green vine, through which blinding sunlight shone down. Her senses gradually returned, and her back ached and went numb. With difficulty, she turned to her side, braced her left hand on the stone ground, and sat up.

She looked around; the mountain in front of her had sunken in, forming a natural cave. The vines and grass overhead were an astonishing green.

She noticed that several vines seemed to be broken, which suggested that Li Xiaohua's body hadn't completely fallen apart thanks to them.

The smell of grass mixed with soil helped Shi Jia clear her mind.

Suddenly, a string of bright red fruits caught Shi Jia's eye. As if she had been instantly injected with energy, she stood up with incredible agility and stumbled towards the string of red fruits.

The sweet and sour juice filled her mouth, and Shi Jia was instantly gripped by hunger. She frantically picked fruit and stuffed it into her mouth, but her stomach felt like a bottomless pit, and she could never get full.

"Burp~" Shi Jia let out a burp, and her rationality returned.

Shi Jia rubbed her swollen belly and looked around. Across from the cave was a forest overgrown with grass and trees.

Wow wow~
Shi Jia's ears twitched; she heard the sound of flowing water. Following the sound, she found a clear spring. A refreshing mist washed over her, and Shi Jia could almost taste the sweetness of the spring water.

With caves, food, and water, it was a decent shelter.

If you can't survive outside, you can always hide here.

However, according to the historical trajectory of this world, the country will gradually improve in three or four years, and she cannot stay in the mountains forever.

Shi Jia washed her hands to remove the stickiness of the fruit juice. As she washed, she couldn't help but savor the taste of the fruit, and she subconsciously looked at the wild cherry tree laden with red berries.

Her gaze shifted slightly, landing on the vines climbing the mountainside. She walked over, carefully examined the size of the vines, and selected a vine about 5 millimeters thick to begin pulling forcefully.

She plans to weave a basket so she can pick all the wild cherries from the tree.

After a great deal of effort, a rather simple basket was finally made.

Shi Jia was hungry again, so she ate a dozen or so bunches of wild cherries, regaining some strength before continuing her work. It must be said that although Li Xiaohua was as thin as a bamboo pole, she was still very agile. Climbing up and down was no problem for her.

After picking most of the wild cherries in his basket, Shi Jia picked a handful of wild grass to cover them up.

The basket of cherries weighed about 20 kilograms, and Shi Jia found it a bit difficult to carry, but she carried it anyway so that she wouldn't go hungry later.

She looked up to observe the contours of the cliff, determined the direction, and then carefully stepped into the unknown jungle.

Following Li Xiaohua's memory, Shi Jia quickly emerged from the dense forest and arrived at a barren hilltop. It was completely bare; there was no grass on the ground, and the tree bark had been stripped off.

She suddenly realized she'd overstepped her bounds by adding a handful of weeds. There wasn't even any grass left on the mountain, let alone food. Wasn't adding more grass to her basket just like protesting too much?

She looked around, wanting to find some dry firewood to put up and cover herself so as not to attract too much attention. But looking around, there was no firewood, and even fallen leaves were trampled into the mud.

Shi Jia had no choice but to give up and follow her memory home. Li Xiaohua's ancestors were from the south. Because of the war, her grandfather came to the north, married Li Xiaohua's grandmother, and settled down here.

Therefore, Li Xiaohua's house was not in a good location; it was on the outermost edge of the village, meaning that if Shi Jia wanted to go home, he would have to cross the entire village.

But Shi Jia was lucky; it wasn't evening yet and no one was wandering around the village.

Shi Jia returned home with a heavy heart, and finally breathed a sigh of relief the moment she closed the courtyard gate.

She couldn't help but chuckle, "She's really getting more and more regressive as she gets older, even going home is nerve-wracking." Putting the basket in the kitchen, Shi Jia first looked at Li Xiaohua's house. There were three large brick houses in total: two were bedrooms and storage rooms, and one was a kitchen, living room, and dining room. About seven or eight meters behind the houses, there was also a latrine.

These are all properties that Grandpa Li acquired when he settled in Xinghua Village.

Finally, Shi Jia returned to the kitchen and opened the rice container. The moment the lid was lifted, a small spider scurried away happily. The container was empty, but a diligent little spider had spun a beautiful web around the edge.

"Sigh, no wonder the little girl doesn't want to live anymore. What will she live on?" Shi Jia slammed the lid of the rice jar shut, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Cough cough cough~"

Shi Jia was coughing up tears and snot.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The courtyard gate was pounded loudly. Immediately afterwards, a hoarse, aged voice rang out, "Little Flower, are you back? Open the door."

It was the voice of Granny Wu from next door. The family next door were also outsiders. Well, you could say that 80% of Xinghua Village's residents were outsiders.

During the war, almost everyone in Xinghua Village died.

Shi Jia rushed out and opened the door, where a thin, dark, and wrinkled face came into view. Granny Wu was over 80 years old and a survivor of the old dynasty. She looked Shi Jia up and down with her cloudy eyes, "It's good you're back. Were you hurt?"

She gets up early every day. She hears Li Xiaohua leaving before dawn, but she hasn't seen the little girl come back. She's always worried that something has happened to her.

"I'm fine, Grandma, would you like to come in and sit down?"

"No, they'll be back from work soon, and I need to go back and cook. Here, take this." Granny Wu slipped something warm into Shi Jia's hand.

Shi Jia took it instinctively, and when she looked down, she found it was a roasted potato.

"Grandma, I don't want this."

Grandma Wu quickly stepped aside, saying, "Take it if you want. Have you run out of food at home?" Before Shi Jia could react, she leaned on her cane and shakily left.

The old woman was hunched over and walked slowly. The two courtyards were only 34 meters apart, but it took her more than five minutes to walk there.

"Thank you." Shi Jia's tears had somehow slipped down her cheeks, or perhaps they stemmed from Li Xiaohua's emotions. She just stared blankly as the old woman opened the door, then, as if remembering something, turned around, waved to Shi Jia, and then stepped into the yard and closed the door.

Shi Jia subconsciously gripped the warm potato tightly, and the soft potato burst open impatiently when she squeezed it hard.

She quickly let go, wiped her tears with the back of her hand, and went back into the house. She ate the warm potatoes and felt as if she had never felt so relaxed before.

She encouraged herself and began tidying up the room. The room was a mess, with many dirty clothes left unwashed and piled up, emitting a foul odor.

Shi Jia naturally couldn't stand it. She threw all the clothes into the yard, thinking that she would wash them all when it rained another day.

Throwing it away is out of the question; nobody's broke these days. Shi Jia's cheat abilities, aside from her memories, have all been sealed. The reason her memories weren't sealed is mainly because her client, Li Xiaohua, didn't want to live anymore.

For the next ten years in this small world, Shi Jia could live entirely for herself. She didn't need to consider the client's perspective when handling matters.

After cleaning the room, Shi Jia was panting heavily again, and she desperately wanted a hot bath. But the truth was, she would be content with just a cup of hot water.

Looking at the empty water vat, Shi Jia had no choice but to pick up the buckets and head towards the old well in the center of the village.

This is the only well in Xinghua Village that still has water. It's also the reason why the people of Xinghua Village were able to stay in the village instead of fleeing the famine.