I survived the famine by scavenging and supported my family.

Speaking of the county town, Ning's father sighed, "Everyone in the county town is saying that God won't send rain, that the drought will continue this year, and that grain prices have gone up again."

"It's gone up again?" Zhao Ningning asked. "How much is it now?"

Ning's father held up his hand and gestured, "Thirty coins, almost double the price."

"At this price, will anyone still buy grain?" Zhao Qi asked curiously.

"Yes, those who live in the county town but don't own land have no choice but to buy," Ning's mother said. "But they don't buy much. Now, being fat is all the rage in the county town. The fatter a family is, the more money they have that they can afford to eat their fill."

Is that even possible? Zhao Ningning pondered, stroking her chin. It's currently the fifth month of the lunar calendar, which is already the sixth month of the solar calendar. If it doesn't rain soon, the harvest from the fields won't be good this year, even with just irrigation.

The land in Ningning's family is only able to be irrigated to about 70-80% capacity thanks to the family using space to transport water.

However, the planting season started late this year, and the beans are growing slowly, so the bean harvest may not be until October.

There are still three months left. If it doesn't rain in these three months, then the Great Zhou Dynasty might really be in chaos.

Last year's harvest had already dropped significantly. Many families had to pay grain tax and switch entirely to coarse grains, mixing them with wild vegetables in the summer and dried vegetables from the summer in the winter, just to barely make ends meet.

If the weather continues like this year, and the harvest is even worse, many families won't be able to make a living...

Zhao Ningning shook her head, trying to clear these jumbled thoughts from her mind.

As they were walking into the house, Ning's mother suddenly exclaimed with delight, "Wow, my space has been upgraded!"

The three of them paused, and Ning's father immediately reached out and grabbed his wife's hand, "Really?! How old are you now?"

Looking at the system notification on the panel, Ning's mother said, "The system says my space is now 200 square meters."

"A direct doubling of the price?!" Zhao Ningning exclaimed in shock. "Mom! My dear Mom! Your space wasn't even 100 square meters in winter!"

Now it's 200 square meters! What do you call that? Although the upgrade is slow, the upgrade is huge!

Zhao Qi did some mental calculations and came up with a calculation model. He said, "Mom's space should grow exponentially, and it is also related to time. In the early stage, the space is small and the upgrade time is short. Later, the space is large and the upgrade time takes longer."

"However, each upgrade doubles the size. The initial space could only hold copper coins, but now it's about the size of our house."

Hearing Xiao Qi's analysis, Ning's mother made a rough estimate, clapped her hands, and said, "It's true! Xiao Qi is so quick-witted! I never expected him to level up in this way."

Now Ningma's space is 200 square meters. Zhao Ningning unlocked the room to the balcony, which means that one-tenth of the space in the house is now unlocked.

The larger the space, the more things can be stuffed in. After Ning's mother finished being happy, she went straight to the house and swept it up, putting away all the firewood and coal she had previously hoarded. Suddenly, a large space was freed up in the house.

It's discreet in the storage space and easy to access.

To celebrate the space upgrade, Ning's mother, who originally only planned to eat some frozen rice dumplings for the Dragon Boat Festival, asked Ning to take out the sago and half a watermelon and make sago pudding for the whole family.

It's only the Dragon Boat Festival, and it's already so hot that people don't want to move at all; it's just as hot at night.

Zhao Ningning's family was alright; she could freeze ice in the freezer and move it out of the room. Ning's father used the principle of a hot water bottle to have a blacksmith make two flat "pots." When the lid was opened, ice could be placed inside. They were wrapped in cotton bags made by Ning's mother, and when she slept at night, they could be placed close to her body to keep cool for most of the night.

Many other families in the village are so hot that they can't sleep, and their legs feel like they're floating when they walk during the day.

After the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather gets even hotter.

Following her daily routine, Zhao Ningning would put the trash she had collected in the elevator lobby.

As soon as Zhao Ningning entered the space, she felt comfortable all over by the constant temperature and cool air.

As the burning sensation on her skin subsided, Zhao Ningning let out a comfortable sigh.

If she could, she would love to stay in the space 24 hours a day, but since the rest of her family is still out, she can only stay in the space for a long time at night when she is sleeping.

There was still ice cream in the refrigerator. Thinking that she hadn't had ice cream for two days, Zhao Ningning walked from the entrance to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door, took out two tubs, gave one tub to her parents, and gave her brother her favorite pineapple flavor.

After doing all this, Zhao Ningning returned to her spatial dimension.

Her newly acquired trash-collecting skill hasn't appeared yet.

Zhao Ningning checked the sky and waited until it was about time before opening the panel. She hesitated between the two buildings, then selected the building next door and clicked search.

[System: Congratulations, host Zhao Ningning! You've found a treasure trove of junk! Open it now? Yes/No]

What? A garbage gift pack? Zhao Ningning's hand paused on the panel. Before, when she picked up garbage, the system had notified her that she had found a bag of garbage.

Today they even gave a specific name and surname as a reminder. Is there something special about this bag of trash?

Zhao Ningning walked out of the entrance hall and into the elevator lobby, which was her "workspace." She usually dismantled trash here to avoid it smelling bad.

Select "Yes".

A flash of white light suddenly appeared before her eyes, much brighter than when ordinary trash appeared before. Zhao Ningning couldn't help but reach out to block the light. When the white light faded, a small box appeared in front of her.

"What the hell! It's just garbage even if you put it in a box..." Zhao Ningning checked the box to make sure it was safe and had no strange smell before looking to see what was inside.

It turned out to be a pile of books.

Zhao Ningning had found books before, but those were children's picture books and encyclopedias.

The books this time look a bit worn, and they are all novels.

Zhao Ningning took out all the books and arranged them in a stack. After a quick glance, she noticed that all the books appeared to be novels, and two of them were even on her bookshelf in her room.

Most of the time, Zhao Ningning picks up scraps and trash; she rarely finds anything "useful."

She hadn't read a book in a very long time. Her previous picture books and encyclopedias had been read so many times by her family during the winter when she was bored that they were practically falling apart. These novels were a good opportunity to take them out to read and help them pass the time.

No wonder it's called a "garbage gift pack".

While thinking, Zhao Ningning kept moving her hands. She folded the cardboard box and put it aside, then moved the pile of books to the sink and wiped the dust off the books with a dry towel.

After wiping it clean, she put the books aside, picked out one that interested her, and with only one light on in the entryway, Zhao Ningning happily nestled in the space to read the novel.

This is a novel about fleeing famine in ancient times.

Zhao Ningning opened the book and saw that the female protagonist was reborn. In her previous life, her mother married a domestic abuser and was beaten all over her body. When a natural disaster struck, her family embarked on a journey of escape. Her mother starved to death in order to leave her a bite to eat.

She was also sold by her scumbag father, just to get food.

The person who bought her had ill intentions. On her way to escape, she accidentally fell off a cliff. When she opened her eyes again, it was the Dragon Boat Festival.

—Dragon Boat Festival?

Zhao Ningning thought, "Isn't this a coincidence? Today is the Dragon Boat Festival."

She continued reading.

The female lead cleverly devised a series of schemes, resulting in the death of the abusive husband. The female lead's mother and the female lead were kicked out of their home, but it didn't matter. The female lead found herself a good stepfather, and with her matchmaking, the man who had been widowed for a long time married the female lead's mother.

The stepfather also had a daughter who was a year younger than her, but the female protagonist didn't care. Unexpectedly, she activated a spiritual spring space and used it to store a large amount of food. When natural disasters struck, her family lived comfortably on their journey to escape famine...

Hiss—Zhao Ningning took a deep breath, thinking to herself: Is this still a story about fleeing famine?

Skipping the middle section, Zhao Ningning flipped to the very end and saw the ending.

"The female protagonist's family and the male protagonist's family eventually settled in Sicheng. With the natural disaster over, the Great Zhou Dynasty finally had a chance to breathe..."

Wait a moment.

Zhao Ningning paused in her movements.

The Great Zhou Dynasty?

Although it might be a coincidence, Zhao Ningning sat up and skimmed through the book from beginning to end.

The village where the female protagonist lives is called Luhua Village, the county town is called Moshi County, and the prefectural city is called Ningzhou. It is neither Wangli Village nor Fengning County. Zhao Ningning put the book face down on the ground, thought for a moment, and got up to go outside the space to find her parents.

They were still awake. It was too hot, and even if they could cool off by holding an ice curling iron, it would still be a bit unbearable.

When Ning's father heard Zhao Ningning calling them from outside the door, he jumped up, lit a candle, and opened the door.

"What's wrong, Ningning?" Ning's mother sat up, and Zhao Ningning sat down next to her. She took out a fan and fanned her daughter.

"I was picking up trash just now and found a box of books." Zhao Ningning handed the books to her mother. "I discovered that the female protagonist in this famine-stricken novel lives in a place also called the Great Zhou Dynasty."

"Huh?!" Ning's father immediately thought of those transmigration novels. "We're not transmigrated into a book, are we?"

"No, the place where the female lead is located is different from ours, but I was thinking, what if she's not in our village?" Zhao Ningning shrugged, "So I brought it out to ask you."

"Which village and county is she in?" Ning's father boasted that he had spent the longest time recuperating in the county town, and he often chatted with Doctor Cheng, so he knew a little about the affairs of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Zhao Ningning recounted the information she had just read in the book, and her father lowered his head in thought, "I haven't heard of that before."

Ning's mother comforted Ningning, "It's okay, we can just go to the county town tomorrow and ask around to see if there's such a place."

The next morning, Ning's father took a ride on a village oxcart to the county town. Once there, he didn't go around asking around, but instead went to a bookstore and bought a geography book.

They took the book to a teahouse and sat down. While drinking tea, Ning's father flipped through the pages and actually found the place name Ningning had mentioned in the book.

If the Great Zhou Dynasty might be a case of name clash, then the chances of Luhua Village, Moshi County, and Ningzhou Prefecture all sharing the same name are extremely slim.

Not only do they share the same name, but the chances that Luhua Village is located in Moshi County and also in Ningzhou Prefecture are extremely slim.

Upon seeing this, Ning's father couldn't sit still any longer. He immediately paid the bill, took the book, and went to find Dr. Cheng.

Dr. Cheng still had some patience for this familiar patient. It was hot, and there weren't many patients at the clinic. He took the geography book and looked at it. He had just been to the place that Ning's father asked about.

Not far from Ningzhou Prefecture, he had previously traveled with his master and visited that village to treat patients.

After learning that the village really existed, Ning's father rushed home.

After telling her family that the village was real, Zhao Ningning's family closed the door to the main room and held a family meeting there.

"Ningning, what do you think?" Ning's mother asked.

Zhao Ningning said, "This is a system notification that says 'Garbage Gift Pack,' which is different from the usual notifications."

"I've read the other books, they're all normal novels, but this one has place names that are repeated here."

"I looked at it again today, and it was also in the fourth year of drought that the female protagonist's family began to flee the famine."

The more Zhao Ningning spoke, the more serious her family members became.

Ning's mother pressed her hand down: "Don't say anything more, let's be prepared, just in case..."

"If we really have to flee the famine, we've made preparations, so we won't panic. If it turns out to be a false alarm, with the current drought, cold wave, and rat infestation, it's no different from fleeing the famine. We're prepared, so we can still manage at home."

Ning's father nodded, echoing Ning's mother's words, "It's good to plan ahead, but it's not good to be completely unprepared."

After Zhao Ningning finished reading the novel, Zhao Qi also read it twice. Based on the plot, he deduced the time when the female protagonist's family fled the famine.

It was August.

It's been less than two months.

According to the location indicated in the local gazetteer, the woman's house was further south, so it's estimated that they would have moved to this area after fleeing the famine.

In any case, they don't have much time left.

Everyone in the family worked around the clock to prepare for their escape from the famine.

The food that Zhao Ningning keeps in her space refreshes every day is brought out for Ning's mother. Some of it is cooked, and some is stored in Ning's mother's space.

She didn't even spare the ice blocks in the space. Zhao Ningning went back and forth in the space every day, messing around with wave after wave of things.

She wasn't very good at cooking, so her mother told her to keep an eye on things in the space and steam any pre-made buns or other steamable items in the space's kitchen.

Take out the raw food items, and after Ning's father processes them, braise them in the braising liquid he made earlier.

Zhao Ningning's house was surrounded by neighbors on both sides. After cooking for two days, people kept asking about it, so Ningning's mother had to give up. Instead, she made some easy-to-carry and easy-to-eat pancakes with flour. In case they really went to flee the famine, these wouldn't taste like much and wouldn't attract attention.

When the night was quiet and both children had gone to sleep, Ning's father held Ning's mother's hand.

"What are you doing?" Ning's mother called out, unable to break free, "It's hot!"

"Sigh..." Ning's father said with worry, "Lanxiang, I really don't want to go fleeing the famine."

Ning's mother was quiet.

She knew about Ning's father's family. His maternal grandmother had fled to that town during the famine. Whenever she talked about her childhood experiences, his maternal grandmother would say in a smoky tone: "Those were really tough times, unlike now, when we have everything we need to eat."

The refugees had nothing to eat or drink. At first, they could dig for wild vegetables, but later, when it got cold and there was nothing in the ground, they could only eat grass roots, tree roots, and tree bark. Ning's father and grandmother were still young at that time. Their best memory was walking into a bamboo forest in winter. It was snowing heavily, and the birds that were on the bamboo were frozen. As long as the bamboo was shaken, the birds would fall down with the snow.

The children searched for holes in the snow, and they found them every time. After digging them out and processing them simply, they roasted them and ate them – they were delicious!

Later, of his maternal grandmother's large family of more than a dozen people, only two remained.

"It's okay," Ning's mother reassured him earnestly. "It's just a novel, don't scare yourself."

Ning's father said urgently, "But it's a place name!"

"We already have a cheat code in our family, which is still better than going into battle empty-handed."

"As long as we are not afraid of hardship or difficulty, we will eventually reach our destination alive."

Ning's mother recounted to him how Zhao Ningning's refrigerator was always stocked with food, enough for the whole family, and how her space was so large it could fit two cars, with leftover firewood and charcoal from winter, so she wasn't afraid of any weather.

The gentle, comforting voice surrounded him on his pillow, and as he listened, Ning's father slowly drifted off to sleep.