I survived the famine by scavenging and supported my family.

Ning's mother handed the large knife that had been confiscated earlier to Ning's father.

Ning's mother prepared a good meal for the father and son, and instructed them: "If you can't find them, don't linger in the mountains too late. If you see the village head's family, come back with them."

"Alright!" Ning's father adjusted his straw hat, nimbly mounted his horse, and Zhao Qi straddled him from the front of the carriage, pulling on his clothes.

The father and son rode their horses towards the mountains.

Ning's mother only looked away when they were out of sight.

Madam He withdrew her worried gaze, her expression a mixture of concern and anticipation. "Tell me," she said, "the village head has already sent people, what are those two doing there!"

"Oh, Mom, don't worry, they've got it all planned out." Ning's mother changed the subject, "Have you finished knitting the straw hat for Ningning?"

Seeing the straw hat on the village chief's head, He copied it while on her way, using straw meant for starting fires.

The first one was terribly ugly, so she gave it to Zhou Jian to wear. The second one was a little better. She only became slightly more skilled when she was knitting the third one. Thinking that Ningning and the others were also taking turns to catch the train, she knitted two pieces, one big and one small, and sent them over first.

Unexpectedly, just as the package arrived, the father and son were about to ride out to find a water source.

"No! I've come up with another idea. I'll knit you two hats with big brims so they can block out the sun." Thinking about having to knit straw hats, Madam He went back with a worried expression.

After sending He Shi away, Ning Ma returned to her car with a helpless expression.

Zhao Ningning and her friend had given away all their curling equipment, so they could only keep a basin in the car with some large ice cubes in it.

That way, at least the carriage won't be so hot.

Ning's mother told Zhao Ningning to go back to her space, but Zhao Ningning shook her head. Now that it was just her and Ning's mother left, she wanted to stay and keep them company.

the other side.

Ning's father took Zhao Qi and ran into the mountains. This horse hadn't been fed for nothing; it was incredibly fast when it ran. The hot wind whistled through the air, and the trees on both sides seemed to rush past.

Normally, riding in a horse-drawn carriage is fine. Horse-drawn carriages are slow, and since his own carriage has some shock-absorbing design, Zhao Qi adapts well.

Now sitting on horseback, bouncing along, Zhao Qi's face turned pale; he was feeling a bit nauseous.

Ning's father, sitting in front, was completely unaware of what was happening. He pulled on the reins and ran all the way to the foot of the mountain before stopping. After stopping, he was about to ask his son if he had any clues.

Then, a loud "whoosh" was heard, and Zhao Qi vomited behind him.

Ning's father turned his head and saw Zhao Qi holding onto the horse's rump and vomiting on the ground.

"You..." Before Ning's father could finish speaking, Zhao Qi smelled the horse's sweat and the faint smell of horse manure on its tail, and began to vomit again.

Ning's father shook his head slightly, and after his son finished vomiting, he handed him the water bag so that he could rinse his mouth.

Gently squeeze the horse's belly to make it move forward a few steps.

After Zhao Qi finished vomiting, his complexion improved somewhat. After rinsing his mouth, Ning's father asked him again if he wanted to go back.

Shaking his head, Zhao Qi said, "Dad... slow down."

"Alright! Let's go!" Ning's father gently tugged on the reins, and this time the horse under his feet did not gallop wildly, but instead slowly ran forward as if strolling through a shopping mall.

The ups and downs were similar to riding a rocking horse, and Zhao Qi gradually got used to the rhythm, which allowed him to appreciate the surrounding mountains.

It's because he's the only one in his family who loves reading all sorts of books. He had previously read in a book about how to find water sources in the mountains.

Now the leaves on the mountain are almost all withered and yellow, making them extremely difficult to identify.

Zhao Qi could only look in other directions, such as—stones.

The stones that flow through are different from ordinary stones; they will form a "path." During the high-water season, the stones on the "path" will be polished very smooth by the water flow, and some small stones will always be scattered around them.

Following this method, they actually discovered a place where the rocks were quite different from ordinary mountain rocks.

Based on Ning's father's hiking experience, this rock was similar to the stream stones he had waded through during his previous hikes.

"If we keep walking uphill along this path, we might just find a water source," Zhao Qi said.

Even if you can't find a water source, the temperature should be lower up the mountain than down below. It would be even better if you could find a cave. If there's no cave, you can dig into the mountainside to cool off.

It's better than being left to dry in the sun at the foot of the mountain.

The two men and one horse walked up the mountain along the dried-up stream stones.

Whether it was because it was evening or because of the altitude, it did get cooler and cooler as we went up.

When they were about two-thirds of the way up the mountain, Zhao Qi excitedly grabbed Ning's father's arm, "Dad! There are green plants!"

"Where? Where?" Ning's father looked around.

"Down there, down there!" Zhao Qi pointed to a spot close to the ground. Ning's father looked in the direction his son was pointing, and sure enough, there was a small clump of bushes and leaves on the ground!

The presence of green plants indicates the presence of water nearby! Even if it's water underground, this place isn't as arid as the area down the mountain!

As soon as I rode the horse a few steps forward, sure enough, a little water was seeping out from the cracks in the rocks.

Ning's father excitedly jumped off his horse, peered over the rocks, and exclaimed, "Xiao Qi, there's water here!"

Leading the horse further uphill, the water source changed from a faint, barely visible thin line to a small, thick line, and finally to a stream about two hand spans wide!

Fearing there wasn't enough water, Ning's father continued walking until he reached the source of the water—a spring. The spring only had a handful of water, but it could flow continuously.

"Let's go! Down the mountain!"

Ning's father mounted his horse and rode off down the mountain, leaving Zhao Qi behind.

After Zhao Qi went down, he vomited again. He had already vomited all the food in his stomach when he went up the mountain, so this time he only vomited a little bit of acid.

Seeing this, Ning's mother felt heartbroken and punched Ning's father several times. After begging for forgiveness from Ning's mother, Ning's father held Zhao Qi's hand and apologized repeatedly.

—We've found a water source!

The village head felt a huge weight lifted from his shoulders.

Now all we have to do is wait for his two sons to come back, and then we'll go up the mountain together.

The two of them came down from the mountain when it was almost completely dark.

The village head pulled the people aside and asked. It turned out that they went directly to the back of the mountain to look for water. They took a detour and, although they didn't find water, they found a natural cave that was much cooler inside than outside.

Now it's the village head's turn to be conflicted: should they go to the water source or the cave?

I want to go to both... but the water source is more important!

The villagers, who had been waiting for a long time, took turns asking the village head when everyone would depart once they arrived. The village head swallowed hard to moisten his throat before saying, "Now! We'll leave now!"

The group couldn't wait to head up the mountain.

The road up the mountain was difficult to travel. Ning's father controlled the mule cart from behind, while Zhao Qi led the way with a torch.

Following him were the men in the group, who would hold torches to light the way at intervals.

Thus, what should have been a journey of one hour took them two and a half hours.

By the time we reached the mountainside, it was almost dawn.

When the villagers saw the bushes with leaves, they were so moved that tears streamed down their faces.

Some people knelt down on the ground, and the people around them quickly pulled them up.

Are you kidding me? We haven't even reached a water source yet!

After walking a few more steps, sure enough, a small stream appeared before them.

The stream was so narrow that a child could not fit in it, and it was only about half an arm's length deep.

Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, a group of people rushed forward to fetch water.

The village headman quickly stopped them, scolding, "What's the rush! There are so many people in the village! There's plenty of water! Enough to drink!"

The man who was stopped by him bowed and begged for mercy, saying, "Village head, you will let me go, right? I haven't had any water for two days. If I don't drink some soon, I'm afraid I'll die in front of this stream."

His voice was hoarse and rough, making the village head's scalp tingle.

Others who were stopped from grabbing water also looked in this direction, and the village head's eager gaze made him tremble.

We can't open this channel. If we do, everyone in the team will start fighting over water, and that won't do!

"No!" the village head refused. "You lot, stand over here and line up, taking turns to fetch water!"

After being refused, the group stood dejectedly in line. They had brought small buckets of water, so they had their families bring them to them while they stood there.

As the line came to a stop, more and more people began to deliver buckets. Some families who usually walked next to each other even said nice things to the older man in line and then "cut in line," afraid that if they were late, they wouldn't get any water.

The village head frowned as he looked at them and ordered his eldest son to fetch a bucket and a ladle from their own house.

While you're at it, bring over the team roster.

When he was in Wangli Village, he kept a special list to record the village's population so that he could easily see how much grain tax the villagers had to pay.

"Stand still. This time, water will be taken by the number of households, one ladle of water per person."

The village head held the list and checked each item one by one.

Upon hearing this domineering rule, some people in line to get water immediately threw their buckets on the ground and refused to continue.

"I've put up with you for too long! You're always rushing around like a dead man! And you only let me sleep for a little while at night!"

"You're calculating water based on the number of people? Huh? Is this some kind of military merit?! I'll go chop off a few heads and put them here for you, and then you can give me a few more scoops of water!"

The man spat on the ground. "Pah!"

"I need water today! Bring me five buckets of water!"

The village chief gave his son a wink, and Li Si went up and slapped the man across the face twice.

"If you don't like following the group, then get out!" The village chief glared at him. "If it weren't for the village head, would you have made it this far alive?"

If I remember correctly, this man ran out of food when he was in Heqing County, and he couldn't buy any even after queuing up.

If they hadn't exchanged a cartload of grain from the Shang family and sold it to the villagers, most of the villagers would have run out of food while they were in the prefectural city.

"You! How dare you hit me?!" The man, clutching his swollen face, pointed at the village chief and demanded of the village head, "Village head! The village chief ordered someone to hit me!"

In the past, the village head was always the most agreeable person in the village.

"The village chief is right. Whether you stay or not is up to you. I don't owe you anything. If it weren't for our camaraderie as fellow villagers, why would I have dragged you all along for so long?"

If they hadn't brought the villagers with them, they wouldn't have had to endure the hardships on the road together!

If we hadn't brought the villagers with us, we could have eaten all the grain in that cartload!

If they hadn't been with the villagers, they would have already reached Huangshi County by now, driving their horse-drawn carriage!

There are still people trying to cause trouble!

The atmosphere by the stream was eerily quiet. Led by the village head, a group of people stood behind him, silently watching this man who had forgotten to dig the well while drinking the water.

Another group stood quietly to the sidelines, watching the spectacle, thinking that if this person could get five buckets of water, then they would want some too!

The man looked at the situation on the village head's side, a hint of panic flashed in his eyes, followed by endless jealousy and hatred.

Indeed, as the village chief said, they were able to get here by themselves alone. They also relied on the village head and the village chief to arrange people to stand guard, to arrange the route, and to organize the team to move forward.

Now is not the time to make a scene; making a scene will only lead to greater losses!

The man lowered his head, concealing the hatred in his eyes, covered his face, and silently walked to the side.

The village chief stared at him coldly for a while before the line to fetch water started moving again. This time, no one caused trouble and everyone followed the village head's instructions to fetch water according to the number of people.

After one group finished collecting water, they lined up again, taking turns to collect water three times until the water dried up.

The village head's eldest son went to check and found that the spring was still flowing, but the flow was slow, and it took the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to get a ladle of water.

The group followed the spring upwards, not even sleeping, and stayed by the spring.

Zhao Ningning told the others to go to sleep. She could sleep in the living room of her space during the day, but her parents couldn't sleep directly during the hottest part of the day. She wanted them to get more rest while the temperature hadn't risen too much yet.

With the pancakes she would eat later tucked into her arms, Zhao Ningning sat on a large rock by the stream, quietly balancing herself on pebbles.

Behind her was Zhou Jian, who told He Shi to go and rest first, while he stayed here with his little niece.

After watching Zhao Ningning play for a while, Zhou Jian's playful spirit was piqued, and the two started a competition to see who could arrange the highest and most stones.

Just as Zhao Ningning was carefully placing the tenth stone on top of the pile, a foot suddenly appeared in front of her, kicking the pile of stones apart.

Zhao Ningning frowned and looked up, taking in the firelight—someone looking for trouble had arrived.

"Oh!" Zhao Huilan exaggeratedly covered her mouth. "Sorry, Wuya, it's too dark, I didn't see you."

"You won't blame me, will you?"

Zhao Ningning is already eighteen years old in her mind. She sees sixteen-year-old Zhao Huilan as if she were a low-level green tea girl from elementary school. She can see right through her at a glance.

What do you mean it wasn't intentional? She did it on purpose!

Not knowing what possessed her to come here looking for trouble, Zhao Ningning was unsure what she was up to, so she decided to hold back for now.

Seeing that it was almost lunchtime, Zhao Ningning took out a cloth bag from her bosom. Inside the bag were two flatbreads wrapped in oil paper.

The flatbread is made from a mixture of two types of dough.

Zhao Huilan stared at the pancake and quietly swallowed.

—A pancake! A whole pancake!

—How come this brat has so much food in her hand!

"Wuya!" Zhao Huilan smiled. "I accidentally kicked the stone and broke it. Shall I put it back together for you?"

"After I finish, give me half of the pancake you have in your hand, no, just the whole one."

"Anyway, you're small, you can't eat two pancakes by yourself."

Zhao Huilan spoke a long string of words, making Zhao Ningning think she was hallucinating.

"What kind of pancake?" Zhao Ningning handed one to Zhou Jian in front of Zhao Huilan. "This is my lunch with my uncle."