Today, the weather finally cooperated—the long, persistent drizzle had ceased. The western twilight, a blend of molten gold and silver-gray, grew increasingly dim as the sun sank below the horizon.
Wen Zhiheng finally returned at this hour.
He carried two pheasants and a plump rabbit in his hands, his face etched with exhaustion, yet his eyes held a faint trace of a smile.
Rui'er was the first to notice Wen Zhiheng's return.
He rushed headlong into Wen Zhiheng's arms, his voice choked with tears.
"Uncle, you're finally back. Rui'er is so hungry."
Wen Zhiheng, with his free hand, pinched Rui'er's cheek.
"Uncle will roast some meat for you later. You can have both chicken legs, alright?"
"Mhm…"
The entire family gathered around Wen Zhiheng, talking animatedly. Wen Zhiyuan took the game from him.
Chen Shiyi quietly worked around the house, pulling out the shrubs and weeds. A fire had already been lit inside the house to burn away some of the dampness. The firewood was gathered and bundled by her, piece by piece, from the forest.
It should be enough for tonight.
While she busied herself, she stole a glance at the eldest young master.
His clothes were torn in several places, and fresh scratches marked the back of his hand. Chasing down these small animals must have taken considerable effort.
In an unfamiliar place, it was fortunate he had some martial skills, allowing him to hunt a few pieces of game. Otherwise, everyone would have gone hungry.
Earlier, Wen Zhiyuan had borrowed the fire starter from Old Yu. Now, he intended to borrow a knife from Old Yu to prepare the game.
Unexpectedly, Old Yu's rotund figure came rolling toward them.
Seeing the game in Wen Zhiyuan's hands, Old Yu's drowsy eyes suddenly lit up. His fat, swollen hand snatched the game away, and a sinister smile crept across his lips.
"This should cover half a month's rent."
Everyone present was instantly struck with fear.
If he took the game, what would they eat?
They hadn't eaten anything since the two flatbreads in the morning.
Wen Zhirou hurried forward to stop him.
"We'll pay the rent later. This is our family's food for tonight."
Old Yu's expression instantly darkened.
"What did you say?"
As Wen Zhirou was about to retort, Wen Zhiheng pulled her back from behind.
He spoke calmly to Old Yu.
"Brother Yu, it's too late today to find any food. If you take our food, our whole family will go hungry."
Old Yu swept his gaze over Wen Zhiheng. Though the man before him was down on his luck, his dignified bearing was impossible to ignore. It was better not to completely offend such a person.
He pulled out ten copper coins from his person and tossed them to Wen Zhiyuan.
"I, Old Yu, am kind-hearted and can't bear to see others suffer. Consider yourselves lucky."
With that, he strode away, carrying the game Wen Zhiheng had just hunted.
The Wen family was seething with anger, gritting their teeth in frustration.
Rui'er, seeing the meat that was almost within reach being taken away, burst into loud wails.
"Uncle, my stomach hurts from hunger. I want chicken legs…"
Wen Zhiheng quickly picked up Rui'er and said solemnly,
"Don't cry, Rui'er. Uncle will get some for you tomorrow."
With the ten copper coins, Wen Zhiyuan bought ten rice balls from Fengming Mine. Each person received one. They dared not eat the rest, saving them for tomorrow—for Wen Zhiheng, Wen Zhiyuan, and Rui'er.
The two men had to work in the mine, and Rui'er was still just a child.
Everyone looked rather listless. After eating, they went to the pond to clean up a bit, then sat on the floor of the house, leaning against the wall with their heads hanging low, none of them in the mood to talk.
The floor was covered with dry grass Chen Shiyi had gathered from the woods, roughly woven into two mats. At least they wouldn't have to sleep directly on the muddy ground.
Wen Zhiyuan had somehow obtained a bamboo cup and was about to give Rui'er some water to drink.
Chen Shiyi glanced over and hurriedly shouted, "Don't drink!"
After yelling, she quickly stood up and snatched the cup from Rui'er's hands.
On the side of the bamboo cup, a soft, slimy worm slowly crawled out, its black patterns wriggling incessantly, looking utterly disgusting.
Wen Zhirou, who was sitting nearby, turned pale. She had just drunk from that cup earlier. Letting out a scream, she hurriedly ran outside the house, clawing at her mouth and vomiting.
Madam Wen's expression was also extremely unpleasant. "What is this thing?"
"A leech," Wen Zhiyuan continued. "Also called a bloodsucker. They live in ponds and fields."
Madam Wen was deeply troubled. "Then how will we drink water in the future? We don't even have a pot to boil water in."
When Wen Zhirou ran outside, Chen Shiyi followed her, patting her back and soothing her gently. "Are you all right?"
Wen Zhirou waved her hand, indicating she was fine, though her face remained deathly pale, devoid of any color.
The night had grown deep, and outside the house, it was very quiet. Only the wind rustling through the woods and the intermittent croaking of frogs in the fields could be heard, mingled with the faint murmurs of insects.
In the middle of the house, the fire gradually died down.
Perhaps exhausted from fatigue, Rui'er fell into a deep sleep in the arms of the second young mistress, while the other women had already drifted into dreams.
Chen Shiyi stayed awake, her eyes slightly lowered as she listened to Wen Zhiheng and Wen Zhiyuan talking.
"Tomorrow at Chen hour, you and I must go to work at Fengming Mine. We won't return until You hour. I'm not worried about us—the mine provides food—but what about Mother, Zhirou, and the other women?"
"Brother, there are still a few rice balls left. They can share them tomorrow morning. We'll eat less and bring back whatever food remains."
"But they'll have to go hungry all day. How can they endure that?"
"Alas, there's no other way for now. Once we have time, we'll go up the mountain to hunt some game and exchange it for silver. We'll get through this eventually."
"If we both go to work, the women will be left here alone. What if they encounter evildoers? I really… I'm very uneasy about this."
"Brother, we've just arrived. We can only make such arrangements for now. Compared to being torn apart from our families, there's still a glimmer of hope in our current situation, isn't there?"
In Wen Zhiheng's dark eyes, the firelight flickered. "Hunting game on the mountain isn't easy either. Today, I only managed to bring something back thanks to someone's guidance."
"We have to endure this, no matter what."
Chen Shiyi's heart was also heavy.
Before, during the exile, they were at least provided with meals. Though the food was unpalatable and insufficient, they didn't have to worry every day about how to find their next meal. Now, they couldn't even solve the problem of drinking water.
What would they do in the future?
Hunger gnawed at her, and Chen Shiyi slept restlessly.
Inside the house, there was a faint rustling sound, as if something was moving. Chen Shiyi rubbed her eyes and, by the dim light of the nearly extinguished fire, scanned the room, only to discover something utterly terrifying.
The leftover rice ball from last night was hung from the rafters by her to keep it away from insects and ants. Unexpectedly, at this moment, countless gleaming-eyed rats swarmed densely over the beams. Climbing along the rope, the rats dangled one after another, with many more piling onto the rope behind them, all scrambling to reach the rice ball suspended in the air.
And right beneath the rice ball lay the sleeping young lady of the Wen family.
Chen Shiyi stared at the swaying, precarious rice ball and shouted loudly.
"Young lady, get up quickly!"
The shout startled everyone in the room awake. Wen Zhirou blinked her bleary eyes, unaware of what was happening, when suddenly, a large, dark mass plummeted directly onto her and swiftly scattered in all directions.
Chen Shiyi had already taken a step forward but was too late to prevent the incident.
Wen Zhirou clutched her head and screamed hysterically.
Chen Shiyi quickly pulled the frantic Wen Zhirou to her feet, dragging her to a safer spot to stand.
The fallen rats swiftly covered the floor of the room, and in their struggle for the few rice balls, they piled atop one another, layer upon layer, forming a mountain of rodents.
Everyone in the room paled with fear. Rui'er, held tightly by Wen Zhiyuan, cried uncontrollably, gasping for breath.
"Hurry, run outside!"