The air pressure was heavy, and many fish, unable to breathe underwater, surfaced to blow bubbles.
Chen Shiyi was overjoyed—wasn’t this exactly what she had hoped for?
Thinking was easy, but putting it into practice proved exceptionally difficult.
Before long, either the net fell apart, or when a fish finally entered the net, it thrashed and jumped out.
Heaven rewards the diligent, and Chen Shiyi finally managed to catch three slightly larger fish.
But the biggest haul wasn’t these fish; it was the many loaches frolicking in the whirlpools along the stream.
She threaded a branch and effortlessly caught the loaches, slipping them onto it.
Carrying three fish and two branches of loaches, she cleaned them and headed straight up the mountain.
When Rui’er saw Chen Shiyi return, she immediately rushed over happily.
“Sister, you’re amazing! You even caught fish.”
A fire was lit in the house, and the skewered fish were placed over the flames to roast.
Having not tasted meat for a long time, everyone was practically drooling.
The fish weren’t particularly tasty—they had many bones and a strong fishy smell. In contrast, the loaches were smooth, tender, and had fewer bones, making them Rui’er’s favorite.
Even without a hint of salt, everyone ate with great satisfaction.
After finishing her meal, Chen Shiyi said to Madam Wen,
“Madam, there are two fish left. I’ll take them to the eldest and second young masters.”
Madam Wen nodded.
“They must be working very hard in the mines, busy all day long. If they keep leaving food for us, I’m afraid they won’t be able to hold up.”
Wen Zhirou fiddled with the dry firewood and raised her eyes.
“Shiyi, be careful on the way.”
Walking along the main road for about three li, she saw rows of houses neatly arranged, some with chimneys still smoking.
After walking another li or so, a fence as tall as a one-story building stretched as far as the eye could see.
At the towering, imposing gate, soldiers in armor patrolled back and forth.
Before Chen Shiyi could even approach, a cold voice shouted,
“Military zone! Unauthorized personnel, leave immediately!”
Chen Shiyi was startled but mustered her courage to ask,
“I’ve brought something for my family. Can I go in?”
A stern-faced soldier sized her up.
“What’s your name?”
“Wen Zhiheng.”
With that, the soldier headed inside the gate.
Before long, Wen Zhiheng and Wen Zhiyuan hurriedly rushed to Chen Shiyi, their expressions filled with anxiety.
“Shiyi, what’s wrong? Has something happened at home?”
Chen Shiyi shook her head.
“No, I caught a few fish and brought two for you.”
Wen Zhiheng’s heart finally settled. He looked down at the steaming fish wrapped in leaves that Chen Shiyi handed him, feeling a pang of sorrow.
His mother, his sister, and that delicate sister-in-law—hadn’t they all been raised in luxury before? How could they possibly do such work?
It must be this small figure before him, holding up the family in his stead.
Her eyes were dark and bright, almond-shaped and filled with a smile, quite lovely. Yet her face was so thin it was sunken—she must have had a very difficult childhood.
“Shiyi, you even know how to catch fish. That’s amazing.”
Wen Zhiyuan happily ate the charred fish while praising Chen Shiyi.
Chen Shiyi smiled warmly, carefully noticing that Wen Zhiheng’s hands were covered in wounds, his face dusty, and sweat streaming freely.
She had seen him in his glorious, radiant days, but now…
"Young Master, the mine doesn't provide evening meals, does it?"
"No."
"You're the pillar of the family, you mustn't collapse. Don't save your food rations anymore—I'm here at home."
Wen Zhiheng glanced at Chen Shiyi, his throat tightening.
"Alright."
"Young Master, are there hammers at the mine?"
"Hammers?"
"I went to check that courtyard today. With a little repair work, it'll be livable. If there are hammers and bamboo nails, I can fix the roofs of the other two rooms completely, so we won't have to crowd together anymore."
"Alright, I'll find a way."
When they returned to their lodgings, the door was tightly shut, and even Rui'er, who usually ran around outside, was silent.
Chen Shiyi noticed many unfamiliar footprints in front of the door.
Had something happened to them?
She hurried forward and knocked on the door.
"Miss, Miss, Madam, Rui'er…"
After a long while, a trembling voice came from inside.
"Is that Shiyi?"
Chen Shiyi finally let out a sigh of relief.
"It's me, Miss. Open the door quickly."
The door opened from the inside, and a figure rushed out, throwing herself onto Chen Shiyi and bursting into loud sobs.
"What happened?"
The second young mistress spoke weakly from the side.
"Just now, several ruffians came outside. Thankfully, we hid quickly, locked the door from the inside, and braced ourselves against it. Who knows what might have happened otherwise."
Madam Wen was also pale with fright.
"They kept trying to kick the door open. Luckily, as shabby as this house is, the door is quite sturdy."
Chen Shiyi's heart was racing too.
"This won't do. We can't stay here a moment longer. They've surely gone back to call for more people. Let's pack up quickly and leave."
Chen Shiyi supported the trembling Wen Zhirou, the second young mistress carried Rui'er, and Madam Wen leaned on a stick. The group slowly made their way toward the courtyard in the sporadic rain.
Chen Shiyi stopped them at the courtyard gate.
Wen Zhirou peered inside the courtyard, her brow furrowing involuntarily.
"We're not going to stay here tonight, are we?"
Chen Shiyi nodded.
"We're staying here."
Everyone looked puzzled.
"Let me tidy up a bit and prepare a room. We'll rest here tonight."
After their time together, everyone trusted Chen Shiyi unconditionally.
Perhaps still shaken from the earlier scare, Chen Shiyi cleared the dust from the bluestone slabs in front of the courtyard gate and had them sit and rest.
Using the cloth from her sleeve as before, she cleared a path through the weeds in the courtyard.
Inside the kitchen, it was pitch black, impossible to see what was inside. A few strands of light leaked through the dilapidated roof, crisscrossing as spiderwebs swayed incessantly.
She slowly felt her way inside. There was a large stove, and to her delight, the large iron pot on it hadn't been taken away—it was still firmly embedded in the stove. That alone was worth quite a few copper coins.
Beside the stove stood a wooden cupboard. She slowly opened it to find a few broken porcelain bowls and nothing else.
She found a long stick and poked around inside the stove. The stick seemed to hit something.
She rolled up her sleeves and reached inside. Her fingertips were suddenly cut by something, sending a sharp pain through her.
"Hiss…"
She pulled her hand back, watching as blood welled from her fingertips. She smeared them with ashes from the stove to stop the bleeding, wrapped her hand with the cloth from her sleeve, and reached back inside.
Finally, she pulled out a rusty kitchen knife.
This is a good thing.
"Ah…"
Suddenly, several screams came from outside the courtyard gate.
Chen Shiyi hurriedly grabbed a knife and a stick, rushing outside at full speed.
She saw a grass snake slithering out from the tall grass, its body extremely long, its small head flicking its tongue as it swayed back and forth, seemingly quite annoyed that someone had disturbed its sweet dream.
She quickly swung the stick at the snake's head, dazing it. Just as it tried to escape, she chopped down with the kitchen knife, cutting the snake cleanly in two.
Blood splattered onto Chen Shiyi's face, warm and foul-smelling.
Rui'er's face turned pale with fright, his eyes trembling as he stared at Chen Shiyi, clutching tightly to his mother's sleeve, not daring to move an inch.
Chen Shiyi lifted the snake's body and said with a smile.
"Rui'er, we've got dinner for tonight."