With a burst of hoofbeats—
“Clop, clop, clop…”
The chestnut horse galloped forward and soon left the forest, arriving at the foot of the mountain.
“Mother, there seems to be a cave ahead…”
Climbing up onto the carriage frame, Qin Suining looked ahead and quickly spotted a good hiding place.
Following her finger, Zhou Shi also saw it—indeed, there was a fairly large cave beneath the cliff at the mountain’s base.
“Let’s go in and hide for a while. Further ahead is the mountain road, and it will be difficult for the carriage to travel.”
This time, both mother and daughter had experience. They did not rush in immediately but first checked carefully to ensure no one was inside.
In the wilderness, danger lurked everywhere. They could only learn caution through experience.
Fortunately, the cave was quite spacious, and the entrance was flat enough for the carriage to be driven directly inside.
In one corner of the cave lay a pile of firewood and dry grass, along with traces of a former campfire. It seemed others had once rested here.
After running under the scorching sun for so long, both the people and the horse were exhausted and thirsty.
Qin Suining placed a wooden bucket from the carriage in front of the chestnut horse and brought out some fodder from her space for it to eat.
“Why don’t I go keep watch outside first? You can move the carriage and horse into the space,” Zhou Shi said after taking a sip of water.
Given their situation, continuing the journey today was impossible.
It would be better to hide in the space and wait until the locust swarm passed before moving on.
Qin Suining agreed and nodded.
After resting and confirming safety, she waved her hand and brought both the carriage and the horse into the space.
Then she returned outside to bring Zhou Shi in as well.
The mother and daughter stayed inside the space for the time being.
They had bought many seeds, and Zhou Shi was already eager to start planting.
The space had vast stretches of unused fertile land—loose and rich soil as far as the eye could see.
They only needed to loosen the soil slightly, sow the seeds, and water them from the river.
It was a large task and could not be completed in one go.
So mother and daughter only opened up a small corner of about two acres first.
“This two mu of land should be enough for us to eat,” Zhou Shi said with satisfaction after finishing the work.
In Qin village, their family also only had about two mu of land.
Qin Shubai spent his days focused on scholarly pursuits, always saying “gentlemen stay away from the kitchen,” and never helped with farming.
So all the work had always fallen on Zhou Shi and Qin Suining.
They were used to it and did not feel particularly tired.
“Mother, the lotus root and water caltrop seeds the shopkeeper mentioned should be planted soon too,” Qin Suining said, looking toward the river.
The water was clear and pure, with no impurities. Aquatic plants swayed gently, and small fish occasionally leapt out of the water.
According to the shopkeeper, these seeds only needed to be thrown into the water.
With the guidance from the barrage messages, Qin Suining was very confident.
Zhou Shi agreed, and they carried baskets to the river and scattered all the seeds.
They worked for quite a long time before finishing.
Next was the overgrown vegetable garden.
Tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, eggplants, and peppers were all growing abundantly.
When they picked everything, they filled all the baskets and still had piles left on the ground.
After harvesting, they loosened the soil and watered the plants again.
It took nearly an hour to clean everything up.
Nearby was a fruit orchard filled with pears, apples, oranges, and other fruits they had never even seen before.
The orchard looked like a scene of abundance.
The barrage messages also appeared excitedly:
“Wow, these apples look so big and red, I want to eat them!”
“I haven’t bought fruit in so long, prices are too high…”
“It’s someone else’s space, we can only drool…”
Zhou Shi picked an apple and cut it open. The fragrance was refreshing.
“It really smells like it clears the mind,” she said.
They sat by the orchard and ate happily.
Meanwhile, outside—
The world had already turned into devastation.
A massive locust swarm covered the skies, devouring everything in sight—crops, weeds, trees, and even bark.
Farmers could only desperately try to beat them away, but it was useless.
Everything green was stripped bare in a short time.
Elsewhere, people in a cave were also dealing with chaos.
A group of rough-looking men had brought in several captives, including children crying and begging for mercy.
“Be quiet, or I’ll deal with you right now!”
Fear filled the cave.
Qin Suining and Zhou Shi, hiding in the space, immediately realized—
These people were likely human traffickers.
They were relieved they had not appeared outside.
Otherwise, they might have been in danger.
That night, they decided to stay inside the space.
The next morning, after the traffickers left, they finally came out.
They buried a captured enemy in a deep pit in the forest and were about to leave—
When suddenly, wolf howls echoed through the woods.
“Awoo—”
“Awooo—”
A pack of wolves had been drawn by the smell of blood.
Qin Suining quickly pulled Zhou Shi into the space again.
Outside, the wolves fought and devoured the remains.
Only after a long while did the forest finally quiet down.
When they came out again, everything was gone.
They quickly left the forest, set up their carriage, and continued on their journey.