Before Gu Wan could answer, Tang-shi's voice came over, "Xiao girl, Wan girl, come here quickly…"
Tang-shi spotted the two of them in the crowd at a glance and hurriedly waved them over.
Because of the water Gu Xiao and the others had found, their family was allowed to draw water first, and all their water skins were filled to the brim. Liu Feng had told the villagers truthfully that the group had only found the spring by following a squirrel, and that it was Gu Xiao who had spotted the squirrel. The Liu family looked upon the two of them with ever-growing fondness.
"Xiao girl, Xiaofeng told us all about it—you're the one who found the water. You're truly remarkable."
"Yes, yes! Sister Xiao'er is amazing!" Liu Yu chimed in with delight.
As long as the water was found, Gu Xiao didn't much care whose credit it was. She said to the Liu family, "I was just lucky. Oh, by the way, I just met two people behind the stone wall. They said there's a cave around here. Uncle, go ask the Village Chief if we should go with them."
"A cave! Wonderful! Xiao girl really does have good luck. I'll go tell the Village Chief right away." Liu Dong was overjoyed at the news. He abandoned the fire he was about to start and ran off at full speed.
A cave was a tremendous piece of good fortune. His family had both elderly and young to care for, and sleeping out in the open day after day was pure misery.
The Village Chief was just rejoicing that there was no longer any worry about water when Liu Dong came running up, panting heavily: "Village Chief, Village Chief! Xiao girl says there's a… there's a cave nearby!"
The moment Liu Dong finished speaking, the Village Chief nearly leaped to his feet. Good news just kept coming one after another. He looked like a child overwhelmed with delight, his face full of eager urgency.
"A cave? That's wonderful! Quick… take us there…" Liu Shihao said as he looked toward Gu Xiao, unable to hide the smile in his eyes. "Liu Dong, your second sister's child—she's truly blessed…"
"Xiao girl is blessed indeed. She met two people behind the stone wall who said they know of a cave and asked if we'd like to go with them."
"Good, good." Anyone who could find a stone cave and was willing to share it must be a decent person. The excitement on the Village Chief's face remained, but his reason was still intact.
"Let's go behind the stone wall and ask those two first." A Village Chief became a Village Chief precisely because he always put the villagers' interests first. He immediately gathered several sturdy men and headed behind the stone wall.
At that moment, Guan Yu was feeding the medicine to Guan Su as Gu Xiao had instructed, when she suddenly saw a group of big men appear behind her. She was so startled she cried out on the spot: "Benefactor, save us!"
Hearing this, all the Village Chief's doubts dissipated. He had brought men to test them because he was afraid that Gu Xiao, being young, might misjudge people and run into some shameless refugees who would use the excuse of finding a cave to latch onto their village.
Now seeing that these two were not only young, but one of them was injured and both looked gentle and frail, they probably weren't the sort to lack proper manners.
"Don't be afraid, we're not bad people. Do you know where the cave is?"
"Mhm." Guan Su saw that the leader was an elderly man, and his fear lessened somewhat. He nodded politely.
…
Gu Xiao didn't know how Guan Yu had communicated with the Village Chief. She only knew that the Village Chief agreed to Guan Yu's request to travel with them, had people carry Guan Su, and the whole group moved into that cave.
Looking at it horizontally, the cave didn't seem very large—only about five meters wide. But once inside, they discovered it held hidden depth. Its length extended far back, at least twenty meters or so, more than enough to accommodate all thirty households of Liujia Village.
The entire cave appeared to be naturally formed, with protruding rocks jutting out from the walls.
They made three trips that afternoon. Though some grumbled inwardly, everyone was happy to have found a place sheltered from the wind.
Water had been found, and a cave had been found too. The villagers hurried to light fires and cook while daylight remained.
As for the Liu family, they were arguing over how to eat the few rabbits. "Aunt, with so many of us in the family, one rabbit wouldn't give anyone more than two bites. Let's roast all three—it'll save us from having to carry them around."
"How can we do that? If we eat them all in one meal, what will we have later? Xiao girl, these two rabbits are still alive—they can keep for a few more days." Tang-shi tried to persuade her earnestly.
Song-shi chimed in from the side: "That's right, how can we eat them all in one sitting? Let's keep the rabbits for another couple of days."
The rabbits: too afraid to move, yet afraid not to move—if they were found dead, they'd be eaten.
Under Gu Xiao's firm insistence, they roasted two rabbits. Otherwise, a family of ten would only get a few bites of meat each. In the end, she only relented when she said they needed to thank the Village Chief for taking them in and should send him some.
Finally, Old Madam made the decision: roast two.
The one surviving rabbit: This woman is terrifying.
For farming folk who only tasted meat once a year, roasted rabbit was something to look forward to with immense anticipation.
As it roasted, there was no need for extra oil or any seasoning at all. The aroma of the meat filled the cave, wafting out for what seemed like miles, making the people cooking nearby salivate with envy.
Their cornmeal buns suddenly didn't smell appetizing anymore.
When Gu Xiao brushed on her honey glaze, the fragrance was simply intoxicating to the hungry—so tantalizing it made their mouths water.
Everyone in the Liu family was swallowing their saliva at the aroma of the roasted rabbit, except for Gu Xiao, who was already calculating in her mind that next time she'd need to hunt a bigger animal—otherwise, there wouldn't be enough to go around.
"Fragrant, so fragrant! Xiao girl has such skill!" Liu Dong was the first to give his verdict.
Then Song-shi, Tang-shi, and Old Madam followed suit, as if a floodgate had opened, showering Gu Xiao and Gu Wan with praise after praise.
Gu Wan had never been surrounded by a group of elders praising her for being sensible and adorable before, and her face flushed red.
All her life, the words she'd heard most were "worthless girl." Apart from her mother and older sister, no one had ever praised her. Even her father sometimes said he wished she'd been a boy. She'd thought only boys could earn praise from elders, but now she realized she could receive it too as a girl.
The sense of inferiority born from her gender was being subtly influenced, gradually diminished…
Once the rabbit was roasted, Liu Dong hurriedly delivered two rabbit legs to the Village Chief's house, afraid he'd miss the chance to give them while they were still warm.
Liu Shihao had taken the two girls in purely out of family consideration, never expecting gratitude from them, let alone such courtesy from Liu Dong's family.
"Liu Dong, this is too kind of you. Your family has so many mouths to feed—you can barely get two bites yourselves. Why would you send some to us?"
"Village Chief, this is from Xiao girl. She said it's to thank you for taking them in. Please don't be polite—you must accept it."
Looking at his own sons swallowing their saliva in anticipation, the Village Chief didn't refuse again. He took the rabbit legs Liu Dong offered and gave him a piece of salted vegetable in return. Liu Dong was eager to get back to eating meat, so he accepted without protest.
In the end, though the ten members of the family each got only a small portion of meat, they were so happy they nearly "burst into song." Their joy was torture for the rest of the village, who could only smell the aroma and drool.
Gu Xiao was eating contentedly when she suddenly remembered Guan Yu and the other person who had led them to the cave. Others might not know, but she knew Guan Yu was a girl. As a fellow girl, she couldn't just turn a blind eye.
She immediately cut off a piece of meat and brought it over to them. The rabbit was Gu Xiao's kill, so no one objected to her giving some away—instead, they all praised her for her kindness. Tang-shi even gave her a few flatbreads to pass along.
What an angelic family!
When Gu Xiao arrived, Guan Yu was gnawing on a hard steamed bun. Seeing her approach, she immediately stood up. "Benefactor, have you eaten?"
With that, she pulled a stuffed bun from her basket and held it out, eating the plain bun herself while offering the stuffed one to Gu Xiao.
Looking into her big, watery eyes, Gu Xiao felt her heart surge with emotion. What an angel of a girl!