Just then, Yun Dahai walked in from outside. Yun Xi heard footsteps and glanced over. Although she didn’t recognize him, she felt no sense of unfamiliarity at all—almost a natural closeness.
“Xier, this is your father. Your father is home,” Madam Yun said.
“Xier finally woke up! What are you talking about? How could she not know I’m her father?”
Yun Dahai looked puzzled by his wife’s words.
Madam Yun’s eyes turned red again.
“My poor Xier… she just woke up and doesn’t remember anything—not even herself…”
Not wanting to see the woman sad, Yun Xi quickly comforted her.
“Mother, I’m fine. It’s okay if I don’t remember. I’m sure I’ll recover later. Actually, falling sick might’ve been a good thing—I feel like I understand so many more things now.”
“You silly child. How can being sick be a good thing?” Madam Yun scolded lightly, unhappy with her reasoning.
Yun Dahai listened to their conversation in shock, needing several moments before reacting.
“Xier? You’re saying Xier has lost her memory? How could this happen? My poor child, hasn’t she suffered enough? Why won’t the heavens spare her?”
The elderly man in his fifties broke into tears, startling both Madam Yun and Yun Xi.
“Father, I’m really fine. Please don’t cry.”
Yun Xi thought he was referring to her illness and memory loss. But Madam Yun clearly knew more. She quickly tugged at Yun Dahai’s sleeve, signaling him to stop. Realizing his slip, he wiped his tears with his sleeve, trying to regain composure.
Yun Xi watched them in confusion. It was clear they were hiding something from her, but she didn’t press. She tucked the thought away for later.
Suddenly, Madam Yun remembered what Yun Xi had mentioned earlier and repeated it to her husband.
“Oh? Xier thought of that?” Yun Dahai asked.
“Yes, ever since she woke up, she’s been much more sensible.”
“What she said makes sense. We must protect the seed grain; otherwise next year will be even worse. I’ll go tell everyone immediately.”
With that, he rushed out the door.
“Hey—wait! You haven’t eaten yet! This old man… the moment something happens in the village, he runs faster than anyone else.”
Madam Yun called after him, but he was already out of sight.
“Mother, Father is right. The seeds are urgent. If some families have already eaten theirs, that’ll be trouble.”
“You’re right. But when will these hard days ever end? The heavens refuse to give us rain… is it truly determined to doom us?”
Madam Yun sighed heavily.
“Mother, isn’t there a water source near the village? Why not irrigate the fields?”
“Xier, there’s drought everywhere. Even drinking water is scarce—how could we spare any to irrigate the fields?”
Yun Xi felt anxious hearing this. If things continued like this, there really would be no harvest. If even drinking water became an issue, people would die before anything else. Humanity would truly be facing extinction.
How advanced was this era’s water storage ability? Could water be diverted from another source? Farmers here couldn’t even guarantee enough harvest to fill their stomachs. Clearly, the agricultural yield was far too low.
But why?
Was it the soil?
The climate?
The water source?
The seed quality?
The planting methods?
Or the field management?
Every agricultural link was important—if even one part failed, the harvest would collapse.
Once she recovered, Yun Xi planned to examine everything firsthand. Increasing grain production would be essential for long-term survival. But first, the immediate crisis—water—had to be solved. Without water, survival wasn’t even on the table, let alone development.