Seeing everyone quiet down, Wang Shi finally reined in her imposing aura and declared:
“Everyone! Listen to my arrangements!”
With that, she singled out all the men in the group, including Xu Da, totaling eleven people, and methodically assigned them tasks.
Wang Shi had no expectation that these villagers would understand the reasoning behind her arrangements, so she simply told them what needed to be done.
The straightforward instructions proved effective. Although the men didn’t know why they had to do these things, they all remembered their assigned tasks.
After organizing the main force, Wang Shi turned her attention to the five women from Dawang Village. Tong Shi, who had a child, and another frail woman, Qiu Shi, were left behind to look after the four children.
The remaining three women picked up whatever weapons they found handy and prepared to follow her into action.
Finally, Wang Shi focused on Xu Yue and her two siblings, asking seriously, “Can you protect yourselves?”
Xu Yue nodded, and Xu Erniang also nodded in agreement. Both sisters indicated they would be fine.
“Good. You and the other children find a hidden place to take cover. The rest of you, grab your weapons and follow me!”
Wang Shi raised her arm in a rallying gesture and, without looking back, swiftly dashed toward the pond.
Her decisive and abrupt departure, leaving the children without so much as a word of explanation, left Tong Shi and Qiu Shi utterly stunned.
But Xu Yue proudly puffed out her small chest, feeling finally treated as an adult by her mother.
Although the pond area was crowded with people, she had absolute confidence in her mother!
“The grass on the left is thick, and the terrain is higher. Let’s hide over there. We’ll be able to see what’s happening at the pond,” Xu Erniang suggested.
She was speaking to Xu Yue, seemingly unconcerned about Tong Shi and the others.
Xu Yue signaled for Tong Shi and the rest to follow. The two sisters, acting like little adults, used the walking sticks Wang Shi had carved to part the grass, tapping and making their way up the slope as they went.
Even the young man following behind them appeared completely calm, as if he weren’t the least bit worried about the situation at the pond.
Qiu Shi found this remarkable. Glancing at her own thin child, who was nestled in her arms sucking his fingers from hunger, she exchanged a look with Tong Shi. Together, they led five-year-old Wang Jia Danniang and another nine-year-old boy, following the footsteps of Xu Yue and her siblings.
No sooner had the group crouched down and hidden in the concealing grass than they heard the sounds of a fierce scuffle erupting from the clearing at the foot of the slope.
Someone seemed to have been injured, screaming and wailing in pain. The cacophony of various noises mingled together, making even Xu Yue tense up.
The grass was tall and dense. Crouched within it, Xu Yue couldn’t even part the blades in front of her to peek down below.
Then, the sound of running footsteps echoed not far away. Unable to tell whether they were friend or foe, no one dared to stand up. They could only endure the torment of not knowing what was happening.
However, it wasn’t long before she heard her mother’s command shouting, “Don’t pursue a fleeing enemy!”
It seemed they had won this battle for the pond.
“You Niang!”
Wang Shi called from the base of the slope. Xu Yue excitedly sprang up from the grass and saw Wang Shi smiling and beckoning to her, “Come on down!”
Overjoyed, Xu Yue quickly called her brother, sister, and Tong Shi’s group to hurry down to the pond’s edge.
Xu Dalan, seeing that she wasn’t even as tall as the grass, swept her up with his long arm and, in a few bounding leaps, rushed down the slope.
By the time Xu Yue regained her senses, she had already been carried by Xu Dalan to the water’s edge.
Xu Dalan, like a starving ghost reincarnated, plunged headfirst into the pond and gulped down several mouthfuls of water, startling Xu Yue who quickly pulled him away.
“Brother, don’t drink untreated water like that!”
But Xu Dalan had already swallowed it. He pushed her hand aside and deliberately scooped up a handful of water, eagerly offering it to her while clumsily urging, “Dring (Drink)!”
The water in the young boy’s palm was crystal clear, with a single green blade of grass floating in it, making the water appear even more pure and translucent.
Xu Yue couldn’t help but swallow hard, her resolve nearly crumbling.
But was it really safe to drink this pond water raw, when mountain animals drank from it too?
Looking around at the Dawang Village villagers who were scooping up water directly to drink, and at Tong Shi who arrived later and immediately began feeding water to her child from her palms, Xu Yue began to wonder if she was being overly fastidious.
Xu Dalan pushed his cupped hands closer, almost right up to Xu Yue’s mouth.
Who could resist this!
Xu Yue finally gave in and tentatively licked the water. Tasting its refreshing coolness, she lost all restraint and leaned over her brother’s hands to drink greedily.
One handful wasn’t enough – she drank another, until she finally burped with satisfaction.
The simple moisture freely flowing in her mouth made Xu Yue feel as if she’d been reborn, so comfortable she wanted to lie down right there.
But she knew if she lay down now, she might not get up again. Kneeling by the pond, she scooped water to splash her face. The cool liquid dispelled the summer heat, and she indeed felt much more alert.
Turning toward the clearing, Xu Yue saw that the previous group of refugees had been driven off by her mother and others. In their hasty retreat while cooking, they’d abandoned their pots and pans on the ground.
The Dawang villagers were overjoyed, immediately dividing up whatever food was cooking in the pots.
Xu Yue saw her father swiftly grab a pot, proudly raising his eyebrows at her mother as if seeking praise.
However, her mother’s expression showed none of the joy others displayed – instead, she looked rather grim.
Watching the Dawang villagers nearly coming to blows over a pot of food, she sighed deeply and turned away from the chaos.
As long as no one got killed, Wang Shi had no mind to intervene.
But she knew well that driving opponents into desperation was never wise. After brief consideration, she walked over to Wang Dayou who had secured half a pot of porridge and whispered a few words to him.
Xu Yue didn’t catch what they said, but Wang Dayou soon stood up and approached the fighting villagers.
He seemed to hold some authority in the village. Gathering several villagers who had already obtained food, he separated the fighters and distributed the thin porridge equally.
Then, this group set down all the pots and pans they’d seized. Wang Dayou approached Wang Shi again, and they exchanged more words.
After giving Wang Shi a surprised look, he called the villagers together. They filled all the pots and containers with clean water and placed them at the border between the grass and the forest.
Wang Shi even took the pot from Xu Da’s hands, transferring the porridge into their own clay pot.
Xu Da found this unbelievable.
Returning spoils of war?
Not just returning them, but adding extra?
Xu Yue didn’t fully understand her mother’s actions either. But watching the refugees gradually emerging from the forest, their faces filled with wariness, she suddenly understood something.
After a moment of staring at each other, perhaps driven by unbearable hunger and thirst, the famine victims quickly emerged to take the pots and water, then swiftly retreated into the distance.
Watching their figures vanish among the trees, Xu Da furrowed his brow tightly and for the first time spoke to Wang Shi in a displeased tone:
“You’re letting the tiger return to the mountains.”
Wang Shi sneered coldly, “Have you ever seen such an emaciated tiger?”
Xu Da: “…”