The next morning, pale sunlight filtered through the torn window paper, casting gray-white patches across the hut.
Liú Xiǎomǎn did not rush out as usual. Instead, she placed a bowl of thin porridge and half a coarse grain cake before Lǐ Xiùxiù and Liú Cōngming, lowering her voice, her expression unusually solemn.
“Mother, Cōngming, I’ve found a place—a very large and safe place where no one can find our new home.” She watched their eyes widen in shock.
She spoke each word deliberately, revealing the cave behind the waterfall and her “ant-moving” plan in full detail. “But I can’t do this alone. I need your help.”
Lǐ Xiùxiù’s hand holding her chopsticks trembled violently, sending them clattering onto the table.
Her face went pale, drained of all color, a mixture of fear and dread: “Xiǎomǎn… this… it’s too dangerous! What if someone finds out…”
“It won’t happen,” Liú Xiǎomǎn said, reaching out to grasp her mother’s cold hand. Her palm was warm, firm, and unwavering. “Mother, do you trust me? Do you trust that I can lead us to a better life?”
Lǐ Xiùxiù looked into her daughter’s eyes—bright, unhesitating, burning with conviction.
She thought of her daughter’s recent changes, the heavy silver coins she had handled, and the greedy faces at the Liú estate.
After a long silence, she slowly nodded, eyes moist but voice steady: “I trust you.”
“I’ll help too, Sister!” Liú Cōngming puffed out his little chest, slapping it with determination, his face alight with excitement and purpose. “I’m strong! I can carry things!”
The first step in their plan was training.
Liú Xiǎomǎn did not rush them into action. She spent the entire afternoon guiding them in the safer areas of the back mountain, repeatedly rehearsing.
She taught them how to use shadows and rocks to conceal themselves, how to step on dry leaves without making a sound.
“Step on your toes first, keep your body light… like a cat.” She demonstrated herself, her movements astonishingly light and precise.
She even scoured the system’s store and used the last few points to exchange for two basic doses of Physical Enhancement Serum (Trial Version).
She presented it as a self-made health tonic, letting Lǐ Xiùxiù and Liú Cōngming drink it.
The warm liquid slid down their throats, sending a faint but rapid warmth through their limbs, dispelling years of frailty and fatigue, even improving their night vision.
That night, under the third cloak of darkness over Liújiā Village, a secret family operation officially commenced.
Moonlight poured like liquid through the sparse branches, scattering silver light across the ground.
Lǐ Xiùxiù’s heart pounded in her throat. Following her daughter’s instructions, she carefully bundled cloth, salt, and other supplies into small parcels, handling each as lightly as touching fragile porcelain.
Not far from the village entrance, Liú Cōngming crouched behind a bush, his small figure tense, eyes alert.
He had been assigned the frontline sentry role, his tiny body brimming with responsibility.
He widened his eyes and pricked up his ears, attentively listening for every bark and rustle from the village, his childish face filled with a seriousness far beyond his years.
Liú Xiǎomǎn served as the vital link between the two points.
She carried a load far heavier than her size suggested, swiftly traversing between the village entrance and the back mountain.
The system’s scanning was pushed to maximum; any disturbance within a hundred meters appeared as data streams in her mind, allowing her to chart the safest, most hidden paths.
At first, Lǐ Xiùxiù fumbled, taking a long time to pack a parcel.
But watching her daughter’s slender figure vanish repeatedly into the dark forest, a powerful maternal force pushed her forward.
Her movements grew faster, more skilled; her eyes full of concern and love, never a word of hesitation spoken again.
Then, during one of the transport trips, an unexpected danger arose.
“Woof! Woof woof!”
A sudden bark pierced the night, growing nearer—likely the ferocious black dog from Liú the butcher’s house in the east of the village.
Liú Cōngming jumped in fright, pale-faced, tumbling out of the bush, whispering urgently: “Sister! Dog! A dog is coming!”
“Don’t panic!” Liú Xiǎomǎn’s voice rang instantly, cold and calm like ice.
She swiftly dragged the two parcels already at the village entrance into a nearby haystack, sprinkling dry leaves over them for camouflage.
She pulled her frightened mother and brother to a low, abandoned wall gap, decisively instructing: “Quick, hide behind the wall. Crouch. Don’t make a sound!”
The three of them huddled in their preselected hiding spot, holding their breath as if it might give them invisibility.
Lǐ Xiùxiù covered Liú Cōngming’s mouth tightly, terrified he might make a sound.
The barking grew nearer, the dog’s heavy breathing and scratching at the ground audible.
Time stretched unbearably; each second was agony.
Liú Xiǎomǎn’s back pressed against the cold earthen wall, fingernails digging into flesh, mind racing. Even worst-case scenarios—using beast repellent powder and her short sickle—flashed through her thoughts.
Fortunately, the dog appeared only to chase a night-moving rabbit. It circled nearby and was eventually called away by its owner, the barking fading into the distance.
Once safe, Liú Xiǎomǎn exhaled a long, shaky breath, her back slick with cold sweat.
Far from breaking them, the incident made the newly-formed family transport team even more cautious, and their coordination more seamless.
After several consecutive nights of hard labor, the scene in the cave behind the waterfall had changed dramatically.
Five neatly stacked rolls of coarse linen rested in one corner, alongside small piles of salt and bags of nails. On the other side, Liú Xiǎomǎn guided her mother and brother in collecting dry firewood and relatively flat stones, preparing for internal renovations.
That night, after the last batch of supplies had been moved into the cave, Lǐ Xiùxiù gazed at the mountain of gathered materials, at the spacious, dry home shielding them from wind and rain.
Years of fear, grievances, and helplessness boiled into hot tears.
She covered her mouth to keep from crying out, yet tears streamed down like beads slipping from a broken string.
Holding Liú Xiǎomǎn’s hand, she choked on her voice: “Xiǎomǎn… I never dreamed we could ever have a life like this. A home that’s not afraid of wind or rain, a home where no one can bully us…”
“Mother, this is just the beginning.” Liú Xiǎomǎn looked at the light in her mother’s eyes and her brother’s growing confidence, feeling an unprecedented sense of fulfillment.
She gently wiped her mother’s tears, solemnly promising: “From now on, our life will only get better. This home—we build it together. No one can take it from us!”
The bonds of family, forged through sweat and shared hope, had become unbreakable.
【Ding! Detected host has completed a phase of material stockpiling and successfully established a family team. Reward: Beginner’s Physical Enhancement Serum ×1.】
The system’s notification sounded, and Liú Xiǎomǎn claimed the reward without hesitation.
A warmth several times stronger than the trial version surged through her body, sweeping away days of exhaustion, leaving her filled with seemingly inexhaustible energy.
Yet, as construction progressed vigorously, the old hut’s potential crisis quietly approached.
The family moved stealthily by night and stayed in the cave during the day. The prolonged silence at the old hut had finally caught the attention of the Liú estate.
Liú Xiǎomǎn realized the problem.
Though the hut was dilapidated, it now had to serve as a decoy. They had to occasionally appear there to maintain the illusion that they still lived in it.
As she planned how to act out this ruse tomorrow, her mind was already turning over the next stage of their grand plan.