The crowd’s movements paused slightly.
But the next second, they resumed frantically collecting water and grabbing meat.
What germs or no germs—all they knew was that without food, they would starve. To survive, they would even dare to gnaw on tree roots or eat clay, let alone wild game that still looked fresh.
“I’m not trying to scare you. The animals that drank the water all died, which proves there must be something wrong with the water source.” Song Jiaojiao couldn’t bear to watch everyone take such risks and couldn’t help but remind them again.
But good intentions sometimes don’t earn gratitude.
“Can we really trust what the Song family’s little jinx says?” A sharp, sarcastic woman’s voice rang out from the crowd. She spat on the ground and deliberately drank several large gulps of water from a clay pot right in front of Song Jiaojiao and the others, her face full of satisfaction. “Brother Huaian marrying you was truly the worst luck in eight lifetimes.”
After saying this, she scrutinized Song Jiaojiao up and down with a critical eye, finding fault everywhere. “Maybe the reason Brother Huaian hasn’t woken up yet is because you’re jinxing him.”
Tsk, tsk, calling him “Brother Huaian” so affectionately?
A troublesome admirer of her cheap husband?
The woman looked quite young, with willow-like eyebrows and cherry lips, beautiful and charming. She had a slender waist and full hips, a seductive voice, and carried herself with the grace of a mature woman. Amid the disheveled refugees, she stood out like a striking sight.
Song Jiaojiao curled her lips playfully. “Too bad your Brother Huaian married me.”
Laughter erupted all around.
“Widow Ma, are you so desperate for a man that you’ve lost your mind? How could Sheng Huaian ever fancy you?” someone teased.
Widow Ma’s face flushed red as she planted her hands on her hips. “Nonsense! I haven’t even complained about him being a wife-killer yet.”
The sun beat down, making everyone sweat profusely. Song Jiaojiao had no intention of wasting time here. “If you insist on using the water here, at least boil it before drinking.”
Having said her piece, she turned and left, followed by various scornful voices.
“This water is sweet and refreshing—what’s wrong with it? The girl is just ignorant, spreading alarmist rumors.”
“How could there possibly be water upstream? Look around—everything is dried up. Keep your eyes open, everyone. She’ll definitely sneak back here later.”
“So many animals died nearby—could the water really be contaminated?”
“Give it a rest. The animals starved to death. Look, the meat is still fresh. Don’t worry, it’s definitely fine. You actually believe what Song the Jinx says? Have you lost your mind?”
As soon as these words were spoken, another wave of laughter broke out.
Song Jiaojiao paused briefly, her heart heavy. On this journey of fleeing famine, having something to eat was already a blessing. She couldn’t stop everyone. Even if she succeeded in stopping them, what then?
How would she solve everyone’s food and warmth problems?
She wasn’t a saint.
She could only hope that boiling the water and thoroughly cooking the meat would kill all the germs.
Perhaps because word had spread that there was water and meat nearby, she encountered many refugees heading toward the river on her way back. Each face was filled with renewed hope and joy.
If she didn’t have the System, would she also be gambling everything like them?
Song Jiaojiao never found an answer to this question as she made her way back to the camp. Hidden behind a large rock, she retrieved water, salt, and a pheasant from her Space. The pheasant was still alive, thoughtfully tied up by the System to prevent it from escaping.
She stuffed everything into a sack, slung it over her left shoulder—staggering slightly under the weight—and carried a wooden bucket in her right hand, trudging with difficulty toward her family’s campfire.
From a distance, she could see a crowd gathered around the cart.
It seemed her cheap husband had already woken up.
“When that Song disaster comes back empty-handed, let’s see how she explains herself.” The malicious voice was all too familiar—none other than Widow Ma, who had it out for her.
Sheng Erlang had been digging dandelions for so long that his throat felt parched and dry. Afraid that Song Jiaojiao might truly return empty-handed, he greedily eyed the bowl of water in Widow Ma’s hand and deliberately put on a pitiful tone: “Big brother, let me drink this bowl of water. I’ll go fetch another bucket later.”
Sheng Huaian frowned. “If you want water, go fetch it yourself.”
He wanted nothing to do with Widow Ma, but his younger brother seemed deaf to his words. Sheng Erlang snatched the bowl from Widow Ma’s hand and gulped down several large mouthfuls.
“This water has a strange taste… earthy?” He spat most of it onto the ground with a few disgusted sputters. “Disgusting.”
“Erlang!” Sheng Huaian’s expression instantly turned icy.
His face was stern, his lips pressed into a tight line, and a chilling aura seeped out, sending shivers down one’s spine.
Sheng Erlang shuddered involuntarily, grabbed a waterskin, and headed out. “I’ll go fetch water right now to pay her back.”
After just a few steps, he spotted Song Jiaojiao, that unlucky one.
He jogged over, took a look, and immediately brightened up, turning back to shout, “Big brother, Song disaster brought back a lot of stuff—and water too.”
Saved him a trip. This Song disaster was actually quite considerate.
Song Jiaojiao shot him a cold glance.
Feeling emboldened by his older brother’s backing, Sheng Erlang puffed out his chest and raised an eyebrow smugly. “What are you looking at? Think I’m still scared of you? Coming back so late—trying to starve me to death? Watch out, or I’ll have big brother whip you.”
Song Jiaojiao couldn’t be bothered to engage with an idiot.
She walked past him and continued forward.
“Sister-in-law, let me help you carry the bucket.” Mrs. Fang hurried over to assist. The bucket was heavy, filled to the brim and nearly overflowing. She let out an exaggerated “oh my” and laughed. “Looks like some people are bound to be disappointed.”
Widow Ma’s expression shifted slightly. She swayed her slender waist forward and sneered, “Didn’t you say the water source was problematic? Seems like you were just talking nonsense.”
“This water came from a small mountain spring—just this one bucket. If you don’t believe me, look. It’s much clearer and cleaner than the river water.” Song Jiaojiao set down the sack on her shoulder and rubbed her sore shoulders.
“There’s no way there’s water anywhere else.” Widow Ma was convinced Song Jiaojiao was just being stubborn and couldn’t wait to see her humiliated in front of Sheng Huaian. She insisted on inspecting the bucket.
However, the reality was…
The river water was slightly murky and carried a strange odor, but this bucket of water had no impurities at all.
She suddenly felt her face sting with embarrassment.
But…
“Brother Huaian is weak—those wild game would be perfect for nourishing him. You didn’t bring any yourself, and you even encouraged everyone else not to. You really think…” Before Widow Ma could finish, her face stung even more.
From the open mouth of the sack, a lively wild chicken poked its head out and let out a proud, spirited crow.
“Cock-a-doodle-doo~”
As if mocking her too.
Someone couldn’t hold back a snicker.
Mrs. Fang went on the offensive: “My sister-in-law is truly capable, managing to bring back a live chicken. Unlike some people, who act like they’re bestowing a favor just by offering a bowl of water. Stop embarrassing yourself here and hurry back to your own home.”
“You wretched little bitch, who are you muttering about?” Widow Ma, having failed to humiliate Song Jiaojiao as she wished, was nearly bursting with rage. She raised her hand to slap Mrs. Fang, but her foot caught on something, sending her sprawling face-first onto the ground.
She opened her mouth, and a front tooth, mixed with bloody foam, spat out.
“You’ve gone too far! I’ll kill you!” Widow Ma started to shout, only to feel a chilling gap where her tooth had been. Panicked, she covered the corner of her mouth, whimpering, “Wah wah wah…”
Song Jiaojiao casually withdrew her foot, tilted her head, and coldly spat out a single word: “Scram.”
The two stared at each other for a moment.
“You little bitch, just you wait!” Widow Ma threw down a fierce threat before scrambling away in a most pitiful and disheveled state.
Mrs. Fang laughed heartily, genuinely expressing her gratitude to Song Jiaojiao: “Thank you, sister-in-law.”
She had finally realized that when trouble arose, her husband was utterly unreliable, not worth a damn. In critical moments, it was her sister-in-law who truly stepped up.
So fierce, so commanding.
“Shall we kill the chicken now? Let me do it, don’t dirty your hands,” she eagerly asked.
Seeing Song Jiaojiao nod, she was even more delighted, grinning from ear to ear. She grabbed a kitchen knife in one hand and the pheasant in the other, bustling off to a distance to handle the task.
“Mom, wait for us!” The two little ones chased after her, eager to join the excitement.
Killing the chicken meant there would be meat to eat. Just the thought made their mouths water.
“Is that still the same sharp-tongued, competitive second sister-in-law?” Sheng Sanlang rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
Sheng Erlang was even more horrified. Thinking of his wife and children’s cold attitude toward him, he couldn’t help muttering, “Who knows what kind of spell Song Jiaojiao cast on the three of them?”
In truth, he was deeply guilty, terrified that Mrs. Fang and the others would expose the matter. Losing face was a minor concern; he would surely be beaten to death by his righteous and unforgiving eldest brother.
He stole a glance at his eldest brother and saw that his face was indeed dark with anger. His legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to his knees.
“Second Brother, Third Brother, go help Mrs. Fang with the cooking. I have something to discuss with her alone.” Sheng Huaian tapped the side of the cart repeatedly, his tone leaving no room for argument.
The two brothers fled faster than rabbits.
The atmosphere instantly grew tense and strained.