The village’s grain-drying ground was open on all sides, far from the mountains and forests—a large, flat stone clearing.
Every autumn harvest, just to secure a spot to dry their rice, the Wang, Li, and Zhao families—the three biggest clans in the village—often fought fiercely. But now, with the entire village crowded into the drying ground, constantly wary of the ground shaking and huge rocks falling from the back mountain, fear had brought an unprecedented sense of unity and harmony.
More than a dozen simple shelters made of tree branches and covered with straw were packed with people. Because of the lingering tremors, these crude shelters sometimes collapsed, but fortunately, at worst it only caused some pain and didn’t threaten lives.
For now, there was no better option—they could only rely on straw to block the cold wind.
In the middle of the night, the men held torches and continued building shelters in an orderly way, while the women helped nearby. The ones sleeping inside the shelters were mostly small children, not separated by family—just divided into boys and girls, all huddled together and sleeping soundly.
When they returned, many villagers gathered around, eagerly asking for news from outside. Seeing that most people were present, Zhao Dashan simply distributed the medicine among the families and explained the situation in town. Finally, he said, “I used the remaining money to buy more medicine. I won’t divide that—it will belong to the whole village.”
“Whatever you decide is fine, Dashan. We all listen to you.”
“Yes, yes, we all listen to you.”
At a time like this, when the whole village needed to unite and overcome difficulties together, everyone was eager for someone to take charge. Naturally, no one would object.
If it was given to the village, then so be it—after all, they were all part of the village.
In the end, they all benefited from it anyway.
After distributing the medicine, Zhao Dashan returned to his family’s shelter. By coincidence, the shelter next to theirs belonged to Erlai’s family. Erlai’s father was already squatting nearby, wiping his tears while boiling medicine.
The Zhao family had many men, so they didn’t need help from others. Zhao Sandi and the five boys built a large shelter together, filling it with straw, and the whole family squeezed inside.
Zhao Dashan sat cross-legged, holding a large bowl, eating as he described their journey in detail. He sighed, “Father, living far from town does have its advantages. Even if chaos breaks out outside, it won’t reach us. You don’t know—those people’s eyes were red with desperation, grabbing rice and medicine. I even heard some went into wealthy homes to steal gold and silver…”
He glanced at his little sister beside him, who was staring at him with bright, watery eyes. He pressed his lips together and didn’t go into too much detail, afraid of scaring her.
Old Man Zhao and Wang Shi both understood. What “stealing gold and silver”? It was more like robbing corpses.
Who knew how many people had died outside? In less than a day, the town had already fallen into chaos. Just hearing about it sent chills down their spines.
Wang Shi licked her dry lips. She felt extremely uneasy, her fingers trembling uncontrollably. Something about the world felt wrong… in recent years there had been snow disasters and droughts, and just as the year’s end approached, there was an earthquake. Disasters kept happening year after year. Was this a warning from heaven?
Could it be that this year would not be peaceful either?
“On the way, the men we met said many people in their villages had died too. It happened at night—no one had time to react. Those who escaped were just lucky.”
“Isn’t that the truth? We’re all lucky to be alive,” Wang Shi said bitterly, gently rubbing her daughter’s head.
“For now, let’s not go to town. We’ll wait until spring,” Zhao Dashan suggested. The family had enough grain to last until then. They couldn’t buy coarse salt for now, but they had plenty of cured meat prepared before the new year—it would last them for a while. Later, they could ask around the village to trade or buy more if needed.
With the family safe and food secured, his only worry was the outside world. From what people said, the officials had no time to manage Tongjiang Town anymore. The surviving officers had all gone to the earthquake’s epicenter in nearby cities. Judging from the situation in town today, it was no surprise that things were looted—shop workers were beaten badly by desperate crowds, unable to protect the grain. Not only was the food lost, but they nearly lost their lives too.
Zhao Dashan found the scene terrifying. Without order, all those who usually kept their heads down—like stray cats, dogs, and rats—had come crawling out.
He would never do such beastly things, nor did he respect them.
Wang Shi suppressed her fear and nodded. “We’ll listen to the eldest. For now, we won’t leave the village. Those things have nothing to do with us, and we can’t control them.”
Then she glanced at her daughters-in-law and sighed softly. “Tomorrow, you should all take your wives back to visit their families. Help if you can. Your father and I will stay here—you don’t need to worry.”
She had once been a daughter-in-law herself. How could she not understand their worries? All of them had been restless today, thinking about their own families.
Hearing this, the daughters-in-law were overjoyed. “Thank you, Mother!”
It was late at night. Zhao Dashan had walked all day through the mountains and was exhausted. The family stopped talking and lay down wrapped in their quilts.
Zhao Xiaobao curled up under the blanket. Beneath her wasn’t straw but a mattress, with straw underneath it. She didn’t feel cold at all—her parents lay beside her, shielding her from the wind.
She couldn’t sleep, so she stared into the pitch darkness above.
Outside, voices continued, along with the sound of footsteps on snow. The bubbling sound of boiling medicine was clear—it was for Erlai. His family’s shelter was next to theirs, arranged deliberately by her father, hoping to borrow her “good luck” to protect him.
Zhao Xiaobao struggled to slip a finger out of the tightly wrapped blanket and scratched her itchy cheek. For some reason, she suddenly felt like she had become smarter.
She could now understand what her father was saying.
She also knew she had a special place that others didn’t—there were three acres of fertile land cultivated by her brothers, planted with crops.
She used to think her parents and brothers came into her dreams to play with her, but that wasn’t true. Her dream was a real place, and they could only enter if she agreed.
Because she was young and didn’t understand, her parents would coax her, asking “Little Fairy Xiaobao” to let them in.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xiaobao covered her mouth and giggled quietly. A mischievous glint flashed in her eyes. Suddenly, a rich fragrance filled the entire shelter.
In the darkness, a small hand tightly held a peach.
Half-asleep, Old Man Zhao sniffed the air, muttered something, and turned over. Startled, Zhao Xiaobao quickly threw the peach back into the “fairy land,” and the sweet scent vanished instantly.
After a while, when everything was quiet again, she brought the hand that had held the peach to her nose and sniffed it.
A suspicious slurping sound echoed softly in the dark.
She wiped the drool from her mouth and sucked on her chubby fingers.
Her mother had said that after the new year, she would turn four—she would be a big child.
No wonder she suddenly felt so smart—it was because she had grown up! Zhao Xiaobao couldn’t help but feel excited. She had always wanted to be a big child. That way, all the younger kids in the clan would listen to her, because she was “Aunt Xiaobao!”
Before she grew up, only Erlai listened to her sincerely, always calling her “Aunt” from the heart. Other children would call her that to her face but secretly call her a little kid and refuse to listen.
She liked Erlai very much. She didn’t want him to die.
Zhao Xiaobao took out the peach again. She was amazed at herself—just by thinking of it, the peach she had thrown away reappeared in her hand.
The shelter once again filled with the rich fruity fragrance.
“What’s that smell? Why is it so fragrant?” Old Man Zhao muttered groggily, opening his eyes. His chin felt cold—when he touched it, he realized he had drooled in his sleep.
“Father, do you want some peach?” a soft little voice whispered beside him, sounding a bit sneaky.
“What pea—mm…” As soon as he opened his mouth, something cool was stuffed inside. Instinctively, he swallowed. With a light press of his tongue, it melted into liquid, leaving a lingering sweetness.
Seeing no reaction, Zhao Xiaobao tilted her head and scraped off a little more with her fingernail, feeding it to him. Old Man Zhao suddenly jolted awake—now he recognized the smell.
Wasn’t this the peach from the “fairy land”? He knew that scent too well!
“Xiaobao, you…” He was completely shocked, his sleep gone in an instant. How did a peach from the fairy land appear here?
“Father, I can’t scrape it off anymore,” Zhao Xiaobao said, sounding aggrieved. The peach wasn’t fully ripe—she had already scraped off the soft tip for him, and now she couldn’t get more.
“If you can’t scrape it, then bite it!” Old Man Zhao urged.
A crisp “crunch” sounded—it must be his daughter taking a bite. The sound was so clear, and the fragrance spread, making his mouth water even more.
In the darkness, he couldn’t see anything, so his imagination ran wild—and the more he imagined, the hungrier he became.
“Xiaobao, what’s going on? How did you pick this peach?”
How did she climb such a tall tree?
“Father, where’s our knife?” Zhao Xiaobao asked, holding back her hunger. After taking one bite, she stopped eating and asked for a knife to cut the peach.
“What do you need a knife for?”
“To cut the peach—for Father, Mother, my brothers, sisters-in-law, and nephews.”
Hearing her soft little voice, Old Man Zhao’s heart melted completely. The child truly hadn’t been raised in vain—she thought of them even when she had something good.
He was about to say she didn’t need to share, that she should eat it herself, when Zhao Xiaobao continued:
“And one slice for Nephew Erlai, one for Chun Ya, one for Sister Li, and—”
“Wait, wait!” Old Man Zhao quickly interrupted her. Those people she mentioned all had head injuries. His heart pounded. “Xiaobao, does this peach have some special power? Can it cure illness?”
“I don’t know,” Zhao Xiaobao said, frowning slightly in the dark. “I just want them to eat it.”
Erlai called her “Aunt Xiaobao,” and she liked obedient juniors.
Chun Ya was her best friend in the village, who used to pick wild berries for her in the summer.
Sister Li was a widow raising two children alone. If those kids lost their mother, how would they live?
She… she didn’t want them to die.