It was no wonder Xiaoman's grandfather felt despair—perception determines action.
Just moments ago, he had seen the red glow growing brighter overhead and knew this fire was no small matter.
Mountain dwellers feared nothing more than encountering wildfires. Strong winds would scatter sparks everywhere, igniting whatever they landed on.
Now, with both families trapped in these mountains surrounded by dry grass and fallen leaves, there wasn’t even enough water to fight the flames. Wherever they went, it seemed like waiting for death. His newly kindled hope for survival was on the verge of collapsing once again.
But Jiang Zhi had no intention of giving up. Scientific fire prevention always offered a glimmer of hope.
"Uncle Changgeng, this place can shelter us from the fire!"
Jiang Zhi led the group of elderly, weak, and sick to the terraced fields she had just cleared.
Although the area wasn’t large, it was the cleanest spot, free of tall trees and relatively open.
Xiaoman's grandfather stumbled onto the freshly turned soil and was immediately captivated. "This used to be a rocky slope. How did it become leveled like this?"
Jiang Zhi, still preoccupied with the fire, had no time to explain. "Uncle Changgeng, the three of us need to find a way to divert the flames. You must stay here and keep watch, making sure no fleeing animals harm anyone."
Although this area was close to the village and frequently visited, with no large predators like wolves or tigers, there were still wild boars and deer.
Normally, these wild animals would avoid humans, but once the mountain fire broke out, panicked creatures might charge recklessly, potentially colliding with people.
Knowing the urgency, Xiaoman's grandfather nodded. "Alright, I’ll guard this place."
Aside from Jiang Zhi and the two boys, he was now considered able-bodied and responsible for protecting the vulnerable.
Xu Da Zhu, who was paralyzed, was placed directly on a grain sack. Xiaoman's grandfather, Xiaoman's grandmother, and Qiaoyun stayed behind with the children.
Jiang Zhi, along with Xu Errui and Xiao Man, began clearing the surrounding shrubs and weeds.
This time, she didn’t chop or dig—that method was too slow and inefficient. Instead, she planned to use fire.
Knowing the wind direction, she could create a firebreak by burning small sections in advance.
Initially, the three stood upwind. Jiang Zhi used a torch to ignite a patch of dry grass, while Xiao Man and Er Rui followed the fire line.
As the wind blew, the flames spread rapidly forward, burning through the dry grass before stopping near the pre-dug terraced fields, where they naturally died out due to lack of fuel.
If any sparks landed outside the area, Xiao Man and Xu Errui immediately extinguished them with tree branches.
Once one section was burned, they retreated a dozen steps, lit another fire, extinguished it, and repeated the process.
Bit by bit, they burned away the shrubs on the slope and then the dry grass and leaves under the nearby trees, leaving behind patches of blackened earth.
In the cleared terraced fields, Xiaoman's grandfather held a firewood knife, wrapped in a quilt to block the wind.
He asked Qiaoyun with a puzzled expression, "Er Rui’s wife, when did your mother clear this land? The soil here is incredibly fertile!"
As a lifelong farmer, he could gauge the fertility of the soil just by touching it.
Now, feeling the loose, rich soil beneath him, he could hardly believe his eyes. How had such excellent land suddenly appeared on this rocky mountain their ancestors had traversed countless times?
Although the area was still small, it was undoubtedly top-quality soil.
Qiaoyun wasn't idle either at this moment. Unable to follow her mother-in-law and husband into the dense woods, she sat on a grass mat, using a sickle to clear the leftover roots from the terraced fields.
Hearing Xiaoman's grandfather ask about these terraced fields, Qiaoyun set down her sickle. First, she glanced anxiously at the sky before saying, "Mother-in-law says even thin soil can be farmed. This kind of field is called a terraced field. You can make the soil as deep as you want, and it can also store water for planting rice seedlings."
These words were told to Qiaoyun by Jiang Zhi in the evening while she was grinding Qinggang Powder.
Knowing they could plant rice seedlings, Qiaoyun had been overjoyed for a while. That night, lying on the earthen bed with Er Rui, she talked about how their future children would be able to eat white rice and flour, drink thick rice porridge, and the family would no longer worry about food shortages.
But just a few hours later, they encountered the mountain fire, and it was still unknown whether the family could survive.
Qiaoyun's heart was filled with resentment!
Ever since moving to the mountain, her mother-in-law had stopped scolding her and treated her better than her own mother. Secretly, she had even been quietly grateful to those chaotic soldiers and refugees.
But why wouldn't Heaven let these good days last longer?
Terraced fields!
Xiaoman's grandfather's frown deepened. This method of farming on slopes existed in other places too.
Generally, earthen embankments were built at higher elevations to store water for irrigation, but he had never seen such narrow, long strips of land layered like steps.
Beside him, Xiaoman's grandmother held the deeply sleeping Nini and pulled the blanket over her eldest grandson's exposed legs, whispering, "Xiaoman's grandfather, after this mountain fire passes, we should also clear land for farming."
Their food was dwindling day by day, and no matter how frugal they were, it wouldn't be enough.
Today, with the Green Fruit jelly sent by Er Rui's mother, the family barely had a full meal, but they couldn't rely on others' charity every day.
If they cleared some wasteland themselves, they could plant melons, beans, and a few sweet potato mounds once the weather warmed up, and there would be a harvest.
Xiaoman's grandfather dropped the soil in his hand and looked up at the sky overhead: all hope still depended on this fire passing!
Now that the children were all busy trying to survive, he couldn't just sit idle either.
Land was the lifeblood of farming families. Having worked the land all his life, he couldn't let go of fertile fields.
By now, the torches by the terraced fields had burned out. To save flint, no new torches were lit.
Without light, Xiaoman's grandfather knelt on the ground and crawled, feeling around to pile the stones Jiang Zhi hadn't fully cleared from the field onto the ridge edges, not even sparing pebbles as small as a thumb.
Their conversation wasn't hidden from Xu Da Zhu, who lay on the grain sacks.
As usual, Xu Da Zhu pretended to be asleep, but his heart ached.
Before, family matters were kept from him, always saying there was enough food. Today, to avoid the fire, all the grain was laid out and buried with soil, so he could see clearly.
There was only slightly more than half a sack of millet, some fine grains, and a small handful of dried sweet potatoes. Even if they made porridge, it wouldn't last until harvest.
Although Er Rui's family had more grain than his own, it wasn't by much. Aunt Jiang was already clearing and tilling land now, which was better than his own family waiting to starve.
It was all his fault for becoming a useless person, a burden in times of disaster. His grandfather, already old, not only had to take care of him but would also have to do the heavy work of clearing land in the future.
Tormented, Xu Da Zhu reached out and pinched his fleshless legs until the skin broke and the flesh tore.
In the darkness, except for Nini, who understood nothing, everyone had something to do.
On the other side, Jiang Zhi and the other two were working with great enthusiasm.
This was the true heat of the fire. With raging flames right before them, they dared not let their focus waver for even a moment. The three of them were drenched in sweat, and even soaking their clothes with mountain spring water did little to help.
Xiao Man and Xu Errui wanted to strip off their shirts and go bare-chested, but Jiang Zhi stopped them sharply: "No matter how hot it gets, you must not take off your clothes."
This was a fire zone, with extremely high temperatures. At the very least, their cotton and linen winter garments could still provide some fireproofing and insulation.
Removing their clothes would instantly lead to burns and scorching. In the worst-case scenario, the skin on their bodies could peel off like cooked meat without them even realizing it.
Just as the three of them had nearly finished clearing the fallen leaves and dry grass from the wooded areas around the two families' homes and were preparing to expand their efforts, a sudden shift in the wind direction sent a gust rushing toward the mountaintop. The flames, swept along, abruptly changed course as well.
Fortunately, Xiao Man was standing guard nearby and managed to beat out the flames with a few swift strikes of a tree branch.
Jiang Zhi’s face tightened instantly. "Quickly! The wind direction has changed. Put out all the fires here, and let’s hurry back to the Terraced Fields!"
Earlier, the wind had been blowing outward, but now it was surging toward the mountaintop, indicating that the fire from below had already spread upward.
With the chimney effect in play, the flames would reach them in just a few minutes.
Hearing that the fire was closing in, Xiao Man and Xu Errui no longer dared to take their time. After toiling for half the night, they couldn’t afford to be burned alive in the end.
Summoning their last reserves of strength, they extinguished the remaining flames. Almost instantly, thick smoke surged up from the valley behind them, choking the three as they stumbled blindly toward the Terraced Fields, coughing violently all the while.