The father and daughter walked around the village once before returning to the village chief’s house.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, Lin Zhiyue took out a chipped porcelain bowl from the cart. The bowl was specially used for feeding the horse and mule some spiritual spring water.
“Even though there’s no fodder for you two, you’re still drinking better than the rest of my family. So you’d better keep working hard,” Lin Zhiyue said as she patted the horse’s head.
When they had bought the mule earlier, the seller had given them a little feed, but it had long since run out.
Now all they could give them was spiritual spring water. Otherwise, the two animals would collapse within a few days.
Inside the house, Madam Li was spreading quilts in one of the cleaned rooms. Seeing the two return, she hurriedly said:
“Second Brother, tonight you can sleep in the same room as your elder brother. Yueyue will sleep with me and Xingxing. Your room has already been prepared.”
“Thank you, Sister-in-law. You’ve worked hard,” Lin Yan said as he quickly stepped forward to help.
“No, no, I can handle it. It’ll be done soon,” Madam Li replied skillfully as she made the bed.
Lin Zhixing and Lin Zhili were in another room, stirring up clouds of dust as they cleaned.
In the kitchen, Lin Dian was waving a wooden stick with a rag tied to the end, dusting off the stove. There was still some firewood piled in the corner.
“Sigh, there’s really nothing left,” Old Madam Lin’s voice came from outside after she had walked around the courtyard.
“Grandma.” Lin Zhiyue stepped forward to support her.
“Grandma, just sit down and rest. Don’t tire yourself out.”
Lin Zhishu was carrying pots and bowls from the mule cart into the kitchen.
Lin Yan picked up a pot and climbed into the cart. Inside, he filled half the pot with rice and poured in half the water from the hot-water bag.
As he headed toward the kitchen, he quietly pulled Lin Zhiyue aside and whispered:
“Daughter, secretly refill some water into that hot-water bag.”
“Okay.” Seeing everyone busy, Lin Zhiyue turned and slipped back into the cart.
By then, Madam Li had also finished tidying the rooms and came into the kitchen. Seeing Lin Yan fumbling clumsily, she hurriedly took over the cooking.
Rice was precious—she couldn’t bear to see it wasted.
An hour later, waves of fragrant rice aroma drifted out from the kitchen. Looking at the cooked rice, Madam Li clicked her tongue in amazement. Even plain rice smelled this good!
The whole family had long since smelled the aroma. Madam Li carried the cooked rice out and placed it on the table outside.
“What kind of rice is this? It smells amazing!” Lin Dian leaned forward and sniffed eagerly.
“Dad, I’m starving!” Lin Zhili swallowed hard and tugged at his father’s sleeve.
“We’ll eat once Guard Pei comes back,” Lin Yan said as he set bowls and chopsticks on the table.
The family sat around the table, staring at the lone pot of rice in the middle, silently waiting.
“Why isn’t he back yet?” Lin Zhili ran outside the courtyard again, then returned dejectedly. He had already gone in and out several times.
Finally, during one of his trips outside, he spotted a figure hurrying over from the village entrance.
“He’s back! He’s back! We can eat now!” Lin Zhili shouted as he dashed into the courtyard.
A moment later, Pei Guang entered, carrying a scrawny pheasant in his hand.
“I searched half the mountain and only managed to catch one pheasant. Didn’t even see a pond,” Pei Guang said, raising the bird toward them.
“It’s already good enough that you caught one. With no water anywhere, even the wild animals must have migrated like the people,” Lin Dian said as he took the pheasant from him.
“Let’s make chicken soup. It’s all skin and bones anyway. I’ll go get some water.”
Lin Zhiyue turned toward the cart.
Madam Li and Lin Dian carried the pheasant into the kitchen to prepare it.
“How much water will this take? Will we still have enough to drink on the road?” Old Madam Lin asked worriedly.
“Mother, if it needs to be used, then it needs to be used. Maybe once we pass Yiyang, we’ll find water,” Lin Yan comforted her.
“Hm? This rice…”
Pei Guang stared at the pot of rice on the table. Every grain was distinct and crystal clear. It looked delicious.
“We bought it from a wealthy family while we were in Yiyang City,” Lin Yan answered casually.
“What wealthy family? Even the rice my master eats isn’t this… this…” Pei Guang hesitated, trying to find the right word. “This beautiful?”
Lin Yan laughed awkwardly.
“We’re not sure either. That family seemed in a hurry to leave. Some steward-like fellow sold us a little. It was really expensive.”
“Xingxing-jie, how are those moves you practiced yesterday?”
At that moment, Lin Zhiyue came out after delivering water to the kitchen and asked Lin Zhixing.
“I’ve already learned them all,” Lin Zhixing replied proudly.
“I learned them too!” Lin Zhili chimed in eagerly.
Pei Guang’s attention was diverted. After thinking for a moment, he said:
“Young Master Lin and Miss Lin both have decent aptitude. But the one with the best talent is still little Miss Lin.”
“What about my big brother? Is my aptitude better than his?”
At the mention of martial arts, Lin Zhili temporarily forgot about the tempting aroma of the rice. He definitely couldn’t beat his older brother in studying, but martial arts might be another matter. Hehe!
“It’s not that Young Master Lin lacks talent. He’s simply older and missed the best age to start martial arts training,” Pei Guang evaluated them one by one.
“Dinner’s ready.”
Lin Dian carried out a clay pot, and the rich aroma of chicken soup instantly filled the air.
As Old Madam Lin served everyone rice, she muttered:
“We never ate this well at home, but now that we’re fleeing famine, we’re eating better instead.”
Everyone received a bowl. Seeing there was still a little rice left in the pot, Lin Zhiyue said to Lin Yan:
“Dad, let’s send the rest to the old man next door.”
No one objected. After all, the old man had kindly brought them here, so giving him some food was only right.
“Eat first. I’ll take it over later,” Old Master Lin said. Only then did everyone begin eating.
Chicken soup over rice—soon the table fell silent, everyone focused completely on the meal in their bowls.
“With just this plain rice alone, I could eat two or three bowls,” Lin Zhili said after finishing half a bowl.
“I wonder where this rice was grown. It really is delicious,” Pei Guang voiced another question.
When nobody answered him, he lowered his head and continued eating.
Lin Zhishu’s eyes flickered slightly, but he said nothing.
Over the past few days, both Lin Zhishu and Old Master Lin had many questions too, but they were wise enough not to ask.
Next door, the three elderly men were slowly chewing on wild vegetable cakes.
“Old Brother, are you there?”
Old Master Lin stood outside the courtyard gate holding the bowl of rice, mixed with a little chicken soup.
Old Sun opened the gate and froze when he saw the bowl in Lin’s hands.
“Old Brother, the boy in my family caught a pheasant in the mountains, so we cooked some rice. I brought you a bowl.”
Old Sun stared at the rice and shook his head.
“I’m already a man waiting to die. Giving it to me is a waste. Take it back.”
With that, he tried to close the gate. Everyone else in the village had already left; only the three old men remained behind.
Those wild vegetable cakes were probably their last meal.
“Don’t be like that, Old Brother. Even if you’re waiting to die, you should still have one good meal. It may not be delicacies from the mountains and seas, but eating a little while you still can—isn’t that right?”
Old Master Lin blocked the gate and tried to persuade him.
Looking into Old Master Lin’s sincere eyes, Old Sun finally nodded and accepted the bowl.
Back inside the house, the other two elderly men looked at the rice in surprise.
“This time, you really did help the right people.”
Old Sun sat down and shared some with the other two.
In truth, whether people were good or bad no longer mattered to them. They were already waiting for death and no longer cared.