The two of them worked together and tidied up every corner of the cave. Then Bai Nianqing pulled out from her space two bags of rice, two bags of flour, two bags of cornmeal, one bag of millet, and a jar of lard. She also brought out some oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and various seasonings.
They placed the food and drink in one cave, while the other cave held lard, quilts, bedding, and tools like iron shovels, pickaxes, and rakes.
They also brought out an iron stove, pots and pans, both large and small, and other necessities.
This ensured that even if they had to move up the mountain tomorrow, they would have the basics for daily life.
“Husband, do you think we’re missing anything?” Bai Nianqing asked.
“Let’s also bring out a couple of oil lamps and some white paper. It’s still too dark in the cave; pasting a layer of paper over the lamps will help. Also, bring two bags of charcoal. Next time we come, we can set up heated brick beds in the caves—winter will be much more bearable,” Shen Wenhe said.
Bai Nianqing obediently retrieved everything he mentioned.
After double-checking, they confirmed that they had taken everything necessary and finally stepped outside.
Shen Wenhe closed the wooden door to the cave and returned to the wooden house below.
They had stayed here for two days, and the wooden house had already been tidied up.
“Later, we’ll need to set up a shed to store firewood, and also build a small kitchen. We can’t always cook inside the house,” Bai Nianqing said.
“I know, I’ll arrange all of that. Tomorrow, we’ll go out, buy a coffin, and return to bury the old man properly. Then we’ll build two small wooden houses and prepare everything. Once the chaos starts, we can retreat to the mountain immediately,” Shen Wenhe had already planned it all.
“All right, but… do you know how to build wooden houses?” Bai Nianqing asked, not doubting his intelligence but his practical skills.
Even though Shen Wenhe, as a young master, had some education and a little martial training, he had no experience with manual labor.
“I don’t, but I can learn. After all, it’s for us to live in. It doesn’t matter if they’re good or not. And if I can’t, maybe Chang’an can?” Shen Wenhe said confidently.
“All right, we’ll see how it goes,” Bai Nianqing replied skeptically. She didn’t understand where his confidence came from—why would Chang’an know how to build a wooden house just because he didn’t?
Chang’an might be a servant, but compared to ordinary villagers, he was still exceptional. Ordinary families simply wouldn’t know how to do this.
After some small talk and a bit of food, they went to sleep.
The next morning, they set out to return home.
The weather was clear, and fortunately, they carried Xu Changming’s beast-repelling powder, so they encountered no danger on the way.
When they arrived home, Xiao Chun was playing in the courtyard with Nianchen. Seeing them, she ran over.
“Sister, brother-in-law!”
“Miss, sir, you’re back,” Xiao Chun greeted as well.
“Yes, has everything at home been fine these days?” Bai Nianqing asked, picking up her younger brother Nianchen.
“Everything’s fine at home, but recently some refugees have appeared in the county,” Xiao Chun said.
“Really? There are already refugees in the city?” Shen Wenhe frowned.
“Yes. Yesterday, Brother Chang’an said the rivers in the city are almost dry, and some wells no longer yield water,” Xiao Chun explained.
“It’s already this serious? How about the wells in our village?” Bai Nianqing asked anxiously.
“Our village wells are deep, so they still produce water, though not much—about two buckets in a day and night. The village wells are already dry. Some villagers went into the mountains to look for water but were eaten by wolves. When their families searched, they only found scraps of clothing.
Now, even if the village is short of water, no one dares to go into the mountains,” Xiao Chun said, then cautiously asked, “Miss, you didn’t encounter any wolves in the mountains, right?”
“No,” Bai Nianqing said. They were indeed lucky—this trip into the mountains had been completely safe.
“That’s good. I pulled up all the vegetables in the garden and dried some for storage. Also…” Xiao Chun continued, recounting all the recent events she had witnessed.
“Pulling up the vegetables was fine; if food and water are scarce, who can worry about vegetables? Life in the village is already so difficult… I wonder how we’re going to survive,” Bai Nianqing sighed.
“Yes. Yesterday, some people even came to our village to ask for water. I felt sorry for them and gave them a bowl…”
While Xiao Chun spoke, a disheveled woman ran in, clutching two children tightly.
“Please, kind lady, save us!” the woman cried, falling to the ground in front of Bai Nianqing.
“Madam, what’s going on? Stand up,” Bai Nianqing stepped back, startled.
The woman looked up in shock and finally recognized Bai Nianqing as the person in charge of the village.
She immediately knelt again with her daughters. “Miss, please save my little girls!”
“Madam, what happened? You need to explain so I can help,” Bai Nianqing gestured to Xiao Chun to help the woman stand.
“Miss, please, my mistress is very kind, she will help,” Xiao Chun said, pulling the woman to her feet.
“Miss, I beg you to buy these two girls from me. They’re young, but they can do anything—wash clothes, cook…” The woman pushed the two children toward Bai Nianqing, pleading.
“How old are they? What can they really do? You should take them back home,” Bai Nianqing frowned at the timid girls.
“They’re not little anymore. The eldest is seven, the younger five. They really can work and do everything. Please, Miss, have mercy and buy them. My mother-in-law wants to sell them for grain. I have no choice,” the woman begged bitterly.
“What happened at home? Why would you want to sell your children?” Bai Nianqing asked, puzzled.