Li Wanting took a bun from the space, placed it under the quilt, and whispered to Zhou Zomeng, “Lie down and cover your head with the blanket while you eat.”
“Mm-hmm,” Zomeng nodded and hid under the blanket to eat.
“Mom, my little sister looks like a sneaky little mouse,” Zhou Zimo teased, seeing his sister eat secretly under the quilt.
Li Wanting smiled, took out two candies from the space, giving one to Zhou Zimo and secretly popping the other into her own mouth.
Seeing the candy, Zhou Zimo quickly held it tightly, glanced around to make sure no one was watching, and secretly popped it into his mouth. Mmm, sweet!
Li Wanting then pulled out a box of milk from the space and handed it to Zomeng under the blanket, continuing to drive the cart.
They were heading south along the mountain path. The further south they went, the more refugees appeared along the road. Zhou Yunda hit the bronze gong hard and shouted, “Everyone, keep an eye on your children and don’t give human traffickers a chance. Push a little harder now—it’s not too hot yet. When noon comes, we’ll find a place to cook and rest.”
Hearing the village chief’s words, everyone pulled their children close, eyes alert for any danger.
“Mom, it’s so hot and tiring, I can’t walk anymore.”
“You have to keep going. If you fall behind, you’ll get kidnapped by traffickers—and there’ll be no one to cry to.”
“Mom, I’m thirsty.”
“Thirsty? Already? We just started, and we don’t know when we’ll find water. Sip a little to moisten your mouth, that’s enough.”
…
After only two hours, children in the caravan began to cry and fuss. Some were carried by their fathers, some scolded and prodded along, but all kept moving, keeping pace with the caravan.
Li Wanting and the two children occasionally sipped Lingquan water or nibbled on strawberry jerky. If someone didn’t know the situation, they might have thought the three were on a leisurely trip rather than fleeing famine.
Zomeng even insisted on letting the little tigers, Hubaobao and Huniu, out to play. The tigers were still young; when they grew, they’d be helpful companions, but for now, they stayed close.
However, the tiger cubs still needed milk, so Li Wanting thought about getting a dairy goat ready. Her face remained calm as she focused on driving the cart.
Seeing groups of refugees in torn clothes walking numbly along the path, she thought: life is hard.
In July, the morning sun was bearable, but by noon, the heat would be unbearable. Just when people were about to collapse:
“Clang!”
Zhou Yunda spotted a sparse grove at the foot of the mountain. Though the trees were yellowed and dry, they provided shade. He struck the gong and said, “Everyone, rest under the trees. In the afternoon, it will be cooler, then we can continue.”
Hearing they could rest, everyone entered the grove. Some collapsed to the ground, some leaned against trees, some lay flat—so exhausted they didn’t care about the dirt.
Li Wanting drove her cart to a large tree, tied the cow to it, and noticed the bark had been stripped off, evidence of the refugees’ suffering.
After stretching, she helped Zomeng off the cart. Zimo jumped down by himself. Though they hadn’t walked, the bumpy ride had exhausted their bottoms.
If walking villagers could hear their thoughts, they’d probably call them lazy—they’d love to ride the cart instead of walking.
Li Wanting unloaded the cart to let the cow rest. She put a broken clay jar in front of the cow and poured Lingquan water into it. The cow drank greedily.
Everyone was so tired, they didn’t want to move. They ate dry grain cakes or corn buns they brought along and sipped water from their pouches. This was their makeshift midday meal.
Li Wanting and the children nibbled on grain cakes and drank water, keeping up appearances.
After finishing and resting a little, some lay down to sleep, some leaned against trees, and some went up the hill hoping to find wild vegetables or hunt small prey.
Li Wanting asked Mrs. Wang to watch the cart while she led the children to graze the cows and look for wild vegetables. Mrs. Wang warned her not to go far for safety.
Li Wanting led the cow and children, each child holding a tiger cub. They walked out of the forest and up the hill.
Under the midday sun, the heat burned their skin. Seeing no one around, Li Wanting brought the cow into the space and also produced a dairy goat. The three of them sat on the sofa and ate popsicles—icy and refreshing.
Afterward, they finally felt like eating. Li Wanting took out prepared sweet and sour ribs, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried baby bok choy, and rice, with seaweed egg drop soup—three dishes and a soup, enough to satisfy them completely.
After eating, she made small ice cubes in the freezer, used the space’s perspective function to check the surroundings, and then left the space with the children.
The heat hit them like a wave. Li Wanting brought the cow out of the space, along with the dairy goat, and hurried toward the resting area with the children.
“Wow, Dasha’s wife, where did you get that goat?” Mrs. Tian had been walking all morning, her feet sore. Seeing Li Wanting return with a goat, she was astonished.
“Hehe, I just picked it up in the mountains,” Li Wanting said, slightly embarrassed.
“Oh my, Dasha’s wife really has luck. First you found a bear and a tiger, now a goat. That’s amazing!” Mrs. Tian said enviously.
“Hmph, little minx. Who knows if it was ‘picked up’? Could be you lured some wild man,” Zhou Zhangshi, leaning against a tree, sneered.
“Hey, you old hag, why can’t you just be happy for her? Who could really fight a bear and a tiger, and then a goat? Don’t spout nonsense or you’ll catch the wind in your tongue,” Mrs. Tian shot back.
“You old… I didn’t mean you! Dog meddler…” Zhou Zhangshi wanted to retort, but a gust of wind blew off her headscarf, revealing her bald head.
“Ah! My headscarf!” Zhou Zhangshi screamed and rushed to grab it.