Zhou Yunda and Li Wanting walked over to the big tree where Zhou Shuanzhong’s family was resting, watching Little Zhou carefully wipe Da-ya’s forehead.
After a short while, Da-ya woke up, weakly calling out, “Mother…”
“Ah, Da-ya, you’re finally awake! How do you feel?” Little Zhou asked, her voice full of relief.
“Much better,” Da-ya said weakly.
“Oh, good, that’s good.” Little Zhou wiped her tears happily.
Seeing his daughter awake, Zhou Shuanzhong finally relaxed, pressing his heart back down into his chest. He clasped his hands and said to Li Wanting, “Sister-in-law, your great kindness shall not be forgotten. If you ever need anything, just say a word, and I will do it for you.”
“Ah, we’re all neighbors here. Don’t mention kindness. Just take good care of Da-ya. I have to go back; my two children are waiting for me,” Li Wanting said, waving, and turned to leave.
Zhou Yunda, seeing that everything was fine, patted Zhou Shuanzhong on the shoulder and returned to his group.
“How’s Da-ya?” Mrs. Wang asked as Li Wanting returned and got off the cow cart.
“She’s awake now. She’s fine, Uncle and Aunt,” Li Wanting replied.
“Good, good. The heavens really don’t give anyone a break, do they?” Mrs. Wang muttered, relieved, and returned to her own spot.
Seeing that many villagers were cooking mung bean soup, Li Wanting noted that everyone was careful with their food and water. Her space had mung bean porridge, and since her family had already taken Huoxiang Zhengqi Water, she just let the children drink some of the spirit spring water from the water pouches, drank a little herself, gave water to the cow and sheep, and then rested her eyes on the cart.
“Ding!”
Suddenly, the gong sounded, and everyone immediately looked toward Zhou Yunda.
“It’s a bit cooler now, so we need to speed up. We must leave Shixian before sunset. Drink some water and get ready to move,” Zhou Yunda shouted.
Everyone got up, drank water, and the main caravan set off again. A little wind had risen; though still hot, it was more bearable.
The afternoon passed without incident. At sunset, Zhou Yunda stopped at a flat spot at the foot of a mountain, deciding that they would spend the night here.
They had been traveling along mountain paths heading south, which stretched for thousands of miles. It was agreed that finding food on the mountain would be better than following the official road.
Upon learning they would stay here for the night, everyone began to clean their spots. Being villagers, they knew the importance of fire safety without needing the village head to remind them. They set up cooking fires; after a day without meals, most people cooked wild vegetable and grain porridge, eating it with dry bread or steamed buns.
Little Zhou, feeling grateful, brought Li Wanting a small bowl of brown rice to thank her for giving medicine to her daughter. Li Wanting politely accepted.
Once Little Zhou left, Li Wanting let the cow and sheep graze on dry grass nearby, poured water into a jar, and left it at that.
She took the brown rice and wild vegetables from the cart—though the brown rice had been replaced with grain from her space—while Zhou Zimo started the fire. Li Wanting stirred the wild vegetable porridge, adding a bit of salt, explaining that people needed salt to stay strong.
Once cooked, the porridge was cooled and served. Li Wanting hid a salted duck egg in each person’s bowl. The three of them ate happily.
After the meal, Zhou Yunda arranged people to fetch water and take night watch. Since Li Wanting’s family had no men, Zhou Yunda didn’t assign her any duties.
Li Wanting knew the village head was considerate, but she worried that if she did nothing for too long, other villagers might resent her. So she volunteered to help fetch water.
Zhou Yunda, seeing her insistence, agreed, instructing her to stay with the group and not go alone.
Li Wanting asked Mrs. Wang to watch the cow cart and the two children and had Zhou Zimo milk Tiger Cub and Tiger Cub Girl. She placed three water pouches into her carrying basket, hoisted the buckets, and followed the group into the mountain to fetch water.
Some villagers went in groups of three or five, men looking for game, women for wild vegetables, older children collecting firewood nearby, and some elderly and children resting. Patrols were done by men, keeping a safe distance from the Zhou family’s group.
The advantage of traveling together was clear—no one dared to bully or steal from them.
The water-fetchers split into two teams, ten people each. Li Wanting followed Zhou Dafeng, Zhou Shuanzhong, and a few other young men, observing the surroundings. The mountain trees and grass were withered, but drought-resistant trees still clung to life.
After half an hour of searching, they found no water. Searching blindly like this wouldn’t work. Taking advantage of a moment, Li Wanting took out binoculars from her space. To the southeast, about 500 meters away, some greenery indicated water trickling from a stone cliff.
Once confirmed, she put the binoculars away and subtly guided the group toward the southeast.
She arrived at the stone cliff where water trickled into a small pit. Though not much, it was enough for the village. Excited, she called out to Lin Dafeng, “Brother Dafeng! We found water! Over here!”
“Where? Where?”
Hearing Li Wanting, the men rushed over from all directions.
“It really is! Wonderful! Finally, water! Sister-in-law is so lucky,” Lin Dafeng joked before organizing villagers to fetch water and sending someone back to inform the rest.
Li Wanting filled the water pouches and buckets, carrying them back while thinking how to get some meat from her space.
During outdoor meals, they had more food now. Though her grain bread from space had some rye mixed in, it was still better than plain dry bread, but they couldn’t always eat it. Ah, she had an idea.
Pretending to be tired, she leaned against a tree and, using space, threw a rabbit onto the tree. To the villagers, it appeared as if a rabbit suddenly jumped from the grass and hit the tree.
“Bang!”
“Ah!” Li Wanting acted startled and picked up the rabbit, shaking it.
“A rabbit?”
The villagers were stunned. Did the rabbit’s head get kicked by a donkey? How did it die just by hitting the tree?
“Sister-in-law, perhaps you often pray to Guanyin Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva blesses you; no wonder your luck is so incredible,” Lin Dafeng said, giving her a thumbs-up.
Zhou Shuanzhong and others were envious. Who could believe a rabbit would kill itself by running into a tree? Had they not seen it themselves, they would never have believed it.
“Hehe, yes,” Li Wanting said nervously, finding herself unable to explain. Lin Dafeng’s joke eased the tension, and she smiled, placing the rabbit in the basket, hoisting the water buckets, and walking down the mountain.
The villagers hurriedly followed, many carrying water pouches and jars, greeting them along the way.