Unable to wait any longer, Old Madam Lin stormed into the kitchen, followed closely by her precious grandson, Lin Goudan.
When she saw that the porridge was already cooked, her anger subsided slightly. Even so, she shot Lin Wanxing a vicious glare before picking up a bowl and ladling herself a serving of the thick porridge.
Her face instantly softened as she handed it to Lin Goudan.
“My precious eldest grandson must be starving. Hurry and eat. After you’re done, Grandma will make you big steamed buns.”
Lin Goudan rolled his eyes at Lin Wanxing and her siblings and gave a disdainful snort before happily gulping down the porridge.
Meanwhile, Lin Yaya and Little Stone could only stand nearby, watching longingly.
After taking a mouthful, Lin Goudan deliberately smacked his lips loudly in front of them, clearly trying to provoke them.
His plan was to make Little Stone and Lin Yaya lose their tempers so Old Madam Lin would have another excuse to scold them.
Instead, the two children simply looked away as if they hadn’t seen anything.
Seeing that they refused to take the bait, Lin Goudan was so furious his eyes nearly rolled out of his head.
After breakfast, Lin Wanxing once again took her younger siblings up the mountain to gather wild vegetables.
Unlike yesterday, however, her main goal wasn’t vegetables.
She was looking for medicinal herbs.
Besides blood-staunching herbs like dandelion and mugwort, she dug up every common medicinal plant she came across—plantain, black nightshade, motherwort, Solomon’s seal, and many others—packing them into a sack alongside yesterday’s vegetables.
To make sure no one discovered her stash, she carefully covered everything with fallen leaves.
That afternoon, she had her brother and sister continue gathering wild vegetables while she went to scout their escape route.
At the entrance to the mountains behind Qinghe Village stood a crooked pine tree.
She carved a small mark into its trunk.
Following the description from the novel, she walked another two li deeper into the mountains before spotting a cave.
The cave wasn’t large, but it could comfortably shelter three or four people.
She inspected it carefully.
Tall weeds concealed the entrance, while inside were only a few loose stones and some animal droppings that could easily be cleaned away.
More importantly, there were no obvious signs of dangerous beasts nearby, making it much safer as a hiding place.
She left another discreet mark beside the cave, then confirmed that the villagers’ refugee route headed in the exact opposite direction.
Only then did she finally feel at ease.
After finishing everything, she hurried back to reunite with Little Stone and Lin Yaya before returning home together.
The children hadn’t gathered many wild vegetables, but edible plants were becoming scarce on the mountain anyway.
Besides, Old Madam Lin and Liu Cuihua were now busy preparing for the coming refugee journey and no longer had the spare time to constantly watch Lin Wanxing and her siblings.
After a few perfunctory scoldings, the matter was dropped.
That evening, after dinner, Old Madam Lin went out to discuss the refugee plans with the other villagers.
Suddenly, Lin Wanxing remembered something mentioned in the novel.
Old Madam Lin had secretly hidden a private stash of grain beneath the heated brick bed—the kang—in her room.
“Come on,” she whispered. “Big Sis is taking you to find something delicious.”
Holding the hands of the two children, she quietly headed toward Old Madam Lin’s room.
As they passed Liu Cuihua’s bedroom, they overheard her talking with her husband, Lin Fugui—Lin Wanxing’s eldest uncle.
“…Exactly. That damned little brat woke up, so she might as well work. Once we’re on the refugee road, I’ll find a chance to sell her off. We can trade her for some coarse grain and leave more food for my Goudan…”
Lin Wanxing didn’t hear the rest.
Her fists clenched so tightly that her fingernails dug deeply into her palms.
Just as she had suspected.
From the very beginning, Liu Cuihua had never intended to take the original Lin Wanxing with them.
She had been planning to sell her all along.
As for the even younger Little Stone and Lin Yaya…
Lin Wanxing didn’t even dare imagine what might happen to them.
But now wasn’t the time to act impulsively.
She quietly led her siblings into Old Madam Lin’s room.
Following the description from the novel, she quickly located the hidden grain.
Looking at the stash of white flour, she nearly burst with joy.
Working quickly, she filled a small sack, then carefully restored the remaining flour so it looked untouched.
Only then did the three siblings tiptoe back to their own room.
Not daring to leave the flour inside the house, Lin Wanxing waited until nightfall before wrapping it in an old cloth and secretly hiding it behind the house.
Early on the third morning, Old Madam Lin and Liu Cuihua’s family began packing everything they planned to take on the refugee journey.
Since no one was watching her, Lin Wanxing quietly prepared the things she would need.
Although it was already the third or fourth month of spring, the weather was still chilly.
Little Stone’s and Lin Yaya’s clothes were far too thin to keep them warm outdoors.
Lin Wanxing found some old clothes that had belonged to the original owner’s mother, cut them into pieces with a pair of scissors, and carefully sewed the extra fabric inside the children’s clothing.
The added layer would make them much warmer.
As she sewed, she deliberately left hidden openings inside the lining.
That night, she planned to divide the food and wild vegetables among the hidden pockets in each person’s clothing.
This served two purposes.
First, if they encountered robbers on the road, they wouldn’t lose all their supplies at once.
Second, if they somehow became separated, each person would still have enough food to survive for a while.
She also found a long rope and hid it with the rest of the supplies.
The rope could be used for tying things together or building a simple shelter in the mountains.
After everything was ready, Lin Wanxing stepped outside and gazed toward the distant mountains, lost in thought.
She didn’t know whether she had made the right choice.
She had considered staying in the village.
But if they stayed, their meager belongings would likely be stolen within days.
She also feared that Old Madam Lin’s family would force them to join the refugee caravan.
If that happened, escaping later would become far more difficult.
Life deep in the mountains might not be much better.
They could encounter wild beasts.
But in Lin Wanxing’s eyes…
Human hearts were far more terrifying than wild animals.
With that thought, her resolve became even firmer.
Just then, Old Madam Lin’s door suddenly opened.
She emerged carrying a bulging cloth bundle.
The moment she saw Lin Wanxing standing there, she frowned, her face filled with disgust.
“You wretched girl! What are you standing around for? Get in there and start the fire! We’re leaving tomorrow, so everyone needs to eat well tonight!”
Without saying a word, Lin Wanxing followed her into the kitchen.
Old Madam Lin untied the cloth bundle and took out a small sack of white flour.
It was obviously part of the secret stash she had hidden away.
She scooped out a measure of flour and began preparing steamed buns.
Naturally, those buns were meant for themselves.
As for Lin Wanxing and her siblings, she merely tossed a small handful of coarse rice into the pot.
Suppressing the anger burning inside her, Lin Wanxing silently tended the fire.
She knew…
This would be the last meal she would ever eat in this house.
Once tonight was over, she would take her brother and sister away from this cold, heartless place and into the mountains, where they would fight to carve out a chance to survive.
At dinner, Liu Cuihua’s family and the youngest uncle’s family happily ate steaming white-flour buns.
Lin Wanxing and her two siblings, meanwhile, were left with nothing but watery coarse-rice porridge so thin they could almost see their reflections in it.
Little Stone and Lin Yaya were starving.
They sipped their porridge in tiny mouthfuls, unable to hide the longing in their eyes as they looked at the buns.
Lin Wanxing quietly pushed the few grains of rice from her own bowl into theirs.
She filled her stomach with water instead.
After the meal, Old Madam Lin gathered up the remaining white flour, put it back into the cloth bundle, and locked it inside her cabinet.
The leftover steamed buns were packed into another cloth bag and taken into her room as well.
Only after securing everything did she dismiss Lin Wanxing and the other two children, ordering them back to their room to sleep.