The next morning, pale light filtered through the tattered window paper, casting faint gray-white patches inside the room.
Liu Xiaoman didn’t rush out as usual.
Instead, she pushed a bowl of thin porridge and half a coarse grain cake toward Li Xiuxiu and Liu Congming.
Lowering her voice, her expression was more serious than ever.
“Mother, Congming, I’ve found a place—a big, safe place where no one can find us. A new home.”
She looked at their eyes widening in shock, then carefully explained everything—the cave behind the waterfall, and her “ant-moving” plan to transport supplies bit by bit.
“But I can’t do it alone. It’s too slow. I need your help.”
Li Xiuxiu’s hand trembled violently. Her chopsticks slipped and clattered onto the table.
Her face drained of color, filled with fear and unease.
“Xiaoman… this… this is too dangerous! What if someone finds out…?”
“They won’t.”
Liu Xiaoman reached out and firmly grasped her mother’s cold hand, her palm warm and steady.
“I’ll make sure nothing goes wrong. Mother… do you trust me? Do you believe I can give us a better life?”
Li Xiuxiu looked into her daughter’s eyes—bright, unwavering, burning with conviction.
She thought of the changes in her daughter these past days… the heavy silver… the greedy faces of the Liu family.
After a long silence, she nodded slowly. Tears welled in her eyes, but her voice no longer trembled.
“I trust you.”
“I’ll help too, Sister!”
Liu Congming puffed out his chest and slapped it proudly, his small face full of excitement and determination.
“I’m strong! I can carry things!”
The first step of the plan was training.
Liu Xiaoman didn’t rush them into action. Instead, she spent an entire afternoon guiding them through repeated practice in a relatively safe area of the back mountains.
She taught them how to use shadows and rocks to conceal themselves, how to step on fallen leaves without making noise.
“Land on your toes first, keep your body light—like a cat,” she demonstrated, her movements astonishingly quiet.
She even browsed the system shop in her mind and used her last few points to exchange for two [Basic Constitution Adjustment Potions (Trial Version)].
Pretending they were homemade strengthening tonics, she had Li Xiuxiu and Liu Congming drink them.
The warm liquid slid down their throats, spreading into a gentle current that flowed through their limbs, dispelling years of weakness and fatigue. Even their night vision improved noticeably.
When night fell over Liu Family Village for the third time, their secret family operation officially began.
Moonlight spilled like water, casting dappled silver through sparse branches.
Li Xiuxiu’s heart pounded so hard it felt like it might leap from her throat. Following her daughter’s instructions, she packed cloth, salt, and other supplies into small bundles, moving as gently as if handling fragile porcelain.
Near the crooked tree at the village entrance, Liu Congming crouched behind a bush, only his alert eyes visible.
Entrusted with the role of forward scout, his small body brimmed with a sense of responsibility far beyond his years.
He listened intently to every distant bark and rustle of wind, his young face serious and focused.
Liu Xiaoman became the link between both points.
Carrying bundles far larger than her frame, she moved swiftly between the village entrance and the back mountains.
With the system’s scanning function maximized, every movement within a hundred-meter radius appeared in her mind as streams of data, allowing her to map out the safest, most hidden routes.
At first, Li Xiuxiu was clumsy, taking a long time to pack each bundle.
But watching her daughter’s thin figure disappear into the dark forest again and again, a powerful maternal instinct drove her forward.
Her movements became faster, more practiced. Though her eyes were filled with worry and heartache, she never once spoke of retreat.
Then, during one transport—
Something went wrong.
“Woof! Woof, woof!”
Sudden barking shattered the silence of the night, drawing closer—it sounded like the fierce black dog from the butcher Liu’s house in the eastern part of the village.
Liu Congming jolted in fright, his face turning pale. He scrambled out of the bushes, whispering urgently:
“Sister! Dog! A dog is coming!”
“Don’t panic!”
Liu Xiaoman’s voice rang out instantly—calm as ice.
She quickly dragged the bundles into a nearby haystack, covering them with dry leaves for camouflage.
Then she grabbed her shaken mother and brother, pointing to a gap in a nearby abandoned wall.
“Quick—hide behind that wall. Crouch down. Don’t make a sound!”
The three of them slipped into the hiding spot, huddling together, barely daring to breathe.
Li Xiuxiu’s heart was in her throat. She tightly covered Liu Congming’s mouth, afraid he might make even the slightest noise.
The barking grew closer. They could even hear the dog’s heavy breathing and scratching at the ground.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly.
Liu Xiaoman pressed her back against the cold wall, her nails digging into her palms. Her mind raced—she even prepared for the worst, ready to fight with the beast-repelling powder and her sickle.
Fortunately…
The dog seemed to be chasing a nocturnal rabbit. After circling nearby, it was eventually called back by its owner. The barking gradually faded into the distance.
Only after confirming it was safe did Liu Xiaoman finally exhale, her back drenched in cold sweat.
This close call didn’t break them.
Instead, it made their small transport team more cautious—and more coordinated.
After several nights of hard work, the cave behind the waterfall had completely changed.
In one corner, five bolts of coarse cloth were neatly stacked. Nearby were piles of salt and bags of iron nails.
On the other side, under Liu Xiaoman’s guidance, they had gathered a large amount of dry firewood and flat stones, preparing for the upcoming renovation.
That night, after the final batch of supplies was moved in, Li Xiuxiu looked at the piled resources, at the spacious, dry cave that could shield them from wind and rain—
And all the fear, humiliation, and helplessness she had endured finally broke free.
She covered her mouth to keep from crying out loud, but tears streamed down endlessly.
Grasping Liu Xiaoman’s hand, she choked:
“Xiaoman… I… I never imagined in my life… that I could live like this. A home… where we don’t fear the wind or rain… or people coming to bully us…”
“Mother, this is just the beginning.”
Liu Xiaoman looked at the light in her mother’s eyes and her brother’s growing cheerfulness, feeling an unprecedented sense of fulfillment.
She gently wiped away her mother’s tears and said firmly:
“Our lives will only get better. This home—we’re building it together. No one can take it from us.”
The bond between them, forged through sweat and shared hope, became unbreakable.
【Ding! Host has completed a phase of material stockpiling and successfully formed a family team. Reward: 1 Basic Constitution Enhancement Serum.】
The system notification sounded.
Liu Xiaoman accepted it without hesitation.
A powerful warmth—far stronger than before—surged through her body, sweeping away her fatigue and filling her with boundless energy.
Yet while the new home flourished—
Danger crept closer to the old one.
Their pattern of leaving at night and hiding during the day had made the thatched hut eerily quiet for too long.
At last, it caught the attention of the Liu family.
Liu Xiaoman realized this as well.
The hut, though broken, had now become a necessary disguise.
They had to appear there occasionally—to maintain the illusion that they still lived in it.
Just as she was planning how to play this role the next day—