Old Madam Ye let out a heavy sigh.
“Your eldest brother’s jar of water was lost on the road long ago. A few days ago, we ran into bandits. Everything was stolen, and the water was spilled. His family is nearly dying of thirst now. How could they possibly have any water left for me?
Guihua, I know you still have some water. Just give Mother one sip, only one sip, all right?”
Deep down, she knew perfectly well that she couldn’t bear to drink the water in Eldest Son’s possession either—it had to be saved for her precious grandson.
When Ye Lao’er was around, all she had to do was frown a little, and he would immediately fuss over her, worried that she might be hungry or thirsty.
Now that Ye Lao’er was gone, Guihua, her own niece, treated her even worse than an outsider, unwilling to spare even a mouthful of water.
“I don’t have much water left either,” Wang Guihua said, deliberately hiding the clay jar behind her back to avoid Old Madam Ye’s gaze.
“I still have to save it for Jinzhu, Jinbao, and Jin Dou. The children are still young; they can’t go hungry or thirsty. If thirst damages their health, what will happen to them in the future?”
She paused before finding another excuse.
“Aunt, just endure a little longer. Second Brother will definitely find water. Then you’ll have plenty to drink.”
“You… you’re unfilial!” Old Madam Ye trembled with anger, pointing at Wang Guihua but unable to say anything more.
Looking at her miserly and cold-hearted niece, she felt both furious and chilled to the bone. The world seemed to spin around her.
Ye Lao Da had long noticed the commotion, but he pretended not to see it and turned to talk with his wife instead. It never crossed his mind to step forward and say a few words for his mother, much less offer her any water.
On this road of famine, everyone was only concerned with their own survival. No one had the energy to care about others—not even their own mother.
Ye Lao San was an unmarried bachelor who had always stayed out of other people’s affairs.
Squatting on the ground, he idly plucked at grass roots, tearing them into little pieces and playing with them in his hands. He even lowered his head and amused himself by watching a few ants crawling by.
At that moment, Jinbao also walked over. Hearing Old Madam Ye’s request, he sneered inwardly.
Old hag, you still want water? Dream on! This water belongs to me. Nobody’s taking it!
Squatting on the ground, Jinzhu looked at Old Madam Ye’s pitiful act and whispered to Jinbao,
“Brother, look at that old woman. She really knows how to put on a show. She knows we don’t have much water left and still comes asking for some. She’s so shameless.”
Jinbao nodded and lowered his voice.
“Exactly. We can’t fall for it. If she drinks this water, we won’t have any left.”
Although they spoke softly, Old Madam Ye was standing right beside them. Her hearing hadn’t completely failed yet, and she heard every word.
She had never imagined that the two children she had spent a great deal of money bringing from the Jin family—insisting back then that Ye Lao’er marry the widowed Guihua and accept her children—would say such cold and heartless things over a mouthful of water.
At that moment, her heart turned completely cold.
…
Ye Qing slept until the following afternoon before waking up refreshed and full of energy.
Her stomach growled loudly with hunger. She took out a bowl of minced-meat noodles from her space, slurped it down in a few bites, and let out a satisfied burp.
She suddenly remembered that the last time she had dug up yams, she had glimpsed clusters of wild fruit hanging from the bushes not far away.
She hadn’t had time to pick them then, but now that she was free, she ought to go take a look.
Wild fruit was hard to come by these days!
Ye Qing tidied up the cave a little, grabbed her usual backpack basket, and put a few items inside it just for appearances.
First, she stored the large stone blocking the cave entrance into her space. After stepping outside, she took it back out and put it in place again.
Standing at the foot of the mountain and looking from a distance, the cave blended perfectly with the surrounding rocks and showed no obvious flaws.
Humming a little tune, she followed the direction she remembered through the wild grass.
Pushing aside the shoulder-high weeds, she stared in surprise.
Good heavens—it was actually two wild hawthorn trees!
There were clusters of hawthorn fruits hanging from the branches, though some had already been pecked apart by birds.
Ye Qing casually picked one, wiped it on her clothes, and popped it into her mouth.
Sour!
So sour that her teeth nearly fell out!
But after the initial burst of sourness passed, a trace of sweetness spread through her mouth. It was excellent for producing saliva and quenching thirst.
The fruits could also be dried into preserved hawthorn slices. If she had rock sugar, she could make hawthorn jam or hawthorn cakes—the taste would be incredible!
Even without sugar, simply boiling them in water would help digestion and stimulate the appetite. They were practically “nature’s digestive tablets.”
Lately, she had been eating dried meat every day and was worried about poor digestion.
Wasn’t this just like having a pillow delivered right when she was sleepy?
Ye Qing was overjoyed. She rolled up her sleeves and got to work, carefully picking a small pouch full and tossing them into her space.
As she picked, she felt it wasn’t satisfying enough to stay on the ground, so she simply climbed the tree.
Standing on a branch and looking into the distance, she spotted several trees about a hundred meters away.
Yellow fruits hung from their branches, round and plump.
They looked like persimmons!
“Since I’m already here, I might as well go take a look!”
Ye Qing slid down the tree and headed over.
Very few people ever came this deep into the mountains. Bushes and thorny vines were tangled everywhere, making it difficult to walk, so she had to take out her machete and hack her way through.
The closer she got to those trees, the easier the path became, since the smaller shrubs couldn’t compete for sunlight and water.
At the same time, the sweet fragrance in the air grew stronger.
When she finally reached the trees and looked closely, they really were persimmon trees!
Many golden-yellow persimmons hung from the branches, looking soft, sweet, and delicious. Most of them weren’t fully ripe yet and still felt a little firm to the touch.
Ye Qing thought of the method her adoptive mother had used in her previous life to ripen persimmons.
It wasn’t impossible.
Without further hesitation, she decided to pick them first and worry about the rest later.
Very quickly, she stored more than half of the fruits into her space.
When she grew tired, she chose a soft persimmon from the tree, peeled it, and took a big bite.
The sweet flesh melted in her mouth, filling it with clear, fragrant juice. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of astringency.
It was simply heavenly.
“Delicious! So delicious!”
Ye Qing narrowed her eyes and hummed happily.
She ate two in a row before finally satisfying her craving.
Just as she smacked her lips and planned to pick another larger one, a burst of chattering voices suddenly came from the nearby bushes.
“Brother Yunsheng! Hurry, hurry! It’s here! Look at those persimmons—they should finally be ripe this time, right?”
Someone was here!
Ye Qing instinctively wanted to hide, but it was already too late.
A young man and a young woman emerged from the bushes one after another.
Their clothes were covered in patches, and their faces carried the exhaustion of refugees. They looked very much like the displaced people Ye Qing had encountered on the road.
The only difference was that they weren’t as dirty and disheveled. At the very least, their hair was neatly combed.
The one in front was a girl of only twelve or thirteen. Her cheeks were thin and sunken, but her eyes were large and bright.
The moment she saw the persimmon in Ye Qing’s hand and then looked up at the tree, her eyes widened like copper bells.
She immediately shrieked,
“Who are you? You’re stealing our persimmons!”
Ye Qing frowned and looked the girl up and down, instantly displeased.
“Who said I’m stealing? These persimmon trees are growing in the mountains. They’re ownerless. Which eye of yours saw that they belong to your family?”