Everyone was gritting their teeth, pushing forward despite the heat, when suddenly a woman’s heart-wrenching cry pierced the air:“Baozi! Baozi, what’s wrong? Wake up! Don’t scare your mother!”
Shen Yu quickly turned around and saw that it was Aunt Pang’s son, Shen Lebao, who had fainted.
The villagers immediately gathered around. Little Lebao’s face was flushed, his lips dry and cracked, and his whole body had started convulsing. Everyone panicked, unsure what to do.
Shen Yu squeezed through the crowd. Seeing the situation, she quickly instructed the villagers to step aside:“Quick, get him into the shade first!”
Aunt Pang, too worried to cry, hurriedly carried Shen Lebao to a large tree not far away. Shen Yu took from her sleeve—actually, from her spatial storage—the anti-heatstroke pills she had prepared the day before, dissolved them in water from her water pouch, and gave them to little Lebao. She then fed him the remaining water from the pouch, bit by bit.
The water in the pouch was Spirit Spring Water that Shen Yu had mixed the night before, with a little sugar and salt.
The sweet, cool water went down, and immediately, little Lebao’s convulsions stopped. He opened his eyes and, seeing his mother, called out:“Mom!”
Aunt Pang, tears streaming down her face, hugged him tightly and cried:“Ah, I’m here! Thank goodness, my Baozi is awake, my Baozi is awake!”
Shen Yu hurried forward to stop her:“Aunt Pang, don’t hold him right now. It’s too hot. Let Lebao lie down for a while first.”
Aunt Pang carefully laid little Lebao down and fanned him with her clothes. Nearby, Shen Changqing wiped his tears in relief; he only had this one son, and he had almost lost him.
After a short while, little Lebao was fully alert again. The couple wanted to kowtow to Shen Yu in gratitude, but she stopped them with a wave of her hand:“It was nothing. Don’t do that. Little Lebao just had heatstroke. I’ll give him some more water, and after a short rest, he’ll be fine.”
Little Lebao drank a few more sips of water and became even more lively than before.
The village elder looked up at the scorching sun and suggested everyone find a shaded spot to rest and eat, waiting for the hottest part of the day to pass before continuing.
Everyone found some shade, took out their rations, and had a proper meal with water. Those with diligent families even took the opportunity to lay out food in the sun to dry; with such scorching heat, it would dry in just two or three rounds.
Shen Yu’s resting spot was farther from the others. She didn’t want the smell of her buns to attract attention. Secretly, like a thief, she finished her buns, then reminded everyone to drink plenty of water. She also took out a box of cooling balm and applied some to everyone.
“What is this, daughter? Why does it feel so cool when applied to the head?” Shen Yong’an asked, the heat immediately easing from his body.
The whole family looked at Shen Yu. She smiled:“This is a balm I prepared yesterday. It prevents heatstroke and even keeps mosquitoes away.”
“You’re amazing! If we made more of this balm, it would definitely sell well,” Lin Shuyuan said, her eyes shining.
Shen Yu felt a spark of inspiration. Yes, in the future, she could make balms or beauty creams to sell—a good way to earn silver.
“Mom, you’re so smart! When we settle down, we should sell these balms,” her daughter said.
Hearing her daughter’s praise, Lin Shuyuan’s heart felt warm, and all her fatigue melted away. Shen Yong’an also thought it was a good idea, and soon they were discussing it together excitedly.
After about an hour of rest, the village elder called everyone to continue their journey. Little Lebao sat on their ox cart, talking to his mother about how delicious Shen Yu’s water was, while Aunt Pang smiled, grateful to see her son full of life.
By afternoon, after nearly three hours of walking, everyone was exhausted. The village elder spotted a forest ahead and decided they would spend the night there.
Once in the forest, the villagers plopped down on the ground without care. Some even lay flat on their backs, not moving for a long while—they were utterly exhausted.
Shen Yong’an found a flat spot, unloaded the ox cart, and led the big ox to graze. They had drunk the water Shen Yu provided, so they didn’t feel too tired, and got busy immediately.
Lin Shuyuan collected a few large stones and brought out a small iron pot to prepare dinner. Little Shen Hao went nearby to gather firewood. Shen Yu wandered around a bit, collecting long grass stems, planning to weave a few straw hats.
Tonight’s dinner was millet porridge with wild vegetables and eggs, with dried black flour cakes as rations. To prevent the smell from spreading, Shen Yu told everyone to soak the cakes in the porridge, which reduced the aroma significantly.
Other villagers began cooking too.
On the first day of their journey, many had cooked the chickens and ducks they had slaughtered in the morning, adding wild vegetables or dried vegetables, so everyone had a decent meal.
The Shen-Liu family, however, only cooked sorghum porridge. Though they had slaughtered two chickens that morning, Shen Liu refused to cook them, saying they shouldn’t eat all the good food at once, and saved it for the next day.
After eating the porridge with pickles, the family lay down haphazardly on their bedding under Shen Liu’s constant scolding.
Shen Yu had just finished setting up her tent when she felt it again—that sense of being watched. This had been happening on the journey, always with malicious intent, but she had never been able to pinpoint who it was.
She turned sharply and met Shen Cui’s sharp, venomous triangular eyes.
Seeing Shen Yu look at her, Shen Cui hurriedly lowered her head, too afraid to look again.
Shen Yu smiled slightly. “Little rookie, dreaming too high,” she thought.
She didn’t even put Shen Cui in her mind and continued setting up the tent.
Both tents were set up. In the middle, two small rectangular windows were cut. The windows had oilcloth rolled up and lined with a thin, gauzy fabric—breathable and mosquito-proof. Shen Yu had actually repurposed a piece of mosquito netting for this.
Everyone eagerly looked at Shen Yong’an’s tent. The village elder was the first to check it out and curiously entered:“Anzi, how did you think of this? It’s so light, like a walking house!”
Many villagers crowded around to ask. Shen Yong’an scratched the back of his head sheepishly:“This was all Yu girl’s idea. She told me how to do it.”
“Yu girl, you’re brilliant! Could you teach your grandmother? We have oilcloth too, and making a couple of these would be so convenient for wind and rain.” The village elder’s eyes sparkled; he wanted one immediately. Other villagers with oilcloth also asked Shen Yu to teach them.
Shen Yu had no choice but to tell them she would teach them tomorrow during the break, as it was already dark. Finally, everyone dispersed.
After everyone left, Shen Yu secretly took a simple bamboo bed from her spatial storage, laid down a moisture-proof mat, then the bedding. She shared one tent with her mother, while her father and little brother shared another.