Chapter 3: Unearthing Water

Qin Ying found another squirrel nest in a crooked tree. Naturally, the squirrels were gone, leaving the nest empty. She searched the area and managed to gather seven to eight pounds of wild nuts.

Zhao Hu exclaimed excitedly, “An’an is truly our lucky star!”

In the past, whenever they climbed the mountain, they were never this fortunate. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been on the verge of starvation.

Energy +0.02.
An’an blinked her big, dark eyes: Hehe, you’ve got sharp eyes! Biu~ here’s a koi luck bonus for you!

Of course, this was far from enough. Even with double-stacked luck, it could only guarantee that they wouldn’t starve immediately.

And now, with everyone else on the brink of starvation while their family was still alive—wouldn’t others become envious?

If these three died, where would she get energy from?

So she had to let others see hope for survival too.

What could she do at this point?

After some consideration, An’an reluctantly split off 1 energy point and sent it forward. Then her head tilted to the side as she fell asleep.

Seeing it was getting late, the siblings picked up the firewood and carried the life-saving food on their backs, preparing to descend the mountain.

Feeling joyful, their steps seemed much lighter.

Zhao Hu was still chattering, “Back when there was no drought, we wouldn’t have dared come here! Afraid we’d get eaten by wolves or tigers!”

“Yeah,” Qin Ying glanced at the desolate wilderness and sighed. “It’s so hard just to get a bite to eat…”

They’d heard that the two thieves from yesterday had been taken away by their companions, claiming they would roast and eat them. The thieves were certainly guilty, but those who ate people were utterly inhuman!

Suddenly, her eyes narrowed and she stopped in her tracks. Rubbing her eyes, she reached out and grabbed Zhao Hu’s arm. “Huzi, am I seeing things? Look, what’s that green stuff?”

Zhao Hu followed the direction she pointed and instantly lit up with joy. He grabbed Qin Ying’s arm and bounced in place a few times. His hoarse voice cracked from excitement, “Grass! That’s grass, sis! Water! There must be water over there!”

Dropping the firewood from his shoulders, he charged ahead. He was so excited that he tripped halfway, but he didn’t even feel the pain—he got up and kept running.

When he reached the spot, he dropped to his knees and began digging into the earth with his hands.

Qin Ying picked up the firewood and hurried after him.

Zhao Hu dug a small hole and scooped out a small pile of damp soil. Pressing his face against the dirt, he let out a satisfied sigh.

Qin Ying handed him a mallet and picked up a small shovel herself.

Zhao Hu pulled up some grass, shook off the dirt from the roots, and shared more than half with Qin Ying. The two of them munched on the grass as they continued digging.

An’an woke up, her little brows furrowed. Why are these two idiots eating grass? In her understanding, only herbivores ate grass. And besides, their efficiency was way too low!

Snapping out of her delight, Qin Ying said quickly, “Huzi, you’re faster—hurry home and get Auntie, tell her to bring the pickaxe and hoe.”

She stuffed the cleaned grass into his arms. “Give this to Auntie to eat!”

Zhao Hu nodded repeatedly and ran off with the firewood.

Qin Ying didn’t stay idle. She continued digging, and as the soil grew wetter, she grew more excited. Maybe there’s a spring here!

An’an gave Qin Ying another koi luck bonus.

Huh? It won’t apply? Time’s not up yet, can’t stack another? Oh well, back to sleep!

Losing 1 energy point had left her completely drained.

An hour and a half passed in a flash. Qin Ying had dug a pit about three feet wide and four feet deep.

Zhao Hu ran back, carrying two shovels on his shoulders and a pair of baskets for moving dirt. Stopping short, he helped Qin Ying up and swallowed hard to moisten his dry throat. “Sis, let me do it!” If he hadn’t been waiting for Mom to come home, he would’ve come back sooner!

Qin Ying, worried, quickly took out the water pouch. “Quick, drink some!”

Zhao Hu took just one sip, wiped the sweat from his brow, and got to work.

Aunt Zhao arrived carrying two wooden buckets and a hoe. When she saw the pit, she was both shocked and overjoyed. “Good heavens! Looks like we might just survive this!”

Zhao Hu filled the baskets with dirt, and Aunt Zhao carried it away to dump nearby. They packed the pit walls firm with the shovels as they dug.

Qin Ying, worried about An’an, unstrapped her from her back.

Aunt Zhao quickly said, “There’s a small pot in the bucket. Yingzi, go cook a little soup for An’an. It’s fine if adults don’t eat, but such a little one must be starving. It’s just that our Anbao is such a good baby, never cries at all.”

Ding! Energy +0.01.

An’an’s eyelids twitched—she really couldn’t wake up.

Qin Ying forced back her sadness and started building a stove.

Luckily, they had firewood ready. After stacking the stones, she took some of the wild nuts they’d collected, cracked and crushed them on rocks, tossed them into the pot, added water from what Aunt Zhao brought, and began to boil.

As the aroma of food spread, the three adults’ stomachs all rumbled in unison.

Aunt Zhao had left in a rush, bringing only one pot and a set of bowls and spoons.

When the soup was ready, Qin Ying scooped a small half-bowl of thin broth for herself, then ladled out a thicker half-bowl and called Zhao Hu over to eat.

Zhao Hu’s lips were already cracked, and his throat sore from dryness. Hearing her call, he dropped the shovel immediately.

Aunt Zhao quickly said, “I’ll go first!”

Over time, the three of them had developed a habit: the first person to eat got the thinnest broth, and the last got the thickest, even if the difference was small.

But they always tried to leave the best for each other.

So they took turns cooking—and the cook ate first.

An’an, observing this, thought: This family really is… Wait? Energy just jumped +0.05!

Aunt Zhao also deserved a koi luck bonus. Biu~ off it goes!

This time, it was a triple-stack bonus—hoho, let’s see how happy you get!

Aunt Zhao wasn’t as quick as Zhao Hu. By the time she climbed up from the pit, Zhao Hu had already finished his broth.

Qin Ying fed the small amount of thick soup to An’an, saying to Aunt Zhao, “Auntie, take a breather. I’ll switch with Huzi once I’m done feeding An’an.”

Aunt Zhao was indeed tired. She fanned her face with her hand, a smile she couldn’t hide on her face. “Yingzi, build us a campfire later—we’re not going home tonight. It’s safer here than at home…”

The next afternoon, the well was nearly ten zhang (about 30 meters) deep. Aunt Zhao had just dumped a basket of dirt and dozed off when Zhao Hu suddenly shouted excitedly, “Mom! Sis! Water! There’s water!”

An’an blinked. Wow, this family’s koi bonuses stacked up so well?

The mother and daughter rushed over.

Sure enough, at the bottom of the well, water was bubbling up.

Aunt Zhao shouted, “Huzi! Get up here, you silly boy!”

The water was still just muddy water—not drinkable.

They had left a slope in the well wall for climbing, so Zhao Hu scrambled up just before the mud reached his feet.

Sitting on the edge of the well with his legs dangling, he felt the cool air rising from below and happily said, “Mom, Sis, when do you think the water will clear up?”

“As long as there’s water, it’ll clear eventually!” Aunt Zhao said cheerfully. “But we’ll still need to dig a pool beside it.”