Chapter 15 – Want a Hug

Zhou Yu comforted Aunt Zhao with a few words and exchanged some pleasantries.

The atmosphere quickly became warm and friendly. Aunt Zhao probed tentatively, “Black Mountain is huge. There must be plenty more places with water.”

“But even though the well we dug can temporarily keep the villagers in the surrounding area alive, it’s definitely not enough to relieve the drought!”

“More and more people are coming to fetch water, and more and more places need it. Who knows when it’ll dry up?”

“This damned weather… who knows when Heaven will finally take pity on us poor souls and give us some rain…”

“We can’t rely solely on Heaven,” Zhou Yu said in a deep voice. “One must help oneself before others can help them.”

“For now, the priority is to give everyone a hope to live, and then plan for what comes after.”

“That’s easier said than done!” Aunt Zhao sighed, patting her sprained leg with a worried frown. “You must’ve noticed it, my lord—there are dug-out holes all over the village. Those were the wells we tried to dig when the drought first started.”

“Back then, every single village was digging wells, but despite digging so many, not a single one yielded water!”

“Otherwise, why would so many people abandon their homes and move away?”

“Sigh… to tell you the truth, my lord, the only reason we stayed was because we had nowhere else to go. If we had a place, why would we stay here waiting to die?”

Zhou Yu fell silent for a moment. He knew she was telling the truth.

After taking office, he had organized people to search for water sources everywhere. But within Qinxian County, there was only one river, and its water level had dropped drastically. It could barely meet the drinking needs of those living along its banks, let alone be used for irrigation. The arable land along the river had shrunk to less than one-tenth of what it used to be.

As for smaller streams and lakes—they had long dried up. Even digging wells in riverbeds and lake bottoms didn’t guarantee water.

Not to mention places further away.

So the drought had persisted, and chaos had erupted throughout Qinxian County.

He had collaborated with neighboring counties to open government granaries for relief, but for the people of the entire county, it was like a drop in the bucket.

Disorder in various areas had intensified, forcing him to constantly run around dealing with it.

When he heard that Tongshu Village had successfully dug a well and found water, he rushed over immediately, hoping to learn from their experience. Even if they’d failed countless times in the past—what if this time was different?

What if other places could also successfully find water like Tongshu Village? Then the people of the entire county would have hope!

Besides, coming to Tongshu Village didn’t delay anything else. He had sent people to “borrow” a batch of grain. Once the grain arrived, the people of Qinxian would hopefully survive the harsh winter.

And if the experience of Tongshu Village could be replicated, then spring farming would no longer be a fantasy. At that point, the people would truly see a hope for life.

When he asked again about how they found the water source, Zhao Hu could only repeat, “My lord, we really didn’t hide anything!”

“At that time, we hadn’t eaten for days.”

“We relied on the mountain for survival. In the first year, we could still scavenge some food from the mountain.”

“If we were lucky, we’d find a dead wild animal or two. But once the grass and trees on the mountain died from drought, there was nothing left.”

“Even the rat holes in and around the village were completely emptied out by us!”

“To be honest, if my sister hadn’t picked up An Bao’er, we were all prepared to starve to death!”

If it weren’t for the need to raise a child, why would they keep struggling to climb the mountain? They’d gone up countless times before and found nothing to eat.

Zhou Yu lowered his eyes, falling into silence.

Luck. Pure chance.

Where could you find that much luck?

Aunt Zhao asked in disappointment, “My lord, is it really impossible to get water in other places?”

Zhou Yu nodded silently.

By this time, An’an had already woken up. She quietly listened for a while, and then her little mouth curved into a smile. Others might not be able to find water—but she could!

So she flipped over and crawled to Qin Ying, who was sitting at the kang table with her back to her, working on some sewing. An’an grabbed the hem of her clothes and softly called out, “Mama.”

“Sweet baby’s awake!” Qin Ying quickly put down her sewing and tucked away the scissors. She turned and picked An’an up, first letting her pee, then feeding her some water.

An’an obediently drank a bit of water, then wriggled in her arms, wanting to go outside.

At first, Qin Ying didn’t want to go out. But then she thought—Zhou Yu was a man of status and had many connections. Maybe he could help find An’an’s birth parents.

Even though their family dearly loved An’an, if she could grow up with her real parents…

If it turned out An’an wasn’t abandoned and her biological parents were good people, they should return her so the family could be reunited.

But if her biological parents weren’t decent, then no matter what, they couldn’t throw the child into a fire pit!

With that thought, Qin Ying quickly got down to put on her shoes, tidied up An’an’s clothes, and carried her outside.

In the courtyard, she greeted Zhou Yu with a proper bow before sitting down next to Aunt Zhao.

Aunt Zhao skillfully took An’an and stuffed a little grass-woven grasshopper toy into her arms.

An’an twisted around in her lap, reaching out both hands toward Zhou Yu with a soft and sweet smile. Her little mouth opened and she said, “Hug.”

Aunt Zhao, having trouble with her legs, couldn’t hold her steadily. Seeing this, Zhao Hu quickly stepped up and took the child into his arms.

An’an grew anxious. Why was it so hard to gather just a little energy!

So she simply pouted her mouth and burst into loud tears.

This was the first time she had cried out loud since arriving at the Zhao family. Both Aunt Zhao and Zhao Hu panicked, and Qin Ying hurriedly took An’an back into her arms, softly coaxing her.

An’an’s face was covered in teardrops, her eyes red and swollen, her lips curled as she twisted around again, reaching out toward Zhou Yu and saying once more, “Hug!”

Zhou Yu immediately stood up and smiled. “It seems I have some fate with this little one. How about letting me hold her?”

Qin Ying let out a silent sigh and passed An’an over.

As soon as she was in Zhou Yu’s arms, An’an immediately felt satisfied.

Wow, this handsome uncle didn’t stink! Although her dear uncle treated her very well, she couldn’t help noticing that he always had a sweaty smell!

Even though this handsome uncle didn’t smell fragrant, he was fresh and clean—very comfortable!

She instantly stopped crying and burst into a smile.

Everyone was stunned.

Especially Zhao Hu—he was a bit hurt and muttered, “Ungrateful little thing, all that love for nothing!”

Not true!

An’an was definitely not someone who didn’t know gratitude. It was just that the handsome uncle didn’t come by often!

No big deal—she’d make it up to Uncle later!

Feeling slightly guilty, An’an glanced at Zhao Hu and noticed his koi blessing had worn off. So she quickly gave him another one.

Ah, can’t forget about the handsome uncle either!

Another koi blessing sent his way, and Zhou Yu immediately felt his body become lighter.

Looking down at the exquisitely beautiful little girl in his arms—her eyelashes still glistening with tears—he couldn’t help taking out a handkerchief and gently wiping her face clean.

Which made An’an giggle.

Oh dear, to get a little bit of energy, this ruler was really going all out!

Let’s hope she could keep drawing energy from the handsome uncle too!

Xu Xia had already finished cooking and came over to ask where they should eat.

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