Chapter 31: People from the Neighboring Village

Aunt Zhao followed them into the house, smiling a little awkwardly. “Lord Zhou, we can’t accept your things without paying you back.”

“An’an is still small and doesn’t need that much, so I made a waist protector and a pair of cotton arm sleeves for you. You can try them and see if they fit.”

Although Zhou Yu was slim, there wasn’t enough leftover fur to make him a full outfit, so Qin Ying thoughtfully decided on this arrangement.

Today, Aunt Zhao had brought An’an here, partly to let Zhou Yu know that they appreciated his kindness and had not let him down.

Xu Xia took out the arm sleeves and held them up for Zhou Yu to see. “Young Master, take a look! Hey! This work is really beautiful!”

The outer fabric of the arm sleeves was made from the cotton clothes previously distributed, embroidered with simple auspicious cloud patterns. The inner lining was made from white rabbit fur, with cotton batting in between, making them both dirt-resistant and warm inside.

Xu Xia helped Zhou Yu put them on to try them out. They were lightweight, soft, and warm, and he couldn’t help but nod and smile in approval.

Xu Xia then picked up the waist protector.

Aunt Zhao blushed and explained, “We don’t have good materials, so we took apart the cotton clothes from before…”

Though the fabric wasn’t as good as what the master usually used, it was the best they could provide.

Moreover, Qin Ying had even embroidered flowers on them, making the otherwise ordinary fabric look elegant.

“The nights in our mountains are even colder,” Aunt Zhao pointed at the waist protector. “I heard from Huzi that Lord Zhou is still busy at midnight, so with this, it should at least be somewhat useful.”

Zhou Yu nodded and thanked her, “You’ve put a lot of effort into this. I really like it.”

With Zhou Yu and Xu Xia present, Uncle Chen’s house was warm and cozy. An’an’s hat no longer stayed on her head, so she raised her hand to take it off and put it on Zhou Yu instead.

Her hat was small and cute, making Zhou Yu look a bit funny when it was on his head. An’an couldn’t help but clap her hands and giggle.

Zhou Yu gently tapped her small nose. “Already making fun of people at such a young age?”

An’an hugged his finger, tilting her head and smiling obediently.

Aunt Zhao wanted to take the child back. “Lord, An’an is getting heavier. Let me hold her.”

“It’s no trouble,” Zhou Yu said, lifting An’an in his hands. “She has indeed grown quite a bit. You’ve taken good care of her.”

Aunt Zhao smiled fondly. “She’s such a lovable child.”

An’an’s little face beamed, and in just this short while, she gained 0.02 energy!

Aunt Zhao didn’t have much to talk to Zhou Yu about, so she was about to take An’an back home when suddenly, there was a commotion outside. People were shouting Uncle Chen’s name.

Soon, Uncle Chen went to meet several middle-aged and older people, all with sorrowful expressions, and led them into his house.

Since the curtain wasn’t drawn in Zhou Yu’s room, they could clearly see what was going on through the hall.

Aunt Zhao was curious. “Aren’t those people from Huaihua Gorge and Sanli River? What are they here for?”

“Do you know them, Aunt Zhao?” Zhou Yu asked.

“Mm,” Aunt Zhao nodded. “Our villages are close to each other, and many people have relatives in these areas.

“Actually, around us, there are several villages: Huaihua Gorge, Sanli River, Gaozhuangzi, Dawangzhuang, and Xiaowangzhuang.

“Between us, Huaihua Gorge and Sanli River are still a bit farther away, separated by Dawangzhuang.

“Originally, we would go to Koushan Village, which is 20 miles away, to fetch water. Koushan Village has a deep well, but even that well doesn’t have clean water anymore.

“For us common folks, as long as we survive, it’s enough—even if we can only bring back half a bucket of muddy water, we’ll still manage.

“We drink the mud and water together, and it’s enough to fill our stomachs, right?”

An’an listened quietly, her big eyes blinking, and she subconsciously touched her chest. Why did she feel so sad?

Before she came here, her grandmother’s family had really…

The more Aunt Zhao spoke, the sadder she became. Her eyes started to redden, and she took a deep breath before continuing, “For several days, we couldn’t get anything to eat… That was real hunger. Even if we could only get muddy water, we couldn’t afford to eat it all at once.

“If we hadn’t found An’an, we wouldn’t have wanted to live anymore.

“These are probably the first time you’re hearing this.

“Why did Yingzi take Huzi out? That was to tell her mother that she might not be buried with her mother anymore.

“People nowadays can’t say anything. We were so scared of dying and not having a whole body left!”

“That’s why, in our house, under the windowsill, we piled up firewood, preparing to burn ourselves to death.”

An’an kept her gaze fixed. Now she understood why, when she first arrived at Aunt Zhao’s house, there was a messy pile of firewood under the window.

But to be honest, if it weren’t for that pile of firewood, or if it weren’t for her koi fish luck avoiding misfortune, those two bad people wouldn’t have met their end the way they did.

Zhou Yu felt deeply moved as well.

Before he could speak to comfort her, Aunt Zhao had already calmed herself down. “People say that those with good hearts will be blessed. We took in An’an, didn’t wait around to die at home, and now we’ve found hope to live.”

“Our village now has a well, a pond, and we’ve started growing vegetables and farming. Other villages found out about it too.

“To be honest, in the beginning, our hearts were in our throats. How could we not know how deep the well we dug was?

“When several villages came together to fetch water, didn’t it dry up quickly?

“You’ve probably noticed that every household in our village has full water jars, pots, basins… anything that can hold water. We fill them every day, just in case one day the well runs dry, and we have no water to drink.

“We’ve also thought about digging a water channel to bring water down, but you see, from that mountain so far to our village, how much water would we lose along the way? We just can’t bring ourselves to waste it.

“But when other villages come to fetch water, whether it’s for drinking or for irrigating their crops, we can’t not let them have it!”

“Even so,” Aunt Zhao continued, “I always think to myself—if only the other villages could dig a well too.”

Zhou Yu’s heart stirred slightly, and his gaze landed on An’an.

An’an tilted her small head. She actually wanted to help the other villages dig a well too, but her family didn’t take her out, so there was nothing she could do!

After all, she was still a small kid with less than 10 energy!

Right now, her range for scanning the sky could extend to five miles, but digging a well wasn’t something she could do just by using a little energy.

The location had to be right, close to the water veins, and suitable for underground water networks, so it wouldn’t dry up in the future.

In short, the water she obtained with her energy would last at most three years.

If there was rainfall to replenish the underground water, it wouldn’t dry up. If not, it would slowly become a dry well.

She couldn’t help but look up at the sky. They say, “No great disaster lasts for more than three years,” so maybe this drought will end soon… right?

Zhou Yu remained silent for a while before speaking, “I overlooked this. I thought that with this well holding up, the nearby villages wouldn’t have any major issues for the time being.

“The weather is getting colder day by day, and it’s not convenient to travel far. In the next few days, we’ll take a walk around, and if we can find another water source on the other side, that would be even better.”