Chapter 4: Build a New Grave…

The moon on the 18th day of the 8th lunar month was very large, and there was no significant atmospheric pollution at the moment. Under the gentle moonlight, the visibility in the village was not weak.

So…

So, when Fang Dahai moved his finger and the spinning wheel activated, revealing the prize, even though the wheel was semi-transparent, Fang Dahai could clearly see what the prize was.

“Congratulations! The lottery is over. You have won 5 pounds of sweet potatoes! We look forward to your next click.”

What kind of luck was this? Sweet potatoes? Even five pounds of rice would be better than this!

Fang Dahai couldn’t help but feel a mix of laughter and frustration. But when he thought about their current situation…

Because the fleeing soldiers arrived so suddenly, they barely had time to grab a few clothes and the savings that Fang Dahai’s father had managed to find in a hurry. As for food, they hadn’t even thought about it. And the food they had stored at home was now completely gone. It would not be an exaggeration to say they were out of everything.

What? Did they eat when they returned home today? Well, they did, but not their own food. It was Old Gen’s uncle who brought it to them—a bowl of thin porridge for each person so they wouldn’t starve.

But as the saying goes, “Help in times of need, but don’t sustain poverty.” Right now, the villagers were helping them because they were a family with many children, and they had just lost the head of the family. It was an act of compassion. But after this, how would they survive? If they relied on the elders in the village too much, they would be ashamed. After all, no family was rich these days. So, the problem was how to fill the stomachs of his family, and from this angle, those 5 pounds of sweet potatoes were actually just right. At least they would have food for tomorrow.

After thinking it through, Fang Dahai gave a bitter smile and shook his head, then prepared to collect the prize.

Wait a minute, where were the sweet potatoes? The wheel had congratulated him, but where was the prize? It was just a spinning wheel, and it said congratulations, but there was no sign of the actual item!

It was unclear whether the system had connected a thought link to Fang Dahai’s mind, but as soon as his thoughts shifted, there was an immediate response.

“To collect your prize, please click the warehouse button below the wheel. All items won in the lottery will be immediately transferred to the warehouse space. Please note, the current size of this warehouse space is 10 cubic meters. The space can be expanded through future lottery draws. Please keep working hard and keep drawing.”

Wow, it even has its own space? With this, he could do a lot more. For instance, at this very moment, his eyes couldn’t help but drift towards the Fu family’s direction.

He remembered Old Gen’s uncle saying that the fleeing soldiers had looted the entire Fu family, and now there was no one left from the Fu family? The Fu matriarch’s body was even collected by them?

From what he knew, after the fleeing soldiers and the two rounds of cleaning by the villagers, most of the obvious belongings in the house should be gone. But what about hidden things? Who could say that the Fu family didn’t hide their assets in secret places?

From his previous life’s experience as a dark investigator in the Imperial Guards, he knew that even the poorest families had a habit of hiding things—dig a hole in the ground, tuck a brick in the corner, and hide a few coins in secret. So, he was still very interested in the Fu family’s home. Who was he? A Ming Dynasty Imperial Guard! He was an expert at finding these hidden treasures! Others might not find anything, but he would never return empty-handed.

And as long as he found something… With his daily labor and the lottery rewards, how could he not survive? He might even be able to lay a solid foundation for his family amidst the chaos, taking advantage of the turmoil before the liberation.

For example, those wealthy families about to flee, or certain corrupt gangs… These could all be targets. Quietly take a round, find something, store it in the warehouse space, and no matter how chaotic things got outside, it wouldn’t affect him.

What? You say the outside is dangerous? That’s true. It’s not uncommon for innocent people to die. But even with mountain bandits and random soldiers everywhere, who would target a poor little beggar? Everyone was just trying to survive, and no one would waste their effort on something with no profit. So, as long as he didn’t show off his wealth or stand out, he could protect his family.

With this plan in mind, Fang Dahai looked at the 5 pounds of sweet potatoes in the warehouse and immediately discarded his previous sense of disdain. He started to think seriously about the current food situation in the village. Then, using the moonlight, he secretly dug a hole near the old tree in his courtyard, filled a medium-sized jar he found from the empty neighboring house with the 5 pounds of sweet potatoes, and buried it.

“Boom…”

Perhaps the heavens favored Fang Dahai, for just as he finished packing the sweet potatoes and roughly covered the jar with soil, in the hall of the house, Fang Dajiang, who was sleeping, fell down again.

When he fell, his head hit the door, and the sound was so loud in the still night that it was as if a gong was being struck right next to one’s ear. When Fang Dahai turned around in surprise, not only did Fang Dajiang wake up, but He Yulan, who had been sleeping in the kitchen, was also startled awake and opened the crooked door to the kitchen.

“What happened?”

“Brother.”

“Dajiang, did you fall again?”

The three of them spoke at once, their voices overlapping loudly. The sound was so loud that it could have woken up the neighbors, but since they were in the countryside and each family’s house was some distance apart, it wasn’t an issue.

Fang Dahai was the first to stop talking. He lowered his head to look at the jar he had just prepared, then smiled and turned to He Yulan:

“You’re awake, that’s good. Come, take these sweet potatoes to the kitchen. After the sun comes up, we’ll cook a pot of sweet potato porridge. At least we’ll have something to eat before sending Father off.”

Sweet potatoes? What sweet potatoes? Do we still have food?

Fang Dahai’s words stunned He Yulan and Fang Dajiang. They stared in surprise, completely awake now. They quickly stepped towards him. But because of their night blindness, they couldn’t see clearly and ended up kneeling on the ground, carefully feeling around. Once they confirmed there really was a jar and that the jar contained sweet potatoes, the two children were so overjoyed they nearly cried.

“Our family still has food? That’s great, we won’t have to starve tomorrow.”

Fang Dajiang was straightforward, and his simple thoughts were all about the joy of being able to eat tomorrow. He Yulan, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief and said to Fang Dahai:

“I was still worrying. There’s so much to do tomorrow, and I probably won’t have time to go dig wild vegetables in the back mountains. The neighbors are in the same situation as us, and I didn’t think anyone could lend us any food. I didn’t know how we’d make it through the day. But now, it’s good. With these, we can add some water, and we’ll last two more days. With this time, the back mountain is so big, we can definitely find something to fill our stomachs.”

So, without realizing it, He Yulan had already been planning for the family’s food rations? Fang Dahai looked at the girl, who was even smaller than a 10-year-old child in his previous life. His thoughts were complicated. As the head of the family now and the last person his younger siblings could rely on, he realized he hadn’t been doing enough.

It hadn’t been long since he came to this world, but even though he said there was still him, in both actions and mentality, he had unintentionally distanced himself from them. He had been too solitary, not responsible enough!

Fang Dahai reflected on this for a moment and then, unable to help himself, spoke in a tone that was more comforting and explanatory.

“I’ve always said I’m here for you.”

When He Yulan heard this, a smile appeared on her face. As she carefully stuffed the sweet potatoes into her arms, she said:

“See, the eldest son is different. I’ve always been the one cooking at home. I didn’t know there was a jar of sweet potatoes hidden here.”

Fang Dajiang became curious when he heard this. He looked up at Fang Dahai and asked:

“Brother, when did you hide this? Why didn’t Father give any hint?”

How should Fang Dahai answer that? He couldn’t just say that he had just hidden it!

“Well, what do you want me to say? I just remembered seeing Father digging a hole here, so I thought I’d give it a try. Or maybe you can ask Father?”

Ask Father?

The two words froze them all. How could they ask him? He was already lying on the doorboard.

Fang Dahai regretted his words as soon as he said them. Wasn’t this like stabbing the children’s hearts? It was definitely not something he should have said. So he quickly added:

“With the times we’re in, Father must have been thinking ahead. He was afraid we’d say he was overthinking, and that he’d let us go hungry for nothing, so he kept it a secret from you.”

Yes, that might be the explanation. But who could have guessed that Father’s precautions really worked? All the things he hid away, he never got to use himself, but instead, they became their life-saving rations.

Thinking of this, both Fang Dajiang and He Yulan couldn’t help but turn to look at the man lying on the doorboard. Tears welled up in their eyes again.

“Father… Father… Wuwu, it’s all my fault. If I had run faster, you wouldn’t have had to worry about me and come back to pull me, and you wouldn’t have been seen by those soldiers… You might have gone up the mountain with us already… Wuwuwu…”

Fang Dajiang cried louder and louder, so much so that the kitchen’s herbs seemed to cry out in their sleep. He Yulan couldn’t hold it in anymore and crouched down to wipe away her tears. The sadness in the yard was overwhelming, and all Fang Dahai could do was sigh.

“Alright, stop crying. It’s late, and we don’t want to disturb the neighbors. Let’s get some more sleep. Father is waiting for us to send him off for the last time.”

…..

The final journey of a poor family is short and simple.

At dawn, just as the sky began to lighten, Old Gen came with two people. A straw mat covered Old Father Fang’s body, severing all his ties to this world. He was carried out of the house, and the four children, three steps and a bow, five steps and a cry, sent him off for the last stretch of his journey.

A large pit on the back mountain, a pile of yellow earth, and a wooden gravestone marked his final resting place in this world, the last memory he left for his bloodline.

From then on, there would be no more of him in the Fang family. From then on, he no longer had to support the family’s livelihood. For this man, who had suffered his whole life, this might have been the most peaceful and relieving moment of his life.