Chapter 20: Offering a Suggestion

The faint morning light outlined a nearly perfect silhouette, almost too ethereal to belong to a mortal.

Someone like that probably wouldn’t stay connected to their lives for much longer, right?

Qin Ying withdrew her gaze and handed the warmed bun to An’an to chew on, then began to brew some stir-fried noodles with hot water.

Zhou Yu brought up a bucket of water and was quite surprised. The water was clear and pristine, so clear that it reflected his face perfectly.

By all accounts, a newly dug well shouldn’t yield such clean water so soon.

But then he remembered: the well and pond dug in Tongshu Village had also become clear very quickly.

Perhaps they all tapped into the same exceptionally superior water vein?

Xu Xia soon arrived beside him, peeked into the bucket, and was both shocked and delighted. “Master, this is wonderful!”

The others quickly gathered around. After first confirming the water was non-toxic, Xu Xia took a ladle and had a sip. The taste was cold, crisp, and sweet.

Only then did he carry it over for Aunt Zhong to use.

Aunt Zhong had been cooking with the water they brought along, which was in limited supply and had to be used sparingly.

Now, with this abundance of clean water, she was overjoyed and quickly reminded everyone loudly, “Don’t drink raw water—it’ll upset your stomachs!

“The boiled water over here will be ready to drink soon!”

There was no shortage of firewood in the mountains, so boiling water was quick. The hot water was poured into earthenware jars and set aside to cool while she continued cooking.

Aunt Zhong even carried a small jar of lard with her. She smeared some at the bottom of the pot, and the scent that rose was instantly mouth-watering.

Zhao Hu couldn’t help but swallow hard.

Those around him noticed and let out good-natured laughs.

Zhao Hu wiped his mouth and said, a little embarrassed, “It’s just that I haven’t smelled meat in so long. Life’s been tough at home. Even before the famine, we barely had meat once a month.”

That made everyone fall silent.

Zhou Yu let out a low sigh. If the people’s livelihood was this hard, then it was a sign of his failure as their appointed official.

Xu Xia then spoke to him again, “Young Master, even though we’ve struck water here, we’re far from any village. Things are okay for now, and there aren’t many wild animals in the mountains at the moment.

“But once the disaster passes, this place might still be abandoned.”

“We’ve got more pressing concerns. Let’s focus on the present first,” Zhou Yu replied, mood visibly low. “Unlike the flat land by Tongshu Village’s well, we can’t dig a pond here.”

“But we could dig a water channel,” Qin Ying said as she finished feeding An’an, who was now wriggling to go to Zhou Yu. With no choice, she picked up the child and walked over, joining the conversation at just the right time. “This place happens to be on a slope.”

Everyone turned their eyes to her in unison. They had thought of the idea too, but considered it unrealistic.

Qin Ying grew a little nervous, pressed her lips together, and added, “Of course, it’s just a humble suggestion—it may not be feasible.”

“It’s worth a try,” Zhou Yu smiled and nodded. “We just don’t know what the terrain is like here. Digging a channel might present unforeseen difficulties.”

An’an stretched out her arms and gave Zhou Yu a dazzling smile, as if to say, “Then take me along—I’ll make digging that channel a breeze!”

Seeing that Qin Ying was struggling to hold the squirming toddler, Zhou Yu quickly reached out and took An’an into his arms.

Zhao Hu was a step too late and couldn’t help but pout. His niece didn’t even go to her real uncle for a hug and instead clung to an outsider!

What the heck? Just because he’s handsome?

Zhou Yu turned and ordered someone to go survey the terrain.

Qin Ying gave Zhao Hu a tug and said, “You go too. When it comes to mountain paths, they can’t compare to you.”

Zhao Hu agreed readily and ran off to help.

Seeing that An’an and Zhou Yu were getting along well, Qin Ying felt relieved and went back to help Aunt Zhong with the cooking.

Before long, the two of them had prepared two trays of dishes and a pot of mixed grain rice.

Though Zhao Hu had smelled meat earlier, it turned out that all he saw were a few floating traces of oil in the stew.

Aunt Zhong divided everything evenly. Each person received one bowl of mixed grain rice with vegetables. No matter the quantity or the person’s status, everyone got the same amount. Once the food was distributed, not a single grain of rice or drop of stew was left.

After the meal, An’an had already fallen asleep and was returned to Qin Ying’s care, while Zhou Yu continued leading the group to survey the potential water channel route.

Qin Ying couldn’t sit still and decided to search the mountains for any useful goods.

Aunt Zhong wanted to accompany her, but Qin Ying quickly said, “Please don’t. We’re used to running around in the mountains. There aren’t any wild animals right now, so there’s nothing to fear.

“Besides, I won’t go far. And if I do run into any bad people—well, not only am I armed, but if I yell, you’ll be able to hear and come help.

“And also, we’ve got so many supplies here. If no one stays behind, what if someone steals them?”

Aunt Zhong wanted her to leave An’an behind.

But Qin Ying declined again, “I used to carry An’an on my back all the time, up and down the mountains. I’m used to it.”

Aunt Zhong could no longer insist—after all, they were mother and daughter.

Qin Ying carried An’an and walked over three miles uphill. Underneath a piece of wood, she found some dried black fungus. Gathering them up, she estimated it weighed over three jin.

Delighted, she packed them into the basket she had brought. Thinking further, she knocked down the piece of wood that had grown the fungus. Now that they had water, she could pour some on it, and maybe more fungus would grow again.

Leaving that area, she climbed for another half hour and found a patch of dried mushrooms—about five jin worth.

She collected the mushrooms, pulled some wild grass together, quickly wove a simple pouch, and scooped up a bunch of the soil where the mushrooms had grown.

She then marked a tree in the area. Later, she would call Huzi over to dig up more of the soil. If they took good care of it, the soil might yield more mushrooms—what a win that would be!

An’an squirmed quietly on her back and grinned. With her around, creating the right mushroom cultivation base was a piece of cake!

Without her, would anyone find dried fungus or mushrooms after a three-year drought? They’d have all turned to dust!

Qin Ying gently squeezed her little hand and said tenderly, “An’an, thank you. You always bring Mama such good luck…”

A sense of justified accomplishment earned her 0.01 energy. An’an chuckled aloud, “Hehe! Don’t mention it! It’s mutual benefit, right?”

Qin Ying had been out a while and didn’t want to make others worry, so she began to retrace her steps back carefully, marking trees along the way.

Just over a mile from camp, she suddenly discovered a patch of hickory nuts scattered across the ground and trees.

She didn’t gather them immediately. Instead, she quickened her pace back to camp to bring others. More food was always a good thing.

Zhou Yu was in the middle of speaking with Aunt Zhong, face stern, while Aunt Zhong looked down in shame.

Zhao Hu ran over to meet her, taking the basket from her shoulder. His worried expression gave way to a joyful grin. “Sis! You’re finally back! Where did you go? You were gone so long—we searched everywhere for you!”

Qin Ying patted his shoulder and explained simply, “Just went to look for some mountain goods.”

Then she walked quickly toward Zhou Yu and Aunt Zhong.

Zhou Yu glanced at her, scanning up and down to confirm she was safe. Only then did his expression relax.

Qin Ying quickly saluted him and said apologetically, “I’ve troubled you, Master, for making you worry.”