Chapter 7 – Receiving Blessings

“Granny Wang, it’s all my fault,” Qin Ying quickly apologized with embarrassment, “I lost my composure and panicked, dragging my aunt into it as well. She ended up losing her sense of direction because of me.”

Zhao Hu brought Granny Wang a bowl of water. She drank it slowly, lifted her eyelids, and glanced at Qin Ying a few times.

“Yingzi, let Granny share some heartfelt advice with you.

“Being soft-hearted is a good trait. But if you’re unconditionally soft, constantly retreating with no boundaries, it won’t just hurt you—it’ll harm the people around you too.

“You’re a mother now. You wouldn’t want your daughter to grow up weak and easy to bully, would you?

“As a mother, you’re her role model. If you can’t stand firm, how can you expect her to grow up strong?”

Qin Ying looked confused.

Aunt Zhao nudged her with her elbow and whispered, “She’s talking about your sister-in-law.”

Qin Ying’s sister-in-law, Guo Nier, was the late-born daughter of the Guo couple and was seven years younger than Qin Ying.

Since arriving at the Guo household, Qin Ying had taken care of her meticulously—more so than even Father and Mother Guo.

In return, Guo Nier bossed her around without restraint.

When their maternal relatives came to fetch her, Guo Nier had directed the others to clean out all the stored grains and valuables from the house—as if she wanted to empty even the rat holes.

She was already eight years old—how could she not understand anything? Clearly, she was cutting off Qin Ying’s chances of survival.

Qin Ying pursed her lips, her expression turning cold. With her eyes downcast, she said, “I understand what you mean, Granny. Someone as heartless as Guo Nier—I stopped seeing her as family long ago.

“If she becomes successful, even if I’m begging for food, I’ll steer clear of her doorstep. And if she falls into misfortune, I absolutely won’t lift a finger to help her.

“Everyone in the village can testify to what happened back then. Even if Guo Wen comes back, I’m not afraid.”

Not to mention—she had secretly kept part of her mother’s belongings, all of which were now safely stored.

Back when the family ran out of food, she had thought about selling those items, but Aunt Zhao had firmly stopped her, saying that taking them out would be like summoning death.

Granny Wang nodded slightly. “Good. As long as you know what you’re doing.” She stood up to leave.

Qin Ying gave her a respectful bow. “Thank you for your guidance, Granny.”

Granny Wang smiled and waved her hand dismissively.

That child had a special origin—she was willing to form a good connection.

Once they were sure An’an was fine, the three of them felt relieved.

Since they had already delayed things the night before, they didn’t hesitate this time. They brought shovels, pickaxes, ropes, baskets, and enough water, strapped An’an to their back, and quietly left the village.

After walking a distance and confirming no one had followed, the three of them headed into the mountains.

Once on the mountain, they stayed cautious, observing multiple times. They took two winding, indirect routes before finally reaching the spot they had selected earlier to dig the underground cellar.

They cleared a clean area, dug a trench to serve as a firebreak, spread dry grass thickly, and laid An’an on top.

Then they lit a small fire for light.

The three of them started digging the cellar with their shovels.

About every half-hour, they would take turns resting and checking on An’an.

They could still work with An’an on their back, but they were worried it would make the child uncomfortable. The surface dirt was easy to dig, but after three feet, they hit stone. It took considerable effort to remove it.

So it wasn’t until about an hour before dawn that they had a rough outline of the cellar dug.

They hid the shovels and gathered some dry firewood in a hurry before heading down the mountain.

Back home, they only caught a short nap before getting up again—it was their turn to inspect the fields.

The day passed in a flash. That night, the three of them ate dinner early—back then they only managed one rough meal every two days, now they had two meals a day—and collapsed into sleep.

Once everything was silent, they climbed up the mountain again…

Their days were completely filled with this routine.

An’an stretched her legs, gave a lazy yawn, and thought: Wow, I’ve been in dormancy for three days—why am I still so tired?

She ran a self-check. Oh? After three days of sleep, her energy level had actually increased by 0.1?

Turns out their intense emotional fluctuations had brought her more energy.

It just so happened that it was Qin Ying’s turn to rest. When she saw An’an’s blanket was all kicked away, she got a fright and quickly rushed over. Squatting down to check, she saw An’an’s large black-and-white eyes rolling around energetically.

Qin Ying’s nose stung and her eyes nearly filled with tears.

As she scooped An’an into her arms, she turned her head and called out, “Auntie, Huzi! Our An’an is awake!”

Aunt Zhao and Zhao Hu immediately dropped what they were doing and rushed over.

Aunt Zhao peeked in and was overjoyed. “Quick, Huzi, pour some water so I can wash my hands—we need to cook some porridge for An’an right away!

“Poor thing, she’s been asleep for three whole days. She must be starving!”

Zhao Hu responded repeatedly and ran off.

Since they had prepared for An’an to wake at any moment, they had wild fruit powder on hand at all times.

Now that they mentioned it, An’an also felt her tiny tummy was rather empty.

After eating the fragrant and sweet wild fruit porridge, An’an couldn’t lie still anymore.

So Qin Ying carried her on her back again.

An’an shook her head and sighed silently—without her Koi blessing, these three were way too inefficient! At this pace, it would take them a whole month to finish digging that cellar!

Time for me to step in!

Biubiubiu~ Koi Luck Activate!

This time, the three of them worked with incredible efficiency. Not only was the cellar dug deeper, but it was also extremely sturdy, with ample storage space.

By nightfall, the task was successfully completed.

After finishing the final touches, the three climbed out, feeling especially relaxed and content.

They took a short break, extinguished the fire, carefully buried the site with dirt, camouflaged it so that there were no traces, and then brought their things back down the mountain.

With dry trees and grass everywhere, they didn’t dare light a torch and could only travel by the dim moonlight.

After walking for over half an hour, Aunt Zhao said Qin Ying must be tired from carrying An’an the whole way and offered to switch with her.

The three of them found a nearby clearing and a large flat rock to rest.

Qin Ying needed to relieve herself. Aunt Zhao, worried, told Zhao Hu to stay with An’an while she accompanied Qin Ying to find a suitable spot.

Who knew that the moment An’an was placed in Zhao Hu’s arms, she started kicking—there was something good nearby! But those two women wouldn’t be able to carry it!

Aunt Zhao had no choice but to take An’an back into her arms.

The three of them headed deeper into the forest.

Once they had gone far enough, Qin Ying was just about to lift her skirt when—thud!—something smacked her on the head.

She didn’t think much of it and rubbed her head, moving a bit further away.

But then—another hit.

Aunt Zhao looked at the round thing rolling on the ground and was a bit puzzled. She told Qin Ying to move a few more steps and bent down to examine it closely.

When she saw it, her face lit up in surprise and joy. “Yingzi! Hickory nuts! These are hickory nuts!”

Qin Ying also bent down and picked up a round ball. Sure enough—it was a hickory nut! And due to the prolonged drought, the outer shell had become brittle—one pinch and it cracked open. She tasted one—the flesh inside was still good.

“Auntie! This time our An’an is truly blessed!”

After making sure Qin Ying had relieved herself, Aunt Zhao called Zhao Hu over, lit a torch, and they began gathering all the hickory nuts from the ground.

Luckily, they had brought baskets.

Before long, they had picked two full baskets of hickory nuts. There were still plenty left on the ground, so they gathered them into a pile, planning to come back for them next time.

The three of them happily descended the mountain.