Chapter 5: Collapse

Tian Mi fell asleep but was awakened by the heat; the afternoon sun had come around again, and even the wind blowing was hot. They got up and moved to the other side of the big rock, to a small shady spot that could barely accommodate a few people.

In that moment, Tian Mi felt a wave of sadness wash over her. Oh no! The novelty of her arrival was completely wiped out by this terrible weather. She was starting to miss home! At home, there was air conditioning, watermelons, milk tea, and a television to watch novels; if she wasn’t satisfied, she could even complain about the plots.

Just as she was feeling like she was ready to embrace the beauty of this new world with all the beautiful ancient costumes and cosmetics she had prepared, and after buying so many pretty but low-quality accessories in Yiwu, was she really going to be stuck in this situation? Was there anything useful among them?

She had prepared so many seeds, seedlings, saplings, various materials, and books, ready to make grand plans, take on the role of CEO, support a handsome and rich guy, and reach the pinnacle of human achievement. But was there anything she could use now?

Tian Mi felt like crying without tears. Every day, she was a chubby ball of exhaustion; she had endured it, but now they couldn’t even provide her with a shady spot. Damn it, was there no humanity left?

Tian Mi tightly closed her eyes for a long time! A long time! A long time!

Sigh! Life has to go on!

Tian Mi said, “Dad, uncles, and aunts, we should eat and drink! We can’t be too frugal; if our bodies weaken, we won’t be able to protect these things. Saving for others might even cost us our lives.”

Everyone immediately understood her point; the girl was right. They had starved for two days before becoming bandits, and it had made them foolish.

“Oh! Mi’er is really clever; that’s the truth.”

“You can’t be a bandit! Just two days and everyone becomes stupid.”

“Exactly, exactly.”

Aunt Feng quickly organized the aunts and several sisters-in-law to gather firewood, while others prepared food. Tian Mi went to cook porridge, and this time Aunt Feng gave her a lot more rice, intending to make it thicker to fill them up.

This time, they were making porridge and steaming buns, saving the buns for the journey.

The men went out to find food for the livestock.

Tian Mi was still fetching water to wash the rice, saving the rice water in a bucket to feed the animals later.

The water for cooking would come from the well; she just needed to hold the wooden ladle and think of the well water, and it would appear from her space without a sound.

Tian Mi also took out the piece of meat she had and two boiled eggs, mashing them up, telling Sister Tang, who was tending the fire, to stir them in when the porridge was almost done so everyone could eat together.

Sister Tang watched Tian Mi, dumbfounded, thinking, wow! This greedy cat is actually willing to share her food with everyone; she really has changed.

Did a man really change her so much?

While Sister Tang was focused on the fire, Tian Mi went to feed the livestock. As soon as they saw her carrying the bucket and their special ladle, they excitedly called out, a truly clever bunch of cuties. Tian Mi fed them one by one, making them moo happily.

Next, she found a thin vine to weave a circle and took a thick cloth from the ox’s back. She wanted to make a sun hat; even though she had spiritual water to create skin-repairing medicine, the feeling of being baked in the sun like a salted fish was too uncomfortable. She was already plenty fat; she couldn’t afford to look any worse.

Aunt Feng saw her working with the fabric and hurried over to ask, “Mi’er, what are you doing?”

“Making a hat; I really can’t stand being out in the sun every day.”

“Oh dear, you don’t know how to do this! Just tell me, and Aunt Feng will make it for you.”

Tian Mi felt warm inside. Although the environment wasn’t good and life was tough, the people were kind, which was a bit of comfort.

Tian Mi said, “I’m making two circles of different sizes; the small one goes on my head, and the big one will hold the fabric to block the sun, making a hat that can shield me from the sun.”

Aunt Feng’s eyes lit up upon hearing this; it was absolutely necessary. This damned sun was scorching, and even her face hurt. Little Hua’s face had started to peel. They had to make hats.

She took a look at the large circle Tian Mi was holding and then used the thin vine to measure Tian Mi’s head to create a fitting circle. After that, she went to cut the fabric. Her hands were much more skilled than Tian Mi’s, and before long, a wide-brimmed sun hat was completed.

Tian Mi was truly delighted, marveling at the ancient craftsmanship. She immediately put it on her head; it looked quite like the previous sun hat.

Tian Mi hugged Aunt Feng excitedly and said, “Aunt Feng, you’re amazing! This is just perfect; it will be very useful.”

Tian Mi’s bear hug nearly took Aunt Feng’s breath away.

“Oh dear! Oh dear!” she playfully complained, “How old are you, and still so reckless?”

Aunt Feng had no daughters and had watched Tian Mi grow up. In the past, this child had been as beautiful as a flower. At that time, the eldest son of the family had wanted to marry her, but the elder had firmly disagreed, leading to a stalemate. Little did they know that after her mother passed away, she had gained weight and continued to grow fatter. The eldest son then married a girl from the Zhou family, and Tian Mi had since indulged in overeating.

Old Master Xu had two sons, one scholarly and one martial, named Xu Shichang and Xu Shirong.

Everyone liked Xu Shirong; he was generous and sincere, while Xu Shichang, the scholar, was arrogant and looked down on others. Even when Tian Dabiao accompanied him to the exam and faced dangers, it was Tian Dabiao who protected him, yet he still regarded Tian Dabiao as a servant of the Xu family.

Old Master Xu treated Tian Dabiao very well. He had grown up practicing martial arts alongside Xu Shirong, and Tian Dabiao treated him like family.

As Tian Dabiao grew older, Xu Shichang, seeing his strength and abilities, wanted him to sign a contract of servitude, but Old Master Xu refused, saying that Tian Dabiao had grown up working at the escort agency and, while the agency had been kind to him, it was unreasonable to sell himself to them. Thus, Tian Dabiao became a formal escort rather than a servant.

Tian Mi said, “Let’s make more; everyone can wear one. Otherwise, just lifting our heads will have us squinting in the sun.”

Aunt Feng nodded!

Several sisters-in-law and aunts saw this and were very pleased, quickly coming over to help. Each woman made one, while the men waited to see if they wanted to wear them.

Before long, Cui Dahu and Cui Erhu excitedly ran back.

“Mom, we found water! We found water!”

Tian Mi was taken aback! She guessed they had found the water she had left behind for the other refugees! Oh no!

This bombshell news instantly excited everyone, who dropped what they were doing and eagerly asked about the location.

“Where is it? Where is it?”

Aunt Feng and the two brothers, Cui Dahu and Cui Erhu, rushed out with several empty buckets, while the sisters-in-law couldn’t hide their joy, finally having found water again. After two days of seeing little water, they had been secretly worried, but now they had hope again.

They continued happily making hats.

A little while later, the men returned with dry grass to feed the livestock. They had run quite far looking for water, and upon hearing the news, they were overjoyed.

Soon, Aunt Feng and the others returned with water, their faces beaming as they said, “We brought water back! It was discovered by a few people. Oh my! They were so happy! Finding gold wouldn’t make them this happy; this truly saved their lives.”

As they spoke, their faces were filled with joy, happy for others’ good fortune.

Tian Mi secretly praised herself, hee hee hee! You’re really a beautiful little fairy, hee hee hee! Although she wasn’t a particularly great or kind person, she was still very happy to have helped others as much as she could.