Chapter 8: Bountiful Gains

The eastern sky had begun to brighten with the first pale light of dawn, and the sun had just emerged from the horizon when the sound of hoofbeats suddenly echoed again near the dilapidated temple.

…Thud…pa-pa…pa-pa…bang, bang… The abrupt sounds startled everyone so much they didn’t even dare to breathe. Nearly ten minutes passed before the temple finally fell silent again.

“I’ll go take a look. The rest of you stay here, pack up our things, and cut as much grass as you can. The grass here is really lush and plentiful. If we hurry on the road today, we might make it to Taiyuan before nightfall.”

Han Ya burst into tears and shouted, “No! No! You can’t go, Auntie! There are bad people over there. I won’t let you go!”

“Sis, let the men go instead.”

Wang Li calmly analyzed, “If too many of us go and there are still people alive over there, they’ll hear us. But if I go alone and spot someone alive, I can hide. Besides, I’ve killed before—I’m not afraid.” As she spoke, she pulled a pistol out of her bag.

“I’ve got this.”

Everyone exclaimed in unison, “Where did you get a pistol?!”

Wang Li sighed, “Don’t all stare at me like that—it’s scary! I found it in a hidden compartment in the old master’s(Laoye) study. The house is sold anyway. If we didn’t take it, someone else would have.”

“She’s right,” someone agreed. “If we don’t take it, someone else will. I even wanted to take the furniture, but we didn’t have a cart. If we had even a pushcart, I would’ve taken two nice pieces. Such a waste to leave it all behind! Solid rosewood, beautifully carved. I was there when they did the carving—cost a fortune! Gave the craftsman so much money. What a shame…”

“Hurry up and pack,” Wang Li said as she walked off. “Leave someone to keep watch behind us so no one sneaks around from another direction.”

When she reached the temple, Wang Li cautiously peeked around the corner. There were six glossy, well-fed horses in the courtyard, and four bodies lay on the ground. She approached slowly and checked them one by one—no signs of life.

She made sure they were truly dead. No room for mistakes—too many TV shows where someone fakes death only to shoot you in the back later.

Inside the temple, eight more lay scattered. She figured they were likely dead too. One of them—a Japanese soldier—still had a faint pulse. Wang Li swiftly slashed his neck. That spot on the neck was soft—easy to stab.

Worried others might show up, she stashed the horses into her space. Inside her storage, she tied them to a shelf—better safe than sorry. Unrestrained horses could wreck everything in there.

Back outside, she stripped the corpses. The ones outside looked like bandits, while the ones inside were clearly Japanese soldiers. Don’t ask how she could tell—just look at their uniforms, heh.

She took their pistols, sabers, silver dollars, small gold bars, daggers—everything. Even stripped their clothes until they were down to their underwear.

Panting, she ran back to the riverbank. Without even catching her breath, she ordered everyone to pack up immediately and hit the road.

They needed to leave quickly. If others came across the bodies, they might think they had done the killing.

With so many people, they packed quickly.

Those who carried shoulder poles lifted them, those with baskets strapped them on, and the group detoured from the riverbank back to the main road without even stopping to eat.

Han Ya squeezed in beside her. “Auntie, aren’t you scared of dead people? I’m scared of the dead. There were so many bodies back in the village—it terrified me. Good thing we left, or I wouldn’t even be able to sleep. I was so scared… Just like my dad—he was lying there, and no matter how I shook him, he wouldn’t get up. It scared me to death.” She patted her chest to calm herself.

They jogged all morning until they were utterly exhausted.

Liu’s wife looked around and said, “Sister, we really can’t walk anymore. Let’s rest and eat something.”

Zhao Sanniu added, “My stomach is sticking to my back.”

Wang Li looked around—everyone was clearly at their limit.

“All right, I’m sorry. I was so caught up in thinking, I forgot we hadn’t eaten before setting out.”

Ahead was a small forest. “Let’s rest there—it’ll be cooler.”

But as they got closer, they noticed people were already there—probably a family. They looked at them with wary, guarded eyes.

They found a big tree nearby to settle under. Han Ya unhitched the wagon first. Since there was no water nearby, they fed the horses grass.

Liu’s family and Zhao Sanniu’s started a fire and began cooking porridge. The children, upon arrival, flopped straight to the ground.

“Sigh… this world,” one of them muttered. “So hungry and tired I can’t move!”

Zhao Sanniu whispered to the children, “There are outsiders here—don’t lie on the ground or say you’re tired. What if they see we’re weak and come rob us?”

Terrified, the children scrambled back to their feet, glancing nervously around.

Seeing it all, Wang Li almost burst into laughter—Hahaha… She quickly covered her mouth. There were outsiders present after all, and none of them were people she knew.

The two families didn’t speak to each other, not even a greeting. They just quietly made dinner. The children eagerly gulped down two bowls of porridge each. Wang Li herself couldn’t eat anymore, so she gave her share to Han Ya. Han Ya was moved to tears.

After packing up their things, they continued on the road. She overheard someone from the other family say they’d travel further since the weather had cooled down in the afternoon.

With a call of “Let’s go,” they set out again.

They walked quite a distance, and it was nearly dark, but the city gate was still nowhere in sight. Wang Li began to wonder if the map was wrong—was there a piece missing? Could they have taken the wrong route?

She didn’t dare continue walking; it was already getting too dark. Just then, she spotted a village up ahead.

Wang Li was overjoyed. “Let’s go into the village and see if we can find a place to stay for the night.”

But as they approached the village entrance, something didn’t feel right—no lights were on, and it was eerily quiet.

“Sanniu, sneak in first and check it out.”

Sanniu went in and didn’t return for a while. When he did, he reported back, “It’s an empty village… no one’s here.”

The group entered together and found a large courtyard. They checked the place thoroughly—no one around. They shut and bolted the main gate and each family picked a room. There was even water in the well.

“Everyone, draw some water and wash up first. Then let’s cook. Tonight we’ll steam rice and some potatoes. Eat well so we’ll have strength.”

After dinner, people started to get curious—they wanted to look around and see if they could scavenge anything useful from the village.

Wang Li was tempted too. She left Sanniu’s wife to watch over the courtyard.

She gave instructions: those going out should pair up and be mindful of safety.

Wang Li and Han Ya arrived at the door of a big house. There was a strange sour smell in the air.

“Girl, do you smell that? What do you think it is?”

“Auntie, there’s a wine jar here. It smells just like the one my dad used when he drank… Auntie, I miss my dad…”

“Sweet girl, your dad’s watching over you from heaven. Look up—see that brightest star in the sky? That’s him. Whenever you miss him, just look up and talk to him.”

“Come on, let’s go in and take a look.”
“Auntie, there’s a cellar here. I’m really good at finding cellars!”

“Of course! Our girl is the best at finding cellars! Hahaha…”
The two of them laughed together, and their warmth stood out in the stillness of the night.

They climbed down into the cellar together. Han Ya grabbed a broom and began sweeping the floor.

Wang Li was puzzled. “Girl, why are you sweeping?”

“Hehe, Auntie, you’re so silly. I’m sweeping in case there are snakes or bugs down here.”

“You sure know a lot. Let’s head further in.”

As they turned a corner, they saw several large water jars, half buried underground. Wang Li lifted a lid—immediately a sour odor wafted up.

“What’s this?”

“Auntie, you’re so clueless. With a wine jug up there, this must be wine down here.”

“But wine’s supposed to be spicy, right? Why’s it sour?”

“Doesn’t matter. Let’s take it. Auntie, you lead—I’ll cover the rear.”

While Han Ya walked ahead, Wang Li discreetly collected all the jars into her storage space. She didn’t care what they were—just store them first and figure it out later.

When they got back, they washed up again. Everyone else had returned too. Some had baskets, others carried hoes, and one had even picked up a chipped clay pot. Sanniu’s daughter insisted on keeping it.

Wang Li assigned Zhao Sanniu to take the first shift for night watch, and Liu’s mother and son to take the second half. Then, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.