Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The village's drying ground was open on all sides, far from the mountains and forests—a broad, flat area paved with large stone slabs.

Every autumn harvest, the three major clans in the village—the Wangs, Lis, and Zhaos—regularly came to blows over the best spots to sun-dry their rice. Now, with the entire village crowded onto the drying ground, guarding against the earth's occasional tremors and the boulders tumbling down from the back mountain, they were more united than ever, despite the fear.

Over a dozen makeshift shelters, built from tree branches and thatched with straw, were packed with people. Because of the aftershocks, these flimsy structures occasionally collapsed, but they only hurt a bit if they hit you, posing no real threat to life.

For the time being, they had no other choice; they could only rely on straw to fend off the bitter cold.

Late into the night, the men, holding torches, continued building shelters in an orderly fashion, while the women helped nearby. The kids in the shelters weren't sorted by family; boys and girls were simply grouped together, all bunched together and sleeping soundly.

Seeing them return, many villagers gathered around, bombarding them with questions about the outside world. Seeing that almost everyone was there, Zhao Dashan decided to distribute the medicine to each family first, then gave them a rundown of the situation in town. Finally, he said, "I used the remaining money to buy more medicine. This portion won't be distributed to individual families; it will be kept for common use."

"Dashan, you decide. We'll all listen to you."

"Yes, yes, we'll listen to you."

Now was when the whole village needed to pull together and overcome difficulties. They were eager for someone capable to take charge and naturally wouldn't argue at such a moment.

If it's for the village, then so be it. Aren't we all villagers anyway?

In the end, they would benefit from it too.

After distributing the medicine, Zhao Dashan returned to his family's shelter. It just so happened that the shelter next door belonged to Er Lai's family. Er Lai's father was already squatting nearby, wiping tears as he boiled medicine.

The Zhao family had plenty of menfolk and didn't need help from other villagers. Zhao Sandi and five of the boys had built a large shelter, piled high with straw, where the entire family crowded together.

Zhao Dashan sat cross-legged, holding a large bowl, shoveling food into his mouth as he recounted the journey in detail. He sighed, "Father, there's an upside to our village being far from town. Even if the sky falls outside, it won't reach us here. You wouldn't believe it—the people out there have lost their minds, looting rice and medicine. I heard some even went to wealthy families to steal gold and silver..."

He glanced at his little sister, who was staring at him with wide, bright eyes, and pursed his lips, not wanting to spell it out for fear of frightening her.

Old Man Zhao and Wang Shi understood perfectly. Stealing gold and silver? More like looting corpses!

Who knew how many had died out there? In less than a day, the town had already descended into chaos. Just hearing about it sent chills down their spines.

Wang Shi licked her dry lips, her heart was in her throat. Her fingers trembled uncontrollably, as if sensing something deeply wrong with the world... These past few years had brought snowstorms, droughts, and now, just before the New Year, an earthquake. Disasters struck year after year. Was this a warning from heaven?

Would this year not be a peaceful one either?

"The men we met along the way said many in their villages had died. In the middle of the night, no one knew what hit them. Those who escaped were just lucky."

"Exactly, we all made it by the skin of our teeth," Wang Shi said with a bitter smile, reaching out to rub her daughter's little head.

"Let's not go to town for now. We'll wait until spring," Zhao Dashan suggested, thinking their family's grain would last until then. They might not be able to get coarse salt for the time being, but they had plenty of smoked meat from before the New Year, which should tide them over for a while. Later, he could ask other villagers if they had any extra supplies to trade or buy.

With his family safe and food not an immediate concern, his only worry was the outside world. From what the common folk said, the Official Lord couldn't spare any attention for Tongjiang Town. All the surviving officials had been sent to the towns at the epicenter of the earthquake. Judging by today's situation in town, those who had their goods looted probably deserved it. The grain shop assistants were beaten bloody by the rioting crowds, unable to protect their goods and barely escaping with their lives.

Zhao Dashan found the scene terrifying. Without restraint, all the cowards and scoundrels who usually kept their heads down had crawled out of the woodwork.

He wouldn't stoop to such beastly behavior, nor did he have any respect for it.

Pushing down her own panic, Wang Shi nodded. "Let's listen to our eldest. Let's not leave the village for now. Those matters have nothing to do with us, and we can't do anything about them anyway."

Then, glancing at her daughters-in-law, she sighed softly and whispered, "Tomorrow, take your wives back to their parents' homes to check on them. Help out if you can. Your father and I will manage things here, so don't worry." Having been a daughter-in-law herself, she understood their worries. All day, they had been restless, preoccupied with thoughts of their own families.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Shi and the others immediately brightened, quickly expressing their gratitude. "Thank you, Mother!"

The night was deep, and Zhao Dashan, exhausted from a day of walking mountain paths, was tired. The family said little more, wrapping themselves in cotton quilts and lying down to sleep.

Zhao Xiaobao curled up under the covers. Beneath her was not straw but a mattress, with straw underneath it. She didn't feel cold at all, as her parents lay on either side, shielding her from the biting wind.

Unable to sleep, she lay with her eyes wide open, staring into the pitch-black darkness above.

Outside, voices murmured continuously, accompanied by the crunch of footsteps on snow. The bubbling sound of medicine boiling was also clear. She knew it was medicine for Er Lai. His family's shelter was right next to theirs, arranged deliberately by her father, who said they were "borrowing her luck," hoping she could protect Er Lai.

Zhao Xiaobao struggled to free a finger from her tightly wrapped quilt to scratch her itchy cheek. For some reason, she suddenly felt she had become smarter.

She could understand what her father was saying now.

And she knew she had a special place that others didn't—a place with three fertile fields cultivated by her brothers, where grain was growing.

She used to think her parents and brothers came into her dreams to play with her, but that wasn't it. Her dream was a real place, and only if she agreed could they enter.

Because she was little and didn't understand anything, her parents had coaxed her, asking Little Treasure Fairy to bring them inside.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xiaobao covered her mouth with the hand that had been scratching, giggling softly to herself. A mischievous glint flashed in her eyes as they darted around. Suddenly, a rich, fragrant aroma filled the entire shelter.

In the pitch-black darkness under the covers, a small hand tightly clutched a peach.

In his sleep, Old Man Zhao instinctively sniffed the air, mumbled a few words, and turned over, startling Zhao Xiaobao into immediately tossing the peach in her hand back into the divine realm. The intense fruity scent in the air vanished instantly.

A long time passed before the shelter fell silent again. Zhao Xiaobao then extended the hand that had held the peach, unable to resist bringing it to her nose to sniff.

A suspicious slurping sound immediately broke the darkness.

Zhao Xiaobao wiped the drool from her mouth and stuck her chubby finger into her mouth to suck on.

Her mother said that after the New Year, she would be four years old—a big kid now.

No wonder she had suddenly become so smart! It was because she had grown up! Zhao Xiaobao couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. She had always wanted to be a big kid so that all the children in the clan would listen to her, because she was Auntie Xiaobao!

Before she grew up, only Er Lai in the clan would listen to her, sincerely calling her "Auntie" every time. Unlike the other children, who called her "Auntie" to her face but "little brat" behind her back, never obeying her.

She really liked her nephew Er Lai. She didn't want him to die.

Zhao Xiaobao couldn't help but take out the peach again. How amazing was she? Just by thinking of the peach, the one she had thrown on the ground appeared in her hand.

The shelter once again filled with the rich scent of fruit.

"What's that smell? Why is it so fragrant?" Old Man Zhao groggily opened his eyes, feeling a chill on his chin. He reached up to wipe it—oh my, he had actually drooled in his sleep.

"Father, want some peach?" A soft, little voice came from beside him, tinged with a secretive, almost thief-like tone.

"What peach—mmph..." Old Man Zhao had just opened his mouth when something cool was stuffed inside. Instinctively, he closed his mouth, and with a gentle press of his tongue, the thing dissolved into liquid, leaving only a lingering fragrance in his mouth.

Seeing her father didn't react, Zhao Xiaobao tilted her head, then used her fingernail to scrape off a tiny piece and stuff it into his mouth. Old Man Zhao jolted awake with a start—this time, he finally came to his senses. No wonder the fragrance seemed so familiar!

Wasn't this the scent of the peaches that grew in the divine realm? He knew this fragrance all too well!

"Xiaobao, you..." Old Man Zhao was shocked, his sleepiness instantly vanishing. What was going on? How could a peach from the divine realm appear here?

"Father, I can't scrape any more off," Zhao Xiaobao's voice held a hint of grievance. The peach wasn't fully ripe. She had scraped off the soft flesh from the tip for her father to eat, but she couldn't scrape off the rest.

"If you can't scrape it, then bite it," Old Man Zhao urged impatiently.

Then came a crisp "crunch"—likely his daughter taking a bite of the peach. The sound was incredibly clear, and the spreading fragrance made Old Man Zhao's mouth water.

Especially now, in the pitch-black shelter where he couldn't see a thing, he could only imagine the scene. The more he imagined, the more his craving grew.

"Xiao Bao, what in the world? How'd you get this peach?"

He wondered, how on earth had she climbed such a tall tree?

"Pa, where's our knife?" Zhao Xiaobao resisted her craving, took one bite and stopped eating, then turned to ask her father for a knife to cut the peach.

"What do you need the knife for?"

"To cut the peach for you and Ma, my brothers and their wives, and all the nephews."

Old Man Zhao listened to his daughter's soft little voice, his old father's heart melting completely. All that love for her paid off—she always thought of them when she had something good.

He wanted to say it wasn't necessary, that she should eat the peach herself, that it would be better if Xiao Bao ate it, but then he heard Zhao Xiaobao continue: "And give a slice to nephew Er Lai, a slice to Chūnyá, a slice to Aunt Li, and..."

"Wait, wait!" Old Man Zhao cut off his chattering daughter. These were all the ones who got concussed—his heart was pounding hard. "Xiao Bao, does this peach have some miraculous property? Can it cure illnesses?"

"I don't know," Zhao Xiaobao wrinkled her brow in the darkness. "Xiao Bao just wants them to have some."

Nephew Er Lai called her Aunt Xiaobao, and she liked obedient younger relatives.

Chūnyá was the little girl she played with most closely in the village. In the summer, Chūnyá even picked red ground fruit for her on the back mountain—she liked Chūnyá.

Aunt Li was a widow who had a hard time raising her two kids alone. If Da Luo Bo and Xiao Luo Bo lost their mother, how would they live in the future?

She... she didn't want them to die.