Chapter 90

Chapter 90

The whole family was woken up by that loud cry, and shuffling footsteps sounded from several rooms at once.

Even quicker than Wang Shi was Old Man Zhao, who ran over without even putting on his shoes.

Zhao Xiaobao was already awake, lying face down on the bed, wailing loudly and utterly heartbroken: "The big tree died, the big tree is burning..."

Forgetting the flour on her hands, Wang Shi bent down and scooped her daughter into her arms, rocking her back and forth to soothe her: "Don't cry, don't cry, Mama's here. What tree is burning? Did someone set a tree on fire?"

Her heart was pounding with fear. She had experienced this twice before—Xiaobao either didn't dream at all, or when she did, trouble was sure to follow!

The conscription had just ended, and they hadn't even enjoyed two months of peace. Was trouble brewing again?

Could it be war?

"I'm so hot, Mama, Xiaobao is so hot." Zhao Xiaobao kept tugging at her clothes, her little face flushed red from crying, squirming and struggling. "Xiaobao doesn't want to wear clothes, so hot, mouth is dry, don't want Mama to hold me, Xiaobao is hot..."

"Why would you be hot?" Seeing her tugging at her clothes, Wang Shi was alarmed and held her even tighter.

It was only early spring, and the late spring chill couldn't be underestimated. Even Dashan and the others, who had robust constitutions and weren't afraid of the cold, wore padded jackets during the day and needed quilts at night to stay warm. How could Wang Shi possibly let her take off her clothes? What if she caught a chill!

Especially in the early morning, a gust of wind could make anyone shiver if they weren't dressed warmly. Even she felt cold when she got up and had put on two thick layers. Yet, her daughter was unusually complaining of heat. Wang Shi gently pulled her little hands away from her clothes, wrapped her tightly in the quilt, and even used her flour-covered hand to feel her forehead—thankfully, she wasn't feverish.

"Be good, Xiaobao, don't take off your clothes, or you'll catch a cold. If you get sick, you'll have to drink bitter medicine, and Xiaobao doesn't like that, does she?" She held her struggling daughter, soothing her for a good while before finally calming her down.

Old Man Zhao brought over half a bowl of warm water. Wang Shi took it and carefully held it to her daughter's lips.

Strangely, the child who usually refused to drink unless it was sweetened water now acted as if she had been thirsty for days. The moment her lips touched the clay bowl, she clung to it desperately, gulping down several large mouthfuls until it was empty.

Wang Shi felt suspicious and inexplicably uneasy.

In just that short time, everyone had arrived, crowding into the room, unwilling to leave.

"Did Little Sister have another dream?" Sun Shi was the first to speak up, unable to hold back. If there was one thing the whole family feared most and anticipated most now, it was Little Sister's dreams. Whenever Xiaobao dreamed, it meant something major was about to happen. And if they knew in advance what it was, they could find a way to avoid it.

After the conscription incident, Sun Shi now held Little Sister in such awe that she could kowtow three times to her.

The Little Deity's dreams were too accurate!

Wang Shi was in no state to deal with her at the moment. She was relieved to have finally calmed her daughter down, stopping her from pulling at her clothes and complaining about the heat. This child's strength grew year by year. Though she was a girl and didn't look like her father's unkempt appearance, her strength truly took after him—just like her three older brothers, she was incredibly strong.

The room was full of people, but no one dared to ask a question.

Zhao Xiaobao sobbed for a long time. She turned her head and saw her parents, brothers, sister-in-law, and nephews all around her. Feeling wronged again, she wanted to cry. She whimpered, "The big banyan tree at the village entrance died. The sun dried it up, burned it to death. Such a big, big fire. Xiaobao was so hot, so uncomfortable. Everyone stayed far away from it, even though everyone liked hiding under its shade. Wuwu, Xiaobao doesn't want it to be burned..."

She recounted the scenes from her dream in fragments.

The heavens stopped sending rain. At first, no one paid it much mind, as the year before last had also been a dry year with little rainfall. Qingzhou Prefecture was densely forested and had a tributary of the Yangtze River, which further branched out, with even Wanxia Village having a small river. If the heavens didn't send rain, it would just mean more effort—needing to carry water from the river to irrigate the fields. There might be reduced yields, but no one would starve to death.

As for people, if the well water dried up, they could still go to the back mountains to find water to drink. They'd never go without.

Compared to drought, Qingzhou Prefecture feared heavy floods more, as it was close to rivers and had dams. If it rained heavily for too long, there was a risk of flooding.

That was why they had to repair the embankments and dredge the river channels every year—it was essential, as it was a matter of life and death for everyone in Qingzhou Prefecture.

There had been severe drought years before, with riverbeds dropping and fights breaking out between villages and upstream areas over water, sometimes even leading to deaths. But it had never been so severe that wells dried up completely, not even half a bucket of water could be drawn, people were dying of thirst, the mountains and forests withered, and even animals couldn't find water and all fled down the mountains!

And such events were now unfolding one by one in Zhao Xiaobao's account.

The great drought began after a spring rain.

The people sowed their crops as usual in spring, but the elders in the village said this year seemed hotter than previous years. Even before summer arrived, just sitting still felt uncomfortably warm, and working made sweat drip incessantly, requiring them to wash their hand towels several times a day.

When summer arrived, the temperature suddenly soared, growing hotter day by day. The sun glared so brightly it hurt the eyes, and even wearing straw sandals made the soles of the feet feel as if they were being roasted—and they weren't stepping on stone slabs but on clumps of earth.

The first to notice something was wrong were the children. The heat was unbearable, and they couldn't stay at home. Even hiding in the mountains felt hot. A group of boys sneaked off to swim in the river without the adults knowing. Someone remarked that the riverbed had dropped, not as deep as in previous years, and a lot of aquatic plants were exposed.

Soon after, the women noticed. Wanxia Village had an old well, and for generations, the villagers had drawn water from it for daily drinking and use. They used it every day. But from some day onward, they suddenly found it harder to draw water. This old well had always yielded water easily, and the hemp rope at home hadn't been replaced in years. No matter when they went to draw water, they could always fetch it.

But now it wasn't working. When they lowered the wooden bucket tied to the hemp rope, it couldn't reach the water!

The hemp rope hadn't shortened, so the water level in the well must have dropped.

This discovery made the villagers tense, drawing more attention than the children's earlier complaints about the dropping riverbed.

As the water level in the well dropped and showed no signs of rising again, the villagers grew increasingly anxious. Meanwhile, the weather grew even hotter. Farmers usually went out to work at dawn, carrying their hoes, and returned home to eat breakfast after the sun rose. They rested at home during the midday heat, then went out again in the late afternoon when it was less hot, returning at dusk for dinner.

But starting in July, they woke up feeling uncomfortably warm even in the morning, and the nights were so hot it made their hearts race, making it impossible to sleep. Even working in the fields during the cooler hours of morning or evening still left people dizzy from the heat. At home, they brewed heat-relieving herbal medicine every day, drinking bowl after bowl, but it had no effect.

Fevers, illnesses, and heatstrokes followed one after another.

The situation grew even more severe in mid-July. First, two villages gathered groups to fight over water, and in the chaos, two people were killed. Then, an elderly couple in Zhou Family Village died from the heat.

Water was scarce across the ten-mile radius. To save their crops, those upstream began cutting off the water supply to those downstream. And within the villages, water was also scarce. To avoid dying of thirst, the only option was to seize control of the wells.

At the brink of life and death, human nature was laid bare. There was no regard for neighborly relations anymore—it all came down to which family had more men, whose arms were thicker, and who was stronger. The village wells were seized, with the village chief and families with many sons drawing water first, followed by those from large clans who banded together. As a result, the elderly living alone and the destitute in the village were oppressed.

That elderly couple was in such a situation. Their son had died early, their daughter-in-law had remarried, and only a granddaughter remained at home. They couldn't compete with the other villagers for water, and they couldn't find water in the mountains either. After a tiring day, their lips were so dry they peeled. They gave the last half-bowl of water to their granddaughter and then fell into a daze, never waking up again.

Then, in August, animals from the mountains began descending. Wild boars ravaged the crops, and packs of wolves occupied the riverbanks. Along the river, where the sand was almost exposed, beasts never seen before could be spotted.

The crops in the fields lacked water, and even though they carried water from the river to irrigate them every day, the plants looked half-dead.

In mid-August, two small-scale wildfires broke out in the back mountains. Fortunately, the villagers noticed in time and fought desperately to put them out. Thankfully, the fires were limited in scope and close to sandy ground, so they didn't escalate into a major disaster.

September and October passed without a single drop of rain. The wells dried up completely, and not even half a bucket of water could be drawn.

One day in October, the big banyan tree at the entrance of Wanxia Village, which had been dried out by the sun, suddenly caught fire. By the time the villagers noticed, it was too late. Flames shot into the sky, waves of heat assaulted their faces, and fine ash drifted in the air. Everyone stood at a distance, gazing at the big banyan tree that had existed since their grandfathers' time.

In previous summers, the villagers had loved gathering under its shade to cool off. It had shielded countless generations from the scorching sun and oppressive heat. Yet, in this year of great drought, it hadn't received even half a bucket of water.

It could no longer hold on.

When she described the big banyan tree burning to ashes, Zhao Xiaobao burst into tears again: "Xiaobao doesn't want the big banyan tree to be burned to death. Mama, Mama, wuwu, Xiaobao wants to give it water to drink. Xiaobao likes the big banyan tree, doesn't want it to die of thirst."

Zhao Xiaobao was heartbroken. She loved the big banyan tree so much. Whenever she played hide-and-seek with Huaihua and the others, she only had to run circles around the big banyan tree, and Huaihua couldn't find her. It wasn't tall, but it was huge, with thick, sturdy branches. Climbing up and sitting on it, she could even lie down and sleep. It was so cool in the summer.

Hearing that the big banyan tree had died, Old Man Zhao was even more heartbroken than she was.

When he was a child with nowhere to sleep, he often slept under the banyan tree. At night, listening to the rustling of its leaves, he wasn't afraid at all—instead, he felt as if the big banyan tree was talking to him. His older brother and sister-in-law found him annoying, his nephews beat him, and even his grandnephews spat at him. At that time, he had no one to talk to, so he would chatter about everything to the big banyan tree, even confiding when he fancied a girl.

He remembered that day—there was hardly any wind, but the tree kept rustling its leaves in response to him.

"Xiaobao, are you saying this year will be a severe drought year?" After all his experiences, Old Man Zhao was quite steady now. Though he felt a bit anxious inside, with the deity's land as their safety net, his family wasn't afraid of drought. The deity's land had a small stream of unknown origin, so water was never in short supply.

Compared to the drought, he was more concerned about the big banyan tree at the village entrance being dried out, dying, and spontaneously combusting.

Zhao Xiaobao shook her head, sobbing. "Xiaobao doesn't know."

Old Man Zhao glared, about to snap "why don't you know again," but was cut off by a sharp look from his wife. His lips moved soundlessly, not daring to make a sound.

Wang Shi wiped the tears from the corner of her daughter's eye with a handkerchief and asked gently, "Xiaobao, are you saying you don't know if the great drought in your dream will happen this year?"

Zhao Xiaobao nodded obediently. "Mm-hmm."

Wang Shi lowered her gaze, lost in thought.

For a moment, no one in the room spoke. The only sound was Zhao Xiaobao's occasional sniffles.

Zhao Dashan, like his father, was anxious but not overly so. Right now, their family had more than enough food to eat. Even if they didn't plant any crops this year, they wouldn't starve. As for the water shortage, that was even less of a worry—they certainly wouldn't go thirsty.

He felt somewhat relieved, but more than that, he felt stifled and frustrated, thinking that this world really seemed determined to make it impossible for people to survive.

Natural disasters and man-made calamities came one after another. He couldn't help but wonder: if the earthquake was the year before last, the conscription was last year, and the great drought was this year...

Then what about next year? What would it be? A great flood?

The thought flashed through his mind, startling him so much that he shuddered. He quickly muttered "pei, pei, pei" under his breath, silently praying, *Immortals, please don't take offense, just treat me like a fart and let it go, please don't take it seriously.*

"What are you doing?" Zhu Shi glanced at him sideways. Was he having a fit? Why was he slapping his own mouth like that?

"Nothing." Zhao Dashan shook his head hurriedly. How could he dare say it? His wife was very superstitious; if she knew what he was thinking, she'd probably pinch a chunk of his flesh off. He looked at his mother, who was frowning in thought, and said, "Didn't Xiaobao say there would be a very heavy spring rain during the drought year? It's just the beginning of spring now. Whether it's this year or not depends on whether there's heavy rain in the next couple of months."

Wang Shi thought about it and realized he had a point. "Oldest is right. There's no use worrying. Just like with the conscription, Xiaobao only knew it would happen after the autumn harvest when she saw the rice stubble in the fields. Whether the drought is this year, as Oldest said, depends on whether there's heavy rain in the next two months."

"But if it is this year, what should our family prepare in advance?" Zhao Ertian asked.

Prepare what? Wang Shi and Old Man Zhao glanced at their daughter. To be honest, with the Immortal Land, they really didn't need to prepare anything. As for the village, there was even less they could do. They were only able to reveal the conscription news because the villagers rarely went out, so they managed to bluff their way through. Man-made disasters could be avoided, but could natural disasters?

No, they couldn't.

At most, they could secretly have Xiaobao put some water in the well to save the villagers' lives, just enough to keep them hanging on until the rain came.

But this was very risky. After all, every family has in-laws. If your village's well kept producing water, people have hearts, don't they? Could a married daughter just watch her parents die of thirst? Not to mention distant relatives, just think of the three daughters-in-law's natal families—she certainly couldn't watch them die of thirst.

So there was nothing to prepare. They'd deal with it when the time came.

Outside, the sky was fully bright. Everyone was crowded in the room, and Wang Shi felt stifled, so she waved them out.

"Oldest daughter-in-law, go to the kitchen and cook a bowl of longevity noodles for your little sister-in-law. Remember to add two poached eggs."

"Alright," Zhu Shi replied promptly.

Wu Gu Feng Deng Xi, being the younger generation, squeezed to the bedside one by one to wish their aunt a "Happy Birthday." Their little aunt, with her swollen red eyes, gave each of them a wild pear. Only then did the boys leave, laughing and jostling each other.

When only the three of them remained in the room, Wang Shi asked carefully about some scenes from the dream, such as whether the scope of the drought was limited to Qingzhou Prefecture or if other places were also affected.

"Many places were dry," Zhao Xiaobao said, having completely recovered now because her father had promised her that they would definitely not let the banyan tree die of thirst—they could secretly water it. "Xiaobao couldn't understand what they were saying. I only saw them guarding the wells, guarding the small rivers, guarding the mountain springs..."

Wang Shi nodded. It seemed the drought wasn't limited to Qingzhou Prefecture; other places were affected too.

"Did all the animals in the mountains come down? Did you see any tigers?" She touched her daughter's face but accidentally left a bit of flour dough on it. She chuckled and quickly brushed it off.

"Didn't see any tigers. Saw wolves. Their eyes were glowing green, and they took over the riverbank where we wash clothes, not letting the villagers go there." Her mother's embrace was so warm. Zhao Xiaobao didn't feel hot anymore. "They didn't eat people. They only stole our water. At night, they howled 'awooo.' Xiao Heizi was very scared and wouldn't stay in the doghouse; he just squatted by the door guarding."

This time, she had dreamed of many people and seen many places, unlike the earthquake and conscription dreams, which were only about one place with a group of people talking. She saw other prefectures, unfamiliar towns, Zhou Family Village, endless mountain forests, and their own village.

Wang Shi's heart tightened. Their family wasn't afraid of the drought; with the Immortal Land, they wouldn't lack water. But they had to guard against the packs of wolves and wild boars coming down from the mountains. Xiaobao liked animals; except for snakes, she wasn't really afraid of anything else. To her, seeing a wolf might be no different from seeing Da Heizi or Xiao Heizi. She might even dare to reach out and pet a wolf if it stood in front of her.

But Wang Shi couldn't. She was on high alert against wolves—those things really would eat people!

If wild beasts came down from the mountains in packs, it meant the mountains were drier than the foothills. They couldn't survive, so they left the deep mountains. Once the river water dried up completely and they had nothing to eat or drink, would they spare humans?

And then there were the mountain fires.

If a mountain fire wasn't put out in time, they, living at the foot of the mountain, would be the first to suffer. By then, the entire Sunset Glow Village might be doomed, especially since they were surrounded by mountains on all sides. They weren't afraid of man-made disasters, but natural disasters were another matter.

Facing conscription or fleeing refugees, they could run into the mountains.

But once a big fire broke out in the mountains and beasts ran madly down the slopes, they would truly have nowhere to hide. Their ancestral graves would be burned clean, and their houses would be trampled through!

The great drought... is it this year? Her heart was filled with unease.

Just then, Zhao Xiaobao stretched out her little hands from under the quilt, grabbing her father with her left hand and her mother with her right. With a slight tug from her, Wang Shi and Old Man Zhao felt the scene before their eyes change, and they both appeared in the wooden hut at the same time.

"Xiaobao, why did you bring Mother to the wooden hut?" Wang Shi was confused. Today was Xiaobao's birthday; the whole family didn't need to work, and the boys had even clamored last night for their aunt to have a birthday every day.

"Why bring your mother? She's old and can't do anything. Bringing your father is..." Old Man Zhao's words trailed off as his old eyes suddenly widened, and he turned to look at his wife.

Wang Shi also realized what had happened, her wrinkled face showing a rare look of shock. "You... why are you here too?"

"Yeah, why are you here too?" Old Man Zhao's voice was even higher than hers.

They both turned to look at their daughter at the same time.

Zhao Xiaobao scratched her little face and giggled goofily. "Dad, Mom, Xiaobao is five years old now! I've grown more capable!"

She could bring two people to the Immortal Land at the same time now.