Since I’ve already come all this way, spending half an hour on the road just to gather such a small amount of reed catkins doesn’t seem worthwhile.

Shu Wanxiu had thoroughly convinced herself.

The sack of reed catkins slung over her shoulder couldn’t get wet, so she had no choice but to take off her shoes and wade into the reed marshes to try her luck.

She had heard that wild animals have exceptionally sharp hearing and would flee at the slightest rustle of movement.

Knowing her limitations, Shu Wanxiu was well aware that rustling the reeds would inevitably alert them. Thus, from the start, she set her sights on gathering wild duck and pheasant eggs.

She gave herself a time limit: if she found nothing after half an hour, she would stop wasting her efforts.

With a clear goal and a deadline, her pace naturally quickened.

She pushed aside clump after clump of reeds, her eyes scanning rapidly.

Nothing, still nothing, and yet more nothing.

After repeated disappointments, Shu Wanxiu glanced up at the sky, then lowered her head and continued.

Clump after clump though she still hadn’t found any eggs, she did discover an old bird’s nest.

At least this proved her idea was correct: birds did indeed roost here.

She threw herself into the search with even greater focus. Whether stepping into an icy puddle or suddenly sinking into soft mud, nothing could distract her or make her stop.

Roughly another quarter of an hour passed.

By now, even standing on tiptoe, Shu Wanxiu could no longer see the shore or the water’s surface.

She didn’t know exactly how far she had gone, but guessed she was probably in the middle of the reed marshes.

Along the way, she had seen small, stranded crucian carp rotting and stinking in the mud, and found feathers of different colors clinging to the reeds.

Now, the musty dampness and earthy scent filled her nostrils. The howling autumn wind outside couldn’t reach this place it was warm here.

Wait warm?!

In that instant, inspiration struck Shu Wanxiu.

If humans seek warmth in autumn and winter, why wouldn’t animals do the same?

Snakes disappear in winter because they hibernate in burrows. Wild ducks and pheasants don’t hibernate, but to survive the winter, wouldn’t they also seek a warmer spot to build their nests?

And wasn’t this just such a place?

Immediately, she began searching more meticulously.

Her persistence paid off. Finally, in a withered reed thicket, she found a nest securely covered with gray-black feathers and reeds, hiding mottled, dark green eggs.

They were slightly smaller than ordinary chicken eggs, with rougher shells, but their color was quite beautiful.

Shu Wanxiu was overjoyed.

Eagerly, she reached into the nest to collect the eggs, but as her fingers touched the shells, she was startled to feel lingering warmth.

Her smile froze. After carefully scanning the surroundings, she noticed some webbed footprints.

This must be a wild duck’s nest, she realized.

Inside the nest lay ten beautifully green duck eggs, neatly arranged.

“Sigh!”

“You need to hatch your young, and I need food.”

“My apologies.”

She took the eggs out one by one, tucking them into her clothes.

But when only two remained, she withdrew her hand.

After a moment of hesitation, her heart aching, she took three eggs from her clothes and placed them back in the nest.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. The duck worked hard to lay these eggs. Leaving half behind is only right,” she comforted herself.

After covering the nest carefully, Shu Wanxiu hurried away.

Despite being extremely careful, Shu Wanxiu still discovered several cuts on her arms from reed leaves after coming ashore. Even the slightest touch while pulling down her sleeves caused sharp pain.

But it didn’t matter anymore today’s efforts had yielded results.

Since this place was so remote and winter was approaching, she doubted she would return here again this year.

…

By the reed marshes, a father and daughter had just arrived.

Compared to Shu Wanxiu, who carried only a single sack, their equipment was far more extensive: two sacks for reed catkins, a bamboo ground cage, a fishing spear, a pair of wooden buckets, and a lidded bamboo basket.

The father, who appeared steady and somewhat stern, led the way carrying the heavier items, while his thirteen- or fourteen-year-old daughter followed behind with the lighter loads.

They had exchanged few words along the journey. The lively teenage girl, unable to contain her curiosity any longer, finally voiced a question she had pondered for some time.

“Father, will Wanxiu and her family also be preparing winter clothing? Do you think they might come here to gather reed catkins?”

Both figures were lean, their clothes as tattered as those Shu Wanxiu had worn when she arrived as a refugee. They were none other than her paternal uncle, Shu Yanrong, and his daughter, her cousin Shu Tingyi.

“If this is the only area nearby with abundant reeds, then they’ll have no choice but to come here,” Shu Yanrong replied.

Shu Tingyi kicked aside a stray stone in her path and mused idly, “What are the chances we’d run into Wanxiu here? I wonder how they’re managing over in Five Tablet Village.”

A flicker of concern for his younger relatives softened Shu Yanrong’s stern expression. “In a couple of days, I’ll take your brother to Five Tablet Village to check on them.”

“I’m coming too!” Shu Tingyi insisted.

But Shu Yanrong’s attention was diverted as the reeds to their left suddenly rustled and parted, followed by a cheerful, surprised voice calling out to him.

“Paternal Uncle!”

It was Shu Wanxiu.

Walking alone through the wilderness, she had been vigilant, scanning the distance for any potential danger. When she first spotted two figures approaching the reed marshes, she had quickly hidden among the reeds.

It was only as they passed by that she recognized her paternal uncle and cousin Tingyi!

Shu Tingyi was initially startled, then exclaimed at the incredible coincidence of meeting there.

Shu Yanrong studied Shu Wanxiu and remarked, “Why do you look so disheveled?”

It was no wonder he asked after over an hour of pushing through dense reeds, her hair was inevitably tangled and wild.

The three found a relatively open spot to sit and catch up.

Outnumbered and facing an elder, Shu Wanxiu naturally began by recounting her circumstances. After the father and daughter had asked all their questions, she inquired about their life in Five Li Village.

“Wanxiu, you have it so much better in Five Tablet Village! Here in Five Li Village, no one has donated supplies to us or helped repair our house.”

From Shu Tingyi, Shu Wanxiu learned just how fortunate her own situation was.

Like Five Tablet Village, Five Li Village was nestled near the mountains, but it had far more farmland. Consequently, when the county assigned refugee households, Five Li Village received two families both relatively large.

The Shu family originally numbered fifteen members. Having started their journey with modest resources, they had managed to sustain most of their family by selling possessions along the way. Twelve of them had survived to the present.

As for the other household also assigned to Five Li Village, they too had ten members.

No matter how spacious Five Li Village was, it couldn’t possibly have two ready-made, large houses for them to occupy. With no other choice, the two families were split up and separately taken in by the local residents.

“Wanxiu, you know our family we’re not the type to stir up trouble. Hmph! It’s all because of that Liu family!”

The fact that their family had ten survivors indicated they once had some wealth, but the Liu family was no pushover. The very day after they settled in Five Li Village, they started causing trouble.

As everyone knew, the government had distributed rations to the disaster victims this was relief grain, enough to keep people alive but not enough to let them eat solid meals.

The Liu family, being shrewd, noticed that the host family they were staying with was fairly well-off and could afford one solid meal a day. They proactively approached them, offering to hand over all the grain allocated by the government in exchange for sharing every meal with the host family henceforth.

Hah, who would agree to such an obviously unfair deal? Not only would they have to contribute extra rice, but also vegetables and meat!

The host’s wife immediately rejected the proposal without mercy, but the Liu family instead made a scene, wailing and begging the village head to intervene on their behalf.

Shu Wanxiu listened in utter astonishment and couldn’t help commenting, “They’re truly foolish! In an unfamiliar place, sometimes you have to yield even when you’re in the right. Yet they made such a fuss over something completely unreasonable how could the village head possibly side with them?”

“Exactly!” Shu Tingyi said bitterly. “They’re as stupid as pigs! Their antics have ended up dragging our family down too.”

Shu Wanxiu was about to ask: Since this was just one incident that happened on your second day here, and so much time has passed since then, surely the villagers have gotten to know your character by now? Your situation should have improved, right?

But before she could speak, Shu Tingyi went on to list all the offenses committed by the Liu family.

For instance: borrowing things from the village head’s family and refusing to return them, keeping the items for themselves; sneaking into others’ vegetable patches to steal produce; denying the theft even when caught red-handed; instructing their children to go door-to-door throwing tantrums to beg for snacks…

The list of major and minor offenses was endless.

As the saying goes, once bitten, twice shy.

The entire Five Li Village had been frightened by all these troubles.

The families hosting Shu Tingyi’s household feared they might also be an unreasonable bunch, so they seldom spoke to them, avoided them on the paths, and certainly didn’t offer help, lend them items, or listen to their explanations.

The only bit of good news since they settled here was that two days ago, the village head allocated land for both families to build houses. The bad news was that there was no mention of arranging village labor to help with the construction.

“You’ve had it rough,” Shu Wanxiu murmured, shaking her head in disbelief.

If Shu Tingyi had entertained the possibility of running into Shu Wanxiu while gathering reed catkins here, Shu Wanxiu had never once considered such a scenario.

In her mind, her Paternal Uncle was someone who prepared in advance for everything when they set out to flee the famine, during their journey, and even when they were about to settle down.

She had never imagined that her Paternal Uncle would fall behind others in accomplishing a task.

In Shu Wanxiu’s imagination, her Paternal Uncle’s family should have already stockpiled enough firewood for the winter, prepared warm clothing and bedding, acquired all necessary daily utensils, and perhaps even found ways to earn extra money possibly already preparing to purchase farming tools for next year’s cultivation.

Even if she had an extra brain, she could never have imagined that her Paternal Uncle’s family would be reduced to such dire straits!

Shu Tingyi let out two bitter laughs. None of them had expected life after settling down to be even harder than during their famine-induced flight.

Shu Wanxiu thought: If not for her Paternal Uncle’s intention to look after them pleading with the officials during the settlement process his family wouldn’t have ended up in Five Li Village. Had they not settled in Five Li Village, they naturally wouldn’t have encountered that foolish and malicious Liu family.

She lowered her head to conceal the guilt in her eyes. No matter what, she had to find a way to help her Paternal Uncle’s family. But until she came up with a concrete plan, it was better not to make empty promises.

She changed to a lighter topic.

“Paternal Uncle, are you planning to gather some Reed Catkins while also trying to catch fish?”

As usual, Shu Tingyi jumped in to answer: “Yep! The mountains are full of game, but we don’t know how to hunt or set traps. So we’re just trying our luck with fish in the water.”