After the meal, once Shu Shouyi had finished his medicine, the aunt and nephew began huffing and puffing as they pulled weeds.

Meanwhile, the hour of Chen had arrived, and Pang Zhishan, who had been waiting early at the threshing ground, gradually welcomed the villagers as they gathered.

He cleared his throat with a light cough and briefly explained the situation.

“…That’s the matter at hand two helpless children have settled in our village. Many of you went with me yesterday to see their mountain hut. They lack everything from needles and thread to pots and pans.”

“Relying on two young children to build a life from scratch will be difficult, in my view. Since they are now fellow villagers, we ought to lend a hand while they’re in need. I propose that each household contribute something to help gather the daily essentials they require.”

Some elders standing before Pang Zhishan found the scene strikingly familiar.

Ten years ago, in this very place, under similar circumstances, Pang Zhishan had spoken the same words.

Admittedly, since they would all be living in the same village from now on, donating items was indeed reasonable. However…

“Why have refugees fled to our county again? Always helping outsiders settle down will make life harder for us.”

A complaint, not too loud but conspicuous, arose from the crowd. Pang Zhishan, sharp-eared and keen-eyed, caught every word.

His appeal for donations stuck in his throat, and the embarrassment of being undermined by his own kin flushed his dark face red with anger.

After a brief pause, Pang Zhishan glared fiercely, pinpointing the complainer in the crowd, and demanded through gritted teeth, “Pang Liuzi! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!”

Pang Zhili shrank under the stare and stammered, “Elder brother… why are you looking at me like that? What I said… it’s the truth.”

Still defiant!

Pang Zhishan was furious. He considered himself a sensible man, not one to act rashly how could his own brother, born of the same mother, be so unreasonable?

If not for the crowd, he would have taken off his shoe and beaten him soundly to teach him a lesson.

“The truth?”

“That’s rubbish you’re spewing!”

“Natural disasters and man-made calamities are unpredictable. Who would willingly leave their homeland and flee thousands of miles?” Pang Zhishan held up six fingers. “Six people! A family of six lost four on this journey! Do you have any idea how hard it was for them to reach our county? The central plains have just stabilized after chaos and warfare no one dares travel from that direction. They detoured hundreds of miles. And how many starved to death on that detour?!”

“You’ve always been a bit of a rascal since childhood, impossible to straighten out. I’ve ignored your minor faults, but in a serious matter like this, when we need collective effort, don’t you dare act foolish! You’re disgracing me!”

The scolding left Pang Zhili drenched in shame, not daring to utter another word.

Pang Zhishan took a deep breath to suppress his remaining anger, composed himself, and continued persuading the crowd.

“The county authorities have shown consideration for our Five Plaques Village’s limited land, assigning us only one refugee household, just like ten years ago, and a small one at that, carefully chosen. Since the authorities are being thoughtful, we should respond in kind and ensure these people are properly settled.”

“I know that asking everyone to contribute might make some uncomfortable or reluctant, but isn’t life about helping each other your family aiding mine, and mine aiding yours?”

“Which household can live well by isolating themselves from the community?”

Pang Zhishan had talked until his mouth was dry, appealing to both reason and emotion, yet after all this time, no one had stepped forward to be the first to donate.

He felt utterly frustrated. Though Pang Zhili had long since shrunk back and hidden meekly in the crowd, Pang Zhishan still accurately located that turtle-like head and shot another glare in his direction.

Having no other choice, Pang Zhishan signaled Wang Jincai with his eyes to take the lead and speak up.

After all, Wang’s family had sent firewood up the mountain last night. If no one donated anything, wouldn’t his family be at a disadvantage?

Catching the signal, Wang Jincai promptly voiced his support.

“The village chief is right! Those two children are truly having a hard time. Many of you saw it last night, right? I carried two bundles of firewood up the mountain. Besides that, before leaving home today, I told my wife to pick some vegetables from the garden to send over.”

“Let’s all show some compassion consider it accumulating good deeds.”

In truth, everyone had come prepared to donate today, but Pang Zhili’s earlier interruption had made them hesitate, hoping to avoid contributing if possible.

Now, with Pang Lizhang and Wang Jincai having made such a compelling case, it would be unreasonable to remain silent.

Thus, someone followed Wang Jincai’s lead and called out, “My family can contribute two stools.”

“My family can spare an old garment.”

“My family will provide a wooden bucket!”

“My family will give a basin!”

Pang Zhishan had a good memory and recorded each household’s contributions without needing pen or paper.

Calculating that the basic household items were nearly covered, he moved on to the need for manual labor.

“That house belonged to my late granduncle. He passed away some years ago, and with no one living there since, it has fallen into disrepair. There are two rooms in total: the bedroom leaks when it rains, and the cooking shed and stove have partially collapsed. There’s plenty that needs fixing.”

“I know everyone has just sown the wheat, and many still have late rice drying before storage. There’s no shortage of work in the fields. But once the fieldwork is done, winter will be upon us. We can’t let those two children live in a leaky house, can we?”

“With winter snowstorms, how could anyone endure lying in a house that lets in wind and snow?”

Having stirred their emotions sufficiently, he seized the moment to assign tasks specifying how much labor each household would provide and when they would start repairing the Shu family’s house, finalizing all the arrangements.

…

Shu Wanxiu’s initial burst of energy dissipated after clearing just a small patch of weeds, leaving only exhaustion.

As for Shu Shouyi, he was still small some weeds towered over him. Yet, at his age, he was blissfully unaware of his limits and simply mimicked Shu Wanxiu, bending over and tugging at the weeds with all his might. After managing to pull one out, he stumbled backward from the momentum and landed hard on his bottom.

“The roots are too stubborn; I can’t pull them out,” Shu Wanxiu groaned, her body aching so much she wanted to lie down and rest, yet her hands stubbornly clung to a clump of weeds.

She was determined to uproot them completely.

If the roots broke off and remained in the soil, without a hoe, the ground would be impossible to turn.

The previous night, everyone had helped clear a small patch of weeds in front of the house. That morning, she had estimated that with extra effort, she could clear an area the size of a vegetable plot by noon. After a break, she planned to use a wooden stick or stone in the afternoon to see if she could till the soil, then try sowing some vegetable seeds.

“Hoo~” After nearly tumbling on her bottom like Shu Shouyi had earlier, Shu Wanxiu finally managed to pull out the deep-rooted weed from the soil.

She shook off the dirt, tossed the weed onto the pile, then broke off a thumb-thick branch from a roadside shrub. Gripping it firmly, she stripped off all the leaves with one swift motion and rubbed it back and forth several times to ensure there were no splinters before handing it to Shu Shouyi for digging and turning the soil.

After two hours, Shu Wanxiu straightened her back and gazed at the now weed-free patch behind her. She lifted her eyes to the glaring sun overhead, wiped the sweat from her face with the back of her hand, and said to Shu Shouyi, “Shouyi, stop digging. Come with Auntie to fetch water from the foot of the hill. We’ll boil some to drink.”

Shu Shouyi carefully set down the branch that had worn down considerably, perhaps because his legs had gone numb from squatting. He wobbled slightly as he pushed himself up with one hand on the ground, but he didn’t complain and obediently replied, “Alright.”

The inconveniences of their impoverished home became starkly clear to Shu Wanxiu within less than a day of arriving at their new place.

Just look without so much as a basin or bucket, even boiling water required carrying their pot down the hill to fetch it anew.

She could manage herself, but making a young child with legs no longer than radishes trek up and down repeatedly was another matter.

Shu Wanxiu longed to apply her skills to improve their circumstances quickly, yet she was neither adept at farm work nor household chores. At sixteen, her only real talent was weaving.

Their new home had no loom, and buying one or commissioning a craftsman to build one would cost a considerable amount of silver… So, for now, she couldn’t change their situation.

Feeling disheartened, Shu Wanxiu had Shu Shouyi drink a bowl of water after it boiled, then sent him off for a midday nap.

Though it was autumn, the sun was fierce today, making noon unsuitable for strenuous labor.

She sat on the threshold of the main room, occasionally cooled by mountain breezes. While resting in the shade, she opened the packet of vegetable seeds Aunt Chen had given her, considering which to plant first.

Layer by layer, she unfolded the dried lotus leaves, each containing different seeds: Winter Mallow, Coriander, Napa Cabbage, Garland Chrysanthemum, Radish, Spinach, and Chinese Leek.

Upon closer inspection, they were all seasonal vegetables, though their growth cycles and cultivation difficulties varied.

For instance, Napa Cabbage and Radish would take about two months from planting to harvest but were hardy and stored well.

Winter Mallow and Chinese Leek matured faster with ample fertilizer, they could be harvested in about a month. Winter Mallow could be picked multiple times, providing greens throughout winter, while Chinese Leek was a perennial that regrew after each cutting, yielding year-round.

She decided to start with Winter Mallow and Chinese Leek, as they would mature earlier and were relatively straightforward to sow.

Radish was excellent but required deep soil tilling before planting something she couldn’t easily manage now, so it would have to wait.

After selecting the two types of seeds for planting today, she carefully rewrapped the rest and stored them in the old bamboo basket in the main room, hanging it on the wall.

Closing the main room door, Shu Wanxiu rubbed her sore back and retired to her room for a midday rest as well.