The Liu Family Village is built in a small river valley, with flat terrain in the middle surrounded by gentle slopes, and the slopes are the fields tidied up by the villagers.
A small river runs east-west across the village, surrounded by towering mountains and dense forests, forming a natural barrier.
It's not easy for outsiders to come in, and it's also difficult for insiders to go out.
Liu Ji's family's land is located upstream along the river, over a hill to be seen.
Qin Yao walks along the riverbank upstream, reaching a valley entrance, she turns and enters the mountains.
Having been surviving in the apocalypse for many years, searching for food has become an instinct for Qin Yao. The expansive forest before her eyes is viewed as a natural granary.
In autumn, the beasts are the fattest as they prepare for winter, and moreover, in this forest, she doesn't have to worry about mutant plants and animals suddenly attacking, nor fear zombies suddenly appearing.
However, Qin Yao overestimated her current physical condition. She had only been walking in the mountains for about ten minutes before her legs began to disobey, trembling with each step, as if unable to support her body, poised to collapse.
Startled, Qin Yao hurriedly found a large tree to lean against, set down one of the two heavy earthen jars she was holding, and picked up the other to drink.
Her stomach churned with acid, her brain nearly incapable of thinking, as she stared at the withered tree leaves, considering plucking them down to eat.
Fear took hold of Qin Yao as she realized her thoughts, knowing if she continued like this, she might lose her reason to hunger, she needed to find food quickly.
Recognizing this, Qin Yao gulped down all the water from the two small earthen jars, though it didn't quell the burning sensation, it restored some strength.
Amidst the rustling sounds around her, Qin Yao wasn't deterred by her dim vision, immediately grabbing the hoe near the tree and followed the sound.
However, her opponent was much faster than she was.
As daylight broke, Qin Yao could only watch helplessly as a plump wild chicken flew away from her feet, leaving behind a colorful feather, as if mocking her.
Once again, Qin Yao cursed Liu Ji furiously in her heart.
If it weren't for her wretched husband emptying out the house, leaving not a grain of rice, she wouldn't be so hungry as to fail in catching a wild chicken.
Reflecting on this, as an adult she found it hard enough to endure, what of the four children at home?
Images of the Dragon and Phoenix Twins with their slender necks and Si Niang's expectant gaze floated before Qin Yao's eyes...
In an instant, a surge of strength erupted within her, she discarded the chicken feather and continued the chase.
In times of despair, a path emerges. Although she didn't catch the wild chicken, she discovered a large clump of taro.
Villagers here didn't understand how to process it and regarded the taro sap as an irritant, believing it toxic, unless starving in a famine year, none would dig it to eat, thus becoming a boon for Qin Yao.
The boat-shaped taro leaves grew wide and dense, Qin Yao took the hoe and dug several times, revealing taro of child's fist size, a variety with good texture.
Delighted, she continued digging, turned up many taro, gathered them up with the hoe, almost twenty pounds in total.
No time to dig the remainder, Qin Yao gathered wood on site, dug a pit and cooked the taro.
Without flint, she directly used friction to make fire.
Qin Yao advises ordinary people not to try making fire this way lightly, as those without technique could only bruise their palms.
Yet in the apocalypse where lighters and matches were rare resources, making fire through friction became a necessary skill for base survivors.
The original form's palm was full of thick callouses, Qin Yao extended her linen sleeve to protect her hand, placed pine needles in the wooden groove she dug, quickly rotating the sharp wooden stick in her palm.
Soon, under great friction, the pine needles started to smoke.
Qin Yao blew at the right moment, and the pine needles were instantly ignited.
She transferred the fire to the prepared woodpile, and the fire was kindled.
This was the forest outskirt, with dense weeds and short trees, to avoid wildfire, Qin Yao carefully dug a circular firebreak trench with her hoe.
The taro roasted by the fire quickly emitted a unique food aroma.
Qin Yao swallowed hard, relying on strong willpower, waited until the taro was fully cooked, eagerly grabbing and eating.
Peeling off the skin released an even stronger aroma, disregarding the heat, she took a bite, its sandy soft texture with a hint of sweetness, caused tears to flow down her face.
In one breath, she ate five to six taro, the burning stomach eased significantly, and she slowed her pace.
Having roasted twelve taro, Qin Yao ate eight herself, left four aside, dared not eat more, fearing her stomach couldn't handle sudden excess after prolonged starvation.
Set aside the four roasted taro, she doused the fire, Qin Yao grabbed the hoe to keep digging taro.
Fueled by a full belly, her strength restored to seventy to eighty percent, she vaguely sensed her superpower gradually recovering.
With another strike of the hoe, it sank deep into the soil, with another pry, a whole clump of taro with roots and leaves effortlessly excavated.
If others were present, they'd be astounded.
A weak woman's strength unexpectedly comparable to a robust adult man.
Qin Yao dug out the entire taro clump, piled taro into a small hillock, estimating fifty to sixty pounds.
The sun rose, the mountain's poisonous insects and mosquitoes particularly abundant, unprepared, Qin Yao dared not linger.
She found several vines nearby, fashioned a simple temporary net to load all the taro, using the hoe as a carrying pole, hanging one net on each end, also tying the earthen jars to the net with vines, she headed downhill toward home.
On the way back to the village, encountering villagers working in the fields, seeing her carrying taro, the villagers' eyes filled with sympathy, sighing silently.
This newly arrived Yao Niang is truly pitiable, a fine girl unexpectedly married off to Liu Laosan, forced to eat such poisonous things.
Too cruel!
Qin Yao disregarded these expressions, whether of sympathy or disdain, her sole desire was to swiftly return home to see how her four stepchildren fared.
Though they survived without care till now, Qin Yao remained uneasy.
Even in the apocalypse, she never saw such frail children, the base had welfare policies, children under six were not fully sated, yet didn't face starvation.
Taking a moment to feel the four still-warm taro in her bosom, Qin Yao accelerated speed, following the route in memory, heading toward the Liu Family.
Unexpectedly, before reaching the ramshackle thatched cottage's door, angry curses and children's frightened crying drifted over from afar.
Qin Yao's expression tensed, elevating her gaze, a crowd surrounded her home's entrance, indistinctly seeing the long-absent scoundrel being chased, head tucked, by village men wielding hoes and sticks.
Eight-year-old Da Lang and six-year-old Liu Erlang tried to protect their scoundrel father, the two children rushed before Liu Ji, attempting to block the fierce village men.
Fathers might be scoundrels, yet they remained fathers, children's love is pure, their actions understandable.
Yet the father's behavior was truly baffling.
Not only did he fail to stop the two children, not a bit worried about their potential harm, instead, he swiftly darted, crouching adeptly behind his sons, urging them to block the villagers, cheering them on:
"Da Lang, Second Lang, go for it!"
This was invariably eggs against rocks, the weak two boys were pushed aside, harshly hitting the ground, writhing in pain.
The Dragon and Phoenix Twins stood in the doorway, wailing, shouting amidst tears: "Don't hit my brothers… boohoo… don't hit my brothers!"