I survived the famine by scavenging and supported my family.

Zhao Ningning noticed that her family members' faces were covered in a layer of cigarette ash. Remembering the fire-fighting knowledge videos she had seen, Zhao Ningning went back, got out some masks, and brought her mother back to the carriage so that she and Zhao Qi could each get a mask.

Zhao Ningning: "Put this on, and then cover your face with a damp cloth."

Ning's mother also thought of this. When there is a fire, you also need to pay attention to smoke and toxic gases. Masks can't protect against toxic gases much, they can only protect against fine smoke.

But it's better than nothing.

After putting on her mask, Ning's mother wrapped a damp cloth around her face to cover it and went out to call Ning's father back.

After the whole family had put on their masks, Ning's father rode his horse around shouting to everyone, telling them to cover their mouths and noses.

The villagers were initially puzzled, but after seeing the layer of ash on Zhao Lao Er's face, one of them immediately realized that he could inhale the black ash floating in from the sky.

After expressing their gratitude, the villagers quickly found something to cover their mouths and noses.

The procession gradually caught up, and finally, the village head got off in another carriage from his house.

Wang Xiufeng, who was walking at the front, turned back, looked around, and only after seeing that his father was alright did he ask with relief, "Has everyone come out?"

The village head sighed and said, "More or less."

The reason I say "about the same" is because there were three or four other families outside the cave who were harvesting dried meat outside because they couldn't bear to part with the meat that hadn't been dried properly.

Some people even took advantage of the chaos to grab the dried meat that others hadn't had time to collect.

The village head had tried to shout and persuade them, but they remained obstinate. Seeing that the wildfire was about to spread to this area, he had no choice but to get off in the carriage.

Some of the faster-moving companies got separated from the others.

The rest basically followed. Wang Xiufeng counted them; there were originally thirty-nine, but now only twenty-four households remained.

Including the Shang family, there are only twenty-five households.

I wonder if they heard the message that they were separated and were going to meet up in Huangshi County when they ran away?

Fortunately, everyone in the village knew that the next town they were going to was Huangshi County, and the village head could only pray that they would arrive safely.

With these 32 households in tow, the Wangli Village team continued their journey.

Wildfires were chasing them, and they ran until it was completely dark before they stopped.

As soon as they stopped, everyone felt their throats were so dry they were about to crack. When they pulled off the cloth covering their faces, the cloth was covered in black soot, and even the sides of their noses were covered in soot.

Everyone was relieved that they had followed the trend and covered their mouths and noses with cloth.

After stopping, everyone looked back and saw that the wildfire in the distance was still burning. It should have been dark by now, but the sky was a deep red, filled with black smoke and clouds.

Near the ground line, which is almost invisible to the naked eye, it is reddish-yellow, and there is still a huge fire burning there!

The village head's face was grave. If the fire continued to burn at this rate, they wouldn't be able to rest all night; they would have to keep moving forward...

Unless they could find a place to escape the fire, but the entire Lingbei Prefecture was surrounded by mountains, which were dry and flammable after years of drought and recently baked by nine suns!

With a sigh, the village head went to discuss the next steps with the village chief.

Zhao Ningning and Zhao Qi were also discussing it.

Both of them were well-read, and Ning's parents had rich life experience. Zhao Ningning recalled seeing a news report that when a mountain in the mountain city suddenly caught fire, a large number of excavators were used to create a "firebreak," and people were watching the fire to prevent it from spreading, which stopped the wildfire.

Even so, it took several days and countless manpower and resources to put out the wildfire. Not to mention how much water was wasted in the process; even if the fine stream of water in Zhao Ningning's space were kept running 24 hours a day, it wouldn't be enough to extinguish the firebreaks.

……

When discussing the route, the young master of the Shang family and Liu Dacheng joined in the discussion. They lived near the prefectural city and were more familiar with the area.

"Head towards Huangshi County," Liu Dali suggested. "The mountains around Huangshi County are all rocky, so even if you were to burn them, they wouldn't be as bad as the mountains here."

"By the time we get there, they'll definitely have taken precautions. There aren't many trees near the county town, so the fire won't reach it."

Liu Dacheng's suggestion was very pertinent.

The village headman checked the fire behind them, told everyone to rest for half an hour, and then continued on their way.

Having just gone through a grueling run, and now only having rested for half an hour before having to hit the road again, many people are complaining.

Despite the complaints, no one wanted to stay there to rest any longer.

The sunlight and firelight combined to illuminate the road, making the darkness of the official road appear both bright and clear.

Zhao Ningning insisted on taking the bus herself, telling her parents and brother to go and rest, which startled her father.

Finally, Ning's mother stayed with Ningning to keep an eye on the mules and horses, while Ning's father and Zhao Qi went to rest first.

After all, they still had to travel during the day, and Ning's father admitted that traveling during the day was hotter and more difficult.

He can get tanned and endure hardship, and so can Ning's mother, but they both want their family members to get less sun exposure.

Unable to persuade Ning's mother, Ning's father finally took his son to sleep in the train carriage.

Zhao Ningning went inside and replaced the ice in two basins for them.

The scorching air from the wildfire kept pushing them forward, and no one dared to stop, even when they were dizzy, when the blisters on their feet started to bleed, or when their lips were so dry they cracked.

No one dared to stop.

As they walked forward, occasionally a procession of horse-drawn carriages would pass by them on the official road. Whenever they encountered an unfamiliar group, Wang Li Village was always extremely vigilant.

Having encountered several groups of thieves and robbers, they now feel wary when they see strangers.

Fortunately, everyone was busy escaping, and even those who coveted the seemingly bulging packages of their group didn't have time to stop and rob them.

After walking for another two hours, the weather gradually turned cooler.

But this brightness is only a perception; when you look up at the sky, there is a layer of gray that is both near and far.

Ashes also filled the air.

Ning's father tightened the cloth around his mouth, looked at his son's head, and noticed that the knot at the back was a little loose. He reached out and tightened it for his son.

The father and son exchanged a glance but said nothing.

Inside the train carriage, Ning's mother, exhausted from traveling all night, fell asleep.

Zhao Ningning tossed and turned in her spatial dimension, unable to sleep because of the fire still raging outside, but she knew the fire was still burning and couldn't catch up for the time being.

Exhausted from the journey, she slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

They travel for four hours and rest for one hour, so even cooking time has to be rushed. Families who dried meat a couple of days ago simply don't cook. They eat a piece of dried meat, drink some water from their water bag, wipe their mouths, and go to sleep.

Or you can eat something while walking, so you can rest whenever you stop and have a spare moment.

They rushed for three days, but the fire continued to relentlessly pursue the group of refugees.

Liu Dacheng calculated the distance and, based on their current travel speed, he should be able to arrive in about four days.

Hearing that they could stop and rest properly after walking for another day, everyone gritted their teeth and forced themselves to keep going.

Zhao Huilan held onto the carriage railing, taking three breaths with every step she took. She really wanted to beg her grandparents to let her ride in the carriage too.

On the first day, she begged, but her grandparents said she was the eldest daughter and shouldn't be so lazy.

The next day, she pretended to have sprained her ankle. Her mother scolded her for being lazy and forced her to walk with the car with a limp.

Yesterday, she fainted once, and her grandparents had no choice but to let her ride in the car for a short while.

As soon as she woke up, her grandparents immediately kicked her out of the car!

The only people sitting in the car were Cao Rouan, who was pregnant, and her grandparents.

Zhao Huilan looked at Cao Rouan, her eyes filled with an inscrutable expression.

Before this sister-in-law married into the family, she was the most favored daughter in the Zhao family. Whenever there was something good, her brother and parents would always give it to her first.

But now, the whole family is focused on this "golden nugget" who is pregnant. Granny Qian even boasted that once her eldest granddaughter-in-law gives birth to her great-grandson, the Zhao family will be considered a large household with four generations living together.

So even though she didn't think much of her eldest granddaughter-in-law, whom she had brought back with a dowry of twenty taels of silver, Granny Qian still let her ride in a carriage all the way on the road of fleeing famine.

When she was about to faint from walking, Zhao Huilan thought: If I get married and pregnant, will my family let me ride in a horse-drawn carriage?

When her vision blurred, she caught a glimpse of Wuya sitting in the carriage ahead.

Second Aunt was driving the horse-drawn carriage, while Fifth Sister was helping to look after the mule on one side.

—That's right, even if you're not pregnant, you can still ride in a carriage... Fifth Sister is so lucky, why does she get to ride in a carriage? If this carriage were at Old Zhao's house, I would definitely be the one riding in it!

A sudden surge of anger welled up inside Zhao Huilan, and her vision cleared somewhat.

She then saw a two-horse-drawn cart in front of Wuya's house, with a middle-aged man driving it.

Besides this person, there was also a boy sitting on it.

Her fair, sun-shining skin, and the long robe made of the finest Shu brocade, her figure and bearing...

Zhao Huilan gasped for breath.

What's so special about Wuya! She has to drive the carriage herself!

Young Master Shang doesn't even have to drive his own carriage!

If I could marry into that family... wouldn't I not only be able to ride in a carriage, but I wouldn't even have to rush to get one?

Zhao Huilan stared at the carriage ahead, lost in thought. Before she knew it, she tripped over her own carriage, and Sun, who was following behind her, was tripped by her and almost fell under the wheels.

"Watch where you're going!" Sun said irritably.

Zhao Huilan lowered her head, carefully holding onto the handrail, and used the power of her own cart to pull herself forward.

—That's a great plan.

Zhao Huilan slowly began to plan her way to fame.

As the convoy moved forward, Liu Dacheng told the village head that they would be near Huangshi County in about half a day.

The village head was very happy. The team had drunk about half of the water they had accumulated in the past few days, and their food was almost gone. If they could find a grain shop in Huangshi County that was selling grain, they would buy more.

This time we're rich!

After noon, the withered trees that covered the area around the official road gradually thinned out, and were replaced by patches of farmland.

Unfortunately, the farmland was either barren, or covered with dried crops or withered grass.

Looking around, there wasn't a single patch of green, not even a yellowish-green.

It's a complete drought.

As they walked, the people of Wangli Village came to a fork in the road.

If you continue along the official road, you will reach Huangshi County. When you get here, you will find a place to rest. The village headman simply asks his son to go down the official road to see if there is a place to stay nearby.

Wang Xiufeng rode his horse down the side road, and after a moment, he returned on horseback.

"Father, there's a village down there, and there are people in the village!" Wang Xiufeng said excitedly.

"Anyone there?" The village head craned his neck to look down, and sure enough, there were several heads moving around at the crossroads.

"But they won't let us go down to rest." Wang Xiufeng shook his head and said, "They said this village is near the main road, and people keep trying to enter the village to steal their wells, so they're blocking the road and not letting us go down."

"If they won't let us get off, then we won't... What? A well? Do they still have water?" The village head changed the subject, personally helping the front of the vehicle out of the car and walking to the roadside to look.

On the path that turned down, two rows of people stood holding farm tools and machetes.

They were all strong, healthy men, and although their lips were a little dry, they weren't as chapped as those in Wangli Village.

—It seems there really is water in their village!

The village headman dusted himself off, approached, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Young men, I am the village headman for this group. We are just passing by and would like to ask if you could sell us some water?"

The village headman performed the etiquette to the best of his ability.

These days, it's impossible to imagine passing through someone else's village and getting a free bowl of water like before; being able to buy it with money is the best the village head can do.

The worst-case scenario is that they won't sell. We'll see if we can entice them with bribes. If we can't, we'll just have to watch helplessly.

You can't just rob it directly.

Just as he was feeling uneasy, the village head heard the reply from the other side:

"How much silver do you want in exchange?!"

Thinking of the prices he had inquired about in the prefectural city, the village head raised the price a bit more, tentatively replying, "We can give you five hundred coins for a bucket of water."

"Tch!" the person opposite scoffed. "Five hundred coins? Who are you trying to fool with that little bit of copper?"

"You!" Wang Xiufeng exclaimed angrily, "We asked for the price, but you wouldn't tell us. When we did, you complained it was too low!"

"What? You want to fight?" A man stepped forward, shaking his muscular physique. "We from Da Dong Village aren't afraid!!"

The leader next to him stretched out a hand to stop the muscular man, saying good-naturedly, "You're offering too little!"

The village head asked, "I wonder what offer Da Dong Village has made?"

"One tael of silver for a bucket of water!" They used a rake to pull a bucket of water up from the roadside.

The bucket looked to be less than two feet tall, about the length of a child's arm, not the three-foot-tall buckets usually used for fetching water.

Not only are they expensive, but the buckets are also small!

The village head hesitated, and the person opposite him noticed, rolled their eyes, and said, "Take it or leave it. We don't want to sell to you even if you want it! The price is going to keep dropping..."

The village head quickly interrupted him, saying, "I need to go back and inform the villagers. If anyone wants some, I'll bring them over!"

"Then you'd better hurry! The water level in Huangshi County has risen to one and a half taels of silver per bucket!"

After bowing and saying goodbye, the village head hurriedly took his eldest son back to the team.

After the price quoted by Dadong Village was told to the villagers, most of them were not prepared to pay for water.

However, some people hesitated when they heard that water in Huangshi County might cost one and a half taels of silver per bucket.

Several families joined forces to fight the thieves. The family that received the most silver thought about it and decided to take out two taels of silver to buy two buckets.

They only had two buckets; their family was large, and they needed to save the rest of the money to buy grain in Huangshi County.

Zhao Ningning's family had no shortage of water and didn't intend to waste money on it. Once they arrived in Huangshi County, they went out and took a stroll to retrieve the water from their spatial storage, claiming they had bought water. No one knew where or how much water they had bought.

Sitting in the carriage, the villagers waited for others to return with water.

Just as Zhao Ningning was waiting, she saw the village chief suddenly ride off on his horse.