I survived the famine by scavenging and supported my family.

The mushrooms I picked a couple of days ago haven't even been dried yet, and now we have fish to eat.

Some villagers stewed mushrooms and fish together, then sprinkled in some salt at the end, and were surprised to find that it was delicious!

I don't know if it's because they haven't eaten meat in a long time or because it's too delicious, but some people cried while eating it.

After receiving their own fish, Ning's parents returned to their own little world, drew the curtain to block the view of others.

Ning's mother took out a frying pan and placed it on the stove to heat it up. Ning's father poured a little oil into the pan, added two slices of ginger, and put the cleaned fish in.

With a sizzle, the aroma of oil and ginger immediately masked the fishy smell. After the cold noodles were fried to a golden brown, Ning's mother took out a piece of frozen tofu from her spatial storage and handed it to Ning's father.

Since I didn't have fresh tofu, I had to use this as a substitute.

Add water to the earthenware pot and bring it to a boil. Put the fried fish and frozen tofu into the pot to stew. After a while, as the boiling water bubbles up from the bottom of the pot, the fish soup in the casserole becomes whiter and whiter, eventually turning milky white.

The frozen tofu inside was slightly yellowish.

Ning's mother took out some scallions, and before it was ready to be served, Ning's father added a pinch of salt. Finally, he sprinkled the scallions on top. The fish soup was so fresh and fragrant that it was so delicious that it made your tongue tingle.

Drinking fish soup alone wasn't enough, so Ning's mother took out some pre-made meat pies that she had fried earlier. The two of them ate three palm-sized beef pies each in one go, along with a pot of fish soup.

After finishing his soup and smoothing things over, Ning's father felt like he was about to faint from carbon monoxide poisoning.

The other families in the cave were doing the same thing; most of them were making soup.

I got caught in the rain during the day, so having soup at night is just right.

the next day.

Without the village head urging them, the people of Wangli Village get up early, have breakfast, and as soon as it's dawn, they shout and call out to familiar people to get up and go fishing.

The people who rested in the cave yesterday made two more nets, and today half of them went out to fish.

Two women, skilled at killing fish, volunteered to do it, and the village head also took them along.

Upon reaching the pool, some people caught fish, others killed fish, and the rest took turns carrying the fish into the cave.

When the mountain wind blows, the cave entrance is filled with the aroma of fish.

Even better, the thunderstorms that lasted for several days have finally stopped!

Having been struck by lightning twice and somewhat afraid to go outside, Granny Qian dared to muster her courage and have Old Zhao help her outside.

Half of the people in Wangli Village were divided into two teams: one team went to catch fish, and the other team dried fish and mended grass nets in the cave.

The other half of the people each left someone in the cave to watch over things, while the rest who could still move went out to look for mushrooms.

Even though we can eat fish, we can't do without mushrooms! Both of these can be dried and stored for a long time!

The people of Wangli Village caught at least a thousand catties of fish, which were distributed to each household according to the number of people, with each person receiving about ten catties!

Old Zhao's family is large, and the carriage is piled with half-dried roasted fish. When resting at night, they have to take them out and turn them over from time to time, otherwise they will spoil easily if left unroasted.

That day, the men from Wangli Village walked towards the pond with straw nets in their hands.

From afar, Wang Xiufeng, who was walking at the head of the group, saw what appeared to be someone by the pool!

They tried to hide, but unexpectedly, the people standing by the pool also saw them.

Helpless, Wang Xiufeng could only frown and step forward. Only when he got closer could he see that the people standing by the pool were a group of ragged refugees.

Compared to the refugees from Wangli Village whose clothes had several holes and patches, the villagers were considered to be in a more respectable position.

The clothes of the people opposite were so tattered that they were practically falling apart. Even Ning's father, with his sharp eyes, could see that the clothes on several men were barely covering their buttocks.

Upon seeing the people from Wangli Village, the man opposite immediately stood by the pool and blocked their way, saying menacingly, "We discovered this pool!"

"You're talking nonsense!"

The man behind Wang Xiu shouted at the other side, "We were the ones who found it first!"

The two sides started arguing over a minor disagreement. Seeing that neither of them seemed to be in charge, Wang Xiufeng told his side to stop.

After the two sides finished arguing, Wang Xiufeng said, "We immediately started weaving grass nets after we discovered the pond! You guys clearly only just discovered the pond, otherwise you wouldn't even have a hole for it, so how would you catch fish?"

Upon hearing this, one of the men immediately came over and shoved him, yelling, "Get the hell out of here! I don't care what kind of buckets or fishing nets you have!"

Wang Xiufeng was caught off guard and was pushed back several steps. The man behind him rolled up his sleeves and punched the man in the face.

Those behind them dropped their straw nets, wooden buckets, and basins, rolled up their sleeves, and joined the battle.

Fearing their clothes would be damaged, several men took off their shirts and put them aside along with their straw hats, shouting and swinging their fists at the other man's face.

Since the other side attacked first and acted unreasonably, there's no need for them to reason with them! Besides, they were the ones who discovered the pool first!

This concerns the food supply for the whole family, so we can't back down no matter what!

Standing at the back, Ning's father instructed the younger boys and Zhou Jian in the group: "You two hurry back and tell the village head that there are refugees coming from the pond area and a fight has broken out. Tell them to bring some men over!"

After hearing this, the two children held hands and ran towards the cave.

After they left, Ning's father rolled up his sleeves and joined the battle bare-handed.

In their fight to protect the food, both sides went all out, resorting to any underhanded tactics imaginable. After narrowly dodging an attack, Ning's father pulled out a fruit knife from his waist, which Zhao Ningning had taken out of her spatial storage and kept for everyone to defend themselves.

This fruit knife was bought to cut watermelons. It's 20 centimeters long, and Ning's dad sharpens it whenever he has free time; it's incredibly sharp.

He stabbed the man opposite him in the waist, and the man immediately fell to the ground.

With weapons on their side, the other side was caught off guard, and three people were hit in succession.

Behind them, the village head and the burly men in the group rushed over, carrying weapons and shouting.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the opposing side immediately retreated with their wounded men.

Ning's father glanced at Wang Xiufeng, who wiped the rain off his face and followed behind Ning's father, keeping a distance from the group.

When the village head arrived, Wang Xiufeng had already gone far away. He was worried, so two men from the village who were good at finding directions offered to go with him.

After the four of them had walked a distance, the man standing by the pond asked, "Village head, shall we continue fishing?"

The village head nodded: "Take as much as you can! Take as much as you can!"

The fact that this place has been discovered by others means that things are about to get out of hand!

They should take as much as they can, otherwise other refugees will catch up... There will come a time when they can't hold out with just their village.

On the other end.

Ning's father and Wang Xiufeng hadn't gone far when the two men behind them caught up. The four of them remained silent and followed the man in front at a distance.

The dozen or so men never expected to be followed even after they had escaped. Not one of them looked back. Ning's father followed them over a small slope and watched them slide from the top to the bottom.

Through the woods, you could vaguely see that they had built a rain shelter underneath using branches and leaves.

These sheds are not rain-resistant and need to be rebuilt and maintained every day. People in Wangli Village have also built them along the road, and those who have tarpaulins use tarpaulins for the roofs.

I counted about ten tents, and there were so many people crammed under them.

When the dozen or so men reached the slope, three men immediately went to meet them. After exchanging a few words, they dragged the injured man under an oilcloth shed.

This tarpaulin shed is the only one out of more than a dozen that is still decent.

Strangely, after the three men were dragged inside, no one went in to check on them, and no one came out either.

Instead, people started setting up pots and lighting fires in the shed next door.

That pot was a large iron pot.

Ning's father raised an eyebrow. Where did they find such a big iron pot when they were dressed in such shabby clothes?

After adding water to the pot and bringing it to a boil, Ning's father saw someone walk into the tarpaulin shed. The person who went in was carrying a knife, and when he came out... he was carrying both arms and one leg.

By the time I realized what I was seeing, it was too late.

Ning's father grinned and looked away, just in time to see Wang Xiufeng covering his mouth, looking like he was about to vomit.

The two men from the village behind Wang Xiufeng also covered their mouths tightly, just like him, afraid that they would vomit or make a sound.

After a while, Ning's father finally prepared himself to look down.

The food was already being cooked, and while it was waiting to be done, the group of people huddled together, talking about something.

Ning's father waited a while longer, and while they were dividing the meat soup, he roughly counted the number of people before leading the three villagers back.

After walking a long way, Wang Xiufeng leaned against a tree trunk and gagged a few times.

The other two men also looked very unpleasant.

"Brother Zhao, they..."

Ning's father quickly interrupted them, "Yes, that's right, don't say it out loud."

After hearing this, Wang Xiufeng covered his mouth and went to dry heave again.

Once he felt a bit better, the group walked back together. Ning's father said, "There are about seventy or eighty people in their group, and strong men make up almost sixty or seventy percent of them."

The men in Wangli Village now make up only 50% of the population. Fortunately, Wangli Village has a larger population, so the total number of men on both sides is not too different.

Ning's father said confidently, "They definitely won't let this go."

Back at the pond, Ning's father told the village head about his discovery. The village head was so worried that his eyebrows turned white. He said, "We can't lose the pond. From today onwards, we'll all be on high alert and send two people to keep an eye on what's going on over there."

"If you spot their people heading this way, come back and notify them immediately so we can take preventative measures."

The people who will be keeping an eye on them first are definitely the four who followed them today.

They brought out four more, making eight people to rotate. They didn't necessarily have to be strong men; fast-running, daring young men would also work.

Zhou Jian, who ran back to report, and another boy were chosen by Ning's father, and the village head asked them to follow along and learn the way.

After discovering that refugees were chasing after them, the atmosphere inside the cave became tense.

Mrs. He put away everything that she could.

Store the roasted dried fish and dried mushrooms carefully and secure them with rope.

Try to roll up the bedding and put it in the car.

If they decide to leave, their family can save time packing and leave as soon as possible.

Ning's mother also packed her things quickly. She was worried about Ning's father. After hearing that there were cannibalistic refugees outside, Ning's mother asked He Shi to help watch over their car frame and went outside with Ning's father to keep watch.

She was incredibly fierce when she hit people, and the village head, worried about her, decided to let her and Zhao Lao Er go together to keep watch.

While idling in the cave, Ning's mother tidied up the space and picked up a few large stones along the way to use as powerful weapons for self-defense.

They work in pairs, with each pair keeping watch for four hours a day, rotating three times a day.

Because they would be out for long periods of time, the village head offered up his family's straw hats and raincoats so that those who came to keep watch could avoid getting wet in the rain.

Ning's parents had their own, so they didn't need to borrow from the village head's family. They found a secluded hollow, and Ning's father picked some withered yellow grass to put on his straw hat.

The yellow straw hat blended perfectly with the withered yellow grass, making it very easy to hide. From a distance, it was hard to recognize without careful observation.

Nestled in the pit, with no one around, Ning's mother was able to cook for her.

She didn't bring out any food that was inconvenient to eat, but there were still some wraps she had made before, so Ning's mother took one out for each of them.

The biscuits were a bit dry, so Ning's mother took out a bottle of orange juice and handed it to Ning's father.

After finishing the wrap, Ning's mother took out two pieces of braised meat from before, and they each ate one piece. Ning's father even felt that his stomach was a little bloated.

After they finished eating, the two of them sat in place and kept watch.

After a day of surveillance that went unnoticed, Wang Xiufeng, who was in charge of the surveillance, ran back to the cave the next day and called on the villagers to bring their weapons.

The group of about twenty men were heading towards the pool!

Another person keeping watch went to the edge of the pool to report the news. Caught in a pincer movement, the refugees on the other side were beaten and sent back covered in wounds shortly after they reached the edge of the pool.

The next day, it was Ning's father and his team's turn to keep watch for the first half of the night.

At first, they were walking around normally in the pit. Those with minor injuries went back to their own sheds to rest, while those with serious injuries were dragged directly under the tarpaulin sheds.

Ning's mother speculated that this was to use the seriously injured as "reserve food".

Several people sat around the fire talking, but they were not very patient and started arguing as they talked.

Ning's mother and father were both very bold, and under the cover of darkness, they lay on the slope to eavesdrop.

"...That's a pond! You saw it yourself, the fish are huge!"

"I've had enough! Let whoever wants to eat human flesh eat it! I want to eat fish!"

"Boss, just tell us the truth! There are so many of us, what are we afraid of those guys for!"

"Exactly! We were caught off guard; who knew they'd resort to such underhanded tactics, bringing so many people with them!"

The person sitting at the head of the table remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Tomorrow, let's go to the pool and find out about their group's situation."

"It should have been done a long time ago! What are we afraid of? With so many of us, if we win, their people and food will all be ours!"

"Exactly! They've been occupying the pond for so long, they must have caught a lot of fish! As long as we take down that group, all the fish they caught will be ours!"

"Then they wasted their time making clothes for us?"

"Foolish! That's called 'making wedding clothes for others'!"

"..."

The noise from the opposing team gradually subsided as night deepened.

After they all went to rest, Ning's father and mother retreated back into the pit.

After the shift changers arrived late at night, Ning's father briefly instructed his men and then led Ning's mother back to the cave in the rain.

After returning home, Ning's father repeated what the others had said and asked, "Village head, what should we do?"