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We had rice porridge for dinner, one bowl for each person.

Grandma Qi had a small bowl, and He Tiantian had a large bowl. This was Grandma Qi's insistence. He Tiantian wanted to share some with Grandma Qi, but she refused and even scolded her severely.

"I'm old, and as long as I have something to eat, I won't starve. But you young people are different. You have to work. If you don't eat, how will you work in the future?" Grandma Qi insisted. She was worried that there would be no harvest this year and no food.

If we eat less now, we'll have enough food to survive in the future.

"Grandma..." He Tiantian felt sorry for her. Grandma Qi San ate so little herself so that she could have food to eat.

"No need to say anything more. If you don't listen to me, don't call me grandma." Grandma Qi said sternly. "Don't overthink it. I want to live more than anyone else, so I know what I'm doing and I won't starve myself for anyone."

He Tiantian understood that Grandma Qi San said this because she didn't want her to feel guilty, so she could only drink the porridge with tears in her eyes.

He Tiantian secretly resolved to find a way to change the current situation.

That night, after Grandma Qi was fast asleep, He Tiantian took the Snake King and the Little Turtle and left home for the cave in the back mountain.

When they reached the village entrance, He Tiantian could still see torches by the spring pool. The villagers were watching over the pool, worried that the water would dry up again.

He Tiantian was preoccupied and didn't have time to talk to Little Turtle and Snake King, but they could all see her disappointment.

The Snake King hesitated, wondering whether to use his magic!

The little tortoise seemed to understand, but not quite; its little eyes darted around as if it had come up with a good idea.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the cave on the back mountain, and He Tiantian went straight inside.

The barrier set up by the Snake King has no binding force on He Tiantian, who can enter freely, but other people or animals cannot.

Fortunately, the little tortoise was in He Tiantian's palm, so she brought it in directly.

As soon as it entered, the little tortoise seemed to be injected with chicken blood. With a "whoosh," it jumped to the ground and rushed forward with its short legs.

He Tiantian was taken aback; this little spinning turtle was running pretty fast!

It's just as fast as a rabbit!

A moment later, there was a "plop" sound, and it jumped into the water. The tiny black dot swam around in it, and within seconds it sank and disappeared.

The snake king hadn't been swimming for a while and missed the feeling of being in the water. He didn't mind the little turtle splashing around in the water and swam around too, then lay on his back on the surface, looking very content.

He Tiantian then used a sickle to cut wild vegetables from the cave and stored them in her protective space. She planned to take them out the next day when she went to work and say that she had been cutting wild vegetables on the mountain. Digging some wild vegetables would also allow Grandma Qi to have more to eat.

As for prey, He Tiantian can catch a few more when she has the chance later.

The villagers have finished spring plowing and are quite relaxed. He Tiantian wanted to hunt some game, but with everyone watching, she couldn't act rashly.

Furthermore, the number of prey in the back mountains has decreased significantly after the hunting efforts at the end of last year.

This is also why, after the snow melts during the Lunar New Year, it's impossible to catch prey in the traps.

Just as He Tiantian was concentrating on cutting wild vegetables, she suddenly heard the Snake King behind her scream as if its fur had stood on end, saying, "Damn little turtle, you come out here..."

He Tiantian was startled, quickly turned around, and laughed.

The pool that used to be full of water has dried up again, and the water that was gushing from the spring has also entered the little turtle's mouth.

The snake king was furious. He was lying comfortably in the water when he suddenly felt something hard on his back. When he opened his eyes, he realized that he had fallen asleep on a rock at the bottom of the pool.

The little tortoise remained unmoved and continued drinking.

Drink, I'll drink, drink, drink!

蛇大王一甩尾巴，上去就要冲上去想狠狠揍一顿那个该死的小乌龟。

Unexpectedly, just as the Snake King flew to within a meter of the Little Whirlwind Turtle, the Little Whirlwind Turtle released a water column ten centimeters in diameter, instantly blasting the Snake King several meters away.

The ever-arrogant Snake King was even angrier. If he didn't teach it a lesson, it would think it was easy to mess with.

The snake king mustered all his strength and tried to rush forward, but his body stopped moving in mid-air. What happened?

Turning his head, the Snake King saw He Tiantian grabbing his tail from behind.

"Don't stop me! This great king is going to beat this idiot to death!" the Snake King said angrily, scolding He Tiantian to let go immediately.

"Snake King, wait a moment," He Tiantian gently reassured. "Think about it, the little tortoise has been moved to the square for so long without eating or drinking; it must be very hungry. It's our friend, so how about we let it go?"

"No way!" the Snake King insisted, "Let me beat it up first."

"Snake King~~~~" He Tiantian pleaded, "You are the high and mighty Snake King, isn't it beneath your dignity to argue with a little turtle?"

The Snake King thought about it and realized that his actions just now were quite embarrassing and unbecoming of his status. "I am the high and mighty Snake King! If I argue with a fool, wouldn't I be a fool too?"

"Hmm~~" The Snake King nodded, "You're right, this king won't bother with this stupid turtle!"

After saying that, he went to a large rock by the pool and began to cultivate.

He Tiantian wiped the sweat from her forehead and finally breathed a sigh of relief. When she looked at the little turtle again, she was stunned!

My goodness, that's too intense!

He Tiantian swallowed hard, trying to calm her overly frightened heart.

The little turtle has now returned to its original size, like a millstone, and is lying in the pool, squinting its eyes and enjoying drinking the spring water.

Seriously, if you're going to drink, fine, but why do you keep "peing"?

That's incredibly straightforward!

To appease the little turtle, He Tiantian didn't interrupt its enjoyment.

However, He Tiantian also noticed that the water in the pool was increasing and was about to overflow.

He Tiantian frowned, then immediately understood the key point.

Originally, the spring's flow rate was roughly the same as the outflow from the pool's outlet, so the pool's water level remained constant. However, after the little turtle's secondary processing, the spring's flow rate doubled, making the original outlet somewhat smaller.

He Tiantian didn't want to see the cave flooded, so she quickly ran to the outlet of the pool and moved the large rock on top.

The stone at the outlet was originally a single large piece, but after years of impact, it has broken into several smaller pieces. Even these smaller pieces are still smaller than the original, solid piece that was once like a wall.

Fortunately, He Tiantian was strong and used all her strength to move those millstone-sized stones.

He Tiantian poked her head out and looked to the other side, where she found a cave about half her height with the sound of dripping water coming from time to time.

It was pitch black inside, and a chilly wind was blowing; He Tiantian didn't dare go in. (To be continued.)