Wang San led his men to where Chun Di was waiting, following Song He'er. One of the fat men walked to the water vat, looked down, and was instantly surprised.

"There can be such clear water in this desert? I don't believe it!"

Chun Di looked at him and retorted impatiently, "You don't believe me? What's the use of not believing me when it's right in front of you?"

"I...I'm just curious. Even rainwater isn't always this clear. Let's not fall into their trap."

Wang San felt that his concerns were not unreasonable, so he had no choice but to join in the reminder, "What you said makes sense. We mustn't let someone poison us!"

Song He'er breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward to explain, "We had already tasted it when we found it, but we've been fine so far. Maybe we're overthinking it. Perhaps this is a blessing from heaven. Let's take it back!"

Wang San nodded, instructed the two men behind him to tie the water vat with rope, and then used a stick to lift it up, swaying as they walked away...

After the two left, Wang San looked at the tall poplar tree again and said to Song He'er, "If we cut down all three trees, the rest of us won't be able to carry them back. Let's cut down two and leave the rest for other people who are destined to receive them!"

Song He'er knew they had chopped a lot of firewood themselves, but they were them, and she was herself. She couldn't very well use their firewood to burn; it was better to chop more...

"We're heading straight ahead, and maybe there won't be any more trees. Let's cut down some more, just in case!"

Wang San sighed, "It's not that I don't want to help you, but the two strongest men who were carrying the water tanks have already left, and the rest of us can't carry that many. If we go back to get more people, how much time will that take?"

Chun Di thought about it carefully for a while and felt that what he said made sense. So she turned to Song He'er and advised, "It's inconvenient for us to bring too much firewood. Besides, your mother and the others are still waiting for us. We can't delay any longer. Let's go back and pack up. We still have to get going."

Seeing that they all had the same story, Song He'er compromised. After all, there was firewood in her spatial storage; if they were ever desperate, she could just take it out...

"Alright then, let's cut down two trees. I brought rope, so we can tie them together and carry them back together."

"Um!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone got busy.

Since girls weren't allowed to climb trees, Wang San led two tall men to jump onto the branches and cut off the branches of the poplar tree bit by bit. Although they weren't dry firewood, after drying for two or three days and losing moisture, they would still be usable.

Song He'er, Chun Di, and Chun Rao were picking up the branches they had cut down under the trees, arranging them neatly one by one. Soon, the branches of the two poplar trees were completely cleared by them.

Wang San jumped down from the tree, wiped the sweat from his brow, and laughed, "That's quite a lot, isn't it? Quick, let's pack up and go back!"

"Everyone has worked hard. Go back and have a drink of water and rest!" Song He'er said politely.

Wang San chuckled, rolled up his sleeves, and replied seriously, "Tonight I'll skin the wolf for you and roast the wolf meat!"

Upon hearing the word "wolf meat," Chun Di's legs trembled with fear. "Huh? Wolf meat? Can we eat that?"

"Why can't you eat it? Haven't you heard of herders on the grasslands eating raw beef and mutton, or even drinking deer blood?!"

Chun Di shook her head with a look of disgust: "I didn't know there was such a way to eat it..."

"Little girl, there are many things you don't know. If you don't believe me, try it tonight. This wolf meat is very tender!"

Wang San hoisted the largest bundle of firewood onto his shoulder and swaggered away.

Chun Di didn't say anything. She lowered her head, casually picked up a bundle of firewood that she could carry, and followed behind.

When the group returned to their group, Qin Xiaoniang and the others were already asleep in their tents, while the exiled men were sound asleep on the other side, under the scorching sun.

Chun Di put down the firewood, quietly walked to Song He'er's side, and whispered, "Aren't we supposed to keep an eye on these people? Why don't you go inside and get some sleep, and I'll keep watch outside?"

Seeing Chun Di's perpetually worried expression, Song He'er found it somewhat amusing. "Fourth Aunt, don't always be so alarmed. Uncle Wang doesn't mean any harm. Look how respectful he is. He even divided the firewood for us, and it's right here with us now. And the water vat, look, isn't it right next to our tent?"

Chun Di turned around and looked at everyone, then breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Alright then, I guess I was just being paranoid. I'll fill everyone's water bottles so that the water is distributed among us. That way, there will be less water in the tank, and it will be easier for people to carry it."

Song He'er smiled and said, "You still know that the water vat needs to be carried? If we offend those men, who will help us carry the water vat?"

Upon hearing this, Chun Di realized that it made sense, so she stopped talking and took the kettle to fill the water tank.

After resting for half an hour, everyone got up and started their journey again.

Qin Xiaoniang was drenched in sweat from carrying Huan Ge'er the whole way. Without the cart, they were walking much slower than before. The child was tired, and the adults were exhausted too.

Nianjie was at the age of rapid growth, and with all the running around day and night, her shoes soon developed a hole, and her feet were covered in blisters, causing her to cry out in pain whenever she walked.

"I don't want to go anymore... Mother... I want to rest for a while."

Zhang Xiue picked her up with a pained expression. "What's wrong, Nian'er? Does your foot hurt again?"

Li Qiang's wife looked down at Nian'er's shoes and complained, "How can it not hurt? The child's shoes are all too small; look, her toes are sticking out..."

"But... what can we do? We don't have any extra shoes!"

"Hey, you're right! Why didn't we think to buy a few more pairs of shoes when we went to buy fabric?"

"Alright, it's getting dark, everyone stop and rest." Zhang Xiu'e felt very upset seeing her daughter suffer.

Song He'er lowered her head and looked at her and Qin Xiaoniang's shoes. They were still intact. It was thanks to the good insoles that she had sewed in them before setting off, otherwise their feet would be worn out by now!

After Zhang Xiue set up the tent, she massaged Nianjie's feet while looking for fabric to mend her shoes.

Her delicate, pinkish-white feet were covered in blisters, with a red ring around them, as if they were inflamed.

Song He'er stepped forward and handed a bowl of water to Zhang Xiu'e. "Third Aunt, have some water to soothe your throat. Nian'er's foot is inflamed, so we need to find some herbal medicine to apply."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiue burst into tears: "Oh, my poor Nian'er! How pitiful she is, suffering with me at such a young age... If I had known, I would have entrusted her to a wealthy family in the capital. Even as a maid, she would be happier than she is now!"