The family went to sleep with heavy hearts, and Lu Qiqi was no exception.

Early the next morning, Lu Qiqi went to the mountain in the backyard. She was a little worried and wanted to check on Xiaohua and her three cubs.

Lu Qiqi walked through the bamboo forest at the foot of the mountain and up the mountain path. The path was neither too wide nor too narrow, just wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

Lu Qiqi guessed that this was probably because people often went up the mountain to cut firewood, and as more people walked on it, it became a path.

The mountain path was rugged but not difficult to walk. Lu Qiqi blew a wooden whistle and called out the names of the three birds, but only the startled birds and the rabbits that were scattering in all directions responded to her.

Lu Qiqi walked to a huge rock, leaned against it to catch her breath, and took out a porcelain bottle of spiritual spring water to drink some and replenish her strength.

After drinking the spiritual spring water, Lu Qiqi instantly felt her limbs and bones activated, and she no longer felt tired.

Lu Qiqi put the porcelain bottle back into her spatial storage, glanced at it from the side, and saw a gap in the rock wall.

Lu Qiqi walked around the rocks to examine them and saw a cave.

The cave was deep and dark. Lu Qiqi took out a tinderbox, blew on it, and used the thin flame to light her way forward.

She dared not shout, fearing that it wasn't Little Flower and her baby inside, but some other large animal.

Fortunately, after walking about ten meters, she saw a lot of tiger fur scattered on the ground, and Lu Qiqi guessed that there must be three tigers.

Lu Qiqi didn't find the three kittens, but she did find their nest.

So, Lu Qiqi went into her spatial dimension and took out the remaining corn stalks to make a warmer nest for Xiaohua and her baby.

Although Lu Qiqi knew that tigers had thick fur and were not afraid of the cold, she still did it, much like an old mother worried that her child would get cold.

After packing up the corn stalks, Lu Qiqi went down the mountain. Along the way, she looked around and dug up a lot of herbs, throwing them into her spatial storage, intending to plant them in her newly reclaimed medicinal herb field.

Lu Qiqi returned to the wooden house, where everyone sat around the table, eating pancakes wrapped in soybean paste with scallions.

Lu Qiqi didn't like the taste and only ate pancakes each time.

After Li noticed that Lu Qiqi didn't like the taste, she would make egg pancakes for Lu Qiqi, so that at least they would have some flavor and she wouldn't have to force herself to eat the pancakes dry.

Lu Qiqi was eating half of her egg pancake when she realized Lu Dahai wasn't home, so she asked Li Shi, "Third Aunt, where's my Third Uncle?"

Li took a scallion, dipped it in sauce, wrapped it in a pancake, and handed it to Xibao, saying, "The village chief has gone to announce a meeting."

Lu Qiqi nodded, indicating that she understood.

The sudden drop in temperature froze all the crops to death. The village chief will surely organize the villagers to discuss what to do next.

After finishing her egg pancake, Lu Qiqi washed her hands and went out.

Instead of going to the noodle shop, she went directly to the village chief's house to find out what his plans were.

As Lu Qiqi approached the village chief's house, she ran into Aunt Fang.

Aunt Fang, with her sharp eyes, spotted Lu Qiqi and called out, "Lu family girl, you're here too."

Lu Qiqi approached and greeted her with a smile, "Aunt Fang."

He added, "I came to see my third uncle. I heard the village chief called a meeting? I wonder what his plans are?"

Aunt Fang was overjoyed to see Lu Qiqi and loved listening to everything Lu Qiqi said.

Aunt Fang took Lu Qiqi's wrist and said, "Let's go and see for ourselves."

And so, Aunt Fang led Lu Qiqi to the village chief's doorstep.

A large crowd gathered in front of the village chief's house. Some sat on stones, some on small wooden stools, some stood, and some sat directly on the ground regardless of whether it was wet or not.

Lu Qiqi and Aunt Fang stood on the outermost edge, listening to the villagers discussing matters.

"Village chief, all the grain planted here will freeze to death. How are we going to survive this winter?!"

"Yes, village chief, the government only distributed a small amount of seeds, and now they've all been planted. This morning when I went to the field, all the leaves had turned yellow and the cores had died."

"We should have saved these seeds and planted them next year, so we wouldn't be working for nothing like this now."

Li Shoucai, sitting next to the village chief, said, "Why don't we call on the able-bodied men in the village to go to the dock and carry heavy loads? Anyway, all the crops have died, and who knows what kind of weather we'll encounter if we plant them again."

“No way!” Li Shoutian, who was sitting to the side behind the village chief, said, “The dock only accepts locals. Gouwa from next door went there yesterday. The foreman doesn’t want any workers at all.”

Li Shoucai's face darkened upon hearing this. He had originally thought that he would go to the dock to carry heavy loads and earn some money to get through the winter.

Now that this method is not working, Li Shoucai could no longer help but sigh.

Village chief Li Mu sat on a wooden chair, and a closer look would reveal that his back was becoming increasingly hunched.

The village chief, holding his cane, tapped the ground repeatedly. He slowly raised his head and said, "Our village has fled all the way here. What hardships haven't we endured? What difficulties haven't we suffered? We're not going to get worked up over something so trivial."

The village chief has always been highly respected in the village. As soon as he opens his mouth, everyone shuts up and listens quietly to what he has to say.

“Those villagers who have money or grain should lend some to those who have no food to get through the winter, so that we can get through this difficult time.”

"As long as we work together to overcome this difficulty, better days are yet to come."

“If any villagers are worried, they can come to me to write an IOU, and I will be the witness.”

"Alright, everyone, you can all leave now."

The village chief had made his point, so even if some villagers wanted to argue that they didn't have much surplus grain, it wouldn't matter.

We can only go back and hide the grain, and lend out only a small amount.

After all, everyone had fled to the veterans' village and didn't have much money. If they lent out their surplus grain, who knew when it would be paid back?

Having experienced the hardship of not having enough food, none of the villagers wanted to live that kind of life again.

Everyone had left, but Lu Qiqi was still being held by Aunt Fang's hand.

"The village chief's words sound nice, but who would want to borrow grain at a time like this?" a tall, thin woman muttered to herself before turning and leaving.

Lu Qiqi and Aunt Fang stood there, watching the tall, thin aunt's retreating figure.

Aunt Fang sighed softly and said, "Who says otherwise? I'm just afraid that we'll end up becoming enemies instead of getting the grain we need."

Lu Qiqi also understood this principle well; everyone in the village knew which family was a little richer.

If you lend money to one family but not another, it will definitely cause problems.

If you grit your teeth and lend it out, you'll struggle to get through the winter yourself.

Nobody's a fool; who would put others first and compromise their own well-being?

"Girl, why don't you come to my house for a while?"

Aunt Fang was afraid that Lu Qiqi would refuse, so she added, "It's getting cold. Go to my house and get some charcoal. It will make the nights a little more comfortable. The winters in the south are bone-chillingly cold."

Upon hearing Aunt Fang's words, a brilliant idea flashed through Lu Qiqi's mind. She smiled and said, "Great idea! Auntie, I'll go home with you right now!"