Jiang Zhi and Xu Errui were startled and hurriedly opened the courtyard gate. Sure enough, they saw thick smoke billowing from one direction outside the village, and heard shouts and noises coming from there.

When Xu Xiaoman saw the two of them come out, he said, "Brother Errui, come with me quickly, there's a fight over there, and the refugees are looting."

Almost all the villagers had already left, leaving only a few households. Upon hearing the refugees looting, Xu Errui grabbed a wooden stick from the doorway and ran.

Jiang Zhi tried to stop them but couldn't. She frowned as she watched the two run into the night, hoping that Xu Errui would be quick-witted.

She was somewhat puzzled. After all, the refugees were outsiders and lacked confidence. They shouldn't have dared to actually clash with the locals.

We can't stay in the village any longer; we must go up the mountain first thing tomorrow morning.

She closed the courtyard gate and pulled Qiaoyun into the house: "Qiaoyun, we can't sleep tonight. If you're sleepy, just rest your head on the table for a while, and we'll go up the mountain when it's light."

Qiaoyun nodded vigorously.

She had little say in family matters, and she listened to Errui's opinions.

When her mother-in-law speaks, both Errui and I listen to her.

The weather is still very cold. Jiang Zhi found a pile of wood in the woodshed and, without caring whether it could be burned, lit it in the middle of the main room to warm herself.

The original owner of this body may not have been so considerate to anyone before, and Qiaoyun was quite unaccustomed to it. She just kept stealing glances at her mother-in-law through the fire.

Jiang Zhi ignored her. The original owner of this body had always had a strange temper, and her sudden change to being talkative and cheerful was frightening.

Finally, the noise outside gradually subsided, and footsteps approached.

Xu Errui knocked on the door: "Mother, Qiaoyun, open the door quickly, I'm back!"

Jiang Zhi went to open the door and immediately asked, "How many refugees have come? What were they doing just now?"

Xu Errui saw a fire inside the house and warmed his hands by it, saying, "Mother, it's refugees who have come, and they're even stealing things."

Isn't that obvious? Xiaoman said it when she came.

Knowing that Xu Errui was honest, Jiang Zhi could only wait for him to explain slowly.

She appeared calm on the surface, but her heart was pounding wildly.

Living in a time of peace, no one has ever experienced such a situation before, and now we can only speculate based on intuition and common sense.

Qiaoyun poured a bowl of boiling water from the fireside into Xu Errui's bowl and urged him to tell her what had happened.

Xu Errui took a sip of water and quickly said, "There are more than twenty refugees from outside. First, they wanted water, and then they asked Uncle Youcai to give them grain to cook for them. Uncle Youcai's family did not agree, and the two sides started fighting."

The refugees almost burned down the house, but when Xiaoman and I arrived, Uncle Cai and his group had already driven them away.

"These refugees are truly despicable!" Qiaoyun murmured.

Jiang Zhi remained silent, pondering. The "talented" people Xu Errui mentioned were the families who had stolen things during the day.

Relying on the fact that there were many of them, all of them strong and healthy men, they did not take the refugees seriously.

Would any homeless people dare to rob them?

The refugees are turning into rioters, and things are not far from getting out of control. If we continue to underestimate them, we will suffer the consequences.

That night, Xujia Village was unusually peaceful, yet far from peaceful.

Perhaps truly sensing the horror of the conflict among the refugees, the remaining people couldn't sleep, and someone would be out constantly looking around with a torch.

Xiaoman ran to Jiangzhi's house again and said that Grandpa was willing to go up the mountain and would leave tomorrow.

As dawn broke, the village was deserted and there was no smoke from cooking fires. Jiang Zhi's family was about to leave.

They packed everything and Qiaoyun wanted to come along too. She was more than five months pregnant and climbed the mountain by herself, leaning on a wooden stick.

Xu Errui had to carry several large baskets by himself, making trips back and forth repeatedly.

When they encounter dangerous mountain roads, they need Jiang Zhi's help to get through.

Among those who went up the mountain were Xiaoman and her grandparents.

Xiaoman was carrying a person who was wrapped up tightly and struggling to climb up the mountain. Judging from the legs that were almost dragging on the ground, it must be his older brother who was paralyzed in bed.

The two elderly people each carried a bundle, and even the little girl carried her own things.

If climbing the mountain is this difficult, one can only imagine how difficult it is to escape the famine.

Besides them, other families who had been hiding also came up the mountain one after another. At this time, no one spoke, and everyone was in a solemn mood.

Whether they flee to other places or go up the mountain, they are abandoning their homes, and no one will be alright.

Everyone walked and stopped frequently, because each family's kiln and charcoal shed were in different locations, and they had to split up after walking for a while.

Jiang Zhi's family lived in the highest position, and after moving all their belongings to their own charcoal shed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

It's difficult for villagers to climb the mountain, but it's even more difficult for refugees. All they need to do is throw stones down from a high place, and they'll be knocked down and temporarily safe on the top.

Of course, if the war continues for several years, Great Yan will never have a peaceful day again, no matter where it is.

The three of them were exhausted and needed to rest before continuing their work.

The whole-grain pancakes and roasted sweet potatoes I made last night came in handy.

Qiaoyun gathered some leaves and dry branches from the side, set up a stove with three stones in a sheltered spot, and boiled some spring water to make do with a meal.

Although the environment was a bit simple, the three of them ate leisurely, which was much better than being on edge in the village.

With their stomachs full and their energy restored, the most urgent task was to repair the charcoal shed.

We need to spend the night on the mountain tonight; it will be hard to endure staying outdoors.

Xu Errui found some tree bark that he had previously peeled off, and cut some thatch from the cliff edge to use in combination.

Although these grasses have been exposed to frost and dew for months and their leaves have rotted and are no longer suitable for building houses, the thick stalks are still better than letting in drafts and rain.

The pond that had been cleared the day before was now free of fallen leaves. Qiaoyun took out the pots and pans, washed them one by one, and put them into the basket that served as a cabinet.

There are limited things we can bring up the mountain. We can't move the tables, chairs, benches, and wooden beds from home. Now, the shed is just a few quilts and bare mud.

While Xu Errui and the other man were repairing the shed, Jiang Zhi walked alone into the nearby oak forest.

There were thick layers of fallen leaves here. She planned to collect some clean leaves to use as bedding, and also gather some dry twigs to start a fire.

In addition, Jiang Zhi wanted to try her luck and see if she could find what she wanted.

As she parted the fallen leaves, the oak berries underneath caught her eye.

Sure enough, there were oak berries, and even though it had only been two or three months, these oak berries were very fresh, hiding in clusters under the leaves.

Some have shed their back shells, while others are still inside the shell bowls.

The oak tree is an evergreen deciduous tree that is cold-resistant and tolerant of poor soil. It is widely distributed and has a wide range of uses.

According to the "Compendium of Famine Relief Herbs", "It was not recorded in the old state where it came from, but now it is found everywhere. The large trees that bear acorns are called oak, and the small trees that do not bear acorns are called oak."

The Compendium of Famine Relief Herbs also records that it can relieve famine: "Pick tender leaves, boil them until cooked, soak them in water until they turn yellow, change the water and wash them clean, then season with oil and salt and eat them."

These are just side dishes. What Jiang Zhi values ​​most is that after removing the astringency from the oak seeds, they can be used to make starch, tofu, and wine, and can be used as a staple food.

This process of removing astringency is crucial.

Looking at the oak forest covering the mountain, Jiang Zhi smiled with satisfaction.

True strong people never complain about their circumstances; now they have everything they need.

Ever since she transmigrated here, Jiang Zhi has been searching for any cheat codes she might have: a spatial ability, a system, mind-reading, or the supernatural power of Vajra Strength.

A day passed, and nothing was found.

She's so old, she doesn't even have the chance to get married and change her fate.

It seems that time travel doesn't necessarily grant superpowers; all she can rely on is knowledge.

Her grandfather was a barefoot herbalist in the countryside, and her parents were both native farmers. Jiang Zhi followed her grandfather all over the mountains from a young age and learned about hundreds of kinds of herbs. When she grew up, she naturally entered a college of traditional Chinese medicine to study Chinese herbal medicine.

Unlike traditional Chinese medicine practitioners who prescribe medicine, pharmacy is a different profession altogether.

So, instead of studying medicine at school, I learned how to make ointments, pills, and powders. After graduation, I went to work in a pharmacy to dispense medicine, which was actually a good fit for my major.

However, as Chinese medicinal herbs began to be cultivated on a large scale in open fields, the yields became higher and higher, and ginseng was grown to resemble radishes. In contrast, the efficacy of these herbs has become increasingly diminished.

Herbal medicine was regarded as a heretical practice and abandoned by the world, and her and her grandfather's ideal of carrying forward herbal medicine became more and more distant.

As her parents and grandfather passed away, she completely gave up her dream of becoming a traditional Chinese medicine doctor and started working in the pharmacy of the town hospital.

Having studied herbal medicine has its advantages; for example, she can use what most people see as weeds as medicine.

She can use the same trees that ordinary people see as medicine.

When she saw the oak tree, others might think of its hard wood as a good material for making furniture and charcoal, but she automatically thought of other uses.

Apart from the seeds, which are edible, the bark of the oak tree has the effects of strengthening the spleen and stopping diarrhea, astringing and stopping bleeding. It can treat spleen deficiency diarrhea, chronic dysentery, leukorrhea, various bleeding, malignant sores, and carbuncles.

Now Jiangzhi doesn't need oak trees to treat her illness; these edible seeds are enough for her.