Just as Xiaoman's grandfather had arranged, Xiaoman really did bring a large bundle of tree bark to build a house. With these things, Jiangzhi's small single room was secured.

However, before building the house, you need to go to the village first, and then you won't go down the mountain again.

Jiang Zhi discussed what to bring with Qiaoyun and Xu Errui.

Qiaoyun needs a stone mill because the cornmeal is almost gone and needs to be ground into powder.

Errui said he needed some hay to line the bed, as leaves alone were too hard.

Jiang Zhi frowned as she listened. These things were either heavy or bulky, making them unsuitable to carry at all.

But she didn't know what she needed; she felt like she lacked everything.

Then consider those few families in the village who didn't leave; they were stealing furniture that very day. By now, the entire village has probably been cleaned up. Plus, with migrants coming and going, even if there are useful things, not much will remain.

There's no use in daydreaming now; we can only go into the village first and see what's left.

Before dawn, Jiang Zhi, Xu Errui, and Xiaoman quietly descended the mountain with baskets and ropes on their backs and appeared at the edge of the village.

Five days have passed since the villagers left. The village is now deathly quiet in the morning light, not even a rooster is crowing.

Xu Errui and Xiaoman grew up in the village and knew the layout of every house's courtyard well.

With them leading the way, the three of them walked along the back wall of the courtyard, and after a few turns, they entered the house closest to the edge of the village.

This family left in a hurry. The tables and chairs they left behind are still there, but they have been picked over by others. Now all that's left are broken pieces of furniture with missing legs or corners.

After a quick look around, the three continued walking towards each house. On the surface, the village seemed unchanged except for being too quiet, but after visiting a few more houses, signs of chaos gradually appeared.

Fires could be seen on the mountain for the past few nights, and sure enough, several houses had been burned down.

Blackened ruins and dilapidated walls, with roof beams and ridges jutting out abruptly into the sky.

Although they didn't see a body, the broken earthenware jar on the ground and several pools of dark blood had already made Xu Errui and Xiaoman's expressions change drastically.

Not daring to linger too long, Jiang Zhi and Xu Errui prepared to go back to their own courtyard to check, so that they could feel at ease even if it had burned down.

Xiaoman also wanted to go back to his own home to visit, and the three of them agreed to meet at the village chief's house and then go their separate ways.

When Jiang Zhi returned to her own yard, she found that it had not been burned, but the originally locked gate had been broken and was half-open.

Xu Errui ran into the yard and saw that the door to the room where he and his wife lived was wide open, so he immediately went in to check.

Jiang Zhi went straight into the kitchen.

She first found the place where the flint and steel were kept, and took out an old flint and steel from it.

Although you bring a set on the mountain, in places where there are no lighters or matches, flint and steel are essential tools for starting a fire. One set is not enough; you need to prepare an extra set.

Several broken jars were still in the kitchen. Jiang Zhi reached into one of the jars and pulled out a few irregular, dark "stones," which she immediately stuffed into her bag like precious treasures.

This is rock salt.

Because the salt here is unrefined coarse salt with many impurities, it absorbs moisture and crystallizes into hard stones when left in the salt jar for a long time.

She didn't know at first; she saw it while tidying up on her first night at home and asked Qiaoyun if it was too hard to use and should be thrown away.

Normally we wouldn't need it, but we can't lose Jiang Zhi now!

Living in the mountains, you can still find food using wild fruits and tree bark, but you can't go without salt or flavor.

A lack of salt and minerals can cause weakness and illness. Although these salt stones are of lower quality, they can still replenish salt.

After searching the entire house again, Jiang Zhi was most pleased to find a large bag of unused realgar powder in a corner.

This is a valuable ingredient. Living in the mountains for a long time, it's only a matter of time before snakes and scorpions appear in the shed. Realgar, which can repel insects, is very important.

At this point, Jiang Zhi already knew what she needed.

When Xu Errui brought over a chipped wood-cutter's knife, Jiang Zhi asked, "Errui, do you know anyone who has quicklime?"

Quicklime is also a great tool for killing ants and small insects!

Quicklime wasn't a valuable item; you could buy a large bag for ten coins in town, and nobody took it with them when they fled.

Xu Errui nodded: "Mom, I know that. Before the New Year, the village chief's family was making mortar and lime powder. They didn't use it all, so they piled it up in the woodshed."

Great! Now that we've found something for quicklime, let's look for something else.

The more salt stones the better, so the two began going from house to house into the kitchens to search for salt jars.

In the past, each household would take away their own salt and discard the salt stones, which now benefited Jiang Zhi.

As she walked toward the village chief's house, she searched for something. Jiang Zhi already had more than a dozen items of various sizes in her bag.

Xu Errui also found several discarded sickles and machetes, so he had a pretty good haul.

Just as the two were getting close to the village chief's house, a man yawning and fastening his belt walked out from the drainage ditch by the courtyard wall, and they bumped into each other head-on without warning.

By this time, it was already broad daylight, and you could count the whiskers on the ground face to face. Jiang Zhi looked at the filthy refugee opposite her and immediately raised the sickle in her hand in fright: "What do you want to do?"

The refugee was startled and turned to run away in a panic, shouting as he ran, "Second Uncle, Third Uncle, someone's here to steal!"

Jiang Zhi and Xu Errui were both stunned: We're robbing them? We're scared to death ourselves.

The two quickly retreated and hid behind a haystack to observe the situation.

Just as I hid, I saw four or five people rush out of the village chief's yard, carrying hoes and carrying poles. They were all wearing open shirts and slippers, and looked nervous.

"Er Gouzi! Where is everyone? Who stole our things?"

Er Gouzi, who was taking a dump early in the morning, pointed towards Jiang Zhi and said, "Two of them are holding knives over there."

One of the refugees came out and awkwardly bowed in the direction where Jiang Zhi and the other person were hiding: "We are just passing through and will stop here to rest. We will leave at dawn. We only have some tattered coats and nothing of value with us."

It seems that these are just honest farmers who fled from disaster, and they have already learned from their experience and are able to handle the situation with ease.

Xu Errui stepped forward and shouted in a show of bravado, "If you want to leave, then leave now! If you don't, we won't be polite!"

"Okay, let's go!" The old man said a few words to the people next to him, and some of them went back into the yard, probably to pack their things.

Soon, there was a commotion and chaos inside. There were children crying because they hadn't woken up yet, and women screaming. They must have been too tired to move.

Soon, a group of people came out of the yard pushing carts, carrying loads on their shoulders, and carrying babies on their backs.

Jiang Zhi frowned as she looked at them, wondering where these people came from and where they were going.

In stories about fleeing famine, the focus is always on the hardships of the journey, but rarely on their ultimate fate!

However, when the old man passed by Xu Errui and Jiang Zhi, he realized that there were only two people there, so he slowed down and his eyes began to wander.

The men following closely behind him also stopped, their eyes all fixed on the basket on Xu Errui's back, their expressions immediately turning malicious.

Jiang Zhi sensed something was wrong, so she quickly picked up her machete, took a few steps back, and shouted to the village, "Da Niu, Er Niu, bring everyone over here!"

Xu Errui, standing beside him, looked completely bewildered: "Mom, they..." He wanted to ask who Da Niu and Er Niu were.

Jiang Zhi, afraid he might let something slip, quickly said, "Have Da Niu come over, something's come up at his house!"

There were other people, villagers too...

The "Second Uncle," whose eyes had been wandering, instantly became clear-headed and even bowed to Jiang Zhi in a fawning manner, saying, "I'm sorry to have bothered you! I'm sorry to have bothered you!"

Xu Errui awkwardly returned the greeting: "It's alright! It's alright!"

Jiang Zhi ignored them and coldly watched the refugees leave.

But before these people had gone far, they heard a series of hurried footsteps and shouts, followed by the sounds of a fight.

Another familiar voice arrogantly said, "Good! I was wondering why someone sneaked in last night without paying, ruining the feng shui of our village. So it was you! We've finally caught you. Pay up, or you're not leaving!"

Xu Errui and Jiang Zhi were still standing outside when they heard the noise and exchanged a glance: this was an attempt to extort money from the refugees.

Xu Errui said, "It's Uncle Cai and the others. They didn't leave; they're still in the village."

Jiang Zhi's eyebrows furrowed into knots: These two families, taking advantage of their numbers, stole first and then robbed!