During breakfast, everyone discussed the day's plans.

Yan Zheng and Yan Jing'an originally planned that this morning, the group would take out the bricks from last night to dry again, and then the two men would go and dig up the trees.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Xi rejected him outright, and of course, her reasons were quite inspiring.

"I'm going to advance to become a female warrior. Today is my test day. I believe I can bring them all out."

Her words were so impassioned that Yan Jing'an stopped arguing with her.

Yan Zheng, on the other hand, kept frowning. Before leaving, he specifically told her, "If you really can't move it, don't force yourself. We can move it when we come back."

At that time, Jiang Xi held her head high, looking quite pleased with herself.

However, in just half an hour, she paid a heavy price for her bold remarks.

Jiang Xi finally understood why Yan Zheng had been frowning.

She couldn't understand why wet bricks could be so heavy; after only a dozen minutes of carrying them, her hands were already trembling with soreness.

Yesterday, Yan Zheng and Yan Jing'an seemed very relaxed.

So she had to take a break and work a little more, and by noon, there was still a little over half left to move.

Thinking that I had already made the promise in the morning, it would be a loss of face if I didn't finish it, so I forced myself to do it.

They even put the bricks in baskets and then carried the baskets out.

**

On the other side, Yan Zheng and Yan Jing'an were also surrounding a breadfruit tree.

The tree is not big, only half a person tall, but its roots are quite large.

To increase the survival rate of transplanted trees, the roots must be kept as intact as possible; the roots of this one tree alone were over a meter wide.

They had to be careful not to damage the trunk while digging. The two of them dug little by little with shovels until the afternoon, and they had only managed to dig up this one tree.

As Yan Jing'an was digging up the tree roots, he noticed some movement not far away.

The memory of the wild bear incident hadn't faded yet, so without a second thought, he pulled out the rope from his waist and followed after it.

Only when they got closer did they realize it was Lin.

Yan Jing'an asked with a gloomy face, "What are you doing following us?"

To everyone's surprise, Lin looked terrified upon hearing this, waving his hands and shaking his head.

He pointed to himself, then to the breadfruit tree in the distance.

Seeing that Yan Jing'an didn't understand her meaning, Lin opened her mouth and said, "I... I'm looking for food."

Yan Zheng heard the commotion and followed.

He asked in a deep voice, "Are you looking for food here?"

Lin then nodded quickly.

Yan Jing'an realized he had misunderstood her, put away the rope in his hand and said, "Next time we meet, we can show ourselves directly. Don't sneak around. What if someone mistakes you for a wild animal and hurts you?"

Without waiting to see if Lin understood him, he turned around and went back to the breadfruit tree.

Yan Zheng said to Lin, "You can go now, it's alright."

With that, he went back to continue his work.

The two of them originally planned to dig up two trees, but they didn't expect to be delayed for so long by just one.

Seeing that the sun was almost up, I had no choice but to carry this tree back to the village.

When we arrived at the village, only a ring of yellow twilight remained on the horizon.

Jiang Xi managed to move all the bricks out to dry before the two returned.

Exhausted, she collapsed onto the stool, finding it difficult even to drink a sip of water.

Hearing the commotion from Yan Zheng and Yan Jing'an, she went out, supporting her back.

This kind of tree can grow very large, so it's not really suitable to plant it in the yard.

For convenience, the three of them discussed and chose a spot not far from the irrigation ditch on the side of the road leading to the field.

Previously, Yan Zheng connected the spring pool and the irrigation canal behind the house, so the canal has water every day. Although the water flow is not very large, it has nourished many plants in the vicinity.

So, Jiang Xi lit a torch, and the three of them stayed up all night to plant the tree three or four meters away from the ditch.

The two of them dug up another one the next day.

This one was planted about ten meters away from the first one, so that it would be easier to harvest later.

After planting both trees, Jiang Xi felt a strange sense of fulfillment.

Now the village has jujube trees, fig trees, and breadfruit trees.

The jujube tree has already blossomed, but the jujube blossoms don't actually smell very pleasant. And the flowers are very small; you can only see them if you get very close.

Despite this, Jiang Xi still felt very happy.

And the fig tree in the yard has already borne many small figs the size of soybeans, clinging tightly to the trunk, and it is still bearing fruit.

Jiang Xi looked at everything in the yard, full of life, blooming and bearing fruit. This filled her heart with anticipation and happiness.

Yan Zheng also said, "Although it's tough now, there will be plenty of food to eat by autumn."

Jiang Xi felt that things weren't too bad right now. There wasn't much variety in the food, so they were eating a bit more vegetarian. But as long as everyone was together, they had enough to eat and wear.

This kind of life isn't considered bitter.

The three of them sat on a stone bench together for dinner that evening. Vegetables were a given, and Jiang Xi had also prepared a special dessert.

Drizzle some honey on the breadfruit and add some champagne fruit; it tastes like a sandwich.

Yan Jing'an has a sweet tooth, so Jiang Xi prepared a lot for him.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, Yan Zheng said, "Tomorrow I plan to walk downstream along the river in the fields and see if I can detour to the lake via that waterfall."

Compared to going through the canyon, this road is significantly shorter, making it much more convenient for fishing, hunting ducks and pheasants, and the like.

Yan Jing'an hadn't expected that he could go from the fields to the waterfall.

“I’ll go too, I’m more familiar with it.”

Yan Zheng took a sip of tea: "Okay."

As they were talking, Xiao Hei, who had been playing with the ball, suddenly started making a ruckus again.

One moment it wants to snuggle into Yan Zheng's arms, the next it wants Yan Jing'an to play with it, and then it wants Jiang Xi to pet it.

Looking at its憨憨 (simple and honest) appearance, in the quiet night, the group enjoyed this rare moment of leisure.

Knock knock knock.

Just as Yan Jing'an picked up Xiao Hei, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

No one answered when asked who it was. The three of them exchanged glances. Jiang Xi got up to open the door, but Yan Zheng stopped her, saying, "I'll go."

Yan Jing'an also watched the courtyard gate warily.

Yan Zheng pushed open the door.

Nobody's here.

He looked down and saw a black mass on the ground.

Yan Zheng picked it up; it was a basket woven from vines, but the craftsmanship was so poor that it was crooked and uneven.

There were some champagne berries inside, as well as a few green berries that Yan Zheng had never seen before.

Jiang Xi leaned forward, and Yan Zheng handed her the item: "It was probably sent by that child."

Yan Jing'an, holding Xiao Hei, said, "You really know how to fawn over people."

Only Jiang Xi knew that this was Lin's thank-you gift for that meal.

She told Yan Jing'an, "Actually, Lin is also a very pitiful girl... a very pitiful child."

Jiang Xi also told Yan Jing'an about seeing the photos that day.

“Look at him, he’s just like us, he was forced to come here to survive.”

After listening, Yan Jing'an remained silent for a while, then suddenly said, "He's just taking advantage of your sympathy."

Jiang Xi was so angry that she snatched Xiao Hei from his arms and said angrily, "Xiao Hei is just my sympathy, don't touch him."

I was yelled at.

Yan Jing'an touched his nose and awkwardly turned his face away.

Jiang Xi carried Xiao Hei into the house, she was somewhat angry.

Yan Zheng followed her in and patted Jiang Xi's head: "Don't be angry. You know how he thinks. It's also for safety reasons."

Jiang Xi lowered her head and spoke slowly after a long while: "Actually, I know."

The death of a close friend, the struggles within the underworld—perhaps even five years after the snow disaster, the evil of human nature was on full display.

Therefore, she understood his distrust, and his wariness and unease towards others.

Jiang Xi murmured, "I just..."

But what? She couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Yan Zheng sat down next to her and said, "Just do what you want. You're not wrong, and neither is he. It's just that you have different starting points."

"And actually we met that child in the woods today. He told the child that he didn't need to hide when he saw us, for fear that he might accidentally hurt him."

Jiang Xi glanced at Yan Zheng in surprise and smiled wryly: "I thought he was going to rush up and beat him up."

As soon as she finished speaking, Yan Jing'an walked in from outside, crossed his arms, and leaned against the door: "Am I that violent?"

Jiang Xi snorted.

Yan Jing'an awkwardly touched his nose: "Forget it, I won't interfere anymore. You can ask that child if he would like to move into that pottery kiln house."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xi was stunned, thinking to herself, "Has this person changed their personality?"

Yan Zheng, on the other hand, seemed to have expected this and showed no reaction.

Jiang Xi asked, "Don't you think she has ulterior motives? Now she's even inviting others to live so close by."

Yan Jing'an smiled slyly: "Have you ever heard a saying?"

The moment he showed that smile, Jiang Xi knew it wasn't that simple.

She asked, "What?"

Yan Jing'an coughed and said smugly, "Strategically despise the enemy, tactically take the enemy seriously."

Jiang Xi still didn't quite understand when those words came out of nowhere.

He smiled and said, "Ask my older brother."

Then he went out, closing the door behind him.

Jiang Xi looked at Yan Zheng questioningly, as if asking what he meant.