"Sigh, our village's well is over a hundred years old. It has never dried up before. If the drought really gets that bad, we probably won't survive."

"So we really have no way out?"

"The government won't abandon us. Don't worry." Actually, the old lady was the one who was most worried. She'd almost lived her whole life; did she really want to be caught in a natural disaster? Oh dear!

Zhang Hongmei listlessly filled the water vat, then carried two more buckets of water to water all the melon vines.

Liu Erya was exhausted yesterday, but seeing that Hongmei was too tired to move, she had to persevere, otherwise the two of them wouldn't be able to get back. In the morning, she arrived at Zhang Hongmei's house listlessly with her schoolbag on her back, startling Zhang Hongmei.

"Sister Er Ya, what's wrong?"

Liu Erya gave Zhang Hongmei a resentful look. "Yesterday you were so reluctant to move, how come you're full of energy today? I haven't even had a chance to rest yet."

"Hehe, I'm young!"

"You brat, I'm only two years older than you, how old can I be?" Liu Erya chased after Zhang Hongmei, the two of them playing happily.

They only started reading after they had finished playing. "Hongmei, my dad said I have to go to school tomorrow. There's not much work to do at home or in the fields. Are you going to school?"

"No, I still have to tend the vegetable garden and feed the sheep. Please don't tell me about my situation!"

"Why would I bring this up? Your mileage is going to be higher than mine this year."

"I'll treat you when we split the money," Zhang Hongmei thought, figuring it would be a good opportunity for her to go up the mountain again, saving Liu Erya from following her. Besides, if things got really dangerous, she wouldn't be able to use the stun gun.

"By the way, Sister Erya, why don't you come to my house for a bowl of goat milk every morning before you go to school? I guess you can wean yourself after drinking it for another month."

"That's great. I'll come every day then, but don't find me annoying."

"Okay, I'll cook for you every day. I'll go back with you to find my third uncle in a bit. When are you going to build me a sheep pen? It'll smell nice when it gets hot."

"Why don't you come to my house for lunch?"

"I'm not going. I'm making pancakes for lunch today. Do you want to eat at my house?" Zhang Hongmei's tone was like that of a witch bewitching Snow White.

"If there's good food, of course I won't go back; I'll eat at your place."

Lunch was flatbread and stewed sauerkraut with cured pork; that's all the food available outside. It'll be gone soon too. Suddenly I remembered I still have a lot of wild vegetables in my ring, but I can't take them out now. My brain is worse than a pig's.

After dinner, Liu Erya felt fully recharged and full of energy. Her reading efficiency also improved.

Zhang Hongmei followed Er Ya home. The Liu family was cooking, and Liu Maocai was sitting in the yard repairing a hoe.

"Uncle, could you help me find someone to cover up the sheep pen these next few days? It's getting hot, and I want to get it done while it's the off-season for farming."

"Okay, I'll go the day after tomorrow."

What do I need to prepare?

"I'll find someone to go up the mountain and cut down a few trees tomorrow. I have planks at home; it'll be enough to make a simple shed."

"Uncle, could you do it like you would when you build a house, so that you don't have to put the wood in the woodshed in winter?"

"That'll be troublesome. But it's fine. You'll have to provide meals for four or five people."

"Okay, I'll prepare the meal and give you some wages too? I remember that some families in our village pay wages for building houses."

"Then it'll be 50 cents a day, lunch included."

The two agreed that Zhang Hongmei would not stay for dinner and would go back home. She really couldn't stomach the food at other people's houses, so she decided not to force herself to eat.

The next day, Zhang Hongmei stayed home waiting for Liu Maocai to deliver the timber, so she didn't go up the mountain. She made dough with goat's milk and also made bean paste, because she wanted to make sure Liu Maocai ate lunch. She also made sauerkraut and pork soup and a cold wild vegetable salad.

Five people went up the mountain with Liu Maocai to cut down trees; they were the ones who would build their sheep pen tomorrow. The lunch was delicious and satisfying; everyone praised Hongmei's skillful cooking and were truly impressed. This girl was so generous to share her flour with everyone!

Liu Maocai ate the wild vegetables and said, "Hongmei, what did you put in your wild vegetable salad? It's really delicious."

"It's just soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic. Is it really delicious?"

"It's really delicious!"

Of course it's delicious! I used my own light soy sauce, which is hard to find around here.

"Wild vegetables are edible now. Go home tomorrow and get some sour sauce to dip them in."

"The soybean paste has gone sour? I completely forgot I made any this year."

"Your third aunt makes a lot, enough for you to eat your fill."

After finishing their meal, the group went to the team to bundle grass and then to push soil. Afterward, they mixed the grass with mud, kneaded it, and left it overnight to work.

Liu Maocai didn't come the next day; he went to a meeting in the township. The five of them finished building it in one day, and thoughtfully even put up a few stakes, telling Zhang Hongmei they could use them to tether sheep. Zhang Hongmei cooked lunch the same as yesterday, and no one complained, knowing there wasn't much to eat at this time of year. That evening, they each received fifty cents. No one refused; it was customary.

The melon vines in the space have already climbed up and down; they really need to be planted. I'll definitely go up the mountain tomorrow. When Liu Erya came over that evening, she told her that she wouldn't be home the next morning because she was going to the mountains to plant melons, but she didn't dare mention that there were any vines.

"Why don't you wait until I have time off and we go together?"

"No need, and I can't plant many anyway. I can manage on my own, don't worry."

The next day, Zhang Hongmei went up the mountain at five o'clock again, this time with a pickaxe.

There were very few wild vegetables along the way; I guess the villagers had picked them all. I picked all the wild vegetables I recognized, but since it hasn't rained yet, they're all a bit old.

Walking into the pine and cypress forest felt better; at least it was much greener. The shady side of the mountain was noticeably better than the sunny side.

My eyes are sore from looking, but I still haven't found any ginseng. I guess I should just stick to planting melon seedlings.

I planted about two hundred melon vines in one day, but I don't know how many they'll grow to. I really tried my best. How far it will go is beyond my control.

When I got home, it wasn't dark yet. I saw that the lambs in the sheepfold were almost grown up. I asked Li Cuihua when they could be bred. But then I thought, if there's a drought this year and people don't even have water to drink, livestock will be even less likely to be able to breed. Should I sell them? But who would I sell them to now?

Let's keep it and see how it goes. Maybe it won't be dry?

The next day, we went up the mountain again to dig for wild vegetables, and we dug as many as we could.

I delivered it to the old lady when I got back in the afternoon.

"Hongmei, you should go with your aunts tomorrow. You'll be all alone."

"Grandma, no need. I'm afraid of bothering the aunties. I'll just pick them while I'm playing."

The old lady knew perfectly well that the wild vegetables they brought were from deep in the mountains, and that the child had gone into the mountains again.

“Okay, if you go into the mountains every day, bring the wild vegetables here. I’ll pick them clean, blanch them in hot water, and then dry them in the sun.”

"I can manage on my own, so please don't tire you out. I have plenty of energy."