Chapter 5 A timely rain fell from the sky!

Breaking ground...

In fact, Wen Yu was not optimistic about this.

It's only been two days since that millet seed was planted, and even under the best conditions, it will take time to germinate.

Moreover, in this barren and arid land, it is a miracle that the seeds can even sprout successfully.

Although the system did not completely reject her request, the condition of "waiting for groundbreaking" was nothing short of wishful thinking.

Her earthenware jar was now only half full of purified water.

With this little water, she and A-Yue would drink it sparingly, and they also needed to reserve a little for the seed to save its life. How many days could that last?

Three days? Five days?

But in any case, this is the last hope.

The days of waiting for the ground to break through the soil are like a race against thirst, every moment is like being tortured on a stove.

With this heavy heart, Wen Yu tossed and turned on the earthen bed.

She didn't know how much time had passed before she finally fell into a deep sleep from extreme exhaustion.

"Tap tap tap..."

A dull knocking sound woke Wen Yu from her restless sleep.

As dawn broke, a sliver of light shone through the gap in the slightly ajar wooden door.

She lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), opened her hazy eyes, and looked in the direction of the sound.

She saw A Yue's thin figure sitting on the threshold with his back to her, a stone mortar and pestle that he had found somewhere in front of him.

A-Yue held a pestle in one hand and a mortar in the other, vigorously pounding the grass leaves and roots in the mortar with an extremely focused expression.

Wen Yu rolled over, accidentally aggravating her wound. She frowned, gasped, and then, enduring the pain in her back, sat up.

Upon hearing the sound, A-Yue immediately stopped what she was doing and turned around anxiously: "My benefactor! You're awake!"

Are you alright? Does your wound hurt?

His face was filled with worry, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes, clearly indicating that he hadn't slept well last night.

"It's nothing, I just accidentally pulled it." Wen Yu shook her head, her gaze falling on the crushed greenish-blue paste in the mortar. "A-Yue, what are you doing...?"

A-Yue lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly and whispered, "It's herbs. I went to find them on the nearby slope before dawn this morning."

“I remember Dad saying that if you crush this herb and apply it to a wound, it can reduce swelling and help it heal faster…”

Seeing Wen Yu staring at him, he embarrassedly hid his hands behind his back.

Wen Yu had a sharp eye and noticed several small scratches on the back of his hand when he hid it behind his back. It was obviously from when he was searching for herbs on the thorny, barren slope that morning.

A wave of bittersweetness instantly welled up in my heart.

This child, who had lost everything and had just crawled back from the brink of death himself, was preoccupied with her injuries.

To find these herbs, they ventured out before dawn.

“A-Yue…” Wen Yu looked into the boy’s clear eyes, but saw a hint of unease in them.

She said solemnly, her voice a little hoarse, "Thank you. From now on, you can call me 'elder sister'."

A Yue suddenly raised his head, his dark eyes seeming to light up instantly.

"Yes! Sister!"

Viewers who witnessed this heartwarming scene also expressed their feelings.

[The Wen family has gained another person, that's great! Now they'll have someone to help with farm work.]

Live well. In times of famine, every extra person means a greater chance of hope.

Wen Yu, I admit your script somewhat fooled me; why did I actually feel a little moved?

Of course, there are also those who disagree.

However, isn't this plot development a bit too classic?

[Heh, no comment. This terribly cheesy plot point was probably copied from some TV drama.]

[They mentioned earlier that he has a younger sister, so maybe he'll be recruiting a new one in a few days. I've seen through this trick.]

Unbeknownst to many, the number of online users quietly climbed, approaching the 30,000 mark.

Wen Yu glanced at the barrage of comments, some touching and some questioning.

Actually, she no longer cares about what people think of her.

All she wanted was to live a good life.

Together with A-Yue, and with these villagers struggling in dire straits.

After accepting this family member, A-Yue seemed to have found his pillar of support, bustling around her even more enthusiastically, and sweetly calling her "elder sister".

"Sister, the medicine is ready. I'll apply it to you." A-Yue held the mortar and pestle, her little face full of seriousness.

Wen Yu moved to sit down by the door.

Fortunately, the injury was on the skin between the back of her neck and her back, and she only needed to pull her clothes down a bit.

In times of famine and chaos, when life hangs by a thread, people can no longer care about the strict separation between men and women.

A Yue held her breath and carefully applied the bluish-green medicinal paste to Wen Yu's wound with her clean hands.

A cool sensation instantly covered the burning pain, and Wen Yu's tense nerves involuntarily relaxed, feeling so comfortable that she almost sighed out loud.

The herb was surprisingly effective.

"Sister, are you feeling any better?" A-Yue asked anxiously.

"Much better, it feels cool and comfortable. A-Yue is really amazing." Wen Yu smiled and gently patted his shoulder.

The boy's face finally broke into the first real smile since they met.

After the medicine was applied, Wen Yu felt better.

She was thinking about the seeds in the field behind the house that were crucial to everyone's hope for water, and planned to go check on them and, while she was at it, lavishly water them a little with a clay pot.

She had just picked up the earthenware pot that still had more than half a jar of water left when A-Yue jumped up from the threshold.

He rushed outside, tilted his little face up, and sniffed the air with disbelief.

"Sister!" A-Yue exclaimed excitedly, "The wind smells different! It's damp!"

He turned around and pointed to the northwest sky: "Clouds! Sister, look! The clouds are gathering, dark and heavy, they're rain clouds! It's going to rain!"

The live chat exploded with comments.

[Holy crap? It's raining? Really?]

[Isn't this godforsaken place supposed to be rainless for eight hundred years? Wen Yu, are you cheating?]

[It doesn't feel like it's on, it's like she didn't turn it off at all (just kidding)]

Artificial rainmaking? Is 208w really that powerful? Surely not.

[Don't underestimate the current 2.08 million...]

Whether it's scripted or not, rain is a good thing! It means the villagers are saved!

[The seeds of Wenyuzhong can be saved! I thought they were going to die, sob sob]

Wen Yu was startled and rushed outside in a few steps.

Sure enough, the previously lifeless gray sky was suddenly filled with thick, dark clouds that seemed to have appeared from the northwest.

The sky quickly darkened.

A strong wind carrying damp air swept across the land, causing Wen Yu's clothes to flutter loudly.

This wind, this smell... it's rain!

This long-parched land is actually about to receive a much-needed rain.

"It's going to rain! It's going to rain!" In the distance, one of the villagers noticed the unusual phenomenon and shouted excitedly, "Everyone, come out quickly and get ready to collect water!"

Immediately afterwards, more cries and cheers rang out from the village.

"Great, it's going to rain!"

"Thank God..."

Wen Yu suddenly had a thought.

water!

When it's going to rain, she can get lots and lots of water without having to climb mountains, face wolves, or expend the precious energy of the water purification device.

She also has a backpack compartment that can hold more water for emergencies during the later drought days.

"Ah Yue!" Wen Yu rushed into the house, shouting as she turned, "Quickly bring out all the things we can use to hold water, bring as many as you can!"

"Okay!" A-Yue also rushed into the house.

Almost as soon as the words were spoken, the long-brewing downpour finally crashed down on the arid land.

Large raindrops pounded and pattered, raising a cloud of fine dust that was quickly swallowed up by the larger curtain of rain.

The entire village seemed to awaken from a long nightmare, and the villagers rushed into the rain with any containers they could find.

Some people tilted their heads back and opened their mouths, greedily drinking in this divinely bestowed nectar.

Some people knelt in the mud, wailing and crying, but it was tears of joy.

While everyone else was fetching water, some people hid behind the house in a secluded spot and frantically scrubbed their dust-covered hair and arms in the rain.

They haven't seen rain in so long that they've become indifferent to any semblance of dignity.

Wen Yu didn't have time to do anything else. She set up the container to collect the water, then stood under the eaves. With a thought, she collected the water falling from the sky into her space.

The one-cubic-meter space was quickly filled with rainwater, and the heavy feeling of fullness almost brought her to tears of joy.

This is not just water, it is hope for survival.

The torrential rain gave the parched world a chance to breathe, and the village's farmland was irrigated again as rainwater seeped into the cracked soil.

The rain came and went quickly, but it brought a glimmer of hope to everyone.

Aunt Wang set out the water container, stood at the doorway, and smelled the earthy fragrance that filled the air.

The dense rain and mist hit her face. As she looked at Wen Yu and A Yue fetching water outside the thatched house across the way, her eyes suddenly blurred with tears.

Perhaps, Wen Yatou really was sent by heaven to save them?

Perhaps they really can survive.

Perhaps they really can survive this famine and wait for the day when this land comes back to life.

She stubbornly believed this.

On the small patch of land behind Wen Yu's house, the millet seed that she had planted herself finally sprouted new shoots thanks to the heavy rain.

In the past few days, she has been saving the water in the space to irrigate this land and prevent it from drying out again.

On the fourth day after sowing, she went to the field to check on the seeds as usual, and was pleasantly surprised to find that a little green sprout was peeking out from the soil.

"Sister! The seeds have sprouted!" A-Yue exclaimed joyfully.

Wen Yu stood there, stunned, and suddenly felt a stinging sensation in her eyes.

Despite seemingly being in dire straits, she finally managed to find a glimmer of hope.

The system will broadcast the announcements as needed.

[Ding! The target plant "Corn" has successfully sprouted! Survival rate in the region has increased!]

[Prerequisites met. Official survival mission now issued: Repair and restore the village's basic water supply.]

[Task Description: Using the basic dredging tools provided by the system and local materials, clear and unclog the blocked springs in the village's wells to restore their basic water supply function.]

[Mission Reward: Backpack space increased to 2 cubic meters, Basic Soil Conditioner x1.]

[Task time limit: 48 hours.]

A note from the author:

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