Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiue secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The little boy had probably not eaten for a long time; he was so hungry that his eyes were blurry and he could barely stand.
Qin Xiaoniang took out the porridge she had cooked yesterday, ladled out a small bowl, and fed it to the boy.
"Let's pack up and get going. We need to leave this desert as soon as possible so the children can suffer less!"
Zhang Xiue nodded. "Okay, I'll go collect the tents."
After saying that, Zhang Xiue and Li Qiang's wife began packing their luggage. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the two of them had put all the luggage on the camel's back.
Wang San, who was standing nearby, instructed two strong men to help them pull the camels, while the rest of the people followed behind, heading south together.
Because they hadn't eaten much in the morning, by noon the children's stomachs were growling so much that they didn't even have the strength to walk.
Seeing that the sun was scorching and the people were thirsty and tired, Qin Xiaoniang decided to eat something on the spot before continuing on her way.
"There's still porridge in the earthenware pot, let's share it!"
Zhang Xiue wiped the sweat from her forehead and replied in a hoarse voice, "Okay."
"Madam Zhang, what's wrong with your throat?"
Zhang Xiue shook her head nonchalantly, "It's nothing, I'm just a little feverish, and my voice is hoarse from talking too much. It's nothing."
Song He'er knew that she was overworked, and now that everyone was short of water, it was inevitable that they would be thirsty.
Therefore, the most important issue right now is not finding firewood, but finding water.
Thinking of this, Song He'er walked to Qin Xiaoniang's side and asked, "Mother, are we running low on water?"
Qin Xiaoniang lowered her head, glanced at it carefully, and replied, "There are still three pots left, not many. If we cook porridge tonight, it definitely won't be enough. It's only enough for us to drink today."
"That won't do. We need to find some water..."
"But this is the desert, finding water isn't that easy."
Wang San overheard their conversation and walked over from a short distance away. "There is water in this desert. If you search carefully, you might find a freshwater lake, but the water there might not be drinkable."
Song He'er had seen this natural phenomenon on TV before, but the probability of finding a lake was very small. If she could find one, that would be fine, but if she couldn't, she would have to think of other ways to get the water out of her space.
"This uncle is right. Why don't we split up and look for it? What if we find it?"
Zhang Xiue was also extremely thirsty, and seeing that this was the only way, she had no choice but to agree and decided to split up with the others to look for lakes.
After discussing it, the group split into several teams and began searching for usable water sources.
Song He'er was still with Chun Rao and Chun Di, but the three of them walked for a long time without seeing a single drop of water.
"He'er, have we gone the wrong way? What if we can't get back later?" Chundi asked worriedly.
Song He'er lowered her head and secretly glanced at the compass in her hand. She saw that they were currently heading due west, and she only needed to head east to find the original group.
"Fourth Aunt, if you are tired, you and Fifth Aunt can rest here for a while. I will go and take a look ahead by myself. I walk fast and will be back in a little while."
Chun Di shook her head. "How old are you? How can we let you go alone? Even if we're exhausted, we'll follow you!"
"Hmm... Alright then, let's hurry up and leave, lest Mother and the others get impatient." With no other choice, Song He'er agreed to her request.
After walking for about half an incense stick's time, the three of them finally saw a shallow lake under a poplar tree not far ahead.
Chun Di pointed happily ahead and laughed, "We found it! We found it!"
Song He'er followed her and ran forward, but when they got closer, they realized that the water in the lake was light blue, as if it had been dyed, and it was completely undrinkable.
"This water is undrinkable... We've spent so much time searching, and it's all been for nothing."
Song He'er didn't speak, but quietly walked behind the poplar tree, recited an incantation, and in an instant, the large vat filled with water in the space appeared under the poplar tree.
"Fourth Aunt! Come quick, there's a water vat here!"
Chun Di was somewhat incredulous and quickly ran over from the lakeside, "Really? Where?"
“Here it is, Fourth Aunt, Fifth Aunt, look…” Song He’er, like them, stood to the side, feigning surprise.
Chunrao was utterly shocked, unable to believe what she was seeing. "How...how could there be a water tank in this desolate desert?"
Song He'er patiently explained, "Perhaps it was left behind by the previous caravan. Think about it, they wanted to cross this desert to make business to the south, so they would have carried a lot of water. Once they ran out of water, and this jar was heavy, they could only leave it here..."
"But where did the water in this tank come from?"
"It's probably from occasional rain... Fourth Aunt, try it, is this water drinkable?" Song He'er changed the subject.
"Oh, then I'll try it..." Chun Di cupped her hands in her hands, licked the water, and instantly, a delighted smile spread across her face. "It's sweet! I can drink it! I can drink it!"
Song He'er smiled and said, "Alright, you and Fifth Aunt stay here and I'll go back and get some people to help us carry the vat!"
Chun Di nodded, then turned around and looked at the poplar tree, saying, "It would be best to ask them to bring us the sickle again. We finally saw a few trees, so we need to cut some firewood."
"good......"
After saying that, Song He'er began to return the way she came.
With a compass in hand, one can walk faster and doesn't have to worry about going the wrong way.
When Song He'er returned to the group, she saw that the other men who had gone out to find water had all returned, and they had basically found nothing. The only things they found were some tree branches, which they cut down and brought back in two large bundles.
When Wang San saw her return, he went up to her and asked with concern, "Did you find it? Do you need any help?"
Song He'er nodded. "We did see a lake, but the water was undrinkable, very sour. However, we found a water vat with drinkable water inside, but the three of us couldn't carry it back..."
Wang San pondered for a while, then asked, "If you don't mind, I can have someone help you carry it..."
Song He'er wanted to hear this, so she agreed without hesitation: "Okay, we saw a lot of poplar trees over there. Let's bring a sickle and cut some firewood."
"Okay!"
Wang San waved his hand, called over five or six men, and, carrying wooden sticks and sickles, began to head in the direction Song He'er had pointed.
Throughout their journey, Wang San and his group ate wild fruits to stave off hunger and thirst, never asking for water. Aside from the day they robbed food, they had remained well-behaved and caused no trouble...?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
