The situation on the outskirts of Yunshan was even more serious than Jiang Qinyu had imagined.
The cracked earth and dried-up ditches stretched as far as the eye could see, a desolate landscape devoid of even a speck of dry grass, while the blazing sun hung high overhead, constantly radiating its heat.
Jiang Qinyu was wearing a straw hat and had a sweat towel around her neck. The towel had been wet and dried countless times, and it smelled strongly of sweat.
Unfortunately, nobody cares about the smell right now; everyone is focused on getting on their way.
"Hurry up, everyone! We can already see the greenery ahead. It won't be so hot after another five miles," Village Chief Li shouted from the front, his voice hoarse.
Water is precious. Although everyone who came out today brought a water bag or bamboo tube from home, everyone drank it sparingly.
Oh no, there are two exceptions.
"Dad, I'm dying of thirst! Can you give me some water?" Lu Yancai was exhausted and hot, panting heavily with his tongue lolling out, and he grabbed the old man, not letting him leave.
Old Lu was furious and wouldn't listen to him. He shook off his hand and said angrily, "I told you to drink sparingly, but you wouldn't listen. I'm not giving you any water! If you can't take it, then get the hell out of here!"
He had his own ulterior motives for inviting the second son. The families who had the most members yesterday were laughing their heads off. His family was already small, and if more people joined this kind of group activity, what would they eat in the future?
However, Old Man Lu really didn't expect Lu Yancai to be so shameless. After being told to get lost, Lu Yancai indeed left quickly, leaving behind the words, "Then I'll go back first, Father, please be careful in the mountains..."
Before he could finish speaking, Old Man Lu had vanished from sight, and Old Man Lu was immediately horrified. "I shouldn't have had any hope for him!"
They thought that by withholding their family's food, Lu Yancai would know to work hard and be more ambitious, but it turns out... he had already planned all along that he didn't want to go into the mountains!
Jiang Qinyu didn't even lift her eyelids when she heard this. She had long expected that Lu Yancai would not obediently go into the mountains, but she didn't expect him to be waiting here.
Meanwhile, Wang Laizi was also searching everywhere for people to ask for water.
"Hey guys, just give me a bite each, just one bite, please?"
"Wang Laizi, stop pretending! Don't think I didn't see you carrying a bamboo tube on your back!"
"Fine, Wang Laizi, you even fooled me? Give me back my water..."
The group of men who had just been lured away by Wang Laizi chased after him and started beating him. When Village Chief Li saw this, he immediately shouted, "You damn well better behave yourselves and don't provoke the big guys in the mountains!"
Although they haven't gone deep into the mountains yet, who can guarantee that there aren't large, ferocious beasts on the outskirts of the mountains?
Jiang Qinyu shook her head, looking in the direction of Wang Laizi. As expected of someone from the same family as Wang Pozi, although they have changed their petty thieving habits, they haven't changed anything else.
Village Chief Li's words were effective; the group quickly quieted down again, and everyone continued their journey under the scorching sun.
After walking for another half hour, they were finally able to see some greenery along the way.
This is a tall, dense forest. If it weren't for this drought, it would have been completely covered in trees long ago. But now, almost all the leaves on the trees have fallen off. Those that are still stubbornly clinging to the branches look wilted and droopy, as if they might fall at any moment.
Even so, Jiang Qinyu and the others felt much cooler as soon as they stepped into the dense forest.
With the sun high in the sky and it already noon, Village Chief Li quickly told everyone to stop.
"Everyone, let's stop for a bit, have some water and some dry rations before we continue!"
Jiang Qinyu had already reached her limit. Upon hearing this, she immediately found a tree, and after confirming that there were no ants or small insects on it, she quickly sat down against the tree and called out to Old Man Lu, "Dad, you should sit down and rest too. There are no insects on this tree."
She was almost stunned by the sun, but after sitting down and taking a closer look, she realized that the area was full of camphor trees.
Because camphor trees actively secrete camphor and camphor oil, they are not prone to insect infestation. In addition, with the current severe drought, most of the small insects have died from the heat, further reducing the pest problem on camphor trees.
Old Lu responded and sat down under the tree next to Jiang Qinyu.
Everyone took out their prepared rations and started eating, but because they were afraid of them spoiling, their rations were really dry, and it took a lot of effort to eat each bite.
Jiang Qinyu really couldn't eat any more; she only took two bites before stopping.
It was too hot, and she wasn't hungry, so she just drank more water.
The Lu family had several water bags, which were prepared by Lu Yanzheng when he was at home. At that time, he often went up the mountain. Because he was skilled, he hunted a lot of prey, and the Lu family lived a good life. Chen was worried that he would not have clean water to drink in the mountains, so she specially bought them for him.
Jiang Qinyu and Old Man Lu were carrying water bags filled with water. This water was stored away by Chen last night to prevent Lu Yancai's family from stealing water.
Old Lu poured the water into a small bamboo cup, took a few sips, and then asked Jiang Qinyu, "Qinyu, is your water enough? If not, I'll share some with you."
Jiang Qinyu's behavior these past two days has made it impossible for Old Man Lu to treat her just as his eldest son's wife anymore, and he has even changed how he addresses her.
Jiang Qinyu shook her head, "No need, Father. I have more than enough. I'll share it with you later."
Although she had plenty of water, not everyone was willing to share it. But Old Man Lu was different. This simple and honest old man had taken good care of both the original owner of this body and her, whose personality had changed drastically. It was only right that she reciprocate in kind.
"No need, no need, I have enough water. You should drink more," Old Man Lu quickly said.
He was careful with his water intake the whole way, just in case Jiang Qinyu didn't have enough. Although the girl said she didn't need any water, as her father-in-law, he had to make sure she had enough. The road ahead was still so long, and who knew if they could find a water source?
Jiang Qinyu looked up while drinking water, but after a quarter of an hour she didn't see a single bird fly by. It was truly a case of "no birds flying over the mountains!"
At the same time, Jiang Qinyu opened the system map prompt in her mind.
Looking at the scattered green dots on the map, Jiang Qinyu sighed inwardly. She hadn't expected that there would be so little food available in this location, but it was still better than nothing.
She suddenly stood up and said to Old Man Lu, "Father, I'm going to take a look over there. I won't go far and will be back soon."
There are four green dots within two hundred meters of her, and she has to check them all.
"Okay, be careful." Old Lu assumed she was going to relieve herself, so he didn't ask any further questions.
Jiang Qinyu looked around and then discovered the lower limit of the map's hint information.
It turns out that this function only indicates the location of grain weighing more than five pounds. As she walked around, she saw two other places that were not indicated, with some nuts scattered on the ground.
After confirming that there were items at the locations indicated on the map, Jiang Qinyu called out, "Uncle Village Chief, Dad, I found some food. Shall we collect it?"
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