On the other side, An Shuyi and Xia Hua also headed directly towards the mudslide. They were so hungry along the way that they had to take some time to eat, even though the food got wet from the rain.
Because it was downhill, and they carried nothing but two empty baskets, the two walked very fast, practically sliding downhill, not caring whether they would get dirty with mud. It took them more than half a day to go up, but only a little over an hour to come down.
They didn't go directly to the mudslide area, but stood on high ground, looking in the direction of the dilapidated temple, which was already submerged in water and covered in mud, with things floating on top.
Looking up, no one could see where they were. So the two of them took everything out of the warehouse. An Shuyi bought two shi of grain and some cloth. She also asked Xia Hua to buy a few knives and a pot for brewing medicine from her shop.
Then she took out her clothes, which she had kept in the warehouse, as well as those of Xiao Wu, Xiao Liu, and Xiao Qi. These were all newly made by her. When she was tidying up, she would put them in the warehouse, wrap them in a large piece of cloth, and place them on the ground.
After the grain got wet from the rain, she put it in the warehouse, then carried the cloth and knife and climbed towards the cave. Before she reached the cave, she took out the grain, put it on her back basket, and carried it up the mountain.
Now all her fabrics and clothes are soaked through. Although they need to be dried before she can wear them, there's no other way; she can't just take out dry clothes directly.
She and Xia Hua didn't carry much grain, only a little over two hundred catties in total. It wasn't enough to feed all the people in the tribe, but at least the very young children and the sick could have some porridge.
When they climbed into the cave, Village Chief Lin and the others were waiting anxiously. They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the two women appear and quickly sent someone to take the baskets from their backs.
Although the other clansmen were surprised that the two sisters-in-law could bring back food, given the village chief's previous instructions, they didn't ask any questions. Instead, they went over to take the food and put it away.
An Shuyi looked at her people and said, "We only found these things, and they were from my own carriage. Everything else was flooded. These were the only things we found with great difficulty. Mutou, go and borrow the pot from Zhu the hunter's house and cook some white porridge for the children and the elderly."
Zhu the hunter was sitting inside warming himself by the fire when he overheard what she said. He quickly replied, "Sister-in-law, what are you saying? Don't worry about borrowing or not, just take it and use it."
"Thank you very much, Brother Zhu. I would like to ask you for a favor here. You must also know how to slaughter livestock. Bring my cow over later and slaughter it so that everyone can have meat tonight. Leave the grain for the children and the elderly. The knife is in my basket."
"I have some fabric left. We'll each take a piece later, dry it, and use it to cover the child when they sleep tonight." They have no blankets now, nothing but the clothes they're wearing.
All she could think of was to tear off a piece of cloth to cover the child. Although she could have taken more, she didn't know how to explain it.
"Sister-in-law, this...!" Village Chief Lin and the others remained silent, hesitant to speak.
Seeing their reaction, Xia Hua said, "Stop with the 'this' and 'that'! Is the animal more important, or your lives? Hurry up! You haven't eaten for a whole day and night. If you don't eat soon, you'll all starve to death!"
"After we finish eating the beef from your sister-in-law's house, then we'll kill the beef from mine," he continued when they didn't move. "Hurry up, do you expect me, a woman, to do the killing?"
“No, no,” Village Chief Lin refused repeatedly. “Then you can go and bring over Sister An’s cow, kill hers first, then Sister Xia’s cow after we’ve finished eating, and then kill mine.”
“Sister-in-law Xia is right. No matter how important the livestock is, it is not as important as life. The most important thing is for us to survive. The cow can be sold, but if we lose our lives, we are really gone.”
Zhu the hunter walked over and said, "I was thinking of saying that we would kill my family's beef after we finished eating Xia's family's beef. But since the village chief said so, then we'll kill theirs first and then mine."
"Now, a few people come with me to fetch Sister An's cow. Village chief, go and arrange for someone to cook porridge; my child can have a bowl." After saying that, he led the people to fetch the cow.
Before they could even pull it away, the fourth brother had already brought the cow over. Although he was also reluctant to have his family's cow slaughtered, he hadn't eaten or drunk anything for two days and was starving. Now that his mother had spoken, he agreed to eat the meat.
Seeing his anxiety, the others burst into laughter, and the lively laughter that filled the cave broke the gloom brought by the downpour.
Village Chief Lin then arranged for several other women to cook porridge and gather firewood. Although the firewood was all wet, there was no other way but to dry it slowly. Fortunately, they could find some drier branches and dead leaves in the cave.
An Shuyi took the medicine pot to brew medicine for Xiao Wu. Perhaps because of the acupuncture given by Doctor Liu, Xiao Wu seemed to be conscious again, instead of being as drowsy as before.
After the medicine was brewed, it was given to Xiao Wu to drink. The bowl was even taken from Zhu the hunter's house. However, due to the vigorous running, the bowl broke. In the end, the bottom of the bowl was used to drink the medicine. However, not long after Xiao Wu drank the medicine, his fever stopped and he woke up.
Seeing that he was still wearing his own clothes, the fourth brother sat by the fire drying his clothes, so he let the fifth brother hold his clothes to dry. Zhao and Wu had to take care of their children and didn't have time, while she also had to dry clothes for the sixth and seventh brothers.
There were too many people in the tribe, so many fires were lit inside the cave. The cave was also spacious and high up, so it would definitely be very cold at night. They could only make sure there was enough firewood to burn at night.
They didn't finish dinner until it was completely dark. Except for the children and the elderly, everyone else ate roasted meat, which was completely bland. However, everyone ate it with relish. The bones were thrown into the pot and boiled into soup.
Since we didn't have any bowls, we ended up cutting down some wood and making bowls on the spot.
They had shelter from the rain and were able to eat dinner. Although the road ahead was difficult, this night was enough for them to sleep peacefully. However, for safety, Village Chief Lin also arranged for some people to keep watch at night.
The next morning, it was still pouring rain. An Shuyi and Xia Hua guessed that the rain would last for at least half a month.
"Wood, come here for a moment, I need to discuss something with you." An Shuyi called over Village Chief Lin.
"Sister-in-law, what can I do for you?"
An Shuyi glanced at Xia Hua and said, "Wood, take some people to cut down some trees to make a raft. Also, when you slaughter the cow, save the hide for me. I need it. It would be best if you saved a whole hide."
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