In Old Lady Yao's memory, Qingzhou Prefecture had experienced an unprecedented drought. For more than two years, not a drop of rain had fallen from the sky.
All living things on this land, whether human or crops, are suffering in this long wait.
Sujia Village, a small village that was once nestled in the mountains and rivers and full of vitality, is now in an unprecedented predicament.
The small river that once gurgled beside the village is now almost dry, with the riverbed exposed and full of cracked soil and sparse silt. The villagers can no longer draw a drop of water from the river on which they depend for their survival.
The fish that once jumped happily have long disappeared, leaving only dead silence.
The well water in the village, those sweet and clear springs that once nourished generations of the Su family, seemed to have sensed the thirst of the earth and lost their former vitality.
Most of the wells have dried up, leaving only the ancient and deep old well in the center of the village, which still stubbornly spews out more than a dozen buckets of precious clean water every day, barely meeting the basic drinking water needs of the villagers.
But in recent days, the water level in the well has gradually decreased, and the old well may dry up in a few days.
This amount of water is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket for the entire village. Everyone is carefully saving it, for fear of wasting a drop of water.
The drought not only took away water resources, but also caused devastating damage to crops in the fields.
The fields that should have been lush and fruitful are now barren, and even the weeds look withered and weak.
The Su family looked at the land that once gave them hope and harvest, their eyes filled with despair and helplessness.
The family's food reserves were dwindling, and in order to cope with the crisis, they had to start living frugally, relying only on wild vegetable porridge every day.
Old Mrs. Yao knew very well that there was very little food left at home, and the children were in the growing stage and needed more nutrition.
So, she resolutely chose to sacrifice herself, eating very little food every day, and sometimes even unwilling to drink an extra sip of water.
In this way, day after day, Old Lady Yao's body gradually weakened, and eventually, she starved to death, and was replaced by the unlucky Yao Qingshuang.
A few days ago, the village chief's eldest son, who worked as a waiter in a county restaurant, rushed back to the village in a dusty state, his face full of anxiety and eagerness.
As soon as he entered the door, he couldn't wait to tell the village chief and his family about the situation in the county.
It turned out that as the drought continued, the county's food reserves had become seriously depleted, and food prices had therefore skyrocketed. The price of corn, which usually cost 3 wen per pound, had now risen to 10 wen per pound, and the prices of finer rice and flour had risen even more outrageously, changing almost every day, which was jaw-dropping.
The village chief's eldest son said that grain merchants in the county were frantically hoarding goods in an attempt to make huge profits from this disaster, and those wealthy families who were originally well-off had mostly moved their families and fled Da'an County when they saw the situation was getting worse.
He witnessed all this with his own eyes and was filled with fear and anxiety, so he hurried back to tell the villagers to see if they should also make plans early to avoid falling into a desperate situation.
The village chief felt heavy in his heart after hearing his son's words.
He knew very well that although Sujia Village was located in a remote area, drought also threatened every inch of land and every grain of food here.
If they continue to stay here, what awaits them is likely to be hunger and death.
So he summoned the village elders and several respected elders to discuss countermeasures.
After several days of intense discussion and repeated weighing, the people of Sujia Village finally made a difficult decision - the whole village would flee the famine to the south together.
The climate there is humid and the land is fertile, so perhaps there is a glimmer of hope.
They decided to set off at dawn tomorrow and leave early before the sun comes out.
The news quickly spread throughout the village, and every household began to get busy.
They packed their simple bags, took as much food and water as they could from home, and prepared to embark on this unknown and arduous journey of fleeing famine.
The children watched the busy adults in confusion, perhaps not understanding what they were about to face, but their eyes were sparkling with curiosity and desire for the unknown world.
As night falls, Sujia Village is shrouded in tranquility.
However, beneath this tranquility lies endless sadness and deep worries about the future.
Yao Qingshuang was extremely hungry at the moment. Her stomach kept growling, as if loudly protesting against not having eaten for a long time.
Her throat was so dry that it felt like it was on fire, as if sandpaper was rubbing against it. The feeling of thirst made her feel as if she was going to die of thirst in the next second.
She knew in her heart that she was in urgent need of water and food. If she continued like this, she would probably have to report to Yama Hall again soon. She had not lived a single day since traveling here, and she couldn't die again like this.
Just when she was filled with despair, she suddenly remembered that in the time-travel novels she had read before, the protagonists usually had golden fingers or something. Maybe she had one too?
Thinking of this, Yao Qingshuang quickly calmed down and carefully felt her body and the surrounding situation.
Hey, this feeling really did reveal something unusual.
She actually has a space!
This surprised Yao Qingshuang. She didn't expect that she would be so lucky.
After taking a closer look, she discovered that this space was actually the FamilyMart supermarket she had visited last time.
This supermarket is quite large, with two floors.
The first floor is filled with a wide variety of fresh produce, general merchandise, and various daily necessities. The fresh fruits and vegetables look tempting, and all kinds of daily necessities are also available.
The second floor displays a wide variety of clothing, warm quilts, various electrical appliances, etc. It feels like all the needs of life can be met here.
With this magical supermarket space, maybe we can survive well in this difficult society.
Yao Qingshuang suddenly gained half the confidence in the journey of escaping famine that was about to begin.
She seemed to see the light of hope that food and water would be guaranteed during the difficult journey, and her heart was no longer filled with despair and worry as before.
Yao Qingshuang immediately felt relieved and wanted to go into the space to take a look, but she found that people could not enter the supermarket space, but consciousness could. So she took out a bottle of mineral water from the supermarket space without hesitation.
She was so thirsty that she unscrewed the bottle cap, tilted her head back and drank from it in big gulps.
The cool mineral water flowed down her throat, instantly relieving the uncomfortable dry feeling. Only after she finished the whole bottle of water did she feel her throat felt much more comfortable.
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