Li Cuicui muttered under her breath, but she secretly brought out half a bowl of dark, sludgy paste from the corner. A faint scent of grass lingered in the air.
"Let the daughter-in-law from the Jin Family drink a few mouthfuls of this and see if she can recover. Don't be foolish and let her eat all of it; save some for yourself."
Gu Wenheng froze. The old lady had just sneaked him some food earlier today, and now she was bringing over another half-bowl of rations. He could already feel the stares from the other nuclear families.
"Don't be stupid. Sometimes face isn't worth as much as your own life. I really don't know where all your years of studying went. You're about to starve your own wife to death, and you don't even know to ask your brothers for help." Speaking of this, Li Cuicui's face was filled with disgust.
If this boy had a bit more tact, she wouldn't have had to give up so much food today. Didn't he see how her other sons and daughters-in-law nearby had breathed a sigh of relief? Her heart just wasn't as hard as the others'.
The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became. She shoved the bowl directly into Gu Wenheng's hands, turned around, and huffed her way toward Gu Dashi.
"This old lady has a sharp tongue but a soft heart." Jin Qianqian sat up, thoughtfully watching Li Cuicui's retreating figure.
"You're awake," Gu Wenheng said, holding the slightly chipped bowl as he carefully sat down beside her.
Jin Qianqian smiled bitterly. "This body is just too weak, and it still aches all over. Luckily, we secretly replenished our energy today, or this little life would have ended the moment we got here."
Even though the two of them had secretly prepared some extra food at the back of the line, they only dared to drink a little milk and eat some easily digestible food. Otherwise, their stomachs wouldn't be able to handle it.
Gu Wenheng looked at the dark slop in his hands. Tilting his head back, he gulped it down in a few quick swallows.
Jin Qianqian hurriedly raised her hand to stop him, only to find him holding an empty bowl, smacking his lips.
To others, this scene looked completely different. The women and children of the Gu family looked at Jin Qianqian with some sympathy.
The Gu Family Brothers, however, covered their faces. They had never known Old Seventh to be so gluttonous, unwilling to spare even a little ration for his wife. No wonder his wife was so thin she looked like a gust of wind could blow her over.
Hong Da Ya was just about to stand up when Gu Yuantu grabbed her arm from the side and gave her a slight shake of the head.
"Why are you stopping me? I've never seen Old Seventh act like such a jerk. He ate everything by himself. What is his wife supposed to eat?" Hong Da Ya gritted her teeth. "Or do you want to treat me like that too?"
Gu Yuantu felt incredibly wronged. He shot a dissatisfied glare at Gu Wenheng. He had never seen such an unreliable younger brother, once again drawing unwarranted criticism onto him.
Even Li Cuicui, who had always been very overbearing, turned her head away. It was truly aggravating to watch.
Unaware of the misunderstanding, Jin Qianqian looked at Gu Wenheng with concern. "Did it hurt your teeth?"
Although it had been boiled into a paste, one could easily imagine that those wild vegetables and weeds hadn't been washed at all. One bite would leave a mouth full of sand and grit.
"It wasn't too bad. I just swallowed it straight down my throat, so I didn't feel much." Gu Wenheng smacked his lips again, even in the mood to joke around. "I ate it too fast, otherwise I would've let you experience it too."
Jin Qianqian rolled her eyes at him. "If you really thought that way, you wouldn't have chugged it all in one go.
"Hurry up and pack our things simply. We should rest early in a bit; Ming Tian we still have to continue."
At the thought of endlessly measuring the land with their own two legs, Jin Qianqian couldn't help but sigh in her heart, "What a sin."
Without any regard for his image, Gu Wenheng leaned against Jin Qianqian and fell flat on his back. "That feels a bit better. But we can't keep going on like this. We need to think of a plan."
Jin Qianqian said, "What plan is there to think of? Just the lack of water alone is enough to make us suffer."
After speaking, she looked at herself in disgust. Her hands were caked in mud and grime. No matter how unbearable it was, she didn't dare smuggle even a drop of water out of her spatial dimension to wash up.
To prepare for a potential apocalypse, she had contacted several water plants and stockpiled thousands of barrels of purified water.
Thinking of this, Jin Qianqian discreetly nudged Gu Wenheng. Once he looked over, she whispered, "When you went out just now, did you see any secluded places? We need to replenish our energy."
Gu Wenheng thought back carefully and actually had a target in mind. "It's a bit far."
「Later that night.」
Once most of the people had fallen asleep, the two of them fumbled their way into the darkness. The night watchmen took one look at them, assumed they were going to relieve themselves, and paid them no mind.
Guided by the moonlight, Gu Wenheng led Jin Qianqian as they groped their way to the Xiao Shan cave they had spotted earlier. This place really was quite far from where they had just been resting. If it weren't for the sake of staying hidden, Jin Qianqian would have wanted to give up halfway.
"It's only ten feet wide here, and I checked it during the day. There isn't even a single weed inside, so it's not the lair of some wild animal."
Jin Qianqian noted that the cave faced away from the direction they had come from. She then pulled out a flashlight and carefully inspected the area, which put her mind even more at ease.
She had also prepared some camping lights in her dimension, but she didn't dare take the risk and could only make do with this faint beam.
Taking out some white rice porridge they had packed previously, Gu Wenheng couldn't help but lick his lips at the sight of the still-steaming takeout containers. "Your space can even keep things warm. That's more convenient than carrying a fridge around. Is there anything else besides this white porridge? My taste buds are dying for some flavor."
Jin Qianqian pulled out a few salted duck eggs. "Do you think I don't want to eat something good? Don't forget, both of our stomachs have been starving for a long time. If we don't nurse them back to health, we'll suffer for it later."
Gu Wenheng recalled how Jin Qianqian had constantly suffered from stomachaches back in their school days. He knew it was the result of a whole year of eating one full meal followed by skipping several.
In this regard, Jin Qianqian had more say than he did. He didn't mind the blandness of the white porridge and, pairing it with the salted duck eggs, scarfed it all down in no time.
"That finally hits the spot. It's a good thing you have this magical treasure, or we probably wouldn't survive more than a few days." Now full, Gu Wenheng had the energy to joke around again. "I wonder if we'll be this lucky next time? Will we get another extra life?"
Jin Qianqian tidied up the leftover takeout containers and eggshells before saying unhurriedly, "No matter where we are, the chances of us going back are very slim. I assume our senior classmates and the others probably know the news by now."
Gu Wenheng was much more open-minded about it. "At least we're still alive. People pass away every day; we just took a step earlier than others. Right, what other weird and wonderful things do you have in there? Give me a rundown so I know what to expect."
Jin Qianqian gave a brief summary of her inventory. "I originally planned to open a large supermarket when I got back from that trip. I have all the inventory a regular supermarket would have, plus things they wouldn't. It's enough to supply an entire shopping mall."
Clutching his wildly beating heart, Gu Wenheng asked, "So we won't have to starve to death?"
God knew, he was truly terrified that in this unfamiliar world, he wouldn't be able to provide well for this little girl.