The grenade hadn't exploded, possibly because the pin wasn't pulled, or maybe it couldn't detonate at all.
Cold sweat began to form on his forehead, unsure if it was from pain or fear, perhaps both.
He started to regret why he had impulsively followed this person, even though he himself had retired from his old ways long ago.
He used to be a habitual thief, but when society became chaotic, he fished in troubled waters for a while, transitioning from petty theft to robbery.
In the past two years, he had moved to a new place and finally settled down for a while, but ultimately couldn't resist his inner addiction.
He suddenly recalled a victim he had once robbed, who sat at the doorstep cursing, vehemently shouting that thieves would come to no good end.
At the time, he felt disdainful. The curses didn't anger him; instead, he thought the victim was helpless, only able to vent through words.
From this point, his life began to flash before his eyes.
Wen Qian moved a bit closer and fired another shot at the person lying in the grass.
His life had ended. Sometimes, thieves become addicted to stealing because they're used to the income far exceeding their effort.
There are many ways to make quick money, and when it comes so easily, they scorn the idea of earning an honest living.
Even if someone wants to return to the right path, they might give up due to the hardships of an ordinary person's livelihood and revert to their old trade.
So they repeatedly fall into the same trap in one place until they can't escape anymore.
After ensuring the other party wasn't moving, Wen Qian used a long pole to retrieve his gun before daring to approach the corpse.
She approached to take his belongings, finding bullets and a little money in his bag.
Wen Qian took his things, picked up her hat and grenade model, then swiftly left after observing her surroundings.
Adhering to the principle of being ruthless without many words, she generally doesn't waste breath on the dying, nor approach before they've drawn their last breath—this time was no exception.
She still remembers the excited expression on his face when he discovered her hat.
Wen Qian sighed. She's always nervous when killing someone, and this time was even more tense than her first kill because this environment wasn't familiar to her.
She had randomly chosen this location because the grass here was particularly lush.
Originally, she planned to use her hat as cover, then create a diversion to sneak away.
Later, she thought unless she never returned to the market, he might have a next time.
So in that brief moment, she changed her mind and decided to kill him to silence him.
Although the plan was executed successfully, Wen Qian's mood was far from good. She felt it would be better to always go out with neighbors in the future.
A corpse lay in the overgrown grass, like many other dead people. In many cases, they're never discovered, or only found by accident much later.
Wen Qian was nearly home. She crossed the river on the makeshift bridge by Big Jin, reached the shallow waters where lotus roots were grown, and picked a few lotus leaves, planning to make beggar's chicken.
For some reason, when she felt pressure, she transformed it into appetite, eating several meals if one didn't suffice.
Back home, she started making beggar's chicken. A whole chicken needs to be well-marinated, so she directly took out one she'd prepared earlier from her Space.
She stuffed it with green onions, ginger, garlic, and other seasonings, tying it with cotton thread.
Then she wrapped and secured it with cleaned lotus leaves, followed by a layer of yellow clay.
She lit a fire with firewood in the oven, and when it was almost burned down, she put the chicken in.
She'd done this many times, so she was skilled and had a good sense of timing.
Now she just waited until it was time to eat.
Meanwhile, she brought out a chair and sat in the corridor, lost in thought.
She took a piece of malt sugar from a jar to suck on, then thought about taking out the gun and ammunition she'd confiscated.
The gun was quite old, clearly used for a long time. The wooden stock was smooth, with patterns and marks carved by its owner.
Wen Qian thought for a moment and began disassembling the gun. He had quite a few parts; she threw the wooden pieces directly into the firewood under the oven and kept the rest.
After this, she washed her hands, changed her clothes and shoes. The discarded ones she washed, dried, and put away.
She didn't plan to wear this outfit to that village again anytime soon, fearing unnecessary trouble.
Wen Qian ate one chicken in two meals, and her stress dissipated like smoke.
After this incident, she didn't go to the market for a whole month. Sometimes she'd ask neighbors to take her goods for exchange, then reward them for their help.
Both neighbors refused, thinking it wasn't a big deal, but Wen Qian felt she must compensate them. Not going to the market herself, she could use the saved time for hunting and still have gains.
So she insisted they accept, saying if they didn't, she'd feel too embarrassed to ask for help again. Under these circumstances, neighbors would usually accept.
Although they felt their help was just "incidental" and didn't warrant payment.
However, having known Wen Qian for years, they understood her character: introverted, hardworking, cold-faced but kind-hearted, and certainly a formidable person.
Returning from the market, the neighbors told her some news: from southern cities to the north, they've started providing vaccines and free medicine for newborns.
As for people in remote areas, traveling doctors would visit twice a year—vaccines in spring and autumn, not in summer, but medicine always available.
Children under twelve get a fixed amount of free medicine, and pregnant women who go to the city get free check-ups, but adults have to pay for medicine.
These doctors would stay in different large villages for one to two days, coinciding with local market times.
This didn't concern Wen Qian, but the Ni Sha couple was very curious.
Among those who survived the natural disasters, just keeping oneself alive was good enough; not many had children.
The number of newborns was extremely low, and without vaccines and other medicines, it wasn't easy for them to grow up well.
So cities with resources started providing newborn vaccines and children's medicine to surrounding areas. Although very limited, it was better than nothing.
Ni Sha and her husband desperately longed for a child of their own. Although Ni Sha believed herself to be healthy and strong enough to bear a child, her husband was deeply concerned. He felt that if she were to become pregnant, they would need to go to the city, but they had no idea what the medical facilities were like in the nearest urban center.
When Ni Sha discussed the idea of traveling to the city with Wen Qian, the latter expressed her own desire to visit the urban area as well. She suggested that if she and the owner of the general store went first, they could scout out the city's conditions on behalf of Ni Sha and her husband.
