As the sun set in the west, it was about to get dark, so the group finally stopped.
They had arrived at a place without any open spaces, so they halted and rested on the road.
Chang'an had boiled porridge in her space in the afternoon, and it was still warm, with no fear of any aroma wafting out.
She had already discussed this with Old Gu Six, so they didn't take out any pots to cook over a fire.
Others just assumed the father and daughter were going to eat dry rations again.
Old Gu Six unloaded the mules, following the same routine as the morning, feeding them dry grass and water.
One of the two water buckets had already been emptied, all used for the mules' drinking water.
The Village Head mobilized everyone to go find water, as the villagers' supply was almost depleted.
"One person from each household should go find water."
The villagers brought their own buckets and water skins, heading into the mountains in groups.
Old Gu Six didn't go, as he didn't want to leave his daughter alone here so late.
The water they had outside was enough for the mules until tomorrow, and they could find more water during their midday break.
His main concern was getting water for the mules to drink - he couldn't very well have the mules and people drinking water every day while he didn't go look for any, that would be suspicious.
The villagers didn't mind that he wasn't going to find water tonight, all assuming the father and daughter had a small enough need that their existing water supply would suffice.
The displaced refugees trailing behind also went along to find water, just following as they had done all afternoon without disturbing anyone.
Old Gu Six didn't tie the mules up nearby, worried the refugees might steal them in the dark of night.
He tied a small, pointed wooden stake to the rope and drove it into the ground, with the mules lying down beside the cart.
Chang'an ate her meal inside the cart, calling Old Gu Six in to eat once she had finished.
The rice porridge was mixed with shredded mustard greens, and she brought out ten small steamed buns for him too, worried the porridge alone wouldn't be filling enough.
She felt eating inside the cart was quite nice, with no one able to see them.
Tomorrow she would cook the rice in her space, leaving it at a warm temperature before bringing it out, so there would be no aroma.
She had made so many sauces, minced chilies, and pickled vegetables that could be used to flavor the rice.
Chang'an sat on the grass mat on the ground, looking up at the distant sky. Despite being sunny every day, not a single star could be seen at night, the sky a pitch black abyss that seemed to want to swallow the earth.
After Old Gu Six finished eating, he called for Chang'an to go rest. "Daughter, go rest in the cart. There are a lot of mosquitoes in these open fields at night. I just burned some mugwort sticks inside the cart."
"Where did you get the mugwort from?" They had even forgotten to buy candles.
Luckily she had candles her grandfather had bought to have candlelit dinners with her grandmother, with around ten pairs remaining.
They also had a box of candles used for worshipping the God of Wealth, including some large pillar candles similar to those used at weddings, with nine pairs.
She didn't know who had bought those, but they were gathering dust in the storage room, finally proving useful now.
After her villa became a space, the household deity statue of the God of Wealth disappeared, so they wouldn't need to worship it anymore.
Old Gu Six said proudly, "Why wouldn't I be your dad? When I went to buy steamed buns and fried dough twists, I told you to wait in the cart, didn't I? I bought the mugwort then. I didn't have much, so I just kept it to myself."
"Then why didn't you think to buy candles?"
Old Gu Six: "...I didn't think we'd need candles out in the wilds like this, I figured we'd make a fire pit."
"Make a fire pit in this heat? Aren't you afraid of getting hot?"
"Do I look like I'm not afraid of the heat?"
There wasn't a single breeze at night, just sweltering humidity that had soaked his clothes in sweat.
Chang'an tried to lead Old Gu Six into a secluded area, intending to bring him into her space so he could take a cold shower in the villa, but she discovered he couldn't enter.
Only she could access the space, so there was no choice but to keep enduring the heat.
Old Gu Six didn't understand. "Daughter, did you need to use the restroom? Don't be afraid, dad will stand guard here, just go ahead."
"...No, I wanted to give you something tasty," she thought. If she went to use the restroom, she could enter her space to avoid any snake bites in the wild.
Chang'an took out a small cloth bag of beef jerky from her space as a snack.
Old Gu Six accepted it and opened the small bag to look inside. Beef jerky?
He grinned foolishly, his daughter was so filial.
Old Gu Six carefully put it away, and the father and daughter returned to their spot beside the mule cart, never having gone too far, just four or five meters, able to keep an eye on their belongings.
"Dad, you rest first, I'll keep watch."
"No need, you go rest in the cart first, there are no mosquitoes in there. I'll stand guard out here."
He watched as Chang'an entered the cart, then sat down on the grass mat, leaning against the cart to rest.
As soon as Chang'an entered the cart, she went into her space. She remembered buying some mosquito-repellent bracelets online before the apocalypse, wondering if she still had them.
She rummaged through her bedroom and found an expired bottle of eau de cologne before finally locating the three bracelets in the bottom drawer of her nightstand.
Each bracelet cost just 29.90 yuan, she had bought three - two blue ones and a black one.
She wasn't afraid of the bracelets being exposed, as they just looked like cheap bangles of indeterminate material.
Chang'an put on one of the blue ones herself, then took the black one out of her space and lifted the cart's curtain to see Old Gu Six wasn't resting peacefully, constantly swatting at mosquitoes.
She got out of the cart and put the bracelet on him.
Old Gu Six sensed his daughter approaching, but didn't open his eyes until he felt something being put on his hand.
It was a small, lightweight black ring of some unknown material.
Seeing his curious look, Chang'an explained, "This is an outdoor mosquito-repellent bracelet. I don't know if it actually works, but you can try wearing it. I'm wearing one too."
She lifted her arm to show him.
Old Gu Six found it quite wondrous, thinking it was so good to be a deity, not even needing to swat away mosquitoes himself.
While the father and daughter bonded, the villagers who had gone to find water still hadn't returned after two hours.
Their family members were getting restless, asking the Village Head to send someone to look for them.
It was dangerous in the mountains after dark, and the Village Head was also worried, as his eldest and second sons had gone.
The people they were worried about were carrying water and torches as they walked back, having gone quite far to find water seeping from a rock face in a mountain valley.
There was little water, and many people drawing from it, so each person only got about half a bucket.
Though not much, it was better than nothing.
The villagers of Qingfang Village saw that the displaced refugees following behind were behaving themselves, so they didn't give them a hard time and even left some water for the refugees to collect.
The migrants expressed their deep gratitude, for this was the first kindness they had received after fleeing famine for over half a year.
They were grateful to have joined this group, otherwise by following those other migrants, they would surely have perished.
While waiting for the water, everyone managed to find some wild vegetables and elm bark nearby to eat. It was precisely these things that made them determined to stick with this group, as it was their only chance of survival.
They had considered venturing into the mountains in search of food, but there were few of them, mostly women and children. It would be too unsafe in the mountains. Following this large group to look for water and food would be much safer.
The villagers of Qingfang Village had also managed to dig up some wild vegetables to bring back.
Halfway through their journey, they encountered villagers who had come out to look for them.
"Yang Poxiao, Ming Xiao, why were you gone for so long? We were all getting so worried," said Jiang Fei.
"Brother Jiang Fei, why did you all come out? Sorry to have caused such worry," Yang Poxiao said sheepishly while scratching his head. With no water nearby, they had to travel farther, which was why it took them so long. He had forgotten to send someone back with a message.
"It's alright as long as you're safe. Let's head back now."
