Chapter 13 Drought Years (Part 2)

When daylight fully broke, Chen Huihong woke up right on time.

Perhaps she hadn’t gotten used to having a child lying beside her. Her first instinct upon waking was to eat tree bark and leave—she nearly stepped on Huiniang in the process. Only after seeing her did she pause for a moment, as if recalling that this person had indeed appeared last night.

Seeing that Huiniang was still asleep, Chen Huihong waited for a while, then grew impatient and left first. She went to the abandoned well she had found the day before and began drawing water.

Most of the wells she had encountered along the way were completely dried up, filled with dust and sand, unable to produce even a drop of water.

The few that weren’t entirely dry had only a pitiful amount left—a thin layer that evaporated faster than it could replenish. Only in the early morning could one draw a little murky water.

This showed just how severe the drought was.

After three or four attempts, Chen Huihong finally managed to draw a shallow amount of muddy well water. With no container to store it, she simply carried the bucket back.

Luckily, previous refugees hadn’t taken the rope and broken bucket from this well—otherwise she would have had to make her own rope and find a container.

When she returned, Huiniang was already awake, sitting on the ground in a daze, her expression dull like a puppet. The moment she saw Chen Huihong, she excitedly scrambled up and stumbled toward her—completely different from her zombie-like staggering the night before.

“Big sister!”

“Water,” Chen Huihong said briefly, placing the bucket on the ground. “It’s a bit dirty. Let it settle before drinking.”

After speaking, she sat down. Huiniang obediently nodded and sat as well.

“What do you want to ask me, sister?” Huiniang understood that Chen Huihong had questions.

“Where are people fleeing to during the famine?”

Huiniang lowered her head and thought for a moment. “At first, my mother said we should head north. They say the drought isn’t as bad there, and it rains. The price of wheat hasn’t risen to twenty silver dollars per dan yet. If we go there and sell ourselves to farm, we might not need to borrow money for food, and maybe we’ll have something to eat.”

“But my father disagreed. He said there was war in the north, many people had died, and bandits were everywhere—we might die on the way. Even though the south is drier, we have a relative in a nearby county who’s a carpenter. If we go there, we might at least survive.”

At this point, Huiniang carefully glanced at Chen Huihong.

Chen Huihong, lost in thought, didn’t notice. “Did you go to that county?”

Huiniang shook her head. “There was a plague there. Many people died. Our relative died too. The worst-hit villages were burned down—no one dared go near.”

“I don’t know where my parents were heading. Maybe Beiping, maybe Qin land. But on the way, we heard that Qin land was also suffering drought. Others said Beiping wouldn’t let refugees into the city—they stopped them outside. My father wanted to sneak onto trains to the south, but many people fell and died, some were even shot. He was afraid my younger brother would fall, so he didn’t try.”

“Are there many refugees?” Chen Huihong asked.

“Yes,” Huiniang nodded firmly. “It’s been three years of drought. No snow in winter, no rain in spring. At first, there was still some harvest, barely enough to survive. But last year, the wheat failed completely—not even seeds were left.”

“Even with no harvest, rent still had to be paid, and taxes still collected. Many families in our village fled. My family had four mu of land—my father wanted to keep it for my brother’s marriage, so he didn’t leave at first.”

“Last year, we sold my eldest sister to pay taxes. We hoped this year would be better. But from spring onward, there was no rain at all. We couldn’t survive anymore. My grandparents were afraid of being a burden, so they ate Guanyin clay and died.”

“Last month, my parents buried them, sold the land, and fled with me and my younger brother.”

“Actually, my father originally wanted to sell me too last year. But my mother said I ate little and could work, and I’d be worth more if sold a year later. So I stayed.”

“But this year, when the trafficker came, he said I wasn’t pretty enough and just wasted food—he wouldn’t even take me for free.”

Huiniang spoke calmly, as if narrating something ordinary.

“The girl next door, Sister Chun, was pretty. The trafficker took her and gave two bags of wheat. He said he’d sell her in Beiping. She was very happy—she gave me her red ribbon and said maybe she’d get to eat white flour buns there, maybe even rice.”

“Sister, do you know what white flour buns taste like? Only the landlord in our village could eat them. I saw them once—so white, so soft. Softer than clouds. People say they’re sweet even without sugar.”

“I know,” Chen Huihong replied. “They’re not that white. The flour isn’t white either—more gray. And not sweet.”

Her blunt honesty shattered Huiniang’s fantasy a little, but she still swallowed unconsciously. Clearly, Chen Huihong’s words felt more real than her imagination.

Realizing that Chen Huihong had eaten such food, Huiniang looked at her with even more respect. “Sister… are you a young lady from the city?”

Chen Huihong didn’t answer. Huiniang took it as confirmation.

“Sister Chun once worked as a maid in the provincial capital. She said rich young ladies wear foreign clothes, eat foreign food, and go to foreign schools. Do city ladies also eat white buns?”

Chen Huihong choked slightly. “Yes. Everyone eats buns.”

After thinking, she added, “And rice.”

“The rice is white.”

Huiniang asked curiously, “Do city ladies also flee famine?”

“…Everyone flees.”

Huiniang nodded. “Sister Chun told me that too. The family she served lost their master, so they all ran away. The concubines took lots of jewelry. She picked up a silver hairpin, but the steward took it away.”

Seeing the conversation drifting, Chen Huihong asked, “If the trafficker didn’t take you, why did your parents bring you along?”

That question struck deep. Huiniang fell silent.

After a long while, she said softly, “My mother said… she couldn’t bear to leave me.”

“I don’t eat much. I can find food. I can help take care of my brother… maybe I’ll be useful.”

“You know how to find food?” Chen Huihong looked at her.

Huiniang nodded quickly. “Yes! I can dig for roots, find insects, find water. I can even locate rat holes. Sometimes I find grain they stored—or even catch rats.”

“Even if rivers dry up, there’s always water somewhere. If you dig deep enough, wells can still produce water.”

She glanced at Chen Huihong. “Sister, you don’t seem to have a container for water.”

“It broke,” Chen Huihong said casually. “Go on.”

Huiniang added, “If grain hadn’t become so expensive, and if the promised relief food had arrived, and if they hadn’t added more taxes… my father wouldn’t have sold the land.”

“I know,” Chen Huihong said calmly. “Farmers with land are already considered fortunate. Many rent land from landlords. If they can’t pay rent, they borrow money—with interest piling up until everything is gone.”

Then she added, “I heard that at a teahouse.”

“Where are you going now?” she asked.

Huiniang looked lost, yet hopeful. “I don’t know… Sister, can I follow you?”

“I don’t know where I’m going. Following me won’t help.”

“…Then can I still follow?”

“Suit yourself.”

Chen Huihong sounded like a cold, detached game player, uninterested in the NPC’s tragic past—only in moving forward.

Though she didn’t seem to have any real goal either.

“Thank you, sister!” Huiniang happily followed behind her, aligning her shadow with Chen Huihong’s as if it gave her safety.

“Sister, what’s your name?”

“I’m… Hongniang.”

“What’s your surname?”

“What’s yours?”

“Chen.”

“What a coincidence. Mine too.”

“Sister, where are we going?”

“I don’t know.”

She paused. “Where… is crowded and safe?”

Huiniang thought. “Beiping.”

“The emperor used to live there.”

“And now?”

“There’s no emperor anymore,” Huiniang said. “But there are still many powerful people. Sister Chun said if you offend them, you kneel and kowtow.”

Chen Huihong frowned. “I don’t like kneeling.”

“You’re a young lady—you don’t have to,” Huiniang said with a small smile. “I don’t like it either. My mother says I’m stubborn and foolish. I always avoided the landlord. That’s why I never went to work in the city.”

Chen Huihong said nothing and kept walking.

Huiniang followed like a shadow.

“Sister, are we going to Beiping?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then where?”

“I don’t know.”

“Sister, it’s strange… I was very hungry before, but after eating your bark, I’m not hungry anymore.”

“It fills you up.”

“Am I going to die? People from my village said before dying, they suddenly stop feeling hungry…”

“You won’t. People about to die don’t talk this much.”

She paused, then reluctantly took out a slightly larger piece of bark and handed it over.

“Eat.”

Huiniang grabbed it and stuffed it into her mouth, swallowing even faster than before.

“Sister, you’re such a good person!”

Chen Huihong frowned, clearly disliking that phrase. “Find your own food next time.”

“Sister, I…”

A flash of white.

Qin Huai exited the dream.

“Ding! Congratulations, player—you’ve unlocked a codex entry.”

Qin Huai: …

After a moment of thought: …?

Dreams were usually bizarre—but this one was way too realistic. Those ten-plus days felt like they passed in real time.

And what did it mean?

In reality, they were a carefree mother and daughter.

In the dream—refugee sisters.

Contrast and “life experience simulation”?

But most importantly—

“Sister Hong, your dream isn’t even finished!”

And the personality was off too.

Chen Huihong wasn’t cold like in the dream—she was more like the sun, warm and generous, endlessly giving.

And…

This dream felt too real.

If not for the dialogue indicating it was set in the Republic of China era, Qin Huai might have thought it was a real memory.

Maybe even… a past life.

Thinking this, he opened the game panel.

A new entry appeared.

Unlocked Codex: 1/12

He clicked it.

Name: Chen Huihong
Species: ??? (Locked)
Dreams: 1/3
Recipe: Tree Bark (click to view details)
Gift: None

Qin Huai: What the hell is “Species: ???”?

Are you telling me she’s not human?

Is this system actually about spiritual awakening? Apocalypse? Supernatural invasion?

Then what’s the point of recipes?

Cook your way through the apocalypse? Beat enemies with a rolling pin? Or suffocate them with pastries?

Full of confusion, he opened the recipe.

[Tree Bark – F Grade]

Creator: Chen Huihong

Description:
Hard to even call this a dish.
Unpalatable, dry, difficult to swallow. Not recommended for consumption without processing.
Only suitable when on the brink of death.
Consuming over 3g quickly induces fullness. A true “light meal.”
(Due to its terrible taste, recommended as seasoning.)

Daily production limit: 0/50g

What a “light meal.” What a “seasoning suggestion.”

Even capitalists would applaud.

Qin Huai thought overpriced salads were bad enough—

Turns out, someone went even further.

Straight to tree bark.

Healthy. Filling. Slimming.

A perfect diet food.

And strangely fitting for Chen Huihong’s “cooking skills.”

Wait…

Did she actually use tree bark as seasoning during the cooking day preparation?!

But… where would you even buy edible tree bark?

Online?

Or peel it from roadside trees?

Qin Huai was certain—if he tried that, Chen Huihong would arrest him within three minutes, title or not.