Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 116: Famine Escape!

Chapter 116: Chapter 116: Famine Escape!

The next morning.

As soon as Nanzhi woke up and left her room, she felt something was amiss.

Ever since her mother and others came to Lihua Village, she had become rather lazy.

Every day she would wake up around two heliocycles. By that time, the day should be bright. So why was everything still pitch dark today?

"Mother! There’s a goblin!"

Shen Zhiyu saw her mother standing there, looking dazed, and pulled at her sleeve, pointing upwards.

Nanzhi taken aback, looked up at the sky.

Seeing the distinct division of light and dark in the sky, her pupils contracted.

What happened?

Last night, the darkness only covered a fifth of the sky. How did it spread to half in just one night?

Worried about the dream she had, Nanzhi was about to call everyone to start packing, when Shen Zhiyu’s hand stopped her.

"Mother, grandma and aunt are in the kitchen making pancakes!"

The little one’s voice was soft and sweet as she pointed towards the kitchen.

Seeing the light in the kitchen, Nanzhi finally snapped back and remembered that while she had become indolent, her mother and sisters-in-law were all diligent.

Nodding, Nanzhi relaxed a bit.

Seeing that her mother had come to her senses, the little one let go of her sleeve and ran excitedly towards the kitchen.

After a quick wash, Nanzhi also hurried to the kitchen.

She couldn’t just laze around while her mother and sisters-in-law were busy.

The kitchen, despite being large, seemed crowded with six people in it.

Nanzhi stared at the hustle and bustle in the kitchen, momentarily stunned.

All she saw was Mother Lin making pancakes, Chen Qiulan kneading the dough, Sun Cui pressing the pancakes, Father Lin tending the fire, Lin Yicheng handling the kitchen ingredients and Lin Ercheng boiling eggs.

The remaining three children ran back and forth helping to plate the cooked pancakes.

Seeing her son and two nephews helping out, Nanzhi felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment.

It was too humiliating!

"Should I, should I prepare some dried meat for the road?"

Nanzhi asked carefully, afraid that her abrupt contribution might disrupt their rhythm.

"No need, your mother has already prepared. Go and rest for a while," said Mother Lin, flipping two pancakes, barely glancing at her.

"Alright..." Nanzhi awkwardly smiled, not daring to say more.

Only then did she remember the two old hens and the large river clam in the courtyard and realized she had something to do.

She hurried into the backyard where the two old hens were still sleeping soundly due to the scare from last night.

Rolling up her sleeves, Nanzhi tiptoed into the henhouse.

Grabbing one hen in each hand, she brought them to the front yard and tethered them to the mule cart and quickly headed back to the yard.

Looking at the basin-sized river clam, Nanzhi hesitated.

The clam had spat out six pearls in total, which could be exchanged for more than ten taels of silver.

To bring it along would be cumbersome while fleeing, and then there was the risk of being forced to eat it in desperation.

Nanzhi frowned, unconsciously considering the various ways this clam could be cooked.

The clam in the wooden basin was horrified.

Was this woman planning on eating it? Or perhaps she intended to store it as emergency food?

The more it thought, the more afraid it became, and in the end, it mustered up the strength to spit out a dozen more pearls.

With these pearls as trade goods, it could possibly ensure some safety, right?

The repeated plop sounds brought Nanzhi back to reality.

After a few moments, she realized that the sound was coming from the wooden basin in front of her.

She knelt down, reached into the basin and, sure enough, she pulled out nine pearls.

The sky was getting dark, yet the nine pearls in her hand were round and smooth, each emitting a faint white glow.

Even if Nanzhi didn’t know their value, she knew that these nine pearls must be worth a fortune.

She looked at the pearls in her hand, and then at the River Clam lying motionless in the wooden basin. Nanzhi made a decision.

She made a decision.

She stuffed the pearls into her bosom, rolled up her sleeves and picked up the River Clam from the basin.

Feeling the weight in her arms, she found it strange, why did it seem lighter than before?

She didn’t think much about it and carried the River Clam to the well. After estimating the width of the well mouth, she was sure it wouldn’t trap the River Clam, and thus loosened her grip, dropping the River Clam into the well.

After all, she owed the River Clam a favor. Thinking about how big it had grown, there must be some spirit in it.

If it had to join her on her journey of fleeing, it might die halfway through.

But her well was different.

Even though it only seemed to be filled to a third capacity at any time, it had never run dry. Maybe the River Clam could survive for a longer time in this well.

With that thought, Nanzhi glanced at the mouth of the well, now truly leaving the River Clam’s life to fate.

Having settled the River Clam, Nanzhi suddenly remembered that she hadn’t filled water yet. She slapped her forehead and quickly fetched the bamboo pipes she had prepared earlier.

Dozens of bamboo pipes lined up, Nanzhi hesitated deliberating on whether it was safe to drink the well water after just putting the River Clam in there.

Figuring it should be, she finally drew two buckets of water and started pouring them into the bamboo pipes.

Hearing movement in the backyard while boiling eggs, Lin Ercheng guessed that Nanzhi was busy there and came out to the backyard.

"Ercheng, help me fill the water," As Nanzhi spoke, she nudged her head signaling him to fill the bamboo pipes on the other side.

"Alright."

The siblings busily filled water and only stopped after all the bamboo pipes were filled.

"Ercheng, move the bamboo pipes to the mule cart, I’ll go fetch everyone’s water bags."

Lin Ercheng nodded and left with the bamboo pipes.

Understanding dawned onto him when he saw the strange rope harnesses Nanzhi had told them to make on the cart a few days ago. They were meant to hold bamboo pipes!

The flat cart’s inner wall was only a foot high, unlike the solid wooden cabin of a carriage, but it was just the right height to secure a row of bamboo pipes, making for a tight fitting. Only a close look would reveal the bamboo pipes hidden in the straw.

Nanzhi found seven water bags in the house and filled them one by one. Only after all these were done, did she breathe a sigh of relief and waited in the room for her mother and the rest who were still packing.

Lin’s mother in the kitchen also rubbed her sour arms.

The pancakes she made today nearly took her life!

Looking at the stack of pancakes, she felt relieved despite her fatigue.

These pancakes should last their family for several days.

This morning she woke up feeling something was amiss. Only after seeing the sky did she understand.

She quickly rallied her family to start making provisions, which kept them busy for over an hour!

Everything was finally ready, and Nanzhi and her family left the house.

Many villagers of Lihua Village had prepared early too. When they woke up in the morning and saw the abnormal sky, many families also finished packing and took off in the opposite direction of the dark sky.

Nanzhi’s family was among the later ones to leave in the village.

Looking at the firmly locked yard gate, Nanzhi felt an inexplicable sentimentality. Although her transmigration into the book was utterly confusing, this yard had become another home of hers.

Three mule carts left Lihua Village, heading towards the white horizon.

Meanwhile, the River Clam in the well was stunned.

What happened?

Didn’t it spit out pearls so she would take it along?

Why did she accept the offer but throw it in the well instead?

Did she seemed to have distaste for it, thinking it would dirty the well water?

But no matter how it stretched its legs, it couldn’t get out due to the high walls of the well.

Looking up at the black space above the well, the River Clam could only curse its lack of wings.