Although the wooden door offered no defense, being merely tied together with branches, it created a personal sanctuary once closed, blocking the view of the shelter's interior and providing a sense of security.
Gu Qingcheng also made her shelter cozy. The bottom was a thick cotton blanket, topped with a warm down comforter. She herself clutched a rubber hot water bottle, feeling toasty and completely unchilled.
She had intended to read a novel on her e-reader for a while, but the journey had been quite tiring. The moment her head hit the pillow, she drifted off to sleep.
Da Ya and Luo Juan shared one shelter, while Dai Fa naturally shared with Zheng Wu Niang. Sleeping together, their body heat undoubtedly surpassed that of a single person, so they didn't feel cold even without hot water bottles.
Outside, the north wind howled, and many people shivered uncontrollably. Gu Qingcheng, however, slept warmly and soundly, dreaming no dreams.
Upon waking, Gu Qingcheng opened her eyes and stared at the shelter's roof for a moment, momentarily confused about her location.
After a brief mental blank, she got up.
She woke Mi Guo, and the two headed to a small grove of trees to secretly brush their teeth and wash their faces with hot water. Gu Qingcheng then handed Mi Guo a jar of moisturizer.
In the wilderness, with the cold and strong winds, her skin would surely crack without moisturizing.
After their ablutions, they felt refreshed.
Mi Guo started a fire to cook.
Cooking stir-fries was inconvenient outdoors. Knowing his sister's particular tastes, he boiled a pot of savory congee, adding diced preserved meat, dried shrimp, dried oysters, and diced dried bamboo shoots. He also placed six steamed buns on the pot lid to warm.
The rich aroma of the rice porridge successfully attracted the attention of their "neighbors." Someone nearby took a deep inhale of the congee's fragrance, their mouth watering. Another person shamelessly approached them to strike up a conversation.
"Hey there, young fellow, how come you have rice to cook porridge? I've been hungry for two days. Smelling this porridge makes it seem exceptionally delicious."
As he spoke, he eyed their cooking porridge, his unspoken request clear: he was hoping Mi Guo might spare him some.
Mi Guo wasn't offended. He grinned and asked,
"Big brother, where are you fleeing from?"
"From Xinyang. The weather is freezing. Seventy percent of our village perished, and the rest fled here.
Dozens more died on the road. We're left with just over a hundred people, but not all of them came here. Some went further south on their own. Now, only about twenty-odd people remain."
The man, who introduced himself as Qian Wang, was from Qianjia Village in Xinyang.
He gestured to the scattered shelters nearby, saying that those were his fellow villagers.
"Oh, quite a few people. Brother Mao, we're planning to find a place to reclaim land and farm. If you're willing to work for us as hired laborers, we'll provide three meals a day and a tael of silver in wages per month. What do you think?"
Gu Qingcheng got straight to the point.
They were starving; any further delay or hesitation would lead to real starvation.
"Such a good thing?" Qian Wang's eyes lit up. "We're willing, of course, we're willing."
"Can you make the decision?" Gu Qingcheng asked.
"Of course, I can make the decision. My father was the village head before, but sadly, he froze to death during the disaster." Qian Wang's expression turned somber at the mention of his father.
"Alright, then take me to see your villagers," Gu Qingcheng said.
Qian Wang eagerly led Gu Qingcheng towards their village's settlement.
Although Gu Qingcheng also lived in a makeshift shelter, she was clean and tidy, unlike the numb and dispirited refugees.
They were on the brink of starvation, yet they had porridge and steamed buns. This indicated something significant. Qian Wang was not unobservant.
Qianjia Village had twenty-two people in total, including Qian Wang: five middle-aged men over forty, six young men over twenty, five women, and six children.
The children weren't too young, all around ten years old.
Gu Qingcheng was quite satisfied with this age structure.
Of course, their common characteristic was their thinness, sallow complexions, and emaciated appearance. They didn't look particularly capable of hard labor.
Seeing the lack of satisfaction on Gu Qingcheng's face, Qian Wang quickly added,
"Young master, don't mind their thin and frail appearance now. It's mainly due to hunger. After a few full meals, they'll have the strength to work.
Rest assured, these are the most capable workers in the village; one can do the work of two. They were also very healthy before, otherwise, how could they have survived?"
Gu Qingcheng nodded and said,
"Alright, I'll go to the city to discuss this matter with the officials. You wait here for now. I'll bring you along once everything is confirmed."
Qian Wang nodded in agreement and then boldly made his request,
"Young master, could you give us some food first?
Our villagers haven't eaten a single grain of rice for days; we're starving."
The direction of Xinyang was different from Jinsha City, so these people wouldn't have access to the supply point's provisions. It was no wonder they looked half-dead.
Gu Qingcheng nodded and said, "Yes, you can come find me for some later."
In reality, she could get it from her storage cabinet now, but if she conjured a pile of rice out of thin air, wouldn't that expose her secret?
Qian Wang nodded repeatedly.
So, Gu Qingcheng walked back to her shelter and took out two bags of rice, each weighing twenty catties.
At this moment, Wang Da Ya and Luo Juan were accompanying Zheng Wu Niang to the side to wash up and attend to nature's call, while Dai Fa went to wash up separately.
Seeing that everyone was gone, Gu Qingcheng immediately retrieved two bags of rice and some other supplies from her storage cabinet, then turned back to give them to Qian Wang.
Qian Wang was telling his villagers about the matter when he saw Gu Qingcheng carrying two bags of rice. His eyes almost glowed green with excitement.
"Young master, why didn't you call me? You even brought it yourself."
Qian Wang quickly stepped forward to take what Gu Qingcheng was carrying.
Gu Qingcheng said lightly,
"These two bags of rice weigh twenty catties each, a total of forty catties. Eat your fill for a few meals. We also have pickles, salted duck eggs, and preserved meat."
Upon seeing that Gu Qingcheng had indeed brought rice, along with preserved meat and salted eggs, the villagers of Qianjia Village excitedly gathered around.
"Hurry up and set up a stove to cook!"
Someone shouted excitedly.
Then, several women from the village busied themselves, gathering stones, hastily setting up a simple stove, and preparing to light a fire to cook.
"Young master, everyone is desperate with hunger, please forgive our display. We don't even know how to address you yet?"
Qian Wang said obsequiously.
Gu Qingcheng was still presenting herself in male attire.
Therefore, everyone assumed she was a handsome young master.
Someone who could so generously give away two bags of grain must be well-off. For the starving villagers of Qianjia Village, pleasing Gu Qingcheng was the priority.
"My surname is Gu. The one in charge here is Dai Fa. I'll introduce him to you later."
At this moment, Dai Fa saw Gu Qingcheng conversing with a middle-aged man and, concerned that something might be wrong, walked over and asked,
"Young Master Gu, what is it?"