Rebirth of an Old Farmer: Escape from Famine with Children and Grandchildren

There was a lot of discussion in the crowd, and everyone was amazed at this magical technology.

The village elders smiled and nodded in agreement. Crossing their arms, they looked at Sun Wan with admiration in their narrowed eyes and asked, "Miss Lan Zhen, could you teach others how to make clean drinking water and edible salt? After all, this technology is so important to our lives."

Looking at the expectant faces around her, Sun Wan understood clearly: in this ancient village, mastering a skill usually means not passing it on easily to others; unless one is willing to share it.

But this time, she didn't want to keep the secret.

So she nodded and replied, "Yes, everyone can try this method. This way, you can extract pure drinking water and possibly also obtain an appropriate amount of refined sea salt for consumption. I believe that by doing this, everyone's life will become better."

Then she turned to the old patriarch and asked, "Old Village Chief, how long do we plan to stay here? Should we follow the river or cross the rocky area and head directly to the outside world? We need to make the necessary preparations in advance."

The old village chief laughed and replied, "We will choose to continue along the underground river. This route will lead directly to the area beyond the mountains. After leaving the valley, we will reach the Youzhou area. Although this path is a bit rugged and difficult to travel, it is relatively safer."

We originally planned to move along the underground river to avoid the problem of sunlight, but now it is an unexpected bonus that you bring us such wonderful news.

In this case, we can stay in this location for two more days to give everyone ample opportunity to create enough pure water, and we can also store some extra salt as our reserve supplies, so that we can leave when we are ready.

Someone immediately mentioned a very difficult problem: "But we are now short of fuel for the fire. The ground is a barren rocky area, without any usable vegetation. Even along the river, there is no green plant for us to use."

Su Shunde stepped forward and offered his solution: "How about this: Each household sends an adult to wait until nightfall and follow us through the tunnel to a place about 2 kilometers outside. There, we will find some withered wood resources. Each person only needs to collect a little every day, which is enough to meet our daily needs."

After listening to this, everyone agreed with this approach and thought it was a good idea.

After teaching the villagers how to operate, Sun Wan decided not to get too involved in more detailed management matters; instead, she began to discuss with several men the arrangements for where families would rest in the evening.

Given that both sides of the river are relatively spacious and flat, and the side close to the rock wall is not too humid, this place is indeed very suitable for building a temporary residence.

So she quickly returned to the loaded carriage and took out the spare firewood that had been hidden in the storage bag in advance, and then instructed others to lay a few more mattresses made of hay so that the pregnant woman Zhang Yu Niang, who was about to give birth, could have a more comfortable resting environment; at the same time, she also gave the remaining firewood to her daughter for safekeeping.

Zhang Yue Niang had not originally intended to say that she had been in pretty good shape these past few days, because she was also thinking about whether she could do something to help.

Sun Wan waved her hand to stop her. "Do you think you can do it? Do you think you can handle chores like fetching water and lighting a fire? You'd better just lie down here and rest well. Save your energy. When we really leave, don't let anyone be delayed waiting for you."

Then, he took out a small paper bag from his bosom and handed it to her. Inside was some brown sugar. "You must take care of your health. Remember to drink a bowl of blood-replenishing and qi-nourishing food every day. The most important thing now is to raise my grandson or granddaughter healthily and safely."

Now Zhang Yue Niang is not afraid of Sun Wan at all. She has gradually realized that although her mother-in-law usually speaks very harshly, she is actually very kind in her heart.

Seeing the harmonious relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Zhang Yueniang's mother, Zhang Li, couldn't help but smile with relief. Then she turned to her family and said with a smile, "Look, my aunt-in-law is such a good person. Why did they say she was so difficult to get along with? If there really is such a good person, I also hope to become one of them."

The whole family was amused by the humorous words.

Li Sanya lowered her voice and whispered in her mother's ear, "Mom, do you know? I used to hear my sister-in-law say that her mother-in-law was a very difficult person to deal with, very powerful. One time, my sister-in-law was bullied, and I ran directly to her door and scolded the old woman severely. But since that escape from famine, I found that the old woman has really changed for the better. At first I was a little skeptical, but gradually, I found that she was really kind to me, so I felt relieved and later followed her and did a lot of things."

Mrs. Zhang Li gently patted Li Sanya's arm and said, "Don't be so unruly in the future. You must do your housework well and learn more from your aunt-in-law. I think she is a very capable person. If you work hard with her, we will definitely be able to live a good life in the future."

Zhang Deshui and Zhang Songshu, the father and son, nodded in agreement after hearing this. "That's right. Following my aunt-in-law out this time was the right decision."

The young men, Da Niu, Er Niu, and San Niu, puffed their bellies and echoed in unison, "That's right! It's the wisest choice for us young people to follow our grandmother-in-law. She's so kind to us!"

They all accepted this fact in their hearts.

At the same time, on the river bank, Sun Wan saw that the people of Sujia Village and the other two villages were busy.

Some were boiling salt water by the stove, while others were using tools to extract pure water. The scene was very lively.

Since Nizi was already taking care of the situation at home, she decided to take the young Miaomiao and Linglong for a walk along the river to check around and see if this place was really as desolate as others said, with no trace of green plants.

After walking about a hundred meters, a bright sunlight suddenly shone through the underground river. The sunlight poured down from an opening in the top of the cave like golden threads, and was reflected on the surface of the river with dazzling light, like a mirror that had been wiped very clean.

Sun Wan thought, is there such a skylight in this place?

Could it be a naturally formed hole?