The end of natural disasters: the daily life of child brides in ancient times

The Qin family's courtyard wall is relatively high. When it was built, it was next to the mountain behind and they were worried that wild animals would come in, so they built it relatively high.

Now it is convenient for Lu Qingqing to do things. She doesn't have to worry about being seen no matter what she does in the yard.

From that day on, Lu Qingqing would secretly release water into the well in the yard every day and then ask Qin Lang to draw it out.

The water level of the well in the village is almost at the bottom. Now water is distributed every five days, and each person gets one mouthful of water a day. Those who stand guard at the village entrance get one extra mouthful.

Because of the extra water from the well in the yard every day, the Qin family’s water containers were full.

For fear that the well water would evaporate and be wasted, I even started making rice porridge these past two days.

Lu Qingqing took a sip of the rice-flavored porridge and paired it with fried dried vegetables, and felt her stomach relax.

This evening, it’s time to divide the water again.

Although the Qin family is not short of water now, they still have to get water in order to avoid suspicion.

Lu Qingqing told Grandma Qin that she went to get water today and put some dry soil on her face in advance, but she felt that the effect was not very good.

So, she followed the example of many other women in the village and found a piece of cloth to cover her head and face.

I took a look at the basin and thought it looked pretty good.

Now the water is divided into five days' worth at a time, and each person only gets one sip per day. Lu Qingqing took the small ceramic pot at home and went to queue up.

After walking a few steps, Qin Lang came jogging after him.

Ever since she married into the Qin family, Qin Lang has been particularly attached to her.

Except for sleeping in different places, we wish we could be together every day.

Lu Qingqing looked at Qin Lang's dark eyes shining at her and felt that Qin Lang's face was still too clean.

There is a lot of water at home now, and the three of them will dip some water and wipe their faces and hands every morning.

Lu Qingqing felt that there was no need to smear Qin Lang any more, so she let him go back.

Qin Lang pouted, but although he was unhappy, he still went back obediently. Grandma had said that he had to listen to Daya.

When Lu Qingqing arrived, she found a long line at the well. She was a little puzzled that so many people only had two or three people to collect such a small amount of water.

I only found out about it when I heard people chatting while waiting in line.

Because many families in the water-dredging village started to make trouble.

Some of those who came to get water before secretly drank some on the way back.

When there is too much water, it cannot be seen.

Now everyone only gets a bite a day, and if it’s a little less, it’ll be noticeable, and there’ll be quarrels at home.

Nowadays, people are worried that people who fetch water might drink it secretly, so most of the time, men from each household come to fetch water. In addition, several people from each household come to supervise each other and take the water home.

While waiting in line, Lu Qingqing saw Lu Lao Da, Lu Lao Er and Lu Lao San coming to fetch water.

It was obvious that Lu Laosan was being excluded. He walked at the back with his head down, his face bruised and swollen, and he walked with a limp.

After all, they were nominal relatives, and with so many people in the village watching, Lu Qingqing still greeted them.

When Boss Lu saw her, his expression was obviously unnatural.

Lu Qingqing ignored him and didn't care what he thought.

As time goes by, the drought situation does not improve at all.

Finally, one day the villagers discovered that the well was dry!

It's useless to arrange more people to dig down, because the sand dug out is all dry.

It’s not that Lu Qingqing is unwilling to release water into the village well, but since the drought began, the well has been locked and cannot be opened without a key.

Later, people were directly arranged to guard the well.

Moreover, during this time of water shortage, everyone in the village had their eyes on the well, so Lu Qingqing didn't dare to take any risks.

Those who were more frugal before still have some water, but some families have no water at all.

Families without water have started drinking the urine they collected earlier, but now that the urine supply is dwindling, they are on the verge of dying of thirst.

In desperation, the villagers organized people to go into the mountains to find water.

The village chief promised that if water was found, those who went there would be given priority.

Most families who had no water at home sent several people.

Those who still have some water are unwilling to go into the mountains.

It has been passed down from generation to generation, and everyone knows that if you go into the mountains to cut wood, you may lose your life if you are not careful.

Of course, the Qin family did not take any risks. The well in the yard now has about a bucket of water every day.

Grandma Qin was afraid of being discovered, so she usually kept the gate to the yard closed.

Something was also placed to block the wellhead, for fear that it would be discovered and the family would not be able to keep the water.

Those who went in to look for water brought dry food with them, otherwise they would die of thirst if they came back without finding water.

It was not until the afternoon of the third day that the villagers returned.

Although they found water, two of the people who were looking for water were dragged away by wolves, and the rest were injured to varying degrees.

The village chief directly asked everyone who was looking for water to take it back with them.

We also agreed to continue organizing people to go into the mountains tomorrow, and those who want to go tomorrow can come and sign up first.

After returning, we prepared some dry food and it would take two days to go back and forth to the water source.

Grandma Qin saw that the families who had not gone before had also signed up today, so she asked Qin Lang to go and sign up as well. Seeing this, Lu Qingqing also wanted to go with them.

Grandma Qin sighed and agreed.

Lu Qingqing knew that if Qin Lang died, Grandma Qin would definitely not be able to bear the blow.

Once she is the only one left in this family, she will definitely be taken back by the Lu family.

After coming to the Qin family, Lu Qingqing's life obviously improved. She could eat dry food every meal and was no longer bullied.

Grandma Qin is a kind and wise old woman, and Qin Lang is very dependent on her. He would always think of saving any delicious food for her.

Compared to the Lu family, they are more like Lu Qingqing's relatives in this world.

When they returned home in the evening, Grandma Qin prepared dry food for the two of them in advance, and took out a water bag from the house and handed it to Lu Qingqing and the others.

He told the two to try to avoid people when drinking water, and to be careful when entering the mountains tomorrow, and asked Qin Lang to stay close to Lu Qingqing.

The next morning, in order to prevent being discovered by Grandma Qin, Lu Qingqing secretly added more water into the well after Qin Lang drew water.

While waiting at the back entrance of the mountain, Lu Qingqing discovered that the three brothers and two daughters-in-law of the Lu family had all arrived.

When Mrs. Lu Li saw her, she glared at her.

Lu Qingqing ignored her. After everyone arrived, the two of them followed the villagers into the mountains.

The situation in the mountains was completely different from when Lu Qingqing entered the mountains before.

Most of the plants on the mountain were sun-dried to death. There were still a few plants left alive, but they were all wilted.

Without the shade of trees overhead, the scorching sun hurts people's skin.

After walking for half the morning, as the sun rose higher and the air became scorching hot, everyone walked slower and slower.

Seeing this, the village chief asked everyone to rest in the shade of the mountain wall for a while.

Seeing that some people had already started drinking water, Lu Qingqing also took out the water bag from the bucket, and they each took a sip.

After a while, the team started off again. The higher they went, the more rugged the mountain road became.

Lu Qingqing saw that everyone was walking towards the ravine.

Along the way, you can occasionally see some dried animal carcasses.

Before, the mountains were full of chirping birds, but now there is no sound.

When I went into the mountains before, the rabbits and pheasants in the grass are now nowhere to be seen.

Most animals live near water, which shows that there is indeed no water in this mountain range.

Lu Qingqing looked forward and saw a series of mountains in front of her. The mountains were all withered and yellow, and she didn't know where the water source she had found before was.

The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and the hat on my head was better than nothing. I turned around to look at Qin Lang beside me, and his face was also red from the heat.