Traveling Through Farmhouses: Taking the Baby on a Famine Escape

The weather has cleared up, and the snow is starting to melt!

The melting snow was even colder than the falling snow, so cold that it made one's bones ache. Zhang Xixi didn't even want to leave the tent!

But that won't work, there are still two big eaters waiting for her to feed them!

A month ago, Xiao Jin and his friends started eating ducks. They had to eat several ducks each time. Luckily, they had a lot of ducks, and the ducks grew quite fast because they were fed wheat bran. Otherwise, there wouldn't be enough for them to eat.

Furthermore, to prevent Xiao Jin and the others from overindulging in snacking, Zhang Xixi moved them to an unused maternity ward.

Zhang Xixi, bundled up in thick clothes, arrived at the duck shed. She counted and found only about twenty ducks left. She sighed, thinking that it would only last for a month. She hoped the snow would melt quickly, otherwise the two tigers would be left to eat sweet potatoes.

If you're going to keep a pet, you should keep an omnivore, the kind that eats everything. At least you won't have to worry about what to eat. Like that chicken with the pointed beak—no, it's called Big Mouth now, a name given by Da Bao. The two of them can raise it to be plump and healthy by saving a little bit of food from their own teeth.

A month passed in the blink of an eye, and the snow at the encampment had melted. When Zhang Xixi woke up in the morning, she found that the defensive shield had disappeared.

"System, what's going on?!"

The system hesitated for a moment, then said, "Um, I don't know either!"

Zhang Xixi questioned, "You sell things, how could you not know? Do you think I'm stupid?!"

"Host, I sold this product, but I didn't develop it, and these are all defective products!"

"What?! A defective product! You rip-off, you actually sold me this kind of thing, and at such a high price!"

Zhang Xixi was furious with the system. She kicked the stones on the ground to vent her anger, but she kicked too hard and a hole was kicked in her shoe. She looked down and wondered if this broken shoe was also defective and could only be worn for a few months.

"System, what does 'defective product' mean?"

"These are products with an uncertain usage period!"

"Heh heh, you're just a swindler!"

Since everything the system produces has a time limit, we can't rely on the system too much anymore. We need to find a way to make ourselves stronger.

After calming down, Zhang Xixi climbed up the hillside and took a look. She saw that there was still snow on the top of the mountain, but the snow in other places had melted. However, the ground was wet, and it was easy to slip and fall if you were traveling now. She would have to wait a few more days.

Zhang Xixi went back and made an excuse to explain to the villagers why the protective shield had disappeared. Then she sent Xiao Jin and the others out to forage for food. She couldn't let them eat and drink for free anymore.

After returning home, Zhang Xixi went to the school to check on Da Bao and the others, then went to the kitchen, where Chen Shi and Xiao Chen Shi were making glutinous rice cakes.

After Zhang Xixi went in, Chen saw her sit behind the stove without saying a word, with a serious face.

"Honey, you're acting strange today. Who upset you?"

Zhang Xixi smiled and waved her hand, "Who dares to mess with me? I just suddenly figured some things out."

"What have you figured out? Let Mom help you think it over."

“Mother, I’ve realized that relying on others is ultimately unreliable; I have to rely on myself. Only by becoming strong can I protect what I want to protect.”

Madam Chen also said seriously, "That's true, but one person can't make a difference alone. We also need to learn to unite with others, just like when we fled the famine this time."

Zhang Xixi nodded. Unity is strength!

There will definitely be dangers on the way to escape famine. Although my family members are strong, they are all brute force. I still need to learn some martial arts moves so that I can better protect myself and my family.

I don't know if my dad has practiced it before. Even without a secret manual, it's okay to start with the basics.

"Mother, where did Father go?!"

"Your father should have gone to the river!"

Zhang Xixi stood up and said, "Then I'll go find him!"

Watching Zhang Xixi rush out the door, Mrs. Chen shook her head. Her daughter was still not mature enough.

When Zhang Xixi arrived at the riverbank, Zhang Dacheng was staring at the fish in the water, muttering to himself, "Strange! How strange!"

"Father, what's so strange about you!"

"The river is frozen over, how are these fish still alive? It's so strange!"

"What's so strange about that? Even though the river is frozen, the water underneath is still flowing. These fish might have swum over from somewhere else!"

Zhang Dacheng nodded, "That's probably it!"

"Girl, are you here to fetch water too?"

Zhang Xixi waved her hand, "No, I wanted to ask if Dad knows any martial arts, and if he has ever practiced them!"

"My father was just a hunter. He didn't know anything about that. All he knew was how to shoot arrows and hunt."

"Dad, I see you're quite accurate at archery. Who taught you?"

Zhang Dacheng said with reminiscence, "My father learned from an old hunter, but he was injured by a bear while hunting and died from his injuries."

It seems like this touched on something painful for Dad. "Dad, are you alright?"

Zhang Dacheng waved his hand, "It's nothing! Daughter, why are you asking this?"

"Spring is just around the corner, and there will definitely be a lot of wild animals in the mountains. I was thinking of teaching everyone some martial arts so they can protect themselves, and it would be a waste of our life's energy."

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Dacheng said, "Actually, my family has a martial arts manual passed down from my ancestors, but no one has ever practiced it because no one can understand the words on it."

Zhang Xixi exclaimed with delight, "Really? Where is Dad? Let me see!" She was very poor right now, so having a ready-made martial arts manual was the best thing ever. Even if she couldn't read the words, she could always find a way to read them!

When Zhang Xixi returned home with Zhang Dacheng, she urged Zhang Dacheng to go and get the boxing manual.

Seeing Zhang Xixi's anxious and flustered appearance, Chen thought something had happened and quickly asked, "What's wrong? What happened again?"

Zhang Xixi smiled happily and said, "Mom, it's a good thing, you'll see in a moment!"

Seeing that Zhang Xixi was still in the mood to keep things mysterious, Chen glared at her and went to attend to her own business. "Such a dramatic thing is really testing my heart!"

Zhang Xixi took the booklet that Zhang Dacheng brought her; it was truly a treasured item!

The book's cover was tattered, and the two characters on it were illegible. Inside, the pages were yellowed, but the illustrations, moves, and words were still legible. It was a manual of staff techniques, and the characters were even simplified Chinese characters from a previous life. Could it have been left behind by a time-traveling predecessor?

"Father, I recognize this character. My master taught me it!"

"Really, that's wonderful! The things left behind by our ancestors can finally see the light of day again!"

Zhang Xixi flipped through the book again and found that the manual on stick fighting did not have a name. It only contained the moves and textual explanations. She didn't know how powerful it was, so she decided to try it out first!