Famine and exile: I brought the Spirit Spring to save the entire Marquis's mansion.

A group of people immediately expressed their firm stance.

"That's not unreasonable at all! We'll take turns fetching water for your family every day!"

"Alright, I can't force you to do this. Whether you can keep your word in the future depends on your conscience! I'll go talk to the officials now, and you can go back and get your buckets."

Sang Ning led the child ten meters away when a unified shout came from behind: "Thank you, Mom!"

It gave me a fright!

I got goosebumps.

No, this is like someone taking a dump without covering their face, completely shameless, right?

To everyone's surprise, Huo Jingya turned around and yelled, "Aren't you going to thank your great-auntie?"

A real tiger!

Sang Ning dragged the child and ran.

I don't know her!

Beside the new well, another stone tablet was erected, still named Moon Spring.

It belongs to the same source as the original Moon Spring, and the water quality is the same, so there is no need to test whether it is drinkable.

The wellhead and walls have just been repaired, and a thick layer of pebbles has been laid at the bottom. It will take a few more days for the water to become clear.

The water we're pumping up now is still sewage, but it's drinkable; just let it sit at home for a bit.

The people have been short of water for a long time, and now they are all queuing up to get water; there are many people at the scene.

A group of officials were guarding the place, and Sang Ning saw that Ding San was also there.

She squeezed forward and told him about the villagers who were restricted from fetching water.

"Yes, Madam Sang, I'll go to the yamen in a bit and have their restrictions lifted."

Liangzhou was under strict control. If a household was given a restriction order and was told not to fetch water, then they were not allowed to. If they violated the order and were reported, the consequences would be severe.

This is why those people call Sang Ning "mother" all the time.

"By the way, could you tell me what the relationship is between your prefect and that Master Hong?"

Sang Ning was very curious: were the two of them really lovers?

A lone man and a lone woman drinking together late at night—it's definitely not a clean break!

Ding San had been standing there for half a day and was incredibly bored. When Sang Ning asked him something, he perked up a bit.

"What's our prefect's relationship with her? They're like brothers, of course, ha!"

Sanning: "..."

Is Ding San stupid? It's a man and a woman! Can't they be a married couple?

"You adults haven't married yet, is it related to her?" Sang Ning asked directly.

"Don't talk nonsense, our prefect has a fiancée!"

Nani?

Haha, that jerk who doesn't respect women even has a fiancée? Who's so unlucky?

"Who?"

"Well, actually, it's not really true." Ding San sighed, looking a little melancholy.

"It was a marriage arranged when we were children, with my uncle's cousin. Unfortunately, she was kidnapped when she was three years old and has never been found... Sigh, my husband is so devoted, he is still waiting."

Sang Ning shuddered.

Please don't make jokes like that.

Three years old... He's long forgotten how to distinguish between nose and eyes, yet he's still infatuated?

What is he waiting for? He probably won't find a wife at all!

"Hehe, you adults are really quite sentimental. Well then, I wish him to find his cousin soon."

That's hilarious! Even if you found her, she'd probably be a mother of several children by now!

The stern-faced prefect is destined to be single forever!

When Sang Ning saw Huo Jingya waving at her, she stopped talking.

"Hey? Hey, Madam Sang, aren't you going to stay a little longer? Hey!" Ding San was still not satisfied.

I've never seen such a fair-skinned and beautiful girl in Liangzhou before, so chatting with her a bit longer is a treat for the eyes.

……

If you keep going forward, you'll reach the half-finished cave with the underground river.

Huo Jingya looked at the path nearby that had been trodden out by people and was very suspicious.

"Fourth Sister-in-law, there aren't any rabbits here. They've all been caught long ago!"

"That's not necessarily true. Come with me and you'll see!"

The area around the half-finished cave was mostly overgrown with weeds and rocks, and nobody came this way.

Last time, she found a rabbit dropping near the small opening left in the hole.

She suspected that rabbits could burrow down into the underground river from here.

So, while the officials were digging a well, she slipped over here and dug a trap.

Five or six days have passed; if there really were rabbits, they should have been caught by now, right?

Everyone ventured into the dark cave as if on an adventure.

The children weren't afraid at all; on the contrary, they were excited and thrilled.

Except for Feng'er, who was rather timid and clung tightly to Jintang's clothes, hiding behind him.

But he was still very curious and kept craning his neck to look inside.

Sang Ning found the torch she had used last time at the base of the cave, lit it with a tinderbox, and the cave was instantly illuminated.

"Won't there be snakes?" Huo Jingya swallowed hard.

As soon as she spoke, the children became nervous.

Snakes are the scariest thing!

“I’ve never encountered that,” Sang Ning said.

She strained to stick the torch inside and peer inside.

"Got it! Prey has fallen in!"

The traps that Sang Ning set were quite skillful.

She tied a thin rope to a rock about the same size as the trap opening, dug a track next to it that would allow it to roll away, and tied the other end of the rope to a stick to wed it in the center of the trap.

If a heavy prey falls into the trap, the rolling stones will land right on the entrance, blocking the prey's escape route.

And now, that stone is pressing down on the opening of the trap!

Upon hearing that they had caught their prey, no one was afraid anymore, and they excitedly ran forward.

"Be careful, don't let it get away!" Sang Ning handed the torch to Jin Tang and went to lift the stones himself.

I don't know when it fell. If it had only been a day, it probably would still have the strength to run.

Huo Jingya took out a cloth bag, opened it, and blocked the exit.

"squeak--"

As the stone was moved to create a gap, a dark figure darted out and disappeared into the cloth bag.

"It's huge! It looks like a rabbit!" Huo Jingya exclaimed excitedly, gripping the bag tightly.

There's something else in the pit!

Sang Ning reached out and pulled out another gray, grimy little gadget.

When the torch shone on it, it turned out to be a field mouse!

However, it seems that it is exhaling more than it is inhaling, probably because it was stepped on by the rabbit.

Field mice are different from rats; they are edible.

There's a saying among the people: "Eating one rat is equivalent to eating three chickens." This shows that it has high nutritional value.

It also has the effects of replenishing deficiencies, strengthening the body, and nourishing qi and blood!

Haha, what an extra bonus!

"We're having meat tonight!" Sang Ning shouted.

Jinxiu slurped and clapped her hands with a laugh.

Jintang swallowed hard. He remembered how delicious braised rabbit meat used to taste back in the manor.

"Sister Feng'er, have you ever eaten rabbit meat?" he asked the well-behaved and quiet Feng'er.

"No……"

"How could you not have one? Wasn't your family the richest in Pingyang before?"

"Grandma said that if a girl is greedy, no one will want her in the future, so Mom never eats her food," Feng'er said softly.

Not only have I never eaten rabbit meat, but I also eat very little other meat.

At the dinner table, the dishes with meat were kept far away from them, out of their reach.

She could only eat it when her father came back.

But sometimes her mother would secretly buy cooked meat for her from outside.

Her mother's eyes were red as she ate.

Later, she didn't want to eat meat anymore.