CHAPTER 432: CHAPTER 432: UNDERLYING CURRENTS

After spending some time with the children, she quietly helped them refill the empty water buckets. Seeing that there was still a lot of grain left from last time, along with their own supplies, she felt relieved and went to the Qin family, though a trail of little tails followed her.

This time she didn’t stay long. After saying a few words and quietly adding water, Jin’er truly left. She went to the back mountain and directly returned to her space to sleep, planning to return to the valley early the next morning.

The next day, after having a good night’s sleep, Jin’er and her father had breakfast before leaving the space. It took half a day to rush back to the valley. When she and her father sat in their home, the family still wore expressions of disbelief.

Especially her mother and grandmother, both of whom touched and hugged her repeatedly, wishing they could keep her by their side.

This behavior continued for three days. Jin’er obediently accepted it, knowing that her long absence this time had caused her mother and grandmother much worry. As long as it eased their minds, she was willing to do anything just to stay by their side.

Fortunately, by the fourth day, her mother and grandmother returned to normal, then began treating her with a disdainful attitude, as if to settle accounts later.

Her mother, grandmother, and even her usually carefree grandfather were quite worried, so this time, no one pleaded on her behalf.

Her two sisters-in-law felt sympathy for her, but dared not go against their mother-in-law and grandmother. They gave her a look of spiritual support, telling her she’d have to rely on good fortune.

Thus, for the next ten-plus days, Jin’er was confined by her grandmother and mother to do the needlework she least liked until she successfully sewed a set of clothes to be released.

Indeed, with a mother and grandmother who understood her so well, this punishment was quite severe. Almost every one of her ten fingers had needle pricks. Most importantly, her previously infallible charm failed to soften her mother and grandmother, who, despite her pleading and feigned pain, stood firm. Jin’er had to endure the pain and accept it, as she had worried her family so greatly for so long.

The grueling process was imaginable, but finally, under such intense practice as if to the point of suspending her head by a beam, Jin’er completed her first piece of clothing. Although the stitches were crooked, they were dense enough. From cutting to sewing, she did it all herself, and she felt a strong sense of achievement looking at the finished clothing, especially seeing her hands densely covered with pinholes. At least she felt the pain was not suffered in vain. Otherwise, she would be embarrassed to cry.

Completing this piece of clothing seemed to unlock Jin’er’s hidden skill; she found she could sit and focus. In the days that followed, she even enjoyed discussing needlework with her mother, grandmother, and sisters-in-law.

The saying is true; practice makes perfect. Her skills improved by the day, to her surprise and quiet pride.

See... as long as she wanted to do it, she could do it well.

Meanwhile, another harvest came in, consisting of millet, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and soybeans—drought-tolerant crops that were the only ones planted.

Although the weather was quite dry, the harvest was much better than expected because they were prepared in advance. Every household in the valley reaped plenty, and their storerooms were filled. With the prior storage, every family in the valley felt secure, no longer worried about going hungry.

The joy of the harvest lasted several days before everyone returned to their usual calm.

At the same time, the official offices and farming households in Lingyun State, estimating that the sweet potatoes should be mature, tried to harvest them in the coolness of midnight.

They expected to find nothing, but even the small, skinny sweet potatoes brought a pleasant surprise to many.

Even a mosquito’s leg is meat, and in dire times it could still save lives. The work that usually took half a day or a full day ended up taking several days due to the extreme heat.

The government officials also breathed a sigh of relief. The series of disasters had left them deeply uneasy, especially as they had lost contact with the court and could not reach them.

Under such circumstances, the land managed to produce, albeit unimpressive and small. At least it was something, and in the face of an uncertain future, it might be their motivation to endure and their hope for survival.

With a divine gift of water earlier and a grain harvest now, the chaos in Lingyun State quietly diminished. Afterward, everyone tried to hide underground, waiting to endure this difficult period.

In contrast, apart from the states neighboring Lingyun State, chaos erupted as night fell in other states—even under the shadow of the Imperial City’s army’s iron-fisted suppression, turmoil could not be curbed.

More and more people in various states rose up, lacking water, food, and nearly losing their lives, they naturally followed whoever gave them a chance to live.

The life of the poor in this world is as cheap as grass, as ephemeral as duckweed, easily trampled, yet the powerful have never lacked resources unimaginable to the common folk.

If a ruler acts in accordance with Heaven’s will, the Five Blessings will be bestowed; if he acts poorly, Heaven will punish him with the Six Extremes.

Ambitious individuals used the Emperor’s injustice and the ensuing disasters as a pretext for rebellion, numerous self-proclaimed kings arose, stockpiling troops and waiting for an opportunity, brewing undercurrents, and once the severe heat ended, Ancient Yan Country would witness another bloody storm.

At this moment, people continued to hide underground, enduring the hardship.

In the Qinggu Mountain range, after the harvest, only the land in the valley continued to be planted; the mountain farmland was left fallow. With two consecutive harvests and previous storage, food enough for years for a family was available. Knowing planting would yield nothing more, it was wiser not to waste effort or time. So, they decided not to plant further; what they had was already sufficient in the valley.

The drought-tolerant millet, soybeans, and a small amount of wheat were abundant from continuous hard work over many days, sweating buckets and becoming leaner, everyone now finally had time to relax.

Despite the heat and not being able to stay outside for long, life in the valley was leisurely and peaceful. After returning, Jin’er enjoyed a few months of comfortable living, temporarily achieving a laid-back lifestyle, paying no attention to outside matters, embracing comfort however it came.

"Jin’er..." Jin’er lay comfortably on the bed, each corner of the room and the center position having large blocks of ice, making Da Ya, who just entered, rub her arms.

"Tsk, it isn’t cold!" In such hot weather, for her to feel cold, no one outside would believe it.

Jin’er swept her legs and sat up from the bed, "Sister-in-law, you don’t know how to enjoy! This is really comfortable!"

"Fine, so I don’t know how to enjoy, but I think it’s cold."

She admired Jin’er, thinking that this girl’s body was truly resilient. Staying in such conditions for long would have given her a chill long ago.

"Tsk, let’s go, to the main hall." It was indeed cool, but she could not enjoy it; it was more comfortable in her own room.

"Alright," Jin’er nodded at her, knowing her sister-in-law called her to do needlework. With fewer things to do in the valley and the field work complete, apart from housework, the women passed their time with needlework and weaving.