CHAPTER 84: CHAPTER 82: WONDERFUL! EVEN HEAVEN IS HELPING US

"When lighting the fire, make sure it’s well-ventilated, otherwise you could easily get poisoned and die."

"Don’t worry, miss. I’ll keep an eye on it at all times. Besides, it’s quite warm in this cellar. Once it’s heated for a bit, we can put it out; there’s no need to keep it burning constantly."

With Chen watching over it, Ruan Mian felt a bit more at ease.

She continued to hold up the torch and headed into the dark interior. It was obvious this cellar was dug out temporarily, as there was nothing inside except for an unusual smell.

An indescribable dampness, along with a faint fermentation smell, but not the rotten smell of a dead animal.

Ruan Mian examined the earth wall carefully and suddenly discovered a relatively moist layer of black, mud-like substance.

She leaned in and sniffed—isn’t this natural clay coal? It’s a good find.

Ruan Mian immediately took out tools from her space and dug some up to store away.

Natural clay coal has too much moisture, so it can’t be used right away. Moreover, it can’t be spread out to air dry extensively outside the camp. Considering the unique sunlight and climate within her space, it would surely dry twice as fast with half the effort.

Ruan Mian planned to dig a little each day and store it in the space until it was dry enough to be used as fuel.

It would be an inexhaustible supply.

Besides, once spring comes and it’s time to plant, this clay coal can be used as fertilizer.

And perhaps have other uses as well.

It was only when she heard Cui Zhu calling her from outside that Ruan Mian stopped what she was doing. She then took out a piece of smoked bacon and some newly grown tomatoes from her space.

Worried they wouldn’t be warm enough, she took the chance to dig through her supplies and brought out several more quilts from her space.

As Cui Zhu piled up the firewood, the others noticed the bacon in Ruan Mian’s hands and were astonished.

"Mianmian, when did we have such a large piece of meat left?"

By the time they reached Longchang Post Station, their supplies were almost gone. Ruan Mian casually gave an excuse, and the others didn’t think much of it.

Only Mr. Ruan looked at her a few more times.

Ruan Mian stir-fried the bacon and even made some soup with it, throwing in some dried vegetable leaves to boil.

She also cooked the two eggs from the supply box for Mrs. Chen and Rui.

Everyone gathered around the fire, eating the fragrant bacon, and the room immediately felt much warmer.

After eating and drinking their fill, drowsiness set in. Seizing the opportunity without assigned tasks on the first day, everyone took the chance to rest.

For the first time in a long while, they slept in such a warm room, away from the biting cold.

However, Mr. Ruan pulled Ruan Mian aside and spoke to her in a low, earnest voice.

"Mianmian, why do you have so many good things? Take that piece of bacon: when we were at the post station, I checked the supply box. There was no bacon in it, nor were there so many quilts. How did you bring them in?"

Mr. Ruan looked worried, unable to suppress his doubts.

Perhaps he had long noticed that something was off about Ruan Mian.

It’s unusual for exiles like them to eat and live well on the road, and for supplies to seem endless.

As a meticulous person who had been in business for many years, it was not surprising Mr. Ruan noticed something amiss.

Ruan Mian quietly told him, "Dad, since it’s so, I won’t hide it from you anymore. Actually... someone has been secretly assisting me."

"Who?"

"The former Prime Minister, Mr. Xie. I once did him a favor, so I asked him to look out for us. Mr. Xie is a good official. Although he was slandered and demoted, he hasn’t forgotten our kindness."

At this moment, Xie Huai’an seemed like a versatile brick that could be moved wherever needed.

It’s better than telling Mr. Ruan directly that she had a space.

This reason about Xie Huai’an was plausible, and Mr. Ruan believed it.

However, for her sake, he still added a few words: "Mianmian, if it is truly the case, Mr. Xie has been very kind to our family. Now that we’ve reached Wuheng, we shouldn’t continue accepting his help without reason."

"Dad, I know my limits, don’t worry. We won’t always be stuck here."

"As long as we work together, we can escape the reception camp. Once we move to the shelter behind the post station, we will have local residency and no longer be enslaved."

"Alright, Mianmian, you’ve worked hard on this journey! You and everyone have taken such good care of me, and I’ve been feeling much better. From now on, I’ll help you bear the hardship."

"Dad, don’t say that. We are family, and your safety is all that matters."

It seemed that the herbs and Spiritual Spring fruit indeed worked wonders. Initially, Ruan Mian hadn’t noticed much, but now Mr. Ruan’s health had indeed improved significantly.

"Dad, get some rest now. Save your energy; we have hard labor awaiting us tomorrow!"

Hearing this, Mr. Ruan stopped overthinking.

Everyone fell into a rare warm slumber.

...

The next day, before dawn, the soldiers outside were already urging everyone.

The people in the prison cell were released; some were taken to Longchang Mountain to build city walls, while others were taken to the other side of the mountain to the forest area to chop wood.

As it was still winter in Wuheng, with ice and snow everywhere and unsuitable for farming, their main occupation was hard labor.

This group that arrived yesterday was assigned to the forest.

The snow was knee-deep, making walking difficult, yet they had to use some rusty axes to chop the wood, and after chopping, carry each log down the mountain one by one.

Just going up and down the mountain consumed a lot of labor.

Each person had a task assigned, and if they failed to chop the required number of logs, they would go without food that evening and be whipped on the spot.

With this, cries of pain resounded everywhere, and no one dared to slack off.

Seeing this, Ruan Mian seized a moment when no one was paying attention to pull out several sturdy axes and soft saws from her space behind some bushes; these were scavenged from the Qi Mansion armory.

Now, they came in handy.

She distributed these to her family, claiming they were tools borrowed from the government officer. Ruan Qingsong and the others didn’t question it; the new tools were incredibly sharp, and the saw required two people to use, making the work faster.

Ruan Mian came up with another idea and, after discussing it with Ruan Qingsong, decisively sawed one of the logs into wooden blocks and used ropes to fix and piece them together into a flat cart.

This way, they could transport several trees at once, much faster than carrying one or two at a time.

As a result, they completed their tasks faster than the others.

The people from the Qi Mansion and Uncle’s Mansion secretly lamented, especially Qi Nanfeng, who had been pampered since childhood and never done hard labor. Being of little physical strength, he was exhausted after less than one tree.

So he simply sat down in the snow, completely giving up.

No matter how Liu Family urged and shouted, he remained unmoved.

Liu Family, seeing that they wouldn’t be able to complete the task before nightfall and that she’d receive whipping because of it, was anxious and lamenting to her maid.

Qi Nanfeng got annoyed just listening to it and moved away from them to chop wood slowly elsewhere.

At this moment, he saw Ruan Mian with Cui Zhu gathered around an old tree, with Cui Zhu excitedly exclaiming.

"Miss, miss! Are we going to have a good meal again today? This is wonderful! Even the heavens are helping us!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Nanfeng’s ears perked up.