CHAPTER 51: CHAPTER 51: THE CRIME OF GENDER 51

Upon hearing the news that Fang Yaoyao had run away, Qin Shuangshuang couldn’t care about anything else and sprinted towards Fang Family Village, regretfully thinking she should bash her head against a wall. She should never have left Fang Yaoyao at home; she should have kept her by her side. How could she forget? Just look at her mother’s build—how could she stop the determined Fang Yaoyao!

Damn it, how exactly did something happen to Fang Yaoyao in the past life! When exactly did it happen! She knew nothing!

Even though Fang Zhongyi had saved her at that time, every day he seemed lifeless. Qin Shuangshuang didn’t dare mention his daughter, fearing it would touch upon Fang Zhongyi’s sorrow. If only she had asked back then, she wouldn’t be in the dark now, without any information to reference.

The Qin Family Village was close to the Fang Family Village, but running all this way Qin Shuangshuang couldn’t see a single villager, normally bustling about the fields, to ask for directions.

There was no one in front, no one behind, not even the sound of bugs or birds, as if the world only had her left! The fields, once full of green sprouts bending in the wind, showed no sign of greenery, only yellow earth and deep, cracked chasms! The desolation stretched as far as the eye could see!

Compared to the Qin Family Village, the atmosphere in Fang Family Village was even more oppressive. Not a single person could be seen in the entire village, though there were people inside every house. Yet, every door was shut tight, and the wind swirled the yellow sand around, making it seem like a deserted village abandoned for many years.

Qin Shuangshuang, familiar with the place, hurried to her master Fang Zhongyi’s house. Fang Zhongyi’s house was the most well-kept in Fang Family Village; Qin Shuangshuang was extremely familiar with this house because she spent most of the past few years training martial arts here with Fang Zhongyi.

Without bothering to knock, Qin Shuangshuang barged in. Inside, Fang Zhongyi was cooking soup with dried meat, mushrooms, and wood ear fungus. It smelled delicious, but Qin Shuangshuang felt nothing, as she had been eating the same things daily and had no appetite for them anymore.

Qin Shuangshuang’s rough entrance made Fang Zhongyi freeze for a moment. Qin Shuangshuang glanced around and immediately spotted Fang Yaoyao carrying a bowl out of the room, unharmed—this allowed Qin Shuangshuang to breathe a huge sigh of relief and slump onto a small stool to the side.

Fang Zhongyi looked at Qin Shuangshuang’s state and jokingly blamed Fang Yaoyao, "I told you running over like this would scare Shuangshuang. This girl is too thoughtless."

Fang Yaoyao embarrassedly stuck out her tongue, "Oh, I had no choice! Shuangshuang is always worried I’ll get hurt and keeps a close eye on me. You never come to see me, I miss you! So, I sneaked back. I won’t do it again next time!"

As it was time for dinner, Qin Shuangshuang decided not to leave, but sat down to eat with Fang Yaoyao and Fang Zhongyi. During the meal, Fang Zhongyi sternly scolded Fang Yaoyao, telling her not to run around by herself, as the world was not a peaceful place.

Fang Yaoyao knew she was wrong, but she felt that since she knew martial arts, even against three or four men, she could handle herself, and no one could harm her.

But outwardly, Fang Yaoyao dared not show this thought. Qin Shuangshuang and Fang Zhongyi, seeing her good attitude, assumed she had listened, unaware of what Fang Yaoyao was really thinking.

After the meal, Fang Yaoyao went back with Qin Shuangshuang. Before leaving, Qin Shuangshuang repeatedly asked her master Fang Zhongyi to visit Fang Yaoyao more often, to prevent her from running off on her own.

In the following days, the atmosphere remained bleak, with no alleviation from the drought. Every village sent people to wait daily at the government office, hoping the court would open the granaries to aid the disaster victims, but they never saw the County Magistrate relent and release grain, only the relocation order announced every day!

Qin Shuangshuang took the opportunity to mention the entire village moving to the border city. Unsurprisingly, everyone was unwilling, causing Qin Shuangshuang to feel frustrated. She couldn’t understand why going to the border city was scarier than starving to death. Barbarians, no matter how fearsome, were still people, and anything human could be vanquished.

The Emperor had resolved to move people to the border city, with that bold and ambitious Emperor’s strong support and rich prospects, the region held unimaginable potential for development. Qin Shuangshuang knew that the future border city would be such a thriving place that people would hardly be able to get there even if they wanted to!

Yet the common people were like this, fearing the unknown and reluctant to leave their homeland. Sometimes, even if crouching in Hell, they would rather die in a place familiar to them, leaving one feeling powerless and helpless!

The court still hadn’t released grain, and many households’ food supplies had long been exhausted. Many people had begun relying on tree bark and plant roots for food, but even tree bark and plant roots would run out. Recently, some had started digging up Guanyin soil in the mountains to mix with roots and bark to eat.

Despite reaching this situation, when Qin Shuangshuang again proposed moving to the border city, everyone still hesitated. Qin Shuangshuang could only console herself that at least people were no longer adamantly refusing to leave and were now hesitating—a small step forward, perhaps.

In the coming days, food became increasingly difficult to find. Even the well that had always been a reliable water source dried up twice for an entire day, scaring the villagers, leading to further reduction in water usage by other villages, from three buckets to one bucket!

Just one bucket of water was barely enough to drink, leaving little for anything else. The villagers from outside immediately stirred up a commotion, talking simultaneously and growing more and more agitated. Some even tried to use their numbers to cause trouble.

However, when Qin Shuangshuang picked up a massive grinding stone weighing several hundred jin by the well and easily spun it around, then smashed a deep hole into the ground with it, everyone quieted, each person backing away, no one daring to make a sound!

Qin Shuangshuang said nothing further and, after intimidating the crowd, relinquished control back to the village chief who had been shouting himself hoarse to calm the chaos.

The water issue was resolved. Reducing the number of outsiders fetching water allowed the well’s water level to gradually recover, and everyone sighed in relief.

But while the water issue was solved, the biggest problem—food—remained unsolved. Roots and bark were increasingly scarce, nowhere to be seen outside and only found in the mountains. But even the trees in the mountains seemed to have died from drought, shriveled without a hint of edible tender white parts after peeling the bark.

The Qin Family did have food. Several times, Mrs. Bai nearly couldn’t bear withholding their food supply from the village people. But Qin Shuangshuang always disagreed.

Although their meat stockpile filled the entire attic, it was nothing compared to the needs of an entire village. This was Qin Shuangshuang’s emergency reserve, and she couldn’t release it unless they reached dire straits.

But now, with even the wild grass and bark becoming scarce, if Qin Shuangshuang didn’t release the food now, people would genuinely starve to death—it was time.