CHAPTER 64: CHAPTER 64: CAUTION

"Something’s not right!"

Muttering incessantly, Yuan Yindi had to leave the Sheng Family Manor empty-handed.

Clearly, someone had been living there. Even if they chose to take the food with them when they left, it’s impossible for them to take everything, not even leaving an empty jar behind.

"Strange, too strange!"

All the way back to Shiqu Village, Yuan Yindi felt that there was something very odd about the manor.

As for Yuan Bao, she was frightened by the suspected truth she had guessed.

Now, she had only one thought, and that was to stay low-key.

She didn’t want to be targeted by Sheng Xueyi, after all, she was still young.

Of course, once she grew older and gained some ability to protect herself, she wouldn’t need to be so afraid of Sheng Xueyi.

...

Back in the village, Yuan Bao started going door to door with her uncle looking for fine grains.

Fortunately, it was close to the New Year, and every household had some fine grains prepared. Whether rice or flour, each family had a certain stock.

Yuan Yindi didn’t take everything from people, because in case the war ended before the New Year, the citizens who had taken refuge in Sanchuan City would return home.

If she took all the fine grains they needed for the New Year, how could people celebrate?

So, Yuan Yindi took a little from each household, leaving some silver coins in exchange.

Taking without asking is considered stealing.

Yuan Yindi didn’t intend to steal, so leaving silver coins was necessary.

After the two of them had gone around the entire Shiqu Village, Yuan Yindi had a small half-bag of rice and another small half-bag of flour.

These were Yuan Bao’s rations.

As for Yuan Yindi, she naturally continued eating the coarse grains at home.

"Uncle, wait a minute, let’s go fishing in the river later!"

With rice and flour, they also needed vegetables.

The cellar at home had stored radishes and cabbages, but there was very little meat, just a bit left.

Most of the meat had been taken by the family.

"Alright!"

Wasn’t it just breaking the ice for fishing?

Yuan Yindi used to often do this with Old Yuan and her brothers, she was quite familiar with it.

They had fishing nets at home.

The only trouble was breaking the ice, which was a laborious task.

Originally, Old Yuan, Yuan Pandi, and Yuan Zhaodi had made several holes in the river, so if they could find those, they wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of breaking the ice again.

But a recent heavy snowfall covered the entire river with a thick layer of snow, making it very difficult to find the previous ice holes.

"Jiaojiao, just stay here by the fire; don’t come close!"

After reaching the riverbank with Yuan Bao, Yuan Yindi started a little fire by the river and after giving special instructions to Yuan Bao, carried a pickaxe and stepped onto the ice.

Breaking ice wasn’t just about strength; it also required skill.

You had to control your strength; otherwise, if you were too forceful and the ice cracked, you might fall into the river and possibly lose your life.

Generally, breaking ice was done with several people present to watch out for each other.

But now Yuan Yindi found herself without anyone to rely on.

So she brought a rope from home, tying one end to a tree on the shore and the other around her waist, ensuring safety in case of any accidents while breaking the ice.

Yuan Bao was really impressed by her uncle’s caution.

After all, as the old saying goes, "Caution keeps the boat sailing safely for ten thousand years."

With everything ready, Yuan Yindi picked a spot to break the ice and began working with the pickaxe.

However, the ice layer was quite thick, and Yuan Yindi, despite working herself into heavy gasps, still couldn’t manage to carve out an ice hole.