activa-t Chapter 230. To Stay Alive
Chapter 230. To Stay Alive
Chapter 230: 230. To Stay AliveIn temperatures below minus seventy degrees, those who struggled to stay alive, desperately
One could only imagine the conditions of those still on the mountains, fearing they truly faced a kind of purgatory.
"You’re right, Xiu certainly is blessed and bound to be alright."
Sun’s wife nodded, simply expressing emotion, for in reality, she understood as well. With her husband and the village chief as parents-in-law, her situation was better than theirs. Even here, they couldn’t help but wonder, waddling where the child might be. But it was too cold now for long journeys, especially climbing over mountain after mountain.
"Don’t dwell on it, that child is surely alright. We must also strive to survive, and we’ll see each other one day," Sun Laotou reassured his wife, patting her arm before quickly placing his hands by the fire again.
"Mm," his wife adjusted the quilt over Laotou’s legs up a bit, nodding.
Meanwhile, thoughts of Qi Xiu not only crossed Sun’s wife’s mind, but also Qi’s family and their related kin. Regrettably, when temperatures hadn’t dropped drastically, they did attempt searches across many mountains. Apart from finding some food, there wasn’t a trace of anyone from Hua Village, and they couldn’t go any farther, ultimately having to give up.
With the temperature plummeting so rapidly, it was difficult to move a step, for fear of not being able to return from a little farther out.
"....Why did I give birth to such a heartless daughter, this heaven-condemned thing abandoned us so readily? If we had followed this girl, why would our home suffer such hardships? And now, where on earth are they hiding? If we can’t find them, what shall we do in the future?"...
Eating from a bowl containing old wild greens and wild mushroom soup, Qi’s wife began lamenting again.
"Mother, save your strength; the eldest sister can’t hear you anyhow," Qi Laoda said weakly, having drunk two bowls of food thick on water and thin on vegetables, ineffective at alleviating hunger.
Now, their family had started gathering edible tree bark, drying it, and grinding it into powder for reserve, also contemplating searching those few traps again tomorrow, hoping for luck with some catch.
After this ordeal, Qi Laoda and the two younger brothers changed, becoming much more industrious. There was no choice; with so many mouths to feed, the old and the young, and only their own stronger constitution to rely on, survival meant giving all they had.
Most crucially, there was little warm clothing at home, so all couldn’t venture out at once. As it was, only two brothers went out together each time, wearing every bit available, wrapping hats, faces, and necks tightly, leaving only eyes exposed, and layering foot clothings inside shoes. Yet stepping on the ground still pierced with cold.
At times like those, Qi Laoda hoped intensely to find his eldest sister. Unfortunately, the surrounding mountains had been combed upon initial arrival, except gathering plentiful edibles and stumbling upon wild chickens, there remained no human traces.
They had dug and collected numerous edibles, also gathering unfallen wild fruits and discovering a chestnut tree. While many fallen were spoiled, careful selection yielded eatables, all brought back home, dried by the fire and saved instead of consumed.