Blessed Girl From a Farm Family: Surviving the Famine With Space - Chapter 34

The sky hadn’t completely darkened yet. Dark clouds blotted out the sun, leaving everything shrouded in a gloomy gray. Occasionally, a bird or two would streak across the sky, startling the leaves into a rustling chorus.

Fu Manman tightened the ragged jacket around her and sniffled. The cold, dry air bit at her; she had no idea how they were going to get through the night!

She needed to find a way back into her space, and fast!

After wandering around the area for a bit, she left a marker pointing back to the cave. Then she found a tree, about the same height as the one from last night, and climbed up. She was going to try falling from the tree again, to see if that would get her into the space.

Clutching the tree branch, Fu Manman prayed with all her might. Let me into the space, please let me in.

She remembered reading in novels that sometimes willpower alone could access a spatial ability. She concentrated hard, thinking of nothing but the space, then mustered her courage and rolled off the branch.

Thump! Fu Manman landed flat on her back, the back of her head smacking against the leaf-covered ground. Pain shot through her, making her yelp.

“Ow… that hurts…!”

This fall was solid, and it really, really hurt!

She hadn’t made it into the space. Fu Manman opened her eyes. As the stars dancing in her vision faded, she stared blankly at the ash-grey sky!
This lifeless grey felt just like her future prospects—bleak and dismal!

Was the space a one-time use only?!

The thought filled her with despair so profound that she wanted to bury herself in the earth right there. Lying on the ground, furious and helpless, she rolled around in frustration.

Not far away, Fu Qiang watched Fu Manman’s bizarre behavior with a cold eye.

He’d seen her climb the tree, jump from it, and now roll around on the ground. He was baffled. Suicide? It didn’t seem like it; that height wouldn’t kill her.

But if it wasn’t suicide, why jump from the tree? Even if it wasn’t fatal, it must hurt like hell.

She’s really a lunatic!
She should have climbed higher. Dying from the fall would save me the trouble.

Fu Qiang stopped paying attention to Fu Manman. He had come out to look for food, but after searching around, he hadn’t found anything edible.

Winter was approaching. The mountain had little green foliage left, mostly dry branches and dead leaves. Edible roots were hard to find. He had managed to dig up a few wild grass roots and had eaten two earlier; they were bitter and astringent. He’d also found a type of green fruit, which was even worse—thick skin, little flesh, and a large seed.

Meanwhile, Fu Manman, frustrated by her failure to access the space, grew increasingly agitated. Without the space, she had no food.

She needed to find a way to store supplies.

They still had a fair amount of wolf meat, but fresh meat wouldn’t keep for long, even in the cold weather. She needed to process the meat, turn it into jerky that would last longer.

But jerky alone wouldn’t sustain them for long. She needed to find other things too.

She looked around and suddenly spotted a tree laden with green fruits. They looked familiar.

She ran to the tree. Many rotten fruits lay beneath it. Fu Manman picked one up, peeled off the outer skin, and revealed a thick shell underneath.

“Could these be walnuts?!” Her heart raced. She cracked one open with effort, revealing the fresh kernel inside. The kernel was a bit small—these were wild walnuts. But regardless, they were food!

“Great! We won’t starve!” Fu Manman was thrilled internally and started gathering the walnuts.

She had specially brought a black cloth bag when she left, originally intending to fill it with food from her space and pretend she’d found it in the mountains.

Now it was perfect for holding the walnuts.

When Fu Qiang saw Fu Manman again, she was gathering the same wild fruits he had picked earlier.

Those fruits were so unpleasant to eat, with so little flesh, and she was treating them like treasure!

So stupid!
A wicked thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.

They were alone in the woods now. She hadn’t noticed him.

Fu Qiang didn’t hesitate. He picked up a stone from the ground.
If he hit Fu Manman with the stone when she wasn’t looking, he could not only avenge the humiliation but also get his things back.

Fu An and the others could continue on with the Chang family.

He would take his belongings and be free and unencumbered, heading south as soon as possible.

Fu Qiang had already planned everything out in his mind. All that was left was to smash that stone into Fu Manman.

Fu Manman, squatting on the ground and absorbed in collecting walnuts, didn’t notice anyone behind her.

“Hey! What’s this?” Fu Manman suddenly noticed a hole in the ground.

Fu Qiang had been about to strike, but he hesitated, unable to bring himself to do it. Hearing Fu Manman’s sudden exclamation, he tensed, and the stone in his hand fell to the ground, rolling to Fu Manman’s feet.

Fu Manman looked at the large stone that had landed near her feet, puzzled. She turned around and saw Fu Qiang standing behind her, a hint of panic in his eyes as he looked at her.

A subtle thought flashed through Fu Manman’s mind.

But she dismissed it immediately. Impossible! I’m his own sister.

But how to explain the murderous intent she’d felt behind her just moments ago?

…

“Second Brother! Come here, quick! There’s a hole here. There might be rabbits inside.” Fu Manman put on a big smile and waved Fu Qiang over.

Fu Qiang collected himself, masking his startled expression. He glanced at the hole Fu Manman pointed to and shook his head.

What kind of rabbit hole looks like that? Fu Qiang hadn’t actually seen a rabbit hole before, but if it really was one, then they might get to eat rabbit meat.

The thought of food made his stomach growl.

“Come here, help me dig this hole open.” Fu Manman beckoned.

Reluctantly, but feeling somewhat guilty about his earlier intention to kill her, Fu Qiang obediently did as Fu Manman said.

Fu Manman used a large wooden stick to pry at the earth, telling Fu Qiang to stand guard and not let any rabbits escape.

She dug and dug! Finally, she felt she’d hit something. Excited, she poked at it with the stick. It was soft! There really was something inside.

But why wasn’t the rabbit running out?
Fu Manman squatted by the entrance, clearing away the dirt and peering inside. When she saw the mass of things inside, her face instantly contorted in horror. “Yah! Yah! Yah…!”

“Snakes…!” Help! She was terrified of snakes.

Of all the luck, she had to poke a snake nest! The image of that cluster of snakes, their ugly patterns and writhing bodies, was already seared into her mind.

Fu Manman scrambled away from the snake hole on all fours, her heart pounding, a cold sweat breaking out on her back. Her stomach churned with nausea. She held her forehead with one hand and her belly with the other.

She felt like throwing up!

Fu Qiang watched Fu Manman’s intense reaction with an expression of indifference. They’re just snakes. Why is she so scared?

Fu Manman is afraid of snakes! Fu Qiang quickly made a mental note of that.

Next time she bullies me, I’ll catch a snake to scare her.

Fu Qiang looked at the dark snakes in the hole. They were somewhat disgusting, but still, snakes were edible. These snakes were hibernating, moving slowly. He could catch them; they’d make a good meal tonight.

Calmly, Fu Qiang used a stick to fish out several patterned snakes from the hole.

Then, with precise aim, he smashed each one in the head with a stone.

Watching this, Fu Manman finally couldn’t hold it in anymore. She retched…