The spring in the depths of the mountains sustained several villages. The people refused to leave because they relied on its constant water supply.
With water, they could survive.
In truth, the spring's water had been slowly decreasing before, just not at such a rapid pace.
Overnight, the water flow had halved compared to the previous day. This signified that the spring might be drying up, and the villagers couldn't help but feel a sense of panic.
Jiang Pan and Chen Yuezhi simultaneously recalled Jiang Wan's words, their expressions growing solemn as they joined the queue to fetch water.
With the water flow halved, the time to collect water lengthened. Jiang Pan waited for nearly half an hour before reaching the front. After filling two buckets, he called for Chen Yuezhi to carry Jiang Wan down the mountain.
On the way back, as fetching water required queuing, there weren't many people.
Jiang Wan whispered, "Daddy, Mommy, that immortal grandpa didn't lie to me. He said the spring would dry up, and today the water flow really did decrease."
Jiang Pan, who hadn't believed her words before, now had to take them seriously with the facts before him.
What would they do if the spring truly dried up?
The couple was preoccupied with worry all the way.
Upon arriving home, Jiang Pan set down the water buckets, wiped the sweat from his brow, and said, "I'm going to the village chief's house. I need to inform him about the spring."
Jiang Wan quickly hugged his leg, demanding to be his little shadow.
Jiang Pan, a doting father, couldn't bear to refuse when his youngest daughter hugged his leg with her big eyes asking to follow him. He bent down and picked her up.
Chen Yuezhi took out the chicken leg she had hidden the day before. "Find a place where no one is around for her to eat it later."
Jiang Pan took the chicken leg, tucked it into his embrace, and left with Jiang Wan.
Along the way, Jiang Pan found a secluded spot and took out the chicken leg. "Wan Wan, eat quickly. You haven't eaten all night, you must be starving."
Jiang Wan was indeed hungry, but after receiving the chicken leg, she offered it to Jiang Pan's mouth. "Daddy, you eat first."
Jiang Pan's heart melted. He pretended to take a bite of the chicken leg and then pretended to chew a few times. "It's so delicious, Daddy is full. You eat the rest, Wan Wan."
Jiang Wan: ... She was young, not stupid!
However, knowing that Jiang Pan would never bear to eat it himself, she ate the chicken leg.
Her special ability had recovered after a night's rest. Later, she would call her brothers to go into the mountains for a bit and find an opportunity to get some food for the family.
After she finished gnawing on the chicken leg, Jiang Pan wiped her little chubby face clean before carrying her to the village chief's house.
Entering the house, Jiang Pan explained the situation of the spring's reduced water flow. "Uncle Village Chief, the spring's water flow has suddenly decreased. Could it be that the underground water is also running low?"
The village chief's family hadn't fetched water yet, so they were unaware of the matter. Upon hearing this, the village chief couldn't sit still and quickly sent his grandson up the mountain to check the situation.
"Don't panic yet. Perhaps it's just a temporary decrease. The elders say that spring hasn't dried up in over a hundred years, and it definitely won't dry up this time. Don't scare yourselves."
Seeing the village chief's reaction, Jiang Wan said, "Uncle Village Chief, if the spring really dries up, will we all die of thirst?"
Jiang Pan quickly covered her mouth. "Wan Wan, don't talk nonsense."
Jiang Wan sighed helplessly. She was too young; even when she spoke about important matters, adults only dismissed it as childish prattle.
Jiang Pan wasn't as optimistic. He tentatively asked, "Uncle Village Chief, what's the situation outside now? If... if the spring really stops flowing, do you have any plans? I heard the south is good, it's always had favorable weather. Why don't we go there and see?"
The village chief shook his head. "Da Pan, I know what you're worried about, and I'm worried too. But the outside world is in turmoil, and none of us know what's really going on. If we're unlucky on the road and encounter bandits, then we'll truly have nowhere to turn. That spring hasn't stopped flowing for a hundred years, and it won't have a problem this time. Don't worry, heaven never closes all doors. We will definitely get through this. Alright, take the child home and don't overthink things."
On the way home, Jiang Wan saw Jiang Pan frowning deeply and reached out her small hand to touch his forehead. "Daddy, don't worry. With Wan Wan here, Wan Wan won't let Daddy, Mommy, and brothers go hungry!"
Jiang Pan took it as childish talk and smiled, nudging her little chest with his head, making her giggle.
As the father and daughter returned home, before they even entered the yard, they heard Old Mrs. Jiang cursing loudly. "A married daughter is like spilled water. I've never seen anyone run back to their mother's house every other day. This is not how you freeload!"
Hearing this, Jiang Pan quickly entered the courtyard with Jiang Wan. He saw his eldest daughter, Jiang Xiao, holding a baby about six months old, standing there with an embarrassed expression.
"Big Sister!"
Jiang Wan recognized her immediately. This was her eldest sister, Jiang Xiao.
Besides her and her three brothers, the eldest branch also had a daughter, Jiang Xiao, who had been married for three years.
In the original owner's scarce memories, Jiang Xiao also had a significant presence.
Jiang Xiao heard her voice, turned her head, and looked at her with surprise. "Wan Wan, you're really better? I thought they were tricking me."
Jiang Wan nodded with a smile and ran a few steps forward, standing in front of Jiang Xiao and tiptoeing to look at the baby she was holding.
Jiang Xiao quickly squatted down so she could reach.
As soon as Jiang Wan saw the child, she couldn't help but frown. This little one was too thin.
Old Mrs. Jiang was still cursing incessantly. Jiang Pan glanced at her impatiently. "What freeloading has my daughter done to your family? In the fifteen years she was a daughter in the Jiang family, she never ate a single meal from the Jiang family for free! On the other hand, the good-for-nothings you raised have been eating and drinking for free for decades!"
"You... you..."
Old Mrs. Jiang's eyes widened in anger, sputtering "you" several times.
Jiang Pan ignored her, took Jiang Wan's hand, and called for Jiang Xiao to enter the east wing.
He was in a bad mood and found Old Mrs. Jiang and the second branch extremely displeasing, wanting to retort at any moment.
Jiang Xiao was stunned by him and hadn't recovered even after entering the room.
Jiang Pan, however, acted as if nothing had happened and asked, "Xiao Xiao, why are you back?"
Jiang Xiao quickly replied, "I heard Wan Wan was better, so I wanted to come back and see. Also, I have something to tell you, Dad. Our village plans to go out together to escape famine. The Zhang family is also leaving, and I... I have to go with them. Dad, I came to ask if you want to go together?"
Jiang Pan was taken aback. "Isn't your village doing fine? Why the sudden decision to escape famine?"
Jiang Xiao sighed. "Someone returned to the village from outside and said that a large number of refugees are heading this way. If the refugees enter the village, the consequences will be unimaginable. Everyone discussed it and decided to leave quickly while we still have some stored grain before the refugees arrive. Otherwise, I'm afraid we won't be able to leave later."
"Dad, Zhang Shu asked me to come back and notify you. If you also have the intention to leave, you can just come with us. It will be easier to look after each other on the road."
Jiang Pan remained silent for a moment. "I need to ask your grandfather's opinion on this matter first."
Jiang Xiao also knew that with such a large family, whether to leave or not wasn't something her father could decide alone.
"Then I'll be going back. Dad, we'll depart the day after tomorrow morning. You must decide quickly. Dad, I hope you'll go with us. Otherwise, I'm afraid we'll never see each other again if we leave."