The town only had this one pawnshop, and it seemed the jade pendant wouldn't be pawned. However, it was his mother's only keepsake, and Lu Ye wouldn't resort to such measures unless absolutely necessary.
It was good that it couldn't be pawned. Lu Ye carefully placed it on his person.
Still, he needed to find another way to buy seeds.
Lu Ye pondered whether to sell the wolf in his space.
"Sister-in-law, I'm hungry…" Lu Yu clutched his stomach, his brow furrowed like a little old man.
Bai Sheng stroked his listless little head and said gently, "Yu, just hold on a little longer, sister-in-law has already thought of a way to make money."
"What way?" Lu Ye looked at Bai Sheng.
Bai Sheng was also starving, her stomach pressed against her back. She pulled Lu Ye aside, mustering her spirits, and said, "We need to get a wooden bucket first."
"A wooden bucket? You—" Lu Ye was startled and immediately rejected the idea, "No! It's too dangerous for you, you'll be exposed! Forget this, I'll figure something out!"
In truth, Lu Ye had no good solutions. In this desolate year, with water and grain scarce, everyone was struggling. He had strength but no place to use it. At worst, he could sell blood again. The wealthy in town were superstitious and believed human blood could nourish health; perhaps that could help them through this hardship.
"It won't be. It's just for a moment. I saw someone pushing wooden buckets to sell water earlier. That means there are water peddlers in Tianshui Town!" Bai Sheng nudged the three children with her chin. "They're all so hungry, we can't hesitate any longer!"
Lu Ye pursed his lips, his breath catching.
Seeing that he still wouldn't agree, Bai Sheng said resolutely, "Lu Ye, if you don't go, I will go myself!" With that, she turned and pulled Lu Hua and the other two towards the cooperage.
Lu Ye had no choice but to follow.
The cooperage was equally deserted. The owner, a short, thin middle-aged man, looked up from a pile of wood shavings at the five people of varying sizes standing in the shop and asked indifferently, "Buying buckets?"
Bai Sheng smiled kindly. "Boss, may I ask if you can exchange wooden buckets for water here?"
Lu Hua and the other two children looked at Bai Sheng in unison. Ever since their sister-in-law had woken up a few days ago, their home had always had water to drink. They didn't know where the water came from, but their elder brother had told them not to ask.
So, they could only imagine. Other than their home harboring an immortal, they couldn't think of any other reason.
"Water?" The boss's eyes lit up, and his wood-shaving action stopped. "Naturally. Uh, two buckets of water for one wooden bucket!"
Bai Sheng exchanged an excited glance with Lu Ye. She stepped closer to the boss and smiled sincerely, "Boss, my family's wooden bucket is broken. Can I take two wooden buckets from you first to fill with water, and then bring them back? Don't worry, I'll leave my three younger siblings here as collateral. My husband and I will go back to fetch water and return soon."
The boss's expression faltered. Clearly, he hadn't encountered such a situation before.
Lu Yun's eyes darted, and he immediately ran over with Lu Yu, pleading in a childish voice, "Boss, please agree. We'll be very good as hostages here. If my brother and sister-in-law break their promise, you… you can sell us for money."
Lu Hua also walked over and boldly said, "Boss, my sister-in-law never lies."
"We won't eat… eat your food," Lu Yu said with little confidence, fiddling with his small hands and tilting his head up. If the boss offered food, he wouldn't be able to refuse.
Lu Hua and Lu Yun put their hands to their foreheads.
The boss couldn't help but laugh. He clapped his hands and said heartily, "Alright, you can take two buckets to fetch water first!" Regardless of whether these people were telling the truth, he wanted to try. After all, water was so expensive now, and one couldn't necessarily buy it with money. He hadn't had water for almost two days.
Bai Sheng was overjoyed and immediately urged Lu Ye to get the wooden buckets.
The two walked to a deserted narrow alley. Lu Ye shielded Bai Sheng, and Bai Sheng pointed her left palm at the wooden buckets, instantly filling both of them.
Fortunately, the wooden buckets had lids, so once covered, no one could tell what was inside.
To avoid arousing the boss's suspicion, they waited in place for a while before carrying the two buckets of water to the shop.
There was a large water缸 in the backyard of the boss's house, and it was completely empty.
Before Lu Ye could pour the water into the water缸, the boss suddenly shouted, "Wait! How do I know this water is drinkable?"
Bai Sheng poured the water. This water was spiritual spring water, which couldn't be bought even with a thousand gold pieces. If it weren't for the current crisis, she wouldn't have been willing to sell it so cheaply.
"You taste it first," the boss said, swallowing hard. Despite his reluctance, he couldn't trust others blindly.
Lu Ye decisively picked up a dipper from the water缸 and took a sip from each bucket.
Seeing this, the boss licked his dry lips and eagerly picked up a dipper, scooping up a large amount of water and gulping it down.
After drinking the water, his whole body felt energized and incredibly refreshed!
The boss thought this was just the body's reaction to timely hydration. He praised, "This water is excellent. If you have more water in the future, you can sell it to me again. My name is Liu. May I know your esteemed surnames?"
Before Bai Sheng could speak, Lu Ye apologized, "I'm sorry, Boss Liu, but there won't be any more water in the future. The… the well at home is almost empty."
"That's a great pity," Boss Liu said with a look of regret.
Bai Sheng glanced at Lu Ye and smiled, "If the well gets water again in the future, we will definitely take care of Boss Liu first!"
Boss Liu beamed, "Thank you both then. Come, I'll pick out a high-quality wooden bucket for you! And I'll also give you a dipper!"
This Boss Liu was an honest man, and Bai Sheng didn't want to be too definitive.
Having successfully exchanged for a new wooden bucket, it was now time to exchange for grain seeds.
Bai Sheng secretly filled another bucket of water and had Lu Ye carry it to the grain shop.
The grain shop owner was a plump aunt. In this era, everyone else was skin and bones, but she looked quite robust, making her stand out in the crowd.
When the plump aunt heard they wanted to exchange water for grain seeds, she was naturally willing. She immediately took out the best seeds from the shop and let Bai Sheng choose.
Bai Sheng exchanged one bucket of water for two catties of wheat seeds and two catties of corn seeds.
As they were leaving, the plump aunt kindly reminded them, "With this severe drought, your seeds might not sprout if you plant them. Even if they do, they might not grow. Don't waste them."
Bai Sheng smiled and said, "Oh, these are for our relatives far away. They have favorable weather there."
Only then did the plump aunt nod, indicating her reassurance.
After receiving the grain seeds, Bai Sheng immediately threw them into her space and instructed Hengheng to plant the seeds immediately and with haste.
Hengheng was busy in the space acting as both father and mother to the wolf cub. Upon receiving Bai Sheng's command, it immediately grabbed the seeds and went to plant them, not daring to delay.
The household was already unable to make ends meet. Now that they finally had grain seeds, it was time for the skilled farmer, Hengheng, to shine.
Because it had drunk the spiritual spring water, the little wolf cub's eyes opened in less than a day. It followed Hengheng, staggering towards the fields.
It whimpered as it walked. It loved this place; it had spiritual spring water to drink, and the air was fresh and the scenery beautiful. It wanted to learn from Sister Pig and win the owner's favor so it could stay here forever.
If Hengheng knew the little wolf cub considered it a female pig, it would have been utterly embarrassed on the spot!
How could a mighty and majestic black pig warrior like itself have any pore that resembled Sister Pig!