Chapter 69 – Strengthening Pills

These supplies had arrived at exactly the right time for Tong Lingxian and Fang Bo Song. They were truly lacking everything, especially materials to repair the roof.

They had been living here for nearly half a year. Although it hadn’t rained often, every single time it did, the house would leak.

Fang Bo Song had originally planned that if he ever found suitable branches while gathering in the mountains, he would reinforce the roof properly. Otherwise, whenever it rained outside, it would practically drizzle inside the house as well.

If someone was home, they could at least quickly set out containers to catch the rainwater. But if no one was around, the house would almost certainly end up flooded.

Now that they had such a large sheet of plastic, the biggest problem they were facing could finally be solved.

That very night, Fang Bo Song and Ou Wenrui got to work. Carrying the large roll of plastic sheeting, they climbed onto the roof, moved aside the straw, and spread the plastic across the top.

However, simply laying down plastic wasn’t enough to fix the large holes in the roof. They still needed branches to support it; otherwise, rainwater would collect in the middle.

Tong Lingxian and Tong Xueyan went up the mountain and dragged back several wooden branches. With everyone working together, they finally managed to cover the roof with the plastic sheet before dawn.

They then layered straw and branches on top to secure it. At last, the two ramshackle houses looked somewhat presentable.

The plastic sheet was huge. After covering both houses, there was still a large roll left unused.

Because of that, Tong Lingxian simply told Fang Bo Song to cover Wu Meixia’s house as well. After all, the two families lived close together and got along well. Since they were already fixing the roof, helping out next door was only a small extra effort.

When Wu Meixia and Tang Yao woke up in the morning, the first thing they saw was not the open starry sky above them, but a pitch-dark room where not a single ray of light could pass through.

The roof that had shown the sky the night before had somehow been repaired overnight. Now the wind couldn’t blow in, and the rain certainly couldn’t pour down anymore.

Wu Meixia immediately thought of Tong Lingxian’s strange behavior over the past few days and hurried outside to knock on their door.

Unexpectedly, they had woken up even earlier than she had and were already making breakfast. Seeing her up, they even invited her to eat together.

When Wu Meixia noticed the dark circles beneath Tong Lingxian’s eyes, she instantly understood everything.

Without saying a word, she calmly turned back to wake Tang Yao. But the moment she turned her head, tears silently slipped from the corners of her eyes.

Lingxian’s family were all good people. It seemed that this kindness was something she, Wu Meixia, would never be able to repay in this lifetime.

When Tang Yao saw Wu Meixia return from outside with reddened eyes, she also understood what had happened. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

In her heart, she became even more determined to protect Fang Mingxi for the rest of her life.

Once the New Year celebrations ended, everyone in the Maple Leaf Brigade became busy again. The farming season had arrived, and the people staying in the cattle shed also had to start working every day.

Ou Wenrui and Zhou Yulan were just like Tong Lingxian had been when she first arrived, completely unfamiliar with farm work. They couldn’t even tell weeds from seedlings and nearly pulled out the crops several times by mistake.

Fortunately, this wasn’t the harvest season yet, so He Daixing gave them time to adapt. However, they naturally couldn’t earn full work points during these days.

Ou Wenrui and Zhou Yulan didn’t really mind. Both of them had money on them and backup plans for later, so they weren’t worried about food. Coming to work each day was simply to avoid criticism from others.

Still, since He Daixing was already giving them such leeway and not pursuing the matter further, they couldn’t exactly slack off every day either. After several days of getting used to things, they gradually became more competent at the work.

And just as Tong Lingxian had once said, perhaps working like this would help strengthen their bodies.

That statement turned out to be quite true. Zhou Yulan felt it deeply.

Ever since giving birth, her body had been weak from depleted blood and energy. She couldn’t handle heavy labor and had worked in offices ever since.

But after just a few days of fieldwork, she realized her body actually seemed to have gained some strength. When she stood up after squatting for a long time, she no longer felt dizzy, and at night her hands and feet were warmer.

She shared these changes with Tong Lingxian and Wu Meixia, and as expected, both agreed.

They had experienced the same thing. At first the work felt unfamiliar, but after a few days they gradually got used to it.

The three women all found it quite amazing. Could working really change a person’s body?

Whether work could truly change the body, Fang Mingxi didn’t know.

She only knew that everything depended on human effort.

At that moment, a pot of hot water had just been boiled at home. While Tang Yao went back into the room to get the water bags, Fang Mingxi quickly took out a dark pill and tossed it into the bucket.

The pill dissolved instantly upon contact with water. A thumb-sized pellet immediately blended into the entire bucket of hot water.

Fang Mingxi looked at the perfectly normal bucket of hot water with satisfaction.

No wonder the flash-sale section ranked second in her heart. Using only five small cabbages, she had managed to snag five Strengthening Pills. After everyone drank them, there were absolutely no side effects.

Even her grandmother’s frail body had started to recover.

However, only two Strengthening Pills remained. If she encountered them again in the future, she would definitely have to act quickly. Such good items were rare opportunities.

The ripples in the bucket gradually faded just as Tang Yao returned from the room with two water bags.

Using a ladle, she began filling them.

“Xixi, go get Grandpa Yu and the others’ water bags too. I’ll fill them all together.”

“Okay.”

Fang Mingxi turned and ran to the eaves, staring at the six empty water bags hanging there. After hesitating for a moment, she took them all down.

“Here, older sister.”

Tang Yao filled the remaining half bucket of water into several bags. Fang Mingxi watched from the side, wanting to say something but ultimately holding back.

Forget it. Life wasn’t easy for anyone. They had been eating together for months now. Since she had already done a good deed, one more wouldn’t make much difference.

“Xixi, Yaoyao, are you ready yet? Let’s head up the mountain.”

He Ruoruo had come right on time to call them. Standing at the roadside, she waved toward them from afar.

Fang Mingxi waved back.

“Little Yu older sister, we’ll be ready soon!”

Tang Yao quickened her pace. She first delivered the filled hot water bags to the adults, then grabbed a basket and headed up the mountain to dig for mushrooms.

The three of them played wildly on the mountain and only reluctantly headed back when the evening glow of the setting sun filled the sky.

He Ruoruo declined their invitation to stay for dinner and happily carried a basket of wild raspberries home.

The two families lived quite far apart, so she decided to take a shortcut through the woods to get back faster. But just as she stepped into the forest and hadn’t even gone far,

She suddenly caught sight of a dark shadow rushing past on the opposite side.

It moved incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, it vanished from sight.

He Ruoruo couldn’t see what it was. She only knew that the thing was large and unbelievably quick, far faster than any human could move.

She froze on the spot, too frightened to make a sound. Fortunately, the shadow had been running in great haste and didn’t notice her hiding behind the tree.

Only after it disappeared completely did He Ruoruo react. Scrambling and stumbling, she ran home as fast as she could.

“Waaaah—”

“Grandpa! There’s a bear!”

When Fang Mingxi and Tang Yao returned home, they sensed something was wrong even before reaching the door.

The door was open, but Grandpa and Grandma weren’t inside. No one was at their maternal grandparents’ house either, and even Grandmother Wu was gone.

The two exchanged glances, thinking something had happened again at home. Just as they were about to go look for everyone, they suddenly saw Tong Lingxian rushing back in a hurry.

“Grandma—”

Before Fang Mingxi could even finish speaking, Tong Lingxian had already rushed past them and into the house.

Inside, she rummaged frantically through boxes and cabinets. After finding a bundle of something, she dashed out again and ran next door.

The two girls followed her with their eyes and saw her enter Old Yu’s house. It was noisy inside, and it seemed that everyone from their families had gathered there.

A bad feeling rose in the sisters’ hearts.

Without another word, they both ran toward the house.