The sky had completely darkened, and small flickers of light began to appear from the shacks and makeshift houses along the roadside.
The flames swayed in the wind, as if they might be extinguished at any moment.
"Why hasn't my brother come back yet?"
Tang Tang clung to the crude wooden door, her gaze fixed on the entrance of the camp.
Time passed slowly, and the fire in the room behind her went out. She crouched on the ground, her eyes unblinking.
It was not uncommon for someone to leave the camp during the day and never return by night.
When fetching water or doing laundry, she often overheard the women talking about how so-and-so hadn't returned for a day, then two days, then three, five... and eventually, no one mentioned them anymore.
Tang Tang hugged her arms tightly, the cold night wind sending shivers through her heart.
"Sister, why are you at the door?" Seeing the shadow on the ground, Tang Wen breathed a sigh of relief. The house was pitch dark, and he had thought something had happened.
"Brother? Why did you come from that direction?"
Tang Tang stood up, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Let's go inside!"
"Okay, okay!"
The siblings entered the shack and used a flint to relight the earthen stove.
The firelight illuminated their faces, turning them a deep red.
Before his sister could ask, Tang Wen raised a finger to his lips and with his other hand, pulled out a bag of foxtail millet from his chest.
"What's this?" Her voice was both suppressed and excited.
After speaking, Tang Tang quickly glanced at the door, and seeing no movement, she took the bag of millet with both hands.
"Four and a half pounds of millet. Today, we can eat our fill!"
"Where did you get it? Are you hurt?" As she spoke, Tang Tang grabbed his arm, ready to give her brother a full-body check.
Tang Wen quickly waved his hand: "I'm fine! Just a bit tired, but otherwise, nothing's wrong. Oh, and there's this too."
He pulled out the last Red-billed Finch he had caught that day.
"You caught..." She only got halfway through her sentence before Tang Tang looked at the door again. After a few seconds, she whispered, "Did you hit it with a stone?"
"Yes, don't tell anyone."
"Okay, okay!"
Tang Tang nodded like a chick pecking at rice: "We should exchange this little bird for more millet."
Tang Wen looked down at their thin, stick-like arms: "We need to eat meat. Winter is coming, and we won't survive without eating more. Let's split it in half!"
Tang Tang's face was full of reluctance: "But didn't you say one little bird could be exchanged for a pound and a half of millet?"
"Don't worry, I can catch more birds tomorrow."
"Alright, we'll eat it tomorrow. Let's have more millet today."
With that, she turned to fetch the millet jar.
Tang Wen: ...
His sister, well, she seemed to have a bit of cleverness about her.
Gurgle, gurgle, the water in the clay pot boiled.
Tang Tang poured in two small handfuls of millet.
"Add a bit more. I'm sure we can catch more birds tomorrow."
The taste of hunger was unbearable.
After two days, Tang Wen finally understood why so many people struggled to lose weight.
Because being hungry and having to keep moving was simply no way to live.
At her brother's urging, Tang Tang added another small handful to the clay pot.
Gurgle, gurgle.
Their stomachs growled one after the other.
Neither sibling spoke.
When you're hungry, you don't feel like talking.
When the thick millet porridge was ladled into their bowls, they eagerly picked them up.
Blowing and sipping, in less than three minutes, both bowls were empty.
Tang Tang added some cold water and cooked two bowls of rice soup, which they sipped slowly, one bowl each.
After finishing the two bowls, they were about seventy percent full.
While her sister cleaned the kitchen utensils, Tang Wen lay on the dry grass, closing his eyes to rest.
The current time was probably around seven in the evening.
In a world without any entertainment, going to bed early and waking up early wasn't so bad…
Wait.
It was far from time to relax!
Tang Wen opened his eyes, recalling the group of people he had encountered on the way back to the camp earlier that day, squatting by the roadside with the intent to rob.
Fortunately, he had managed to talk his way out of it.
But what about next time?
Hmm, he couldn't take the main road when returning in the future.
He could climb a tree or stand on higher ground to observe the situation first.
And most importantly, he looked down at his thin, twig-like arms.
He needed to exercise!
With this thought in mind, while his stomach wasn't yet growling, he stood up and walked to the doorway, starting to stretch his body.
Under his sister's puzzled gaze, Tang Wen focused his eyes straight ahead, spread his legs, placed his palms flat, raised them to the level of his navel, extended his arms, and pressed the backs of his hands together above his head. Then, with a swift motion, he thrust them straight into the air.
Tang Tang, sitting inside the house, saw this and jerked her head back in surprise.
The first move of the Eight Section Brocade.
For the past three years, Tang Wen had been confined at home for several months.
The last time, and the longest, was a lockdown that lasted over 80 days. In the building he rented, there were confirmed cases every day.
To boost his immunity, he had followed a health guru on Douyin and learned this set of Eight Section Brocade.
However, he had only practiced this cultivation method for a few months, which was too short a time to experience any significant benefits.
Now, Tang Wen desperately hoped it would be as miraculous as the comments claimed.
"Sis, you need to remember the movements. You should practice with me."
Tang Tang didn't want to remember, let alone practice, because moving too much would make her hungry.
But seeing Tang Wen's serious expression, she nodded slightly and casually added a handful of dry leaves to the earthen stove, making the firelight brighter.
After completing one round of the Eight Section Brocade, his body felt slightly warm.
After a short rest, he started the second round.
Then the third…
The concern on Tang Tang's little face grew deeper. Would her brother get hungry? Would he need to eat again?
After finishing the third round of the Eight Section Brocade, the light in front of Tang Wen's eyes twisted:
[Name: Tang Wen]
[Age: 14 years, 9 months]
[Physique: 0.3]
[Spirit: 0.7]
[Skill: Farming Mastery (719/1000)]
[Skill: Stone Throwing, Mastery (67/1000)]
[Skill: Eight Section Brocade, Beginner (0/500)]
It had indeed become a skill.
This proved that his movements were quite standard, with minimal distortion.
Tang Wen's anxious heart settled. He had been following the video's voice prompts step by step, and this was the first time he had practiced without the video's guidance. He hadn't been entirely confident.
But it worked!
However, the Eight Section Brocade was much more complex than stone throwing. After becoming a skill, its displayed level wasn't "Entry" but "Beginner."
Still, Tang Wen was satisfied. No matter what, as long as there was an experience bar, it was good.
"Sis, did you remember? Next round, you'll practice with me."
Another round? That would definitely make them hungry, right?
"Little Wen, what are you practicing?"
Tang Wen casually replied, "A few days ago, I met an old man with a white beard. He taught me this. Practicing it makes you stronger."
Tang Tang suddenly understood, "No wonder you've been hungrier than usual these past few days. Were you practicing during the day too?"
"Um, well, we won't be short of foxtail millet to eat in the future, so you should start practicing too."
After a two-second silence, Tang Tang finally said, "Tomorrow, I'll start practicing tomorrow."
Tang Wen didn't push her. He took a sip of water and went to the door to practice the fourth round.
Tang Tang sat on the hay, her arms wrapped around her knees, murmuring something only she could hear.
After finishing the fourth round, he gained 5 experience points.
[Skill: Eight Section Brocade, Beginner (0→5/500)]
"Whew!"
His weak body had already broken into a light sweat after practicing the Eight Section Brocade four times in a row.
He didn't continue. Tang Wen went back inside, lay down on the hay, chatted casually with Tang Tang for a bit, and soon fell asleep.
Early the next morning, Tang Wen, still half-asleep, heard his stomach growling loudly.
Tang Tang steeled herself and poured a generous three handfuls of foxtail millet into the pot, cooking two bowls of thick, fragrant porridge.
After breakfast, under her sister's constant reminders,
Tang Wen left the camp and ventured into the barren woods.
Everyone knew the coming winter would be harsh.
Even the edible tree bark had been stripped clean.
Life was hard for people, and the birds were no better off.
After searching for a while, he spotted a few red-billed finches resting in the trees.
Drawing on yesterday's experience, Tang Wen's movements were steadier this time.
The four red-billed finches were startled by the death of their companion and flew off several times, but they always landed on nearby trees, where Tang Wen targeted them. Out of the four, three were killed.
But those three red-billed finches were all Tang Wen managed to catch that morning.
At noon, he returned to the camp.
"You got three more? Little Wen, you're amazing!"
Tang Tang's spirits lifted instantly.
Then, as if remembering something, she quickly closed the door and began a flurry of reminders:
"Exchange for foxtail millet, but don't go to the same rice shop as yesterday! And there's a shady store to the east of the camp—don't go there, and don't exchange too much rice at once…"
Tang Wen listened patiently, then said something that left her conflicted: "We definitely can't exchange for too much rice. We need to eat meat."
"Uh," the older sister's eyebrows knitted together, "Alright."
(End of Chapter)