Gianna didn't stop Floyd.
In fact, she couldn't drink the water he brought back.
Just thinking about how it might have wild boar urine in it made her feel sick.
She had already planned to secretly switch out the water when she cooked.
Old Man Liu wasn't happy. He jumped up and protested, "One ladle of water for one jin of coarse grain? You're asking too much! This is taking advantage of people in a disaster!"
Floyd didn't hold back at all. He asked back, "How am I taking advantage? Is grain harder to get or water? Water is something that saves lives. I'm using my family's safety to give you a chance. With this water, you can make some pancakes and escape."
Escape...
When the villagers heard that word, they started to panic. Were they really going to have to run away?
Floyd stood in the doorway and raised his voice. "Are you trading or not?"
An old man was the first to answer, "My family will trade for two ladles of water." Then he hurried his family to bring two jin of coarse grain.
Floyd took the grain and stepped aside to let the old man in.
Gianna brought him to the water jar and said, "Watch me scoop the water."
As she scooped the third ladle, the old man stopped her.
"No, no, that's enough!"
Gianna glanced at the door and lowered her voice. "We have another bucket of water. You've always treated us well. Consider this ladle a thank-you. I know you'll leave after you get water, so take care. Boil the water before drinking."
The old man let out a long sigh. "If we stay in the village, we'll die. My family's water is almost gone. If we don't leave now, we never will. You and Floyd should leave too."
He carried the half bucket of water to the door and handed it to his son.
Once the villagers saw that someone really got water in exchange, more people stepped up, willing to trade a ladle of water.
This time, Gianna only scooped one ladle.
She gave more to the old man because he had always been kind to them.
That water was undrinkable to her, but it could save his family.
More villagers came wanting to trade, but Floyd firmly said no more.
Old Man Liu's plan had failed. When all the villagers finally left, he quickly blocked the door with his foot before Floyd could close it.
He looked completely eager to please. "What happened before was my fault. I'm still your uncle. You can't just watch us die of thirst and hunger, can you?"
Floyd sneered. "Uncle? You think you deserve that title?"
After his parents died, the only people that mattered were the three kids and Gianna.
He used to treat Old Man Liu's family kindly, thinking it was right.
But they turned out to be ungrateful dogs.
Old Man Liu trying to sell Gianna had crossed the line.
She was his woman. He wouldn't let anyone bully her.
And just now, Old Man Liu even joined with outsiders to rob them of their water. That couldn't be forgiven.
Old Man Liu looked awkward and forced a smile. "I know you're angry, but I'm still your uncle. That's a fact. You don't want to see us die, do you? How about two ladles of water and one jin of grain? I'll speak well of you later."
Floyd laughed in anger.
"Why should I give you anything from my house? I told you that if you stepped into our yard again, I wouldn't be polite. And now look at you."
Old Man Liu's eyelid twitched.
Seeing Floyd's cold face, he gave up immediately.
He pulled his foot back without hesitation and walked off cursing.
Gianna's lips slightly curled up. She was starting to admire Floyd's decisive attitude more and more.
There wasn't much water left in the water tank.
Floyd took a bucket of water from the cellar, cleaned the tank a bit, and poured the water in.
"They should be quiet for a couple of days now," he said.
Gianna replied, "Tomorrow let's go to the valley together. After we get the pork, we'll head to the county town."
They needed a cart.
Gianna thought for a moment and said, "I remember some families in the village have carts. Why don't you take a few pounds of grain and ask if they'd be willing to trade their cart with us?"
Even though their relationship with the villagers wasn't good, the cart was more important. With a cart, the three children could ride on it, and carrying water would be much easier.
Floyd shook his head. "We shouldn't trade in this village. I'll carry three pounds of grain and take a gourd of water to try the next village."
To keep Floyd from knowing how she got the water, Gianna asked him to take the kids out into the yard to play for a while.
She took the chance to get a big pot of water from her space and poured it into the cooking pot.
Then she filled another pot with water and swapped it back into her space.
They only traded for three pounds of grain today, and it was all ground coarse grain.
This kind of grain was good for making flatbread.
Thinking about going into the mountains again, Gianna added a little sugar to the coarse flour and made palm-sized flatbreads.
Floyd came back into the house, his face showing concern.
"I heard some villagers arguing earlier. They're thinking about leaving the village."
It was late autumn now.
Gianna knew there would be heavy snow on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month.
So they had to use this chance to buy land.
After all, whether those fleeing people would survive and return was uncertain.
"Husband, I have an idea I want to discuss with you."
Floyd went behind the stove to help with the fire. "Go ahead."
Gianna said seriously, "The drought definitely won't last too long. I think it'll rain this winter or early spring next year. Once the villagers leave, there's no telling if they'll return. But the land will still be here. I'm thinking, can we sell half of the wild pork and trade it for coarse grain, then use that grain to exchange for land from the villagers?"
With her space full of supplies, Gianna wasn't worried at all.
To build a better future and improve their life, they had to start planning early.
Right now, they could get land just by offering some grain, but once spring came, it would be much harder, maybe even impossible, to buy land.
Floyd was still worried. "What if it doesn't rain next year?"
Gianna's eyes were firm. "It will rain! Even if it doesn't, we'll go out and flee with everyone else. It'll rain eventually. When we come back, the land deeds will still be ours. We won't have to worry about food."
Floyd had ambition too.
They'd suffered long enough. Who didn't want to take a chance at a better life?
If they guessed right, their whole family would live better.
If they guessed wrong, they'd just find another way.
In the end, Floyd convinced himself. "We'll keep the bones and leftover bits for ourselves, and trade the rest of the meat for coarse grain. With the water from the mountain valley and the grain, we should be able to make it through this winter."
Gianna smiled and urged him, "Then go call the kids in for dinner. After you eat, head to the next village to trade for a cart."