In the early morning hours of around 2:30 a.m. on August 7th, in the pitch-dark forest, small lights from torches made of bamboo illuminated a group of people walking.
At the front of the group, Jay was seen leisurely leading the way.
In addition to Jay, his father, and his two uncles, Jay had brought four more cousins with him to collect food, bringing the total to eight people ready to bring home the food.
No one spoke, and everyone remained cautious throughout the journey.
While it would have been difficult to navigate the forest and find the cave where Jay had hidden his food during the day, it was now nighttime, with limited light, making their journey much more challenging.
Fortunately, Jay possessed far superior abilities compared to ordinary humans, as far as safety was concerned, entering the forest at night was a priority.
Everyone had been taken out of the way by several shadow clones, sent by Jay to guard them on their journey to the cave.
However, the others weren't as relaxed as Jay had thought. Be it his father, his uncle, or even his cousins, none of them were relaxed and remained on high alert.
Finally, after an hour's journey, they arrived in front of the cave where Jay had stored his food.
"Okay, everyone, we're here." Jay stopped and stopped right in front of a bush that looked quite dense.
"Is it here? But where is the cave?" his father asked, confused when he saw that they had stopped somewhere.
"That's right, Jay. Where is the cave?" Uncle Ricky asked as well.
"Behind here," Jay replied, pushing aside some bushes, and a new path large enough for one person to pass through was immediately revealed.
From behind the bush, a cave entrance appeared, and only when Jay shone the torch he was carrying did they see that it was indeed a hidden cave.
"This is hard to find," Uncle Hendrik praised as he saw the cave before their eyes.
"Let's go in!" Jay urged the others inside.
"Wait, be careful!! Let Dad lead the way!" Jay's father, Paul, urged Jay not to lead the way, as he was worried about Jay's safety.
Hearing his father's concern, Jay was naturally pleased and didn't interrupt.
However, Jay was well aware that there was no danger inside the cave, as his shadow clone was hiding, guarding against any animals or humans that might enter.
When they arrived inside the hall, a pile of food sacks was immediately displayed before everyone's eyes.
There were about 16 sacks neatly stacked, each carrying approximately 100 kg.
With eight people responsible for carrying them, it would take them two trips to transport all these supplies. And don't worry, their physical condition, accustomed to a tough life, made them strong enough to carry a 100 kg sack.
Moreover, they didn't carry the sacks barehanded, but rather used baskets they carried on their backs.
After selecting rice and potatoes as the first items they would bring, they all rested for a moment before leaving the cave.
This time, on their way back, their pace was much slower than on their way out due to the heavy loads they had to carry.
Finally, at 5 a.m., they all arrived back at the village, and they all decided to store their supplies in Jay's family's cellar.
This was because there was a chance they would encounter villagers who had already woken up early.
5 a.m. in the village is the time when many people wake up, and if they accidentally ran into them, they would get into trouble. So, rather than making things worse, it was better to be patient and wait for the right time to move them.
"Would you like some breakfast before going home?" Jay's father asked Jay's uncle and cousin.
"No, brothers, we should go back. I've had enough of this warm tea," Uncle Hendrik replied.
"That's right, Uncle Paul. We should go back home and rest. We don't want to arouse suspicion in the village," replied one of Jay's cousins.
"Okay then," replied Jay's father.
However, they remained cautious and didn't return home as a group. They returned at intervals, splitting up to various locations before finally returning to their respective homes.
Watching his uncle and cousins leave, Jay then said to his father,
"Okay, Dad." "Ah, since it's already morning, let's rest a bit, and then at 7 o'clock we can have breakfast before going to work in the rice fields," Jay replied, suggesting again.
Although Jay's mother and Ameno were awake, they hadn't had time to make a substantial breakfast; only warm tea and small snacks had been served.
So it would still be a while before they could enjoy breakfast, and Jay and his father were a little sleepy, so they decided to rest a bit.
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The next night, at 2 a.m., still in the same forest, a group of people were seen walking cautiously in the darkness.
It was the group led by Jay again, and their destination was the exact cave they had arrived from the day before.
They, having learned from previous experience, knew that if they set out at 2:30 or even 3 a.m., there was a high chance of encountering villagers and militia on their way back.
Since it was already 5 a.m. by the time they returned, they set off earlier, hoping to return sooner.
After another hour of travel, they finally Arriving back at the cave yesterday, they didn't rest much and immediately set off to pack up their supplies and return home.
Perhaps because they left early, they finally arrived at the village just after 4:00. They decided not to store the supplies in Jay's warehouse, but to take them straight to Jay's grandfather's house.
"Wow...finally everything's done!" With a relieved and calm expression, Jay's father leaned back in the living room chair.
"Yes, now we can relax a bit," Jay replied.
"Perhaps this afternoon, your grandfather will hold another meeting to discuss how to distribute all this food," Jay's father then spoke.
"Then, Dad, how much rice do you think we'll get?" Jay asked curiously.
Because of the allocated quota, there was only about 400 kg of rice.
"Perhaps each family will only get 100 kg of rice, divided equally," Jay's father replied.
"That's still too little," Jay replied, feeling it wasn't enough.
"Then we'll buy more separately, and it's your job to do it," his father replied again.
"Okay, leave that to me. Tomorrow I'll find more rice for our family," Jay replied confidently.