Xiao Han was surprised to see her coming back with an old bamboo basket on her back. After she put the bamboo basket on the ground, he looked at her and asked with a smile on his lips.
"Miss Xu, where did you find this old bamboo basket?"
She sat down on the ground, took away the old cloth, and said, "I walked for two hours and found an abandoned hut in the forest. After searching for a while, I found half a jar of water. This bamboo basket can still be used, so I brought it with me by the way."
Xiao Han heard that Xu Xiang found half a jar of water, and he looked at her with suspicion in his eyes. Now the weather is getting hotter since it's already the end of spring, and combined with the long drought, water can no longer be found easily. Where did she get the water from? He didn't believe that she was so lucky.
Xu Xiang didn't notice his probing gaze, and took out two birds and an earthen jar from the bamboo basket. Looking at the birds, a gleam flashed in Xiao Han's eyes.
With a mentality of testing the waters, he pointed at the two weak birds with broken wings and asked, "Miss Xu, these birds... Where did you find them?"
"Oh, I saw them fall from the tree when I came back from the hut. Now that they can't fly, I tied them up and brought them back." She calmly answered while opening the jar.
Listening to her answer, Xiao Han looked at her for a while before looking away and couldn't help but think: 'Father is right. This Miss Xu is not simple.'
Didn't notice Xiao Han's hidden thoughts, Xu Xiang pushed the earthen jar towards Wen Wan, and said, "Aunt Wen, I already drank some water before I came back. You can use this water to refill your water bags. It is very clean and can be used as drinking water."
Wen Wan's eyes widened, and she hastily refused, "No, no. You should keep the water for yourself."
The rest of the Xiao family also nodded in agreement. Since they all said that they could not share their food and water with Xu Xiang, there was no reason for them to accept her food and water. Looking at their reactions, she smiled.
'This is the first time I have met people like them. I didn't know there were people like them in the world.'
Xu Xiang smiled at Wen Wan and said, "Aunt Wen, you can't say that. Didn't you let me drink your water when you rescued me today? It's only proper for me to return your kindness."
"But you only drank a few sips." Wen Wan shook her head and still refused to take her water.
Xu Xiang thought for a while and said, "Aunt Wen, you should know that the favor of a drip of water should be reciprocated with a gushing spring. Since you saved me, you have to accept this water or I will continue to feel indebted to you and your family."
Hearing what she said, the Xiao family looked at each other. After a while, Xiao Yi held his hands in front of him, gave her a scholar's courtesy, and said, "Then I will thank Miss Xu on behalf of my family."
Xu Xiang returned the courtesy and said, "Uncle Xiao is too polite."
Now that the head of the family has agreed, the others will no longer refuse. Opening the earthen jar, Xiao Jing looked inside, and saw that the earthen jar was almost full with clean water. Surprised by how clean the water was, she filled their water bags carefully without spilling a drop.
After Xiao Jing filled the two water bags, there was not much water left in the jar. She looked at Xu Xiang in embarrassment, and said, "Miss Xu, there was not much water left. I.."
"It's fine. I'm happy to share the water with your family." Xu Xiang answered her while pulling out the feathers of the birds after bleeding out their blood.
Seeing that she skillfully pulled out the feathers without scalding them with hot water first, Xiao Han said, "Miss Xu, you have good skill. Do you often do this?"
Hearing his question, her hands paused. While she was still racking her brains to find an excuse, she heard a gentle voice reprimanding Xiao Han.
"Er Lang, have you forgotten what happened to Miss Xu?" Wen Wan looked at her son with disapproving eyes.
Seeing that Xu Xiang didn't answer his question, he smiled at her apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, Miss Xu."
He had an apologetic smile on his face, but his eyes stayed on her for a moment. When Wen Wan helped her find an excuse, Xu Xiang shook her head.
She smiled and said, "No problem. Maybe I used to do it a lot in the past."
Speaking of this, she thought of the years she spent in her original world after the apocalypse began. Indeed, she has done these things too many times in her past. After a while, she had pulled out the feathers of the two birds cleanly.
Since water is too precious right now, her only option is to roast the bird. Putting down the bird, she stood up and said, "I'm going to collect dry wood to make a fire."
Leaving this sentence behind, she walked back to the forest. When she came back with a bunch of dry twigs, the sun had set and the sky was getting dark in a short time. Without her ability, her vision is not as good as in her previous life.
Couldn't see anything, she took out a mini flashlight the size of a thumb from her space. She presses the button, and a bright light shoots from the flashlight, illuminating her surroundings. She turned the brightness to the lowest level, then continued on her walk with the help of the lights.
A few meters before walking out of the forest, she turned off the flashlight and put it back to her own space. With a calm face, she walked out from the forest. Seeing her come back, Wen Wan breathed a sigh of relief.
Unexpectedly, the closer they are to the north territory, the shorter the daytime will be. Just now, the sunset lasted only a few minutes, and the sky was completely dark after that. Without moonlight, it's really too dark to safely walk around.