With this thought, Yao Zhi walked toward the buildings. As she pushed open one door, she was hit by the stench exclusive to human excrement.
"Urghh!"
Yao Zhi almost vomited on the spot and quickly closed the door. Fearing she would really throw up, she took several steps back while pinching her small nose.
It took her several minutes to calm her churning stomach. Staring at the toilet, Yao Zhi was on the verge of tears. She had forgotten that ancient people didn’t have proper toilets and had to use wooden sticks to wipe themselves.
She pointed at the sky and asked angrily, "Heaven, how am I supposed to survive with this kind of toilet? Aren’t you pranking me too much?"
Despite her anger, no one answered except for the rustling of the dry branches in the distance.
Resigned to her fate, Yao Zhi checked the other building and saw that firewood was stacked neatly inside. "Since neither building is a kitchen, where is the kitchen?"
Unwilling to give up, she continued exploring the house. When she reached the backyard, she finally saw a simple hut with a thatched roof and bamboo walls on the sides. The front had no wall or door at all.
Under the thatched roof stood a stove made of mud. It looked like a long table with two holes, one big and one small.
Beside the stove were several jars on top of another long table. Under the table were bamboo baskets, and in the corner were two water vats with wooden lids.
Finally finding the kitchen, Yao Zhi’s eyes lit up. Her stomach had been protesting for a while now. Perhaps due to her excitement, she didn’t feel as weak as before and quickened her steps.
The first thing she did upon reaching the kitchen was check the jars and baskets. At first, she thought there would be plenty of supplies, considering the original soul had stored so much fat.
But the moment she opened the jars, she was stunned. There wasn’t even a grain of rice inside!
Yao Zhi slumped to the ground and took out the small bag hidden in her clothes. Since there was no food, maybe she wouldn’t feel so hungry after drinking the spiritual spring water.
Reaching into the bag, she groped around until she felt something. The soft, squishy texture was oddly familiar. When she pulled it out, she was shocked to see a slab of pork belly.
"Is this part of the beginner package?" she muttered in doubt.
Since there was meat, there might be grains, too. With that thought, she turned the bag upside down and shook it. The next moment, two gunny sacks, nine slabs of meat, and vegetables came out.
She kept shaking until the bag produced no more items.
Looking at the supplies before her, she stood up and filled the jars with flour and white rice. Judging from the size, each gunny sack weighed about twenty-five kilograms.
Each slab of meat weighed about one kilogram, and the vegetables filled a bamboo basket, weighing around twenty kilograms.
She actually obtained so much food from the beginner pack.
Yao Zhi knew the importance of keeping a low profile, so after taking a handful of vegetables and cutting a piece of meat, she stored the rest back in her small bag.
With meat, she didn’t have to worry about not having oil. After cleaning the iron wok, she started a fire using the fire stick and cooked a simple dish, meat and vegetable porridge.
Thinking about the well water, she checked the water vats and took a sniff. The mossy scent in the water was lighter than the well water. Since she couldn’t risk her health drinking unboiled water, she used a pot to boil some water for drinking.
While she was cooking, Wang Shen finally reached the military barracks.
When the soldiers saw her, they stopped her and said, "No one is allowed to enter the military barracks without permission."
The middle-aged woman didn’t dare take another step forward and said with a smile, "Sir, I’m looking for the third regiment’s squad leader, Fu Chen’an. Something happened to his wife. Can you please inform him?"
As soon as the soldiers heard this, one of them said, "Please wait here. I will inform Squad Leader Fu."
"Thank you," Wang Shen nodded.
Ten minutes later, the soldier returned with a tall man.
Seeing the middle-aged woman, Fu Chen’an asked, "Aunt Wang, what happened to my wife?"
"Squad Leader Fu, your wife injured her head and fainted. I have already called a physician, and she is currently resting."
"How is she?" Fu Chen’an asked with a frown.
"Physician Yu said she is already out of danger, but she has to take this prescription for ten days. I came to ask if you want to buy the medicine for her."
When he heard this, Fu Chen’an frowned deeper but still took out two pieces of silver from his pouch and handed them to her. "Aunt Wang, I’m still on duty, so I will have to trouble you to take care of my wife for several days."
Wang Shen accepted the silver pieces and said, "Don’t worry, Squad Leader Fu. I will make sure your wife takes the medicine. You can put your mind at ease."
"Thank you, Aunt Wang," Fu Chen’an nodded.
After getting the money, Wang Shen left the barracks and went to town to buy the medicine.
Fu Chen’an returned to his tent and tried to take a nap. He had been on night duty for more than twenty days now. In three more days, he would be able to return home and check on his newlywed wife.
Thinking about his ’blessed’ wife, he let out a long sigh and closed his eyes.