After Liu Daniu and Aunt Cuihua left, the air in the broken hut seemed to congeal.
Xuán Mò's words, "The opposing side will never miss an opportunity like this to search," pressed down on Lín Xiāoxiāo's heart like a huge stone. She looked at the man on the kang, who was weak but had sharp eyes, and for the first time, she clearly realized that what she had taken in was not just trouble, but a bomb that could explode at any moment.
"So, going to do forced labor is like walking into a trap?" Lín Xiāoxiāo's voice was a little dry.
Xuán Mò nodded slightly, a tacit acknowledgment. He closed his eyes, seemingly thinking rapidly of a countermeasure, but his pale face and furrowed brow showed that his physical weakness severely limited his abilities.
Ten days. Only ten days.
Within ten days, Xuán Mò's injuries must heal to at least a level where he could walk and handle simple labor, and a plan to perfectly evade the search was also needed.
This was simply an impossible mission!
Despair circled in Lín Xiāoxiāo's heart for only a moment before she forcibly dispelled it. In the dictionary of the top student of Agricultural University, there was no such word as "impossible."
She walked to the edge of the kang, hands on her hips, and scrutinized Xuán Mò from head to toe with a gaze akin to inspecting an experimental field, muttering to herself, "A hundred days for broken bones... with your stab wounds and suspected fractures, ten days... It seems I must resort to some unconventional methods."
Xuán Mò felt a bit uncomfortable under her gaze. He reopened his eyes and met her gaze, which was flashing with a peculiar light. "Unconventional methods?"
"That's right!" Lín Xiāoxiāo snapped her fingers (though there was no sound), a look of mixed scientific fervor and utter "whatever" on her face. "Since time is tight and the task is heavy, we must establish an efficient 'healing KPI' and a strict 'rehabilitation schedule'!"
"K...P...I?" Xuán Mò repeated the unfamiliar term, his brow furrowing even tighter. This woman was speaking incomprehensible gibberish again.
"It means Key Performance Indicator!" Lín Xiāoxiāo didn't bother with a detailed explanation and jumped right into it. "Starting today, your tasks are to eat, sleep, and cooperate with my treatment. The goal is for the wounds to heal preliminarily within ten days, allowing you to walk slowly, possess basic self-care abilities, and... the ability to disguise yourself."
As she spoke, without regard for Xuán Mò's agreement, she began to lay out the plan:
"First, nutrition must be maintained! Just eating wild vegetables won't do; protein needs to be supplemented." Her gaze swept over the meager amount of grain in the corner of the room, finally settling outside the window—she had to find a way to get some meat, even if it meant finding bird eggs or catching river shrimp.
"Second, wound treatment upgrades." She looked at Xuán Mò. "I will find more useful herbs, and clean water and bandages must be guaranteed."
"Third, functional training." She pointed to Xuán Mò's intact right hand and left leg. "Starting today, you must consciously move your arm, and when your leg gets better, you'll begin restorative exercises to prevent muscle atrophy."
Xuán Mò listened to her clearly outlined plan. The surprise in his eyes gradually shifted to a deep scrutiny. This seemingly thin and disheveled village girlpossessed an unquestionable decisiveness and orderliness when discussing these "serious matters," a stark contrast to her usual timid or erratic demeanor.
"However," Lín Xiāoxiāo's tone shifted, her expression becoming serious, "these are just treating the symptoms, not the root cause. The most crucial part is how to hide you during forced labor."
She stroked her chin, pacing in the small room. "Your demeanor is too conspicuous. Standing in a crowd, even in rags, you'd stand out like a crane among chickens. And your face..." She glanced at Xuán Mò's handsome face, which even illness couldn't hide. "Too eye-catching, easily remembered."
Xuán Mò remained silent. Having been in a high position since childhood, some things were ingrained in his bones and indeed difficult to conceal.
"Therefore, we must take the initiative!" Lín Xiāoxiāo suddenly stopped, a cunning glint in her eyes. "We can't passively wait for them to search; we need to... blend in with them, or make them 'one of us'!"
"What do you mean?" Xuán Mò pressed.
"Think about it," Lín Xiāoxiāo leaned closer, lowering her voice. "Clearing the river channel, the conscripted laborers are a mixed bag. Besides ordinary villagers, there will surely be thugs, or... some desperate characters? If we can 'recruit' a small group in advance, even just establish some connections, it would be much easier to cover for each other later, wouldn't it?"
Xuán Mò's eyes flashed, and he instantly understood her intention. "You want to... use those people?"
"Not use, but cooperate! Each getting what they need!" Lín Xiāoxiāo corrected. "They might need money, food, or just want to do less work. We can offer some 'help' in exchange for their cover. For example..." She weighed the wild yams in her arms. "In exchange for food, or future harvest grain."
This idea was bold and risky. Dealing with the dangerous was like playing with fire; a slight misstep could lead to self-destruction.
Xuán Mò looked at Lín Xiāoxiāo deeply. This woman's courage was far greater than he had imagined. But he had to admit, in their current desperate situation, this might be the only viable approach.
"This matter requires extreme caution," he said in a deep voice. "The choice of people is crucial."
"I know," Lín Xiāoxiāo nodded. "So, we need to find a way to first figure out who will be conscripted this time. Aunt Cuihua might be able to extract some information..."
With the initial plan settled, Lín Xiāoxiāo felt the pressure on her shoulders lighten slightly. At least they were no longer passively waiting but actively trying to break free.
She rekindled the stove fire, washed the wild yams, and put them in an earthenware pot with chestnuts to cook. This time, she cooked them until they were very thick, hoping to provide Xuán Mò with more energy.
Watching the flickering flames, Lín Xiāoxiāo made her calculations: Tomorrow, she would go around the village to inquire about the situation and, at the same time, see if she could find more food and medicinal herbs.
Leaning against the kang, Xuán Mò watched Lín Xiāoxiāo's busy back, his expression complex. This woman, who had unexpectedly broken into his desperate situation, surprised him again and again. She always seemed to carve out a path from despair that, though seemingly absurd, was full of vitality.
He subconsciously moved his intact right hand, feeling the lingering weakness and sharp pain within his body.
Ten days...
Just then, a sudden commotion of footsteps and rough shouts of several men came from outside the yard:
"Lín Xiāoxiāo! Get out here!"
"Heard you picked up a wild man? Hurry up and hand him over for us guys to see!"
"Hiding is useless. If you don't come out, we're coming in!"
The voices were unfamiliar and full of malice, definitely not the village head or Aunt Cuihua from before!
Lín Xiāoxiāo's face changed drastically. She stood up abruptly, grabbing the broken sickle from the corner of the wall.
Xuán Mò's eyes instantly turned cold and sharp. His right hand quietly clenched into a fist, his body tensed like a leopard poised to strike.
Trouble had come knocking so quickly?
**Chapter Six (End)**