Chapter 36 The Wandering God of the Ancient Town - Hunger

"Yesterday, it wasn't until after ten that the Townsfolk started opening their doors," Huang Xinxin reminded them.

Chen Sheng sighed. "We know, but we haven't eaten all day and are starving. We want to go out and see if there's anything else edible."

It wasn't just him; everyone was hungry. Hunger drains a person's strength, so they looked for a place to sit first, hoping to save whatever energy they could.

Seeing them so weak from hunger, Bai Xiao felt like doing something but ultimately held back, only saying: "I saw a few trees in the backyard yesterday. I'll go cut some sturdy branches to use as flagpoles first."

The others heard her; since this was a team task, they felt bad letting her go alone. Besides, the Townsfolk hadn't come out yet, so they couldn't buy food or ask for clues. Doing something productive was better than idling around, so they all stood up and followed her.

In the backyard, they saw several trees with large leaves and thought it would be better to make some rain gear first to avoid getting soaked when they went out to the street later.

No sooner said than done. Feng Huilin, who was in the clothing business and naturally dexterous, directed everyone to climb the trees and pick large leaves and small twigs for her. She sat under the eaves and skillfully began weaving rain hats.

Using twigs as the frame, she layered several large leaves around it and secured them with tough stems. A simple rain hat was complete.

The two men looked at the bright green hats in their hands, their expressions turning a bit sour.

Feng Huilin couldn't help but laugh, advising them: "We searched the whole backyard and didn't find any rain gear or waterproof materials. We'll just have to make do for now. If it rains all day, we're bound to get sick from the soak."

Ultimately, everyone put on the green hats. Though the color was questionable, the brims were large enough to keep their heads, faces, and upper bodies dry.

This was already quite good.

Having secured rain gear, they spent a lot of effort—since they lacked proper tools—to bring down a branch about the thickness of an arm from up high. They then found some sharp stones nearby to trim off the smaller twigs.

After all that exertion, their heads and faces were fine, but their bodies were more or less damp from the rain.

Bai Xiao thought herself lucky that she was wearing a mid-length leather coat, which had some waterproof functionality, and high-top boots that were also waterproof. After all that work, only the parts of her calves not covered by the coat were wet.

With the flagpoles finished, they brought them back to the front hall to dry. Everyone had been busy for over two hours and was quite damp, so they took off their coats, wrung them out, and hung them over chairs to dry.

The group rested and waited, falling into a brief silence.

Gurgle—

It was unclear whose stomach growled first, but after the first one, they started sounding off one after another like a symphony.

"Ahem, let's head out. It's about time," Han Yadong coughed awkwardly and pointed at his watch, breaking the silence.

The others, also starving, nodded in agreement.

...

Once they reached the main street, shops were indeed beginning to open. Quite a few were open, including some that had been closed yesterday.

Men eat more and get hungry faster. When Chen Sheng and Han Yadong saw several small shops emitting a faint scent of meat, their eyes lit up with excitement, and they rushed over without even saying a word.

The Shop Owners were very enthusiastic, each shouting to attract customers.

Bai Xiao noticed that the small shop selling Cakes yesterday was also open. Among the three basins of ingredients, there was a large one filled with meat. She couldn't help but recall the Shop Owner saying yesterday that meat was very precious and that he only had one small basin left.

So where did this large basin of meat come from today?

He had clearly said yesterday that the meat was a local specialty. It was raining; did they go hunting in the rain?

Curious, Bai Xiao stepped forward and asked: "Boss, didn't you say yesterday that there was only a little meat left? How do you have so much today?"

The Shop Owner gave a mysterious smile: "It is a gift from the Mountain God, of course. Would you like a Cake? Special price today, only a hundred yuan each."

Old meat Cakes were three hundred, but Cakes with new meat were only a hundred?

What kind of business logic was this?

Seeing Bai Xiao blocking the window with questions but no purchase, the Shop Owner grew impatient: "If you're not buying, move aside. Don't hold up other customers."

He smiled eagerly at Huang Xinxin and the other woman behind Bai Xiao: "Would you two like some? Today, fried Cakes are only a hundred yuan each, buy five get one free."

This was such a bargain; five hundred yuan couldn't even buy two Cakes yesterday. Ma Huilin calculated that three would probably be enough for a meal, so six would cover at least two meals! The value for money was incredible!

"Xinxin, do you want to buy some?" Ma Huilin thought that if Huang Xinxin also bought some, she could try to bargain with the boss even further.

Unexpectedly, Huang Xinxin shook her head. She covered her mouth and whispered: "I feel like I can still smell the stench of those two large chunks of meat from the sacrifice yesterday. I don't really have an appetite for meat."

Hearing Huang Xinxin say this, Ma Huilin couldn't help but think of the bloody scene from yesterday and instantly lost her appetite as well. She nodded and said: "Then forget it, let's go."

"Wait a moment." Huang Xinxin grabbed Ma Huilin's arm and turned to ask the boss: "How much for just the Cake without any vegetables or meat?"

The Shop Owner's brow furrowed completely upon hearing this: "Just the Cake alone is three hundred each."

"What?" The three were stunned. It was three times more expensive without the meat and vegetables?

"This is so unscrupulous. Qin Xiao, Xinxin, let's go." As a clothing store owner, Ma Huilin couldn't stand bad business deals. Without another word, she beckoned the two and turned to leave.

Bai Xiao followed slowly behind them. The more she thought about it, the more she felt these Townsfolk were strange. They had one appearance during the day and another face at night. Every time she interacted with them, she felt like they were plotting something sinister.

While walking on the street, she constantly felt like someone was watching her. Several times she turned back inadvertently and caught the eyes of people peering at her. Their gazes were dark and eerie; upon seeing her turn around, they ran off as if afraid of being discovered.

Selling things so cheaply today for no reason—she really didn't know what they had up their sleeves.

Not wanting to eat meat, the three found a fruit stall and bought some Mountain Fruit. The Mountain Fruit was still as expensive as yesterday; they spent half their money on just a few.

While buying fruit, they took the opportunity to ask about the Hundred-Family Flag. They thought the Townsfolk would speak in riddles like yesterday, but to their surprise, the stall owner explained the process of making the flag very clearly.

As the name suggested, the Hundred-Family Flag was a banner made by stitching together scraps of cloth donated by the common people to show their devotion to the Mountain God. Everyone in Qingshi Town knew about it.

With a clear goal, the next step was to find Townsfolk to collect scraps. Knowing it was for the Mountain God's Hundred-Family Flag, the Townsfolk were all very willing to donate cloth. This task proceeded exceptionally smoothly.

They split up, each responsible for an area to find Townsfolk for donations. By noon, everyone had collected a significant amount of scraps. They met at the street corner and returned to the Guesthouse together.

When they returned, the two men were not there. The three women didn't think much of it and gathered the scraps on the table to start stitching them together. They were halfway through when Chen Sheng and Han Yadong finally returned.

For some reason, the two were exceptionally excited and radiant. Despite being out in the rain for half the day, their faces were flushed red as if they had just enjoyed a sunbath.