Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!

Chapter 373 - 365: Mine Shaft

If this had happened before the disaster, she would happily tell her husband that she might be pregnant. If she could have a son this time, she would no longer endure her mother-in-law’s criticism and harsh treatment or the contemptuous glances from her sisters-in-law. Their small family would no longer have to live humbly; they could stand proud in their actions and dealings. She wouldn’t be talked about behind her back anymore for being a disgrace to the Zhao Family.

Unfortunately, it was all too late.

Looking at her frail daughter, she couldn’t help but feel a sharp pain in her heart.

"Who are you trying to act pitiful for, sister-in-law? Anyone who doesn’t know would think we bully you." The slightly plump woman taunted.

She couldn’t stand the sight of the sister-in-law’s weak demeanor! Which man outside wouldn’t glance at her?

Humph!

Not satisfied with just one man, flirting with others all the time, shameful, ruining the family’s reputation.

These words triggered the woman into another round of pitiful wailing.

"See, I wasn’t wrong, was I? All she knows is to cry. I bet it’s her crying that killed poor little Ya."

The woman stopped crying, wiped her tears, and stared back calmly, her eyes filled with anger. "If Qing Ya were in trouble, would you still be this calm, sister-in-law?"

The slightly plump woman immediately flared up upon hearing this, "What do you mean? Qing Ya is perfectly fine. How dare you curse her like that, you venomous woman! Look at me tear your mouth apart."

The slightly plump woman was about to lunge forward, but a young man quickly stepped in front of her, "What do you want to do, sister-in-law?"

The slap landed hard on the young man’s raised arm, which was firm, but the woman had used all her strength, leaving her whole arm numb, and she immediately started crying out, "Oh dear, it hurts! There’s no justice, the brother-in-law is hitting the sister-in-law."

"Uncle, how could you hit your mother? That’s too much." The boy stood up in panic, stepped forward without watching his feet, and tripped over an outstretched foot, crashing directly onto a ten-year-old boy from the fourth family.

The boy who was hit cried out loudly in pain.

The wife from the fourth family saw her precious son hurt and her anger surged, immediately standing up to accuse.

Before long, several people were wrestling with each other, cursing, threatening, while those trying to mediate couldn’t hold them back. The dim cave was in chaos.

The quarrel disturbed the rest of the villagers, the cave space was limited, each family only had a frame set up, with wide cloth covering for distinction. As the argument escalated, the frames were quickly knocked down one after another.

People around succumbed to the chaos and began to retaliate.

Finally, the village chief had to step in to mediate, many people got injured, their faces bruised and battered.

Especially Zhao Laosan, who protected his wife and daughter.

Now he had a face swollen like a pig’s head, silently holding his wife and daughter, standing in front of the village chief.

Though the village chief and the elders wanted to help this honest man, they couldn’t outmatch his family’s unreasonable behavior and public opinion, so Zhao Laosan was separated, receiving a pitifully small portion of goods and food.

They were also driven out of the overcrowded cave, walking despondently and helplessly towards the mine shaft.

The village chief shook his head, knowing it was unfair yet powerless to change, after all, it was a domestic matter, and his role as village chief was limited. Nowadays everyone was destitute, and no one could guarantee seeing tomorrow’s sun.

The situation in the No. 3 mine was even worse; it was said they had been without food for three days, and some who couldn’t endure hunger had started targeting children, truly sinful!

The village chief with an empty smoking pipe in his mouth sighed, shuffling back to his family’s resting place.

Under layers of moonlight, snowflakes fell.

At the foot of Wolf Tooth Mountain, suddenly a burst of white light flashed.

The white light appeared so quickly, it would easily be mistaken for a vision.

This Space Transmitter was much more advanced than the temporary one, starting speed increased by more than double, the brightness was softer, not entirely hidden yet not particularly conspicuous.

Cheng Xiaoxiao was standing between two adjacent mountain peaks at this time.

The cave entrance was still halfway up the mountain, hidden by snow, not easy to find. The mountains were dark, only the cold wind howled fiercely, faintly revealing shadows of entrances.

After half an hour, Cheng Xiaoxiao arrived at the cave entrance, which was pitch black inside, so dark you couldn’t see your fingers.

She took out a shimmering Luminous Pearl, its glow instantly dispelled the cave’s darkness, illuminating an area within two zhang.

From afar, the cave walls inside the mine showed grotesque shapes, uneven, about two meters high and 1.5 meters wide, the entrance winding and irregularly extending into the distance.

The mine should be dry, but now it felt very damp; hiding here may not be a long-term solution.

Cheng Xiaoxiao followed the slowly winding entrance and went deeper.

The system’s scan immediately covered the entire mountain, quickly analyzing the extensive mine routes, Cheng Xiaoxiao directly chose the closest cave to her and headed there.

Chilling cold wind swept through, involuntarily causing a shiver.

"Host, this mining area probably continued mining before the cold wave, every cave was packed with people."

"Hmm!"

"However, it seems like the people in each mine are not really harmonious, there’s a lot of shouting, and two caves even had fights break out."

"What happened?"

"In the nearest cave to us, there’s a little girl who’s dying, her grandmother and uncles want to throw her out to save food, but the girl’s parents disagree, leading to a fight, now the girl’s parents were chased out by the whole family, tsk tsk, really pitiful, they say blood is thicker than water, but this family is truly despicable."

"Seems like our Qiqi knows quite a lot!"

"Of course, I am a drama-watching expert."

"It’s better to watch less of those low-quality trash dramas." Cheng Xiaoxiao had to remind the system, some drama with wrong values really are not worth watching.

The system was displeased, "Watching dramas is my only hobby, how can the host take it away?"

"Alright, alright, my Tongzi is the best! Hurry and see what other situations are, probe clearly for the next steps."

After understanding the situation, Cheng Xiaoxiao and the system made analytical arrangements, considering how to solve the survival issues of these villagers and what value they might hold, she couldn’t just support them unconditionally.

The mine passage snaked downwards for a long time.

Initially, the entrance was narrow, but deeper inside it was slightly wider, with many forks, where unfamiliar people or those without aids like hers would definitely get lost.

Each path was winding, seemingly similar yet greatly different, many could be dead ends.

At one turning point, from a small mine cave or something, came soft whispering voices.

It was the young man comforting his crying wife, coaxing their weak daughter, a sorrowful atmosphere enveloping them, in the darkness, the sensible girl gently brushed her mother’s cheek, silently mouthing, ’Mom, don’t cry! I’m fine.’

Making one involuntarily want to shed tears too.

When the warm glow lit up the narrow abandoned mine, both parents stared stunned at her.

The man had a realization, his face turning pale, instinctively shielding his wife and daughter, "You, what do you want to do?"