"Hey, got it. Are the four of you living together now?" the village chief asked.
"Yeah, both of our houses are gone. We're living in a pretty big cave right now. We're planning to move back down next spring," Winn said.
"Good. Those two are women and children. You two young guys should help out when you can. If you need any help, come to me," the village chief said, patting Winn on the shoulder with satisfaction.
Hard times will pass. As long as everyone in the village sticks together and works as one, no difficulty is too great.
The village chief did a quick count of people, and everyone went back to work.
A simple thatched hut could be finished in one morning. A few stones placed at the entrance made a basic stove.
As for beds, just laying a few wooden boards on the ground was enough.
With all the houses destroyed, usable things were even scarcer.
"Meal time, bring your own bowls!" the village chief's daughter-in-law shouted. Everyone stopped what they were doing and went to eat.
Paige looked at the food. A pot of dark green mush, and a big basin of pickled vegetables.
Each person got a bowl of mush and two bites of pickled vegetables.
The food was found among the ruins—ownerless supplies dug out from the debris.
Even though the houses were collapsed, many of the items in underground cellars could still be saved.
If the owner was still around, their things were returned to them. If no one survived in the household, the items were taken by the village and distributed by the chief.
Like now, with the whole village building houses, the chief's wife organized a few women to cook for everyone.
As for the children who had lost their parents, their household supplies were recorded separately. If someone adopted them, they would receive those supplies.
If the children could live on their own, they had something to start with.
Paige knew this kind of porridge. Her family used to eat it often.
Because there wasn't enough grain, they had to add lots of dried vegetables or wild greens into the porridge.
But Paige wasn't someone who would make herself suffer. She refused the porridge and went to the side to eat her cold mixed-flour pancake with some cold water.
The adults were fine, eating their food quietly. But the children stared at Paige's pancake, swallowing their saliva.
They secretly looked at Paige and her pancake. Then they took a sip of porridge, looked again, took another sip, and smiled happily.
Paige felt uncomfortable under their gaze. Even though they tried to hide it, she still noticed. The stares from the kids were too much.
Imagine holding a big chicken leg and eating it, while a group of kids with plain buns stared at it. Would anyone feel comfortable?
Yes, they were all around her.
At first, only a few kids peeked secretly. But when they saw Paige didn't stop them, the rest started to move closer while eating.
They all gathered around Paige.
She quickly shoved the pancake into her mouth, chewing fast and almost choking, needing to drink several gulps of water.
The kids looked sadly at her now empty hands, then happily continued drinking their porridge.
Sometimes they whispered to each other, sharing secret talks between children.
The adults looked at the smiles on the kids' faces. No matter how hard life was, they could face it calmly.
No one cried about losing their homes. Instead, small groups formed to talk about what to do next.
With the village elders leading, Rin Village slowly began rebuilding.
Everyone's faces showed hope for the future. Some of the more carefree men had already started bragging and chatting.
Paige found it fascinating.
In the end-times, she had never seen such lively expressions.
Life was hard here too, but people in the end-times had nothing on their faces except numbness.
Everyone lived alone. At most, a small family would shut their doors and live quietly.
This kind of group chatting, helping each other, and lively scenes didn't exist.
Well, maybe during supply distributions at the base or paid labor times, people would gather.
Also, when zombies attacked the city. Then, everyone would work together to fight.
If the walls fell, everyone inside would be in danger.
One pancake wasn't enough. Paige found a quiet place and ate a few more to trick her stomach.
She wanted meat. Braised pork, pork ribs, grilled meat—anything would do. She wasn't picky.
By evening, the four of them said goodbye to the villagers and returned to the cave.
Paige couldn't wait to eat meat. She told Winn to start cooking and Uziel to grill some skewers for her to satisfy her cravings.
The downside of activating her mental powers was the heavy energy use.
Even when not using them, she still had to eat to refill her strength.
"Paige, you're getting more and more greedy," Ely said as he squatted next to her, laughing.
"You're the one who can handle the hardship. Tonight, Uziel can make you porridge," Paige said without turning her head, focused on watching Winn grill the meat.
"Hehe, actually, I'm even greedier than you. I just came to ask you to share a little with me," Ely quickly massaged his sister's shoulders like a suck-up.
"Go help Uziel. The sooner we finish, the sooner we eat," Paige said.
"Alright, I'm going now," Ely quickly ran off, afraid she'd say no dinner for him.
No one wanted porridge or steamed corn buns when there was white rice and fine flour.
Just thinking of the fragrant rice, Ely swallowed hard and walked faster.
"Tomorrow, I want to go check out the town." After eating and drinking, Paige sat by the fire and spoke to the others.
"Do you need me to go with you?" Uziel asked.
"No need. Aren't you all going to help in the village tomorrow? You took me there last time, so I know the way," Paige replied.
Going on her own would actually be faster.
"Alright then, just be careful." Although the villagers had already built their thatched huts, there still wasn't enough firewood for winter.
The village head was organizing a group of strong men to go into the mountains to cut wood tomorrow.
The women and children in the village would do other tasks.
Starting from scratch, everything was lacking.
The weather was getting colder. Even one day without burning firewood could freeze a person silly.
Paige let out a deep sigh. Another day of being alone again.
This wouldn't do. She needed to divide the room.
Then, send Ely away at night.
Otherwise, it would affect her quality of life.
Life was tough, Paige sighed again.
The next day, Winn and Uziel brought Ely and met the villagers halfway up the mountain.
As for Paige, the people on the mountain thought she was down the hill, and the people down the hill thought she was up the mountain.
No one asked, and they didn't explain.
They were ready with an excuse. They'd just say Paige went to pick wild vegetables. Everyone knew their house had been blown up.
Even though they managed to save some of the food, all the dried vegetables were gone.
Originally, Ely, being just a half-grown child, should have joined the women's group. But Winn and Uziel didn't feel safe about that.
No one knew when the PN planes might come back. It felt safer to keep the child close.
Besides, Ely, although still young, had been eating well these past few days.
Compared to the hungry men, alright, maybe not stronger than them, but definitely better than the other boys his age.
Also, this was voluntary work. Cutting wood in the mountains was much tougher than working down the hill.
Not only did no one say Ely was slowing them down, they even praised him for being a young hero.
By noon, Ely was filled with confidence from all the praise.
Finally, someone acknowledged him as a grown-up.
Winn and Uziel shook their heads as they looked at him. A kid is still a kid, getting carried away just from a few compliments.
But they noticed something important. Their strength had increased.
In the past, after chopping wood for a whole morning, their bodies would feel tired. But now, it felt easy.
Even trees could be chopped down in just a few swings. They both stared at their axes in surprise. Was it because the axes were sharper?
They weren't sure. They'd have to keep watching.
At first, they were working at full strength. But after realizing they had already chopped down two trees while others were still on their first, they quickly held back a bit.
Was it just because they had been eating well?
While chopping trees, their minds wandered. Even so, they were still much faster than the others.
When it was time to go back down the mountain, each of them carried two trees.
Winn and Uziel glanced at each other. It felt light.
They understood each other and slowed their pace just enough to stay slightly ahead of everyone else.
Meanwhile, Paige had gone straight to the military station. She wanted to see how the battle was going.