On the tenth day, a pervasive sense of unease had already filled the entire village.
To conserve food, the villagers voluntarily reduced their meals from twice a day to once, only eating a little when the hunger became unbearable.
To minimize consumption, the villagers reduced the frequency of going out, hardly leaving home except for necessary work. The babies, not getting enough milk, cried badly out of hunger, casting a pall of gloom over the whole village.
If this goes on, let alone the harsh winter, they might not even survive the month.
However.
Just as the villagers were on the brink of despair, Wang Lici returned.
A hundred strong young men shouted in unison, pulling with their shoulders a makeshift raft bound with wooden strips, trudging step by step back towards the village. Piled upon the raft were heaps of prey, seemingly dozens in number.
The prey was so heavy that every step the young men took left shallow dents in the frozen hard ground.
