"Next time, you don't need to follow me to the mountain valley. Just find a safe place and wait for me to come back," Floyd said as he glanced at the three children sleeping soundly. He felt a little sorry for them.
Gianna didn't reply.
Instead, she urged Floyd to go rest quickly.
Bang bang bang!
The loud knocking woke Gianna from her sweet sleep.
Floyd also woke up, and the three children, frightened, rushed into Gianna's arms.
"Floyd, get out here right now!"
The voice of Old Man Liu came from outside, along with the voices of other villagers.
Gianna quickly grabbed Floyd, who was about to go out, and said, "Husband, don't open the door yet."
After speaking, she got out of bed.
Because they were poor, the house had only one big room. The kitchen and the bedroom were separated by a reed mat, which barely served as a divider.
Gianna went straight to the water tank, grabbed two handfuls of dirt from the corner of the wall, and threw them into the tank. Then she stirred it a bit.
This way, even if those people broke in and saw the murky water, they'd have an explanation. If the water looked too clean, they'd assume the water source was still abundant.
Seeing this, Floyd lowered his voice and said, "You think they're here for our water?"
Now that Floyd knew how to filter water, he wasn't panicking. In fact, he thought Gianna was very thoughtful for throwing dirt into the tank.
Gianna said seriously, "That's the only reason. In a bit, they'll try to guilt you or reason with you so you'll tell them where we got the water. No matter what they say, don't tell them."
Floyd wasn't stupid.
He promised, "Don't worry, I won't risk our family's lives."
Gianna walked over to the bed and told the three children, "No matter what the villagers say to scare you or coax you, don't tell them where we went. If you don't know what to say, just cry, understand?"
The three children nodded wisely.
It was clear they understood what Gianna said.
Floyd opened the door and blocked the entrance.
Old Man Liu was startled by Floyd suddenly opening the door.
Seeing Floyd's fierce expression, Old Man Liu definitely felt guilty.
But today he had the whole village backing him up, so he wasn't afraid.
He calmed himself and said, "Floyd, did you find a water source?"
Before Floyd could answer—
The villagers started speaking one after another.
"We're all from the same village. You can't just stand by and watch us die! You can't be so selfish."
"Floyd, I watched you grow up. I even gave you food when you were a kid! If you found water, you can't just keep it to yourself. Otherwise, you're ungrateful."
"Yeah, if the whole village dies of thirst, that sin's on you."
Every word the villagers said was blaming Floyd.
Gianna comforted the children, then came to stand behind Floyd.
She knew Floyd wasn't good with words.
She tugged lightly at the back of Floyd's shirt.
Floyd reached back, held Gianna's hand, and gave it two gentle squeezes to tell her not to be afraid.
He looked up and swept his gaze over the villagers. "I didn't find any new water source. I went back to the same river we used before and waited two or three days just to get one bucket of water."
Some people in the village immediately stood up to argue.
"That's impossible! I went to that river yesterday too, and I didn't see you there."
Floyd knew very well what kind of people lived in this village. They only wanted to enjoy benefits without doing anything. It was him who found the water source. Half a year ago, it was the same—they all gathered outside his house, forcing him to reveal the location of the water source.
Back then, he told them.
But no one ever thanked him. Recently, as the river started drying up, they all blamed him, saying he was heartless for not finding a new water source.
"Did you try going further upstream? We walked more than ten miles along the river and finally found a small puddle. We guarded it for three days just to get half a barrel of water, and even that puddle has dried up now."
The man who had argued fell silent.
The truth was, he never went upstream.
He didn't even walk one mile, let alone more than ten.
Everyone in the village had gotten used to Floyd finding water. They just wanted to enjoy the result.
Old Man Liu was clearly here to stir up trouble. His eyes darted around, and he said, "Since your family has half a barrel of water, it's not too much to share it with everyone, right?"
Gianna couldn't hold back anymore.
She let out a snort and laughed mockingly.
"You're really generous, aren't you? We guarded that water for three whole days. Why should we share it with everyone? Because you're shameless? Because you think you're entitled? We worked hard to find that water. You open your mouth and expect us to hand it over? Do you think that makes any sense?"
Floyd glared fiercely at everyone there.
His gaze was so sharp, it looked like he could kill someone.
The few people in front were so scared, they shivered.
Old Man Liu hardened his heart. He was determined to take advantage of them today no matter what.
He turned to the younger men behind him and gave them a signal with his eyes.
They had already planned it before they came. They wouldn't give up until they got what they wanted.
Once the bow was drawn, there was no turning back. Now that things had started, they had to finish it.
The five young men exchanged looks and gave each other a nod of encouragement. Then, they rushed straight into the house.
Floyd was strong and muscular. When someone tried to push him aside, he didn't hesitate to push back.
Gianna saw this and was furious. This was outright robbery!
She picked up a kitchen knife and stood behind Floyd.
She was sure of one thing—if anyone dared to rush in, she would not hesitate to stab them!
The village men had been undernourished for a long time. There was no way they could match Floyd.
Each of the five men who charged in got slapped and kicked by Floyd. His strength and anger scared them all so much that none of them dared to take another step forward.
Old Man Liu was furious. How could they chicken out so quickly?
He shouted from the side, "Go on! There are so many of us—are we really afraid of just one man?"
The villagers began to stir.
Gianna shouted at the crowd outside, "If you're not afraid to die, then go ahead and rush in! If you won't let my family live, then we'll all go down together!"
Just then, an elder from the village, someone well-respected, stepped forward.
Gianna recognized him—everyone called him Uncle Liu. He was known to be fair and reasonable.
Uncle Liu walked to the front, first glaring at Old Man Liu with disapproval. Then he said, "The water was found by Floyd's family through their own hard work. If you want water, fine, offer something of equal value in exchange! Whether Floyd agrees to the trade is up to him. When your family found water, did you share it with everyone?"
That sentence shut Old Man Liu up right away.
Floyd respected Uncle Liu and also responded, "We only have half a barrel of water. We can't even guarantee drinking water for ourselves. How could we possibly spare any for others? If you want to trade, that's fine. One pound of grain for one ladle of water. We don't have much, so I'll only trade three ladles at most."