Grace Walker quickly jumped into the bamboo basket with her son in her arms, then held tightly onto the washbasin, refusing to let go. No matter how much the soldiers on the city wall shouted and cursed, she simply would not release the washbasin.

Helpless, the soldiers had no choice but to drag Grace Walker, her son, and the huge washbasin up onto the city wall together. As a bearded soldier raised his hand, Grace Walker fiercely pinched Ethan Brooks's buttocks. Receiving the signal, Ethan Brooks had no choice but to cry out at the top of his lungs—the woman pinched him so hard it really hurt.

Seeing the child crying so miserably, the bearded soldier lowered his raised hand, glanced at the flood outside the city, and sighed, “Forget it, even a washbasin is worth something. Where is your husband?”

Grace Walker shouted at the top of her lungs, “That bastard! He knew the flood was coming, but still left us to go into the city and fool around with some shady friends. I’m going to the military office to settle accounts with him and scratch his face!”

The bearded soldier sneered, “I’m afraid it’s not up to him. Ever since the riverbank broke, all nine gates of Tokyo have been closed. Even if he wanted to leave, there’s no way out.”

Grace Walker's expression changed instantly, and she stammered, “They’re not letting people in at the city gate?”

The bearded soldier laughed loudly, “You look like a Tokyo native. Now that the city is surrounded by floodwaters on three sides, if we opened the gates now, would there be any place left for people to stand in this city?

Now do you realize how lucky you are?

It’s only because you ran into me in a soft-hearted mood. If you and your son had been left outside the city and dragged away by the beggar gang, you know what would have happened.

Since your husband has some ties with our army, hurry along now, before the captain finds out and throws you and your son off the wall.”

Grace Walker thanked the soldiers who had pulled her up, tightened the cloth bundle at her waist, and dragged the washbasin down from the city wall.

Ethan Brooks was deeply impressed by his mother’s cleverness. For a peasant woman to be able to talk her way out of trouble and even connect herself to the army in such a situation was truly remarkable.

He felt that with such a mother, even without a father, he would surely grow up happily.

After dragging the washbasin down the city wall and leaving through the gate, Grace Walker finally let out a long sigh of relief. There weren’t many good soldiers in Tokyo, but the one she met today could at least be considered a decent person.

Usually, these soldiers caused plenty of trouble for the surrounding villages. Relying on their strength, they often stole chickens and dogs, harassed women, and the crops in the fields would sometimes disappear overnight—stolen and cut by those soldiers.

It was said they had invented a new food called green wheat, which was just stir-fried wheat. They would harvest the unripe crops, stir-fry the green grains in a big pot, sprinkle them with salt water, and after cooking, it became a very tasty dish. It was said that two coins could only buy a small bowl.

Such a good business was run by the soldiers, but the commoners outside the city weren’t allowed to do it. Even if you harvested your own wheat to fry and sell, it was forbidden. The official “Farming Encouragement Order” clearly stated that farmers were strictly prohibited from harvesting unripe crops.

What kind of nonsense is this? Green wheat is even more valuable than ripe wheat.

Clearly, the little fox was alive and well, squirming constantly in the swaddling clothes. Ethan Brooks's little hands couldn’t control the creature at all, so he had to clamp his legs tightly to keep the fox from harming his private parts. The little thing treated anything that stuck out as a nipple and tried to suck on it.

Chapter Three: A Foothold

Grace Walker really wanted to throw the fox away. She felt it was the big fox taking revenge on her. But her son clung tightly to the fox and grinned at her, making her completely forget whether the fox had become a spirit or not.

Thinking of how her son had lost his father at such a young age, she couldn’t bear to destroy the little bit of intelligence he had just shown. She wrapped her son up again, tossed the fox back into the washbasin, and continued dragging it forward.

Grace Walker was hungry, extremely hungry. There were plenty of food vendors in Tokyo, especially when she passed by a fragrant cake shop—the rich aroma of osmanthus cake kept wafting into her nose. After listening carefully to the shop assistant’s cries, she regretfully walked away. One piece of osmanthus cake cost two coins. Before the flood, three coins could buy two pieces. When she was pregnant, Andy had bought her two pieces, and they tasted so good.

There really aren’t any good people in this city. Even boiled well water costs money.

Grace Walker instinctively pressed the cloth pouch tied at her waist, but still gritted her teeth and kept walking, hoping to find some free water to drink.

“My water has honeysuckle and licorice in it. After the flood, there’s bound to be a plague. Only by drinking the medicinal soup left by Grandpa Sanders can you get through it safely.”

The water-selling woman shouted again when she saw Grace Walker unwilling to buy.

Grace Walker had seen floods before, and had seen the corpses of people and animals floating on the water. In the past, there were always bodies drifting down the Yellow River bend. The clan elder would have the villagers report to the authorities, and after the officials came, they would dig a deep pit to bury the bodies.

The villagers were always reluctant to do such dirty work, but after being beaten by Uncle Brooks with his cane, they realized that rotting corpses were the source of epidemics.

“One coin for two bowls, I’ll drink!”