After a quick hour-long nap, Elena was up. She sorted through her belongings, pulled out some cash and ration coupons, and prepared to head into the village. She wanted to trade for some eggs to bolster her and Lucy's meals.

  "You can't keep paying for everything yourself," Lucy insisted, shoving money toward her. "Count me in."

  Even though Lucy's family was struggling, her parents had borrowed 100 Pesos for her to take along, terrified she might face an emergency in the countryside without a cent to her name.

  Hearing that Elena was heading out for eggs and vegetables, Anita rounded up Luis and Tomas, demanding they hand over their share of the food costs. The group would share the vegetables, while eggs would be bought based on individual needs.

  "While I'm trading for eggs, I plan to get some vegetable seeds from the farmers too," Elena added. "Take a look and see if you guys need anything specific."

  Getting vegetables for free from the farmers wasn't a long-term solution, and buying them constantly would drain their funds. They had to grow their own. Everyone agreed instantly and pooled their money.

  "Should we ask Sienna to join?" Tomas asked. Being from the same group, he felt it was a bit awkward to leave her out, as if they were ganging up on her.

  Anita shot him a look. "You want to be the one to ask her?"

  Tomas shook his head. If anyone was going to ask, it should be the girls. Since none of the three girls were speaking up, he wasn't going to stick his neck out. Adding Sienna usually just ruined the harmony anyway.

  "It's fine, I'll go," Elena said. There was no need to drag the others into her personal grudge with Sienna or make them feel guilty.

  If anyone else asked, Sienna might thick-headedly agree. But coming from Elena, Sienna's pride would never allow it.

  Elena quickly assigned tasks. "Anita and I will go trade for food and seeds. Lucy, you guys find the village cadres and ask where our allotted vegetable plots are. We need to get things planted ASAP."

  Handling money and eggs was best done with Anita for the sake of transparency. Since the city kids had no idea what to do in a rural setting, Elena's clear directions gave them an immediate sense of purpose.

  As Elena and Anita left the headquarters, they saw Sienna in the yard, "helping" the farmers dry their rice. Sienna just let out a cold snort when she saw them, pretending to be deep in conversation with a local to ignore them. Elena had intended to mention the meal pool, but seeing this, she didn't bother.

  The two headed into the heart of Solana. It was a typical southern village—fields, water, and bamboo groves. It was said that nearly two hundred households lived here once; now, after years of war, only twenty local families remained.

  The environment was beautiful, with rolling mountains and a stream cutting through the village. The houses were mostly old-fashioned mud-walled structures with black-tiled roofs. Each house had a small vegetable garden bursting with greens. There were several ancient bridges that had been destroyed in the war, now replaced by simple wooden planks over the water.

  Elena walked with purpose, soon arriving at a mud-walled house.

  "You seem very familiar with this place," Anita noted, trailing behind. She was starting to wonder. As a new recruit, Elena should have been asking for directions, yet she was taking the most direct route without a single wrong turn.

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  Elena stiffened for a second. She had been so used to this place that she'd forgotten to play the newcomer. "Oh, when I was washing vegetables at the pond at noon, I met an older lady doing laundry. I asked her, and she pointed the way."

  The excuse was reasonable enough. Anita believed her instantly, feeling a surge of admiration. Elena might look weak, but her survival skills are top-tier—and she's smart.

  They arrived at the home of Agnes, a woman in her sixties. Her son had died in the war, and the girl she had adopted had already married and moved away. Because there were so few elderly left in the war zone, the military looked after her, giving her hens to raise. She raised quite a collection, digging for earthworms to feed them and save on grain. By selling eggs to the soldiers, Agnes lived a more comfortable life than the average farmer.

  In her past life, Elena knew about the eggs, but she never had the money to buy any for herself.

  "Granny Agnes, are you home?" Elena called out from behind the bamboo fence.

  A spirited old woman with silver hair tied neatly back emerged. Upon learning they were new support recruits looking for eggs and seeds, she beamed and invited them into the yard.

  "The girls joining our brigade this year are certainly pretty!" Agnes chatted warmly as she bent over to retrieve an egg jar from under her bed. "Come by more often. The date tree in my yard is loaded with fruit; make sure to come by and eat some when they're ripe."

  After the trade was done, Agnes refused to let them leave without eating two pieces of egg cake.

  "Let's do some work for her before we go," Elena whispered. She knew Agnes was kind, but she hadn't realized how kind.

  In this day and age, egg cakes were a luxury—real eggs went into those. Back in Elena's home, eggs were reserved for her father's drinking sessions or her brother; Elena and her sister usually only got to smell them.

  Anita agreed. Taking food and gifts felt wrong. "Let's help her clean up or wash some clothes."

  They looked for chores, but Agnes kept her place spotless. Finally, seeing they wouldn't leave otherwise, she asked if they could trim her hair. It was a simple task. Elena grabbed a pair of large shears and, following the old woman's instructions, trimmed her hair into a neat bob.

  "Good! My daughter usually does it, but she's pregnant and hasn't had time to visit. It's been far too long," Agnes said, admiring Elena's handiwork in the mirror. Before they left, she even stuffed two cucumbers into their baskets.

  When they returned, Sienna was waiting to pounce. "Where have you two been all afternoon? We've been working ourselves to the bone helping the farmers dry rice, while you two were off slacking somewhere!"

  It seemed Sienna had realized that playing the "fragile victim" wasn't winning her any protectors, so she had changed her route. But at nineteen, trying to act like a delicate little flower felt off.

  To Elena, this version of Sienna felt strange and foreign. In her past life, Sienna had always played the role of the "thoughtful, sophisticated older sister." Back then, she had acted like she cared for Elena's health, while secretly using her as a pawn and manipulating her "simple" mind.

  Elena was much more used to that fake, calculating Sienna.

  Without waiting for a rebuttal, Sienna added, "By the way, I won't be eating with you all anymore. A local family has agreed to let me join their meals. You guys can deal with your own mess."