"It's not broken, and it's not leaking either."
Sophia held a dry stick in her hand and kept poking at the trough on the ground. She also kicked it a few times and checked it from every angle.
Her fair little face was full of confusion as she muttered, "That makes no sense. I just poured in a whole bucket of pig food. There are only a few little pigs. They can't eat that fast. It's only been ten minutes."
She poked at the trough for a while, but the filthy container, crusted with grime on all sides, showed no changes.
The six or seven little pigs at her feet kept nudging her with their snouts, looking extremely hungry.
Come to think of it, ever since she picked up this old trough from outside, the piglets, which used to weigh over thirty or forty pounds, seemed to have lost a lot of weight in just two or three days.
Sophia tried to figure it out but couldn't think of any reason. So she went back to the small broken house next to the pigpen. Inside was a stove, a pile of dry branches against the wall, and several bags of sweet potatoes and regular potatoes.
She picked out a plastic bucket of sweet potatoes and potatoes. After washing off the dirt, she chopped them into pieces and threw them into the pot.
Though she was only in her early twenties, she worked quickly and efficiently.
No one would guess that just half a year ago, she was the only daughter of the richest family in S City.
And no one would believe that this former rich young lady was now hiding in a remote mountain area raising pigs.
Thankfully, Sophia was raised frugally in the Jiang family even though she was their daughter. Plus, her college major was changed by the real daughter to animal husbandry. It actually helped her now that she had graduated and needed a job.
Right after college, the Jiang family kicked her out.
The job market wasn't good either. She worked for a year outside and added it to what she had saved from part-time jobs during college. Altogether, she had a few tens of thousands saved up.
So Sophia quit her job and returned to her biological parents' hometown.
Her birth parents had passed away before the real daughter came back to the Jiang family. But they left her a mountain and a few acres of land, which weren't worth much.
While she was lost in thought, the potatoes and sweet potatoes in the pot were already cooked.
She scooped them into a plastic bucket, carried it over, and poured it into the trough.
She didn't believe it. There were just six or seven piglets. How much could they possibly eat?
Sophia poured the food into the trough and squatted beside it to watch.
"I'm going to watch you eat. There's no way someone is sneaking in to steal pig food."
Besides, while sweet potatoes and potatoes did smell good, the trough was already covered with a layer of black grime. She had only scrubbed it a bit when she first brought it back a few days ago.
What kind of thief would be so desperate they'd eat from a filthy trough?
Sophia was deep in thought, watching the little pigs gobble up the food. After about five minutes, the bucket of pig food had gone down quite a bit.
Suddenly, she felt like her vision blurred.
The rest of the steaming food disappeared into thin air right in front of her eyes.
The seven piglets were still happily eating, but when they saw the trough was empty, they started squealing again.
They licked the leftover soup clinging to the sides of the trough, clearly not satisfied.
Sophia rubbed her eyes. "No way. In broad daylight? Did I just see a ghost?"
She felt goosebumps rise all over her skin.
She raised her hand and looked at her watch.
The time was right. She had checked the clock right after cooking the food, and now only six or seven minutes had passed.
Sophia was sweating nervously. She walked over and used the big spoon used for mixing pig food to poke at the trough. It felt like hard stone.
At first, she had bought a few plastic troughs online. But they were too weak. The piglets stepped on them and they broke easily, causing the food to spill everywhere.
She bought them twice, and they were all the same. Poor quality and not cheap either.
Later, someone in the village mentioned that her birth parents used to raise pigs too. They told her to check behind the house. And she really did find this tough old trough.
Sophia felt both curious and a little scared.
She thought for a bit, then carried her bucket to fetch another bucket of water.
The water worked too. The little pigs had nothing to eat, and when they saw the trough filled with water, they rushed over and drank it quickly.
Two little pigs were soon full. Then they jumped into the trough, splashing water everywhere.
Sophia watched the bottom of the trough closely, waiting to see if anything changed. But before she could stop them, the two pigs and the water disappeared in a flash.
This time, the shock hit Sophia harder than before. Forget ghosts or monsters. Nothing scared her more than this.
She rushed forward and started kicking and hitting the trough.
"Stupid trough! Give me back my pigs!"
The other five pigs nearby seemed frightened. It wasn't clear if they were scared by their siblings suddenly vanishing or by Sophia's outburst. They snorted anxiously and ran around in panic.
Sophia quickly snapped out of it and herded the rest of the pigs into a small pen. Then she shut the door tight.
Her face serious, she brought over two more buckets of water.
No surprise this time. The trough was clearly a bottomless pit.
On the other side of the story...
General Yves had blood seeping through the front of his clothes. They had just fought and taken over another city.
It should have been a moment of pride.
But this was their final battle against the Chu Kingdom. They had 30,000 soldiers going up against 50,000 from Chu. They had no chance of winning.
So General Yves decided to risk everything. They all ate their last bits of food, smashed their cooking pots, and prepared for one last fight. If they won, they'd be rewarded. If they lost, they'd die in the wild.
No one expected to win, but they did. Still, they now faced a serious problem , food.
Their mission in the south was to get resources. Everyone had thought that once they conquered the Chu Kingdom, they'd find piles of gold, jewels, and supplies.
Sure, they found treasure. But the land, once thought to be rich in water and grass, wasn't any better than their own.
Outside the tent, the soldiers were growing restless. One of General Yves's advisors stepped forward.
"General, I have an idea."
Normally, Howell didn't speak much. But when he did, people listened. Everyone turned to him, both cautious and hopeful.
"Commander, we've searched the city and found no food. But we still have the 'two-legged sheep' that haven't been dealt with. They're supposed to be burned. Why not use them instead?"
After he said that, the whole room went silent.
A young officer's face turned red as he spoke up. "Advisor Howell, isn't that too heartless?"
Howell gave him a cold glance. He didn't care about the question. His eyes turned to General Yves.
"It may go against morals, but it will save lives. Please consider it, General."
General Yves swept his cold gaze across the room.
No one dared to speak. No one could guess what this young commander, only in his twenties, would decide.
Although he was the second prince of the Zhao Kingdom, he had earned almost everything through battle.
His ambition was clear to everyone. Over the years, he had led wars across the land. Now, Zhao controlled half of the Western Continent, thanks in large part to his ruthless decisions.
If General Yves accepted Howell's idea, no one would be surprised. If he rejected it, it wouldn't be out of mercy but for a different reason.
General Yves had always been clear about his goal to end the chaos of the divided Western Continent and unite it under one rule.
Just as he was about to speak, a hot splash of porridge made of sweet potatoes and grains suddenly dropped right in front of him.
The smell quickly filled the entire room.