"I saw locals on the list for the selection," Seraphina murmured, her voice dripping with subtle poison. "I doubt they’ll ever pick us. They’ll likely keep the teaching positions for their own people."

She was fishing, trying to stir up resentment by implying the village was rigged against outsiders.

Hazel met her with a freezing sneer. "What do you know? Every single teacher at that school right now is an intellectual from the city!"

Seraphina’s face burned. She hadn't expected to be corrected so bluntly.

"Of course you don’t care," Hazel continued, her voice cutting through the air. "You didn't have to break your back during the harvest. Win or lose, it’s all the same to you—you were never in the running for a teaching job anyway."

Hazel’s barb was aimed at Seraphina, but the sting was felt by everyone in the room. Dominic, who used to carry a certain weight of respect in the group, felt his authority crumbling under their collective failure. He knew he had to act to save what remained of their alliance.

"I can't do anything about the teaching spots," Dominic said, stepping forward. "But the punishment—the fertilizing duty—you can leave that to us. We’ll handle it."

Caleb, who had been sprawled on the heated brick bed in a state of near-collapse, bolted upright. "Second Brother!" he shrieked, his voice cracking with horror. He had no desire to spend his days hauling manure.

Mark and the others exchanged looks, silent and skeptical, wondering if this was a genuine offer or mere politeness. Hazel, however, felt a rare pang of pity for Dominic.

"You don't have to do that," she softened. "It’s not entirely your fault we lost."

"No," Dominic insisted, his face set in grim determination. "Let it be as I said."

Mark’s expression finally relaxed. "Well, don't worry too much yet. Winter is coming. The fertilizing won't start until the spring thaw."

Once the tension had dissipated and the others left, Caleb looked ready to burst into tears of frustration. "Why, Brother? Why would you volunteer for that? On top of our own punishment, we’ll be doing the work for the whole group next year!"

Dominic’s gaze was dark and heavy. "We’ve already turned the village against us. If I hadn't said that, we’d be standing alone. Do you want to be enemies with everyone in this valley?"

Julian sat in the shadows, silent. He knew Dominic was right, so he didn't utter a word of protest.

"I'll go start dinner," Seraphina offered quietly.

In the past, Caleb and Dominic would have jumped to help her, ensuring she wasn't overworked. But today, the men were like beaten dogs, unable to move from where they sat. Seraphina walked to the kitchen alone, her heart heavy with a sense of grievance.

The town leadership didn't return for the remainder of the harvest. Twenty days of grueling labor passed, and the frantic season finally drew to a close.

Evelyn, who had been secretly supplementing her diet with her private stash, had lost a few pounds, but the rest of the village looked ravaged. Most were tanned dark by the sun and gaunt from the work. Julian and the Dominic brothers were the worst of all; after weeks of watery soup and hard labor, they looked like walking skeletons, their frames hollowed out.

To celebrate the end of the harvest, the village held the traditional pig-slaughtering feast. As the smell of roasting pork filled the air, Barrett stood before the crowd to distribute the prizes.

"The first and second place rewards—the bicycle coupons and the twenty dollars—were personally donated by the Mayor to encourage us!" Barrett announced. "And the two pounds of meat coupons for third place were a gift from Evelyn!"

"Barrett!" someone shouted from the crowd. "Did the village contribute nothing? That’s a bit stingy, isn't it?"

Barrett chuckled. "Isn't a paid holiday reward enough for you lot?"

The top three groups were all local villager units. The city youths watched with hungry, envious eyes. This move had solidified Adrian’s reputation as a generous and capable leader, while Evelyn’s contribution earned her the genuine respect of the Red Wolf Valley locals. Some of the older villagers even began whispering about matchmaking; a girl who worked this hard and shared her bounty was exactly the kind of daughter-in-law they wanted.

In stark contrast, Julian, Caleb, Dominic, and Seraphina became the laughingstock of the valley—forever branded as the "Four Meat Thieves."

At the feast, the air was thick with the scent of fat and spice. Julian, once the pampered son of a factory boss, found himself salivating at the mere sight of grease. It felt like a fever dream.

There was bone broth with sauerkraut, blood sausages, potato stew, and pork with cabbage. No one complained about the taste anymore. It was meat. Even if it had been boiled in plain water, it would have been a delicacy. The crowd ate with a primal ferocity. Even the "refined" city youths abandoned their pride, devouring the food like a pack of wolves.

The retribution came that night.

After weeks of a low-fat, near-starvation diet, their digestive systems couldn't handle the sudden influx of rich pork. Julian and his friends spent the night in a miserable cycle of cramps and diarrhea. By the time the ordeal ended two days later, they looked like refugees, their clothes hanging off their bony frames.

Watching them stumble around, Evelyn found she could finish an extra bowl of rice every day out of sheer satisfaction.

Finally, the relief Julian had been praying for arrived. His mother, Eleanor, had secretly bypassed Adrian to send a large shipment of money, coupons, and supplies.

When Julian saw the notice, he felt a rush of joy so intense it felt like a reprieve from a death sentence. As Evelyn was returning from town hauling a heavy sack of her own, she ran into Julian. He looked haggard, his eyes bloodshot, but he stopped her.

"Evelyn!"

She tried to brush past him, acting as if he were invisible.

"My mother’s shipment is here," Julian blurted out, blocking her path. "Come to town with me to pick it up."

Eleanor had sent double of everything. Julian intended to give half to Evelyn; regardless of the bitterness between them, he couldn't bring himself to let her freeze. Winter in the valley was a monster that lasted until May, with temperatures dropping to forty below zero. Without heavy cotton quilts and padded coats, death was a real possibility. He assumed Adrian would give her money or food, but a man like his cousin wouldn't think of bedding—and cotton coupons were nearly impossible to find.

"What your mother sends you has nothing to do with me," Evelyn replied coldly.

"Julian!" Seraphina’s voice cut through the air as she approached, disrupting the moment.

Evelyn was grateful for the interruption and moved to leave, but Seraphina stepped in her way, her dark eyes fixed on Evelyn.

"Evelyn, did you hear Julian’s family sent supplies? Are you here to beg him for a quilt?"

Seraphina’s gaze was probing. Cotton was sold out in every store, and the black-market prices had tripled. A single set of winter bedding and clothes required at least twelve pounds of raw cotton—an impossible find for a girl with no connections. Seraphina was certain Evelyn was empty-handed, and she was going to savor every moment of her desperation.