The next morning, Xu Feng was awakened by Qing Shan's crying.
"Dad, the bottle."
Xiao Dan rubbed her eyes and sat up.
Xu Feng rolled out of bed, picked up the bottle, and began preparing the milk.
Soon, the bottle was in Qing Shan's mouth, and the little fellow immediately stopped crying.
He held it in both hands, sucking noisily.
Leaning against the headboard, Xiao Dan watched them, a small smile curling her lips. She reached for the communicator beside the bed and took a picture of Xu Feng.
After finishing his milk, Qing Shan pushed the bottle away contentedly, turned his head, and fell asleep against Xu Feng's shoulder again.
Xiao Dan smiled and gave Xu Feng a thumbs-up, then climbed out of bed to wash up.
She was quick about it, splashing cold water over her face twice and tying her hair into a loose ponytail.
Then she pulled a clean gray jacket from the wardrobe and changed into it.
This jacket was slightly newer than yesterday's. Only a few threads had frayed at the cuffs, and a tiny Sun Church emblem was pinned to the collar.
After a simple breakfast, Xiao Dan secured Qing Shan against her chest with an old blanket and led Xu Feng and Ah Kun toward the Church.
A thin haze of dust shrouded the town in the early morning.
The dark red light of Proxima Centauri poured through the openings deliberately carved into the tops of the rock walls, casting slanting shafts of light across the gravel road.
A faint smell of excrement lingered in the air.
Gray-white cooking smoke rose from the supply station's chimney in the distance. Several early risers squatted beside the square, drinking hot soup from bowls.
Before long.
Having finished breakfast, the residents got up and headed