Chapter 11: and

Seeing a man rummaging through dead branches and picking up dried, shriveled wild jujubes, the people nearby couldn't stay calm. They glanced left and right, and good heavens, there were several jujube trees. "It's a jujube grove! Everyone, hurry and pick them!"

Afraid of being a step behind, they shouted to their own family members and scrambled toward the ground.

Hearing the commotion, everyone crowded toward the jujube trees. Dozens of people were fighting over them like madmen. The Li family had been quite far away, and since the people who discovered the grove were on the other side, by the time the Li family arrived, chaos had already broken out.

Raising a hand to his forehead, Qin Wangshu sighed to himself that they were truly starving; the moment they heard there was food, they acted as if they were being controlled by someone else.

Grabbing hold of Jiang-shi, who wanted to join in, Qin Wangshu pulled her back.

Glancing sideways at Qin Wangshu, Old Man Li waved his hand, signaling for Li Lao-er and his wife, Old Mother Li, and the eldest daughter to step back as well.

"Everyone, stop right there!"

Village Chief Yang Lin was shocked by the scene, and then, infuriated by the people fighting and scrambling, he barked out a command that sounded like Donald Duck. The villagers of Baitang held some level of respect and fear for Village Chief Yang Lin; as soon as his voice rang out, they all froze.

"How much is this worth? Is it worth risking your lives?" Pointing a trembling finger at a young man with his fists raised, he scolded with a shaky voice: "With this kind of spirit, it’s overkill even for fighting a tiger. If you have this much energy, why are you picking wild jujubes? Go into the mountains and hunt a tiger! A single tiger has hundreds of catties of meat, and the blood alone would be enough for you to drink for three days..."

"Wild animals carry viruses. It’s fine if you wash them clean and boil or roast them, but you must never eat them raw, especially the blood."

Speaking in a low voice while Village Chief Yang Lin was busy lecturing the others, Qin Wangshu tilted his head and whispered to Old Man Li. He pursed his lips; Old Man Li had wanted to say that blood tofu was also a good thing, but after his lips moved, he ultimately said nothing.

"Understood."

"In normal times, there might be fewer viruses in animals, but with the drought this severe, who knows how many wild animals have already died of thirst. Even humans, who can distinguish between good and bad, can't care about much when they are starving, let alone wild beasts. If they eat too many dead things, it’s hard for them not to get sick. Sometimes, even if there’s no problem, they might still be carrying viruses."

Seeing that someone was listening, Qin Wangshu couldn't help but say a bit more. Although Old Man Li didn't know what a "virus" was, having a hunter for a son-in-law, he knew that one shouldn't pick up dead animals in the mountains. So, when Qin Wangshu finished, he replied with another "Understood." With that response, Qin Wangshu couldn't stop himself.

"This mountain is huge; there must be big beasts inside. Compared to axes and firewood knives, I think long weapons would be more advantageous. They allow for a safe distance while still having offensive capabilities. When we go back later, you should chop us some sturdy sticks and sharpen one end. We women need at least some way to protect ourselves... If, later on, we can set up the tents in the trees, then unless we come down, we won't be in any danger."

"......Hmm."

There were definitely animals on the mountain. They had already prepared themselves to risk their lives when they came up, and when everyone was fighting for their own survival, no one could protect anyone else.

In such a situation, although he was reluctant, if the women could stand on their own, it would at least give them a chance. Everyone knew that if they encountered wild boars or tigers, they could climb trees, so letting the women stay in the trees would eliminate any worries.

It was just that the person who analyzed all this was someone raised in the inner chambers who usually only held an embroidery needle, which made him... feel ashamed!

No one noticed the conversation between Qin Wangshu and Old Man Li. At this moment, all eyes were on Village Chief Yang Lin. Seeing everyone hanging their heads in shame, Old Man Li spoke up.

"Village Chief, are you thirsty? Do you want some water?"

Glancing at Old Man Li, the Village Chief seemed very unhappy that his long-winded speech had been interrupted.

"No."

Over the next two hours or so, everyone picked walnuts, chestnuts, and even pine nuts from the upper part of the mountain.

There were no chestnuts from this year, nor walnuts; they were all old stock. As for the pine nuts, many pine cones hung on the trees, but when picked, they looked shriveled, so they were also from previous years.

In past years, the previous year's fruit would sprout or mold due to rain, but this year, not a single drop of rain had fallen, so the previous year's fruit was basically intact.

Unfortunately, although they saw many trees, after a winter of storage and autumn harvests, the animals hadn't left much for them. Still, a harvest of ten-plus catties for the whole family in one morning was satisfying enough.

Returning to the mountain gully, they left their harvest behind and instructed the children left behind to crack the chestnuts before the adults headed back up the mountain.

The cracked chestnuts were stewed slowly, and after stewing for an entire afternoon, they turned into a thick chestnut porridge.

"Hurry, go wash your faces and come eat."

The steaming chestnut porridge made the returning men smell the fragrance from afar, though no one dared to imagine it would be this thick.

"What are you all staring at? Fourth daughter-in-law made this chestnut porridge very well."

No wonder it was so thick.

Pan Dalin and Li Lao-da thought in unison, while Li Lao-si reached out to take the bowl and chopsticks handed to him by his young wife.

How long had it been since they had porridge that required chopsticks to eat?

Everyone was concerned about the men's results in the mountains. After eating, they all walked toward the Li family's side.

"We walked along the gully toward the interior all day, about thirty miles or so. The further in we went, the more living trees there were on both sides, and there was still water under some large rocks in the gully. We saw quite a few animals along the way, and we set traps and snares on our way back. Perhaps we'll have a harvest tomorrow."

"If we can hunt in the gully, can't we just station ourselves here?" Old Mother Ke stepped forward again.

Glancing at her and then scanning the crowd, seeing that everyone’s eyes were filled with agreement, the Village Chief said irritably: "If the water in the gully dries up completely, and the nearby chestnuts and walnuts are all picked, are we just going to wait here to die?"

"Uh... well, I still think it would be better to find a place with water where we can grow vegetables and hunt continuously."

"Hmm, I think so too."

"Animals will die of thirst too if they have no water. If we can hunt more and make dried meat, it won't matter if we can't go back next year."

"Hahaha... right."

The speed at which everyone changed their attitudes left Qin Wangshu stunned. However, among so many people, only Qin Wangshu felt impressed; the others were probably used to it.

The Village Chief's expression was ugly, but he didn't lose his temper: "We are still on the outskirts. Tomorrow, everyone will go in together. From now on, the men must go further to scout. It will be like this from now on: Da Pan will lead people to scout the path first, then the men will go in to set up the tents, and finally, the elderly and children will go in."

Setting up tents didn't usually require such trouble, but when they learned from the Village Chief that these tents weren't to be set up under the trees but *in* the trees—tents in the trees could not only protect everyone at night but could also be used when they eventually left, killing two birds with one stone—and that minimizing the time children spent in the gully would increase their safety, everyone agreed.

The next morning, everyone was in high spirits. Their hearts, which had been leaping with joy at the harvest of the first roe deer, were stuck in their throats when they saw the wild boar in the pit. Then, the successive prey made every hair on their bodies stand on end. They didn't even dare to breathe loudly along the way, distributing the luggage to the children before carrying the prey up.