Chapter 8: A Great Harvest from Going Up the Mountain

There were no legendary wild vegetables, no pheasants flying about, and certainly no wild rabbits darting past.

Instead, the fields were overgrown with weeds; any edible wild greens had long since been dug up by the villagers.

Xu Ying was not at all surprised by this scene. In this era of scarcity, where people could barely get enough to eat, it was impossible for them to overlook the wild game on the mountain.

However, those who were daring enough could venture deep into the back mountain. It was a place the villagers dared not enter, as it was rumored to be home to man-eating beasts.

Someone had once gone deep into the mountains to hunt and never came back.

At any rate, the stories passed down from the older generation were quite terrifying.

Having spent time in the blood-soaked hell of the apocalypse, Xu Ying was naturally unafraid, but with these two little ones in tow, it wasn't convenient for her to go in.

Upon reaching the mountain, Shitou gave them a lecture like a little adult: "Little Aunt, Huzi, I’m going to go cut pigweed. You two must not run around, especially not toward the deep mountains—there are monsters in there that eat people."

When Huzi heard about man-eating monsters, his mouth puckered up in fear, and tears welled in his eyes.

Xu Ying looked at her eldest nephew and couldn't help but smile; he was quite good at scaring people. "Alright, go cut your pigweed. I’ll watch Huzi here; we definitely won't go into the deep mountains."

Only after hearing her promise did Shitou leave, feeling reassured.

Watching Shitou walk away, Xu Ying took her little nephew and wandered around the area.

Following the memories of her past life, Xu Ying walked to a small river. Huzi’s face lit up with excitement the moment he saw the water.

Xu Ying, however, wouldn't let him get close to the bank. "Huzi, be a good boy and wait here for Little Aunt. I’m going to see if there are any fish in the river. If there are, I’ll catch some for you to eat."

When Huzi heard about catching fish to eat, he struggled to keep his drool from spilling out. "Little Aunt, Huzi will be good."

Xu Ying then walked toward the riverbank. She peered into the water a few times and, with her sharp eyes, spotted some fish.

Finding the fish was one thing, but catching them was a matter of technique.

She looked at the surrounding trees, her eyes brightening. She snapped off a slightly thick, long branch and used the small knife she carried with her to sharpen one end into a point.

Rolling up her pant legs, she held the branch and slowly waded into the river.

"Little Aunt, you aren't allowed to go into the river!" Huzi had been watching her sharpen the branch with curiosity, but the moment he saw her heading into the water, he shouted in alarm.

Xu Ying turned back to see Huzi taking small, hurried steps toward her, looking anxious.

Her heart warmed.

"Why are you coming over? Little Aunt is going to spear some fish for you to eat!"

Huzi shook his head, his eyes full of worry; he hadn't forgotten the time Xu Ying had fallen into the river.

"Huzi doesn't want to eat anymore."

"What’s wrong? The river isn't deep, I’ll be fine," Xu Ying said with a smile, pinching Huzi’s thin, gaunt little cheek.

She hadn't known how to swim before, which was why she had nearly drowned, but now that she had returned after training in the apocalypse, she had mastered many skills and wouldn't run into any trouble.

But Huzi wouldn't agree to let her go into the river no matter what. He grabbed her hand and refused to let go.

With no other choice, Xu Ying sat down on the bank. As luck would have it, just as she sat down, a fish happened to swim right toward her.

Seeing the fish swimming by, Xu Ying couldn't stop grinning. Did this fish like her or something?

Watching the little fish swimming happily in the river, she struck with lightning speed. In an instant, a two-pound fish was skewered on her wooden stick.

"Huzi, look! Little Aunt caught a fish!" Xu Ying shouted excitedly to the little boy on the bank.

Following that, with a few more quick strikes, the other stick she held was already laden with three more fish.

Huzi stared at Xu Ying in shock. "Little Aunt, there really were fishies."

Seeing him with his round eyes wide open, she found him adorable. She ruffled his hair and said, "You stay here and keep a good eye on these fish. Little Aunt is going to see if there are any wild chicken or duck eggs in the reeds."

Huzi nodded busily, his eyes sparkling as he looked at the big fish on the ground.

Xu Ying glanced at him before standing up and walking toward the reeds.

She didn't actually expect to find wild eggs, but walking around inside would give her an excuse to take some out of her spatial storage.

Autumn had arrived, and the weather was a bit chilly; a gust of wind blew by, carrying a biting cold.

Whether it was because Xu Ying was lucky or something else, she actually stumbled upon a nest of wild chickens.

Seeing the flock, Xu Ying did her best to hide her presence. She then took a few blades from her spatial storage and threw them rapidly at the flock.

Although her technique wasn't perfect, she had plenty of blades. A handful of icy blades flew out, and several pheasants dropped instantly; the rest, startled, flapped their wings and flew away.

Xu Ying ran toward the flock excitedly and quickly tore off some reed leaves to tie the three pheasants together.

"Wild eggs!" Xu Ying was even happier when she saw the eggs on the ground after picking up the pheasants.

There were eight wild chicken eggs in total. Xu Ying didn't have a basket, so she took off her outer jacket and carefully placed all the eggs inside.

Then, she took ten large duck eggs out of her spatial storage and added them to the bundle before running back out of the reeds.

Seeing his Little Aunt return, Huzi smiled and scrambled to his feet.

"Huzi, let's go find your brother." Xu Ying’s eyes crinkled with a smile as she picked up the fish from the ground.

Xu Ying moved quickly; these things couldn't be seen by others. Everything on the mountain was now collective property, and everyone hid whatever they managed to catch.

People usually turned a blind eye to small game, but larger items had to be turned over to the collective.

Although her haul was small, the quantity was high, and since her father was the team leader, it would have a bad impact if someone with ill intentions saw it.

"Shitou, come here quickly." Like a thief, Xu Ying snuck into the bushes near Shitou.

Hearing the voice, Shitou looked left and right but couldn't find anyone.

Seeing him walk over, Xu Ying reached out and grabbed his ankle.

"Ahhhhh! A ghost!"

"Shut up, it’s your aunt," Xu Ying said irritably; she was nearly deafened.

"Ouch, Little Aunt, what are you crouching there for? You scared me to death! If you scared me to death, you wouldn't have this eldest nephew anymore." Shitou calmed down, patting his chest, still feeling the lingering fear of a narrow escape.

He was scared to death!

"Look at this!" Xu Ying said quite proudly.

Shitou looked in the direction she pointed and saw the items on the ground. His mouth hung wide open in shock. "Little Aunt, did you catch all of these?"

As Shitou asked, his hands didn't stop moving. He took out more than half of the pigweed from his basket, placed the pheasants and fish at the very bottom, covered them with a layer of pigweed, placed the chicken and duck eggs on top, and then spread the remaining pigweed over the top of the basket.

Seeing Shitou’s actions, Xu Ying’s eyes were full of gratification; she hadn't realized the boy was so meticulous.

"Little Aunt, let's hurry back." Shitou couldn't help but swallow his saliva at the thought of the pheasants and fish.

Huzi was also very hungry. As he walked down the mountain with Xu Ying, he couldn't help but ask, "Little Aunt, can we eat meat when we get back?"

Xu Ying held his little hand and smiled. "Of course we can, why else would I have caught them?"

Shitou thought for a moment and said, "We could trade them for things."

Every time his grandmother got something good, she would trade it for food or cloth to make clothes for Little Aunt.

Xu Ying didn't want to trade them; she had everything she needed in her spatial storage. She was bringing these back to nourish everyone’s health.

The three of them hurried home like thieves.

(End of chapter)