Chapter 8: Great Harvest on the Mountain

"There were no legendary wild vegetables, no wild chickens flying everywhere, nor any wild rabbits suddenly scurrying past."

"Instead, there was an overgrowth of weeds everywhere, with the edible wild greens long since picked clean by the villagers."

"Xu Ying wasn't surprised by this scene at all. In this era of scarcity, people couldn't even fill their bellies, let alone spare the wild delicacies on the mountain."

"However, those with enough courage could venture deep into the back mountain, where the villagers dared not tread, for it was said to be the dwelling of man-eating beasts."

"There had been people who went hunting in the mountains and never returned."

"Anyways, it was a legend that had been passed down by the older generations and was quite terrifying."

"Xu Ying, who had stayed among the bloodshed of the apocalypse, naturally wasn't afraid, but with these two little ones, it wasn't convenient for her to enter."

"Upon reaching the mountain, Shitou cautioned them like a little adult, 'Little aunt, Hu Zi, I'm going to gather pigweed. You mustn't run around, especially not into the deep mountains. There are monsters there that eat people.'"

"Hu Zi, scared by the mention of man-eating monsters, pouted his lips, and his eyes brimmed with tears."

"Xu Ying, looking at her big nephew, almost wanted to laugh. He was quite the scaremonger, 'Alright, you go and collect pigweed; I'll stay here and watch Hu Zi. We definitely won't go into the deep mountains.'"

"Shitou, reassured by her promise, left with peace of mind."

"After watching Shitou leave, Xu Ying started wandering around with her little nephew."

"Guided by the memories of her past life, Xu Ying arrived at a small riverbank, where Hu Zi's face lit up with excitement upon seeing the water."

"Xu Ying, however, didn't allow him to get close to the river's edge, 'Good boy Hu Zi, wait here for little aunt. I'll see if there are any fish in the river. Later, little aunt will catch fish for Hu Zi to eat.'"

"Hu Zi, hearing about catching fish to eat, fought hard to prevent his drool from leaking out, 'Little aunt, Hu Zi will be good.'"

"Xu Ying then headed toward the riverbank. She glanced at the river a few times, and with her keen eyes, she spotted the fish."

"There were fish indeed, but catching them was a skill."

"She looked around at the trees, her eyes sparkling as she snapped a thick, long branch and took out her small knife. She sharpened one end of the branch to a point."

"Rolling up her trouser legs, she walked slowly into the river with her branch."

"Little aunt, you mustn't go into the river," Hu Zi, initially curious while watching Xu Ying sharpening the branch, shouted the next second as he saw her about to enter the river."

"Turning back, Xu Ying saw Hu Zi hurrying towards her with small, hurried steps."

"Her heart warmed."

"Why are you coming over? Little aunt is going to catch you some fish to eat!"

"Hu Zi shook his head, his eyes filled with worry, not forgetting the incident when Xu Ying had fallen into the river before."

"Hu Zi doesn't want to eat anymore."

"What's wrong? The river isn't deep; little aunt will be fine," Xu Ying said with a smile as she pinched Hu Zi's skinny little face."

"In the past, she couldn't swim, which is why she nearly drowned when she fell into the river. Now, having honed her skills in the apocalypse, she was adept in various capabilities and wouldn't have any trouble."

"However, Hu Zi refused to agree to let Xu Ying enter the river, gripping her hand tightly and refusing to let go."

"Xu Ying had no choice but to sit down on the riverbank. Coincidentally, just as she sat down, a fish swam in her direction."

"Seeing the fish approaching, Xu Ying's smile widened; it seemed as if the fish actually liked her!"

"Watching the lively little fish in the river, she made a quick move and stabbed into the water, spearing a two-pound fish onto the stick in an instant."

"Hu Zi, look, little aunt caught a fish!" Xu Ying called out excitedly to the little figure on the bank."

"Then, with a few more swift moves, Xu Ying's other stick was hanging with three fish."

"Hu Zi looked at Xu Ying in astonishment, 'Little aunt, there really are fishy-fish.'"

Xu Ying watched him with his round eyes looking so adorable and rubbed his head, saying, "You watch these fish carefully here, little aunt will see if there are any wild chicken eggs or duck eggs in this reed."

Hu Zi nodded busily, his eyes sparkling as he gazed at the big fish on the ground.

Xu Ying glanced at him before she got up and walked towards the reeds.

She didn't have hopes of actually finding wild chicken eggs but walking around, she could find an excuse to take some out of her space.

Autumn had arrived, bringing with it a slight chill, and a gust of wind carried a rustling cold.

Whether it was good luck or something else, Xu Ying actually stumbled upon a nest of wild chickens.

Watching the flock, Xu Ying tried her best to conceal her presence and then took some knife blades from her space, rapidly throwing them at the wild chickens.

Although her skills weren't great, the number of blades she had compensated; a slew of Ice Blade Blades flew out, and immediately several wild chickens fell to the ground, while the rest, startled, flapped their wings and flew away.

Xu Ying excitedly ran towards the flock and swiftly bound three wild chickens together with reed leaves.

"Wild chicken eggs!" Xu Ying was even happier when she saw the wild chicken eggs on the ground while holding the birds.

There were eight wild chicken eggs in total; without a basket, they were hard to carry, so she took off her jacket and carefully placed all the wild chicken eggs inside.

Then, she took out another ten large duck eggs from her space and added them to her jacket before running out of the reeds.

Hu Zi saw his little aunt returning and smiled as he got up.

"Hu Zi, let's go find your brother," Xu Ying said with a smile in her eyes as she picked up the fish from the ground.

Xu Ying moved quickly; these things could not be seen by others, for everything on the mountain was now considered collective property, and everyone hid what they hunted.

Some small game was overlooked, but larger catches had to be contributed to the collective.

Although what she had was small, there were many items, and her father was the team leader; it would be bad if others saw these and it leaked out.

"Shitou, come over here quickly." Xu Ying, like a thief, snuck and hid in the grass near Shitou.

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

When Xu Ying saw him approaching, she reached out and grabbed his ankle.

"Ahhhh! A ghost!"

"Shut up, I'm your little aunt," Xu Ying said irritably, her ears nearly deafened by his scream.

"Ow, little aunt, what are you squatting there for? It's so scary, you almost scared me to death – if I died, you would only have this Eldest Son left," Shitou said, patting his chest, still scared from his narrow escape.

He was scared to death!

"Look what these are!" Xu Ying said, rather proud of herself.

Following her pointing, Shitou saw the items on the ground and was shockingly surprised, "Little aunt, did you catch all these?"

As Shitou asked, he didn't stop his hands; he removed most of the pigweed from his back basket, then placed the wild chickens and fish at the very bottom.

He then laid a layer of pigweed and put the wild chicken and duck eggs on top, before spreading the remaining pigweed all over the basket.

Xu Ying, seeing Shitou's actions, felt nothing but gratified; the boy's attentiveness was notable.

"Little aunt, let's hurry back," Shitou said, unable to help salivating at the thought of the wild chickens and fish.

Hu Zi was also very eager, and as they descended the mountain, he couldn't help but ask, "Little aunt, can we eat meat when we get back?"

Holding his small hand, Xu Ying laughed, "Of course, we can. Why else would we catch it?"

Shitou pondered and then said, "We could barter it for something else."

Every time her grandmother had something good, she'd barter it for tasty food or fabric to make clothes for the little aunt.

Xu Ying didn't want to barter; she had everything she needed in her space, and these things she brought back to nourish her family.

The three of them hurried home like thieves in the night.