Chapter 391

·

·

·

Main Character:

Shen Yao

The pond is a collection point; aside from the distance, it has no other flaws.

Driving there drastically cut the time they spent on the road, allowing them to gather more supplies.

The men went into the pond to catch fish and dig lotus roots as usual; the women, if tired, could look around for edible wild vegetables and wild fruit.

However, this mild season had little in the way of wild vegetables; most were wild fruit and some crops that could fill the stomach, just like how Shen Yao unknowingly stumbled upon a small patch of peanuts and sorted out a whole hemp sack of them.

"Must be seeds those birds carried over," after the hot rainy season's irrigation, the peanuts ripened, and in the end benefited them.

"There are soybeans around too, but quite a few of the ripe pods have burst open," the harvest certainly won't be as much as the peanuts.

Peanuts can not only be eaten but also pressed for oil; the base has its own oil pressing field — process the oil-bearing crops and send them in, and you get oil to eat.

Song Ling and Cheng Ma collected some soybeans; since there was no time for detection, they simply dumped them all into hemp sacks to take back, planning to handle them during the evening rest.

Birds often fly over this area around the pond, so whatever grows here is not the least bit strange.

While everyone rested at noon, Shen Yao wandered around the vicinity and picked a few plump, round pomegranates to bring back.

Each was the size of two adult fists, and they smelled of fruit fragrance.

Zhao Xue's face was full of excitement; she couldn't help wanting to tag along and join the fun, but Cheng Dage grabbed her.

"Rest up; we still have to catch fish and dig lotus roots this afternoon," where would you get that much energy.

Zhao Xue stretched out her hand and patted Cheng Dage's shoulder, "Second Brother's wife is capable; I also want to find some snacks for the kids at home," fruit like pomegranates costs a fortune at the exchange center — she simply couldn't bear to spend the money.

"Can you compare to Second Brother's wife? How old is she, how old are you?"

Cheng Dage isn't the least bit afraid of telling the truth and getting pinched by his wife — he really says whatever he thinks.

This attitude made Zhao Xue's heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and kidneys ache with anger; blockhead, stupid enough to choke a person to death.

Shen Yao knew nothing of the commotion here; she was busy coaxing Cheng Qi to break open a pomegranate and share a bit with everyone around.

Pomegranate doesn't fill you up, but it tastes sweet and delicious; especially the seeds, red and bright, pretty to look at, each bite bursting with juice — couldn't be more refreshing.

Crunch crunch

After finishing her portion, Shen Yao wiped her mouth corner, stood up, and continued strolling; seeing this, Cheng Qi hurried to catch up, "I'll go with you."

Shen Yao waved her hand, "It's fine, no danger around, I'll go alone."

Before she finished speaking, she heard Cheng Qi shout "Watch out," and Shen Yao was pounced on and fell straight to the ground.

Her nose filled with the smell of earth; Shen Yao's mind went blank, and when Cheng Qi pulled her up she was still dazed, "What just happened?"

Perfectly fine — how did I just fall while walking? I wasn't tripped.

Cheng Qi pointed at the wild rabbit already lying dead on the ground, "Almost crashed into you."

No time to think further; as Cheng Qi tackled Shen Yao he simultaneously attacked the wild rabbit; in the end the rabbit died and became food for the two of them.

Shen Yao: ……

Shen Yao took out her wristwatch to test it — good news: the wild rabbit is entirely edible.

Good fellow, it weighs at least several dozen catties; a half-man-tall wild rabbit looks stout and solid — getting rammed by it would probably require half a month of recuperation.

"It's a mutant gray rabbit, the most common wild rabbit; low aggression, full of meat, very suitable for consumption."

When encountered in the wild, they always choose to hunt it; a whole one sells for a high price — a very typical premium meat source.

Shen Yao let out an "oh" at that, and followed along scanning the surrounding ground.

As expected, she discovered a rabbit hole.

The proverb says a crafty rabbit has three burrows; relying on just them, they definitely couldn't excavate the rabbit hole.

Cheng Qi and Shen Yao first kept searching around, successively finding several rabbit holes, with fresh traces beside the entrances.

Mm, there are still rabbits inside; they can be caught.

They called Cheng Dage, Zhao Xue, and Shen Yu over; the five people each stood at a rabbit hole entrance; Cheng Qi took out his lighter, ignited the wild grass he had plucked, and forced the black smoke into the rabbit holes.

Front to back, it took no more than half an hour; the five of them caught twenty rabbits in total.

Some big, some small; the edible ones were set aside, the inedible ones had their pelts stripped and were buried on the spot, and the ones too small could be packaged and sold to the base.

Like the base's research institute, every month they have a purchase quota for animal cubs; they need these cubs for experiments.

"A single rabbit kit can sell for over a thousand points; put more grass in the back basket so they don't freeze to death."

The rabbit kits had only just grown fur; they survived the smoking, but in the end couldn't escape the fate of being caught.

Shen Yao carefully placed the rabbit kits into the back basket, then reached out and pulled more wild grass to cover them, to guarantee they'd stay alive a bit longer.

Zhao Xue lifted the rabbits, "Let's go back; Mom and them must be getting anxious waiting."

A huge harvest — the lightest of these rabbits weighs fifteen or twenty catties, not to mention the few adult rabbits; their bulging bodies look delicious at a glance.

Cheng Ma and Song Ling stood on the riverbank looking this way; seeing the five return loaded down, they were overjoyed.

This batch of rabbits can't be sold — all kept for the family to eat; when the weather turns cold, eating a meal of dry-fried rabbit meat — couldn't be more comfortable.

"You rest a bit; the pond's fish are about done, all that's left is the lotus roots; once we finish these, we'll go to the hillside to catch wild chickens."

Wild chickens on the hillside have become a plague; catching a batch can also solve the problem of too many wild animals.

Every year during the cold season, mutant beasts attack the base; eliminating them at the source can reduce trouble.

Although, "Aren't the mutant beasts that attack the base all large animals?"

Like tigers, wolves, black bears, and such; never heard of wild chickens or wild rabbits having that kind of ability.

Shen Yao was puzzled; she suspected her birth mother and mother-in-law had both read and replied in confusion.

Cheng Qi smiled, signaling Shen Yao not to take it too seriously; as long as they're happy, it's fine.

Shen Yao:... A bit perfunctory, eh.

The car returning in the afternoon was packed with gathered supplies; the group went to the Exchange Center as usual, and Shen Yao simply sold the rabbits to the Research Institute — several thousand points credited instantly.

The edible wild rabbits were split equally among the three families, and the fish and lotus root likewise.

Because of this, Shen Yao's courtyard was piled with hemp sacks; neighbors seeing them return from outside all voluntarily came over to spend points buying.

"Your fish is really fresh, caught from the riverside?" A neighbor tried to pry, but unfortunately Shen Yao didn't fall for it at all, just smiling and sidestepping the question.

Neighbor:...

The neighbor left after paying points, turned and muttered to the person beside her that Shen Yao's group was cold.

"Forget it, stop spouting nonsense here; does your family have treasure you'd show off?"

The Eldest Young Master doesn't speak of the Second Young Master — they're all the same kind of people; why say such irrelevant things.

Having made up her mind not to associate with this sort of person, little did she know that in Shen Yao's heart they weren't important at all — they'd be moving in a few days anyway, and Shen Yao wasn't afraid of offending neighbors in the slightest.

Cheng Qi stood beside Shen Yao, occasionally stretching out a hand to help weigh the goods.

Once all of today's goods were sold, Cheng Qi shut the gate.

"Tonight we're eating dry-fried rabbit meat; cut this whole rabbit up."

Shen Yao picked the vegetable dish and handed Cheng Qi one of the not-too-large rabbits.

As for the hemp sacks still in the courtyard, cleaning them up after dinner would be fine.

Cheng Qi gave an "mm," picked up the rabbit, walked to the corner, and processed it clean.

The diced rabbit meat filled a basin; Shen Yao lit the fire, set the wok, and added seasoning.

Fire ample, seasoning ample, meat ample — fragrance drifted through the whole courtyard, making the surrounding neighbors complain incessantly.

Why make them jealous? Just-coaxed children cried tears streaming down their faces.

Over the next few days, everyone drove to gather around the pond.

Until Cheng Qi had to return to work, the three families only then parted ways.

"Part ways what part ways? Today we're going to Chang Le Town to pick fruit; you wanted to eat honey tangerines and oranges, there's a huge patch over there, ripened these past two days."

Song Ling knocked on Shen Yao's door, not caring where Shen Yao wanted to go, dragging her out.

Shen Yao:...

Shen Yao hurriedly grabbed the hemp sack and back basket, explaining she originally wanted to check out the Sweet Potato Garden.

"That place wasn't picked clean? You'd just be wasting time going there," Song Ling puzzled, thinking last Mild Season the Sweet Potato Garden was bustling, wasn't it just for those sweet potatoes.

Shen Yao sidled up to Song Ling's ear and whispered; Song Ling got so excited she nearly shouted.

"Real or fake? Really have them? Goodness! No wonder the Sweet Potato Garden can grow sweet potatoes — turns out energy stones are buried underground, those are worth far more than sweet potatoes."

You must know energy stones can both strengthen genes and treat Gene Collapse; the price stays sky-high, rarely seen all year.

Shen Yao wasn't certain, but she indeed speculated so — just wanted to go verify secretly; if none, fine, if there were, she'd really strike it rich.

"Wait for what? Today we're going to the Sweet Potato Garden," forget Chang Le Town, Song Ling turned to drag Shen Yao to the Sweet Potato Garden.

Shen Yao helpless, persuaded Song Ling to calm down — it was only speculation, besides the Sweet Potato Garden had nothing, theoretically anytime they went would be in time; "Chang Le Town's honey tangerines and oranges are ripe, let's pick for two days first."

Song Ling:...

What's called a face-slap, this is a face-slap; Song Ling helplessly shut up, "Then let's go to Chang Le Town."

The two boarded the bus to Chang Le Town; the vehicle was packed solid with people, clearly all heading for those ripe fruits.

Song Ling's sense of crisis surged; she no longer dwelled on the Sweet Potato Garden, focusing entirely on coordinating with Shen Yao their destination after getting off.

Chang Le Town really had many fruit trees; to gather more they had to avoid the main force. Famous collection points definitely couldn't go; best to find ones hidden in corner nooks — few people, sufficiently concealed, no worry of being discovered.

Shen Yao sent Song Ling several maps, still obtained from Cheng Qi; combined with their original maps, enough for use.

"Xiao Cheng this person is really not bad; how are you considering the house matter?"

Song Ling completely at ease, started worrying about the house; B District had quite a commotion, Cheng Ma privately sent Song Ling who knows how many text messages, all about the house.

By Cheng Ma's meaning, they'd best pick some closer to the city edge — fewer people coveting, highest success rate.

The closer to A District, the higher the house price, many people watching.

The Shen Family's capability wasn't enough, the Cheng Family's ability also not as great as imagined; after all, Base Upper Echelon's nepotistic connections have developed to a scary degree, and competing on thick-skinnedness with these people, the Cheng Family falls short.

"Already have a target, currently in contact these two days; what about you?"

Shen Yao worried the Shen Family lacked sufficient backing; B District was still too popular.

Song Ling waved a hand, "No matter, your dad and I are open-minded; if we can go we go, if not we'll move to live by the city wall near B District."

At least safer than now, don't necessarily have to pursue some B District.

Shen Yao thought it was the same logic; B District doesn't mean absolute safety, in this world accidents happen anywhere, only by raising one's own strength can one live safely.

The bus beneath them drove forward all the way, soon arriving at the Chang Le Town drop-off point.

Shen Yao and Song Ling followed the crowd forward; looking up they saw colorful hues covering mountains and fields.

Because of these fruit trees, every Mild Season Chang Le Town has an endless stream of people.

Song Ling tugged Shen Yao; mother and daughter walked west, along a small path up the mountain.

Inside the mountain there were citrus trees, and a few persimmon trees blazing red.

"Don't know if anyone's come over; let's pick the persimmons first," whether eaten raw or made into persimmon cakes back home, both good.

Shen Yao also wanted to eat persimmon cakes — soft, glutinous, sweet, and keep long without spoiling.

"Hey, no one, we lucked out."

Song Ling pointed at the persimmon trees not far away, nimbly ran over, hugged the tree and shook it back and forth.

Persimmons fell pattering from the tree; Shen Yao took out the back basket to gather them; the mutated persimmons' skin was thicker, falling from the tree they wouldn't smash.

But to get all the persimmons down, still needed someone to climb the tree.

Shen Yao had the skill, climbing up with a hemp sack in hand, while Song Ling sat on the ground testing the fallen persimmons, discarding the unsuitable ones and packing the suitable ones into the sack.

The mother and daughter cooperated, and soon finished picking all the persimmons from the several persimmon trees.

The persimmons were bright red, looking very festive, especially since the mutated persimmons tasted better than before the mutation; whether kept for themselves or taken out for sale, they were extremely popular.

"Mom, are those orange trees up front?" The persimmon trees were ten meters tall, and Shen Yao could overlook most of the scene after climbing up.

Pointing toward the front right, Shen Yao spoke of the collection point she had discovered.

Song Ling told Shen Yao to rest first, and they would go over after they finished choosing the persimmons.

These persimmons were finally harvested as two whole large hemp sacks, and the weight in catties made it strenuous for them to carry.

Left with no choice, Song Ling sent a message to Shen Jiancheng, telling him to stop worrying about that mess at home for now and hurry over with the cart to help with shipping.

"Is Dad still home?" Shen Yao was surprised; she thought Shen Jiancheng and Shen Yu had already gone out on a mission with the Mercenary Team, as the first half of the Mild Season was a rare hunting time, when the prey was not only plump but also relatively safe.

Many Mercenary Teams at the base had been running people outside these past few days, and the Patrol Team had even worked overtime because of these matters.

Song Ling explained that it wasn't that Shen Jiancheng refused to go, but that there was a temporary matter at home, and only Shen Yu had been sent.

"Hmph, it's not a big deal; we'll tell you after we finish these," Song Ling obviously did not want to explain.

Seeing this, Shen Yao did not continue to press for answers; anyway, it was fine for Shen Jiancheng to stay at home.

If it weren't for Shen Jiancheng being old with declining capability, and his genes having once collapsed, she would have wanted Cheng Qi to help bring him into the Patrol Team to do the drought-and-flood-guaranteed-harvest work.

"Tell my dad to bring more hemp sacks;" their sacks were not enough, hand-woven items were easily crushed by heavy objects, like a sack of persimmons, which was directly wrapped in three layers.