boyutpedia Chapter 275 Collection 3
Chapter 275 Collection 3
“Let’s head in our direction. That’s the furthest from here. We even found a stream over there. We can rest there for a while and have lunch,” Liangzi said.
Wang Hao glanced at his watch; it was indeed almost lunchtime. Moving to a different location to collect herbs would take time, so he decided to eat first.
No one objected, and Liangzi and Zhang Tianmeng led the way to the stream they had discovered.
The stream was only about the length of two people's outstretched arms. The surrounding area was open, with stones of all sizes laid out on the riverbed, smoothed by the water.
The stream is crystal clear, and in its deepest part it only reaches a person's calves. Occasionally, fish and shrimp swim out from between the rocks.
"This place is perfect for a short rest."
Fu Qian reached out and splashed her hands in the stream for a few moments; the cool water invigorated her.
Jiang Li took off her outermost layer of clothes, which were covered in mud, and washed them clean with the stream water by the river. She then wet the towel she had brought with her to wipe the mud off her face and also wiped the mud off her pants.
The pristine white towel instantly turned yellow and became stained with various clumps of dirt. Jiang Li scrubbed the towel with her hand, wrung out the water, and prepared to dry it by the fire along with her clothes.
Wang Hao and Liu Yu went to the nearby woods to search for some dry branches to make a fire later.
Ye Jingmo, Liang Zi, and Zhang Tianmeng took off their shoes and socks, rolled up their trousers, and went into the stream, each holding a dagger, intending to catch a few fish for lunch.
If you have fresh ingredients, why drink those unpleasant-tasting nutritional supplements?
Ye Jingmo's eyes were sharp as an eagle's as he stared intently at a swimming fish, his small knife plunging rapidly downwards.
puff~
A fish was pulled from the water, thrashing about desperately, wagging its tail in an attempt to escape the dagger's grip, blood flowing from the wound.
Ye Jingmo untied the fish from the dagger and threw it forcefully onto the shore.
This fish is about the size of two human palms, and its entire body is covered in silvery-white scales. It looks delicious.
Wang Hao and Fu Qian built a simple stove out of stones. Fu Qian took out a small, folding pot from her backpack and placed it on the stove.
Wang Hao then took the fish that Ye Jingmo had thrown ashore to the riverbank to process. He thought that if they didn't catch many fish, they could make a fish soup so that everyone could have a couple of sips to warm themselves up and get rid of some dampness.
After all, the mountain mist and fog were mixed together, and if everyone hadn't been wearing long sleeves, they probably wouldn't have been able to withstand the chill.
People are prone to hypothermia if they stay in the mountains for too long.
Wang Tang and Liu Yu quickly returned with firewood. The mountain forest was quite humid, and the thick fog blocked the sun from shining into the forest, so the two of them only managed to gather some half-dry and half-wet firewood.
The two had no choice but to pick some dry leaves from the dead tree to use as kindling.
Jiang Li watched from the shore and spotted a stone crab hiding in a crevice in the rocks. Thinking it might be a piece of meat, she put on gloves and walked toward the rock where she had just seen the stone crab hiding.
The moment the stone was turned over, the stone crab sensed danger, extended its strong claws, and with its other claws outstretched, it lunged at Jiang Li with menacing ferocity.
Jiang Li deftly reached behind the crab, pressed down on its body, and lifted it up.
Jiang Li weighed the crab in her hand and was quite satisfied.
Pudding saw that Jiang Li had made a harvest and happily circled around on the shore, wagging its tail so vigorously that one couldn't help but worry that it might fall off.
Later, Liangzi and Ye Jingmo each caught another fish, but they were both a little smaller, only about the size of one and a half palms.
Zhang Tianmeng stared gloomily at the water, tears welling up in his eyes. He couldn't believe he was so bad at fishing that he couldn't even catch a fish. It was a huge blow to his morale!
I can't find any herbs, and I can't catch any little fish.
Enraged, Zhang Tianmeng could only vent his anger on the shrimp. He sheathed the dagger at his waist and grabbed a few transparent shrimp with his bare hands.
The shrimp are only the size of a little finger, completely transparent, like tiny babies that haven't grown up yet.
Liang Zi and Ye Jingmo had already returned to the shore and were cleaning the small fish in their hands.
They're not here for a picnic, so they can't afford to spend too much time on a meal; something like this will do.
Wang Tang and Liu Yu had already started a fire, but the damp branches were already producing some black smoke.
These were all minor issues, and no one paid them any attention. They all gathered around the stone stove with great interest, waiting for the fish soup to be ready.
Soon, a pot of river fish stew was ready, bubbling and steaming, making everyone who had walked up the mountain all morning very hungry.
The stew has a light milky white color, mixed with fragrance and a faint fishy smell.
None of us carried any seasonings, so the broth was unseasoned and just tasted as is.
Fu Qian used a spoon to serve everyone a bowl, while Wang Hao took advantage of a spare moment to use a dagger to whittle out a few chopsticks.
Using simple tools, everyone began to eat this hot lunch.
"This fish is so fresh and tender! It tastes better than any fish I've ever had before."
Zhang Tianmeng ate without even looking up, quickly finishing a bowl of soup and then slowly eating the fish with her chopsticks.
"Food is easy to find in the mountains and forests, but it is also full of dangers. Otherwise, the base would not be short of food and clothing."
Wang Hao looked at the crab in his hand and sighed.
After lunch, everyone sat on the riverbank to rest.
Ye Jingmo touched Jiang Li's damp clothes that were hanging by the fire. The clothes were completely dry. He took them down and handed them to Jiang Li.
Jiang Li quickly returned the coat that Ye Jingmo had just draped over her shoulders to him, lest he fall ill.
She put on the clothes that had dried in the oven; they still emitted a faint warmth, dispelling the slight chill she had felt earlier.
Seeing that everyone else had rested and was full of energy, Wang Hao asked directly:
"What are your thoughts on which direction we should go next?"
“We definitely can’t go there anymore; that’s probably the tiger’s territory. We could fight them, but it would waste too many bullets.”
The battle with the wolves at the gas station had already used up a lot of bullets, and now we only have a little over half left. It's best to avoid running into the tiger if possible.
Fu Qian felt a lingering fear when she thought about the tiger that was as tall as a person that she had just seen.
"Let Pudding choose a general direction, and we'll search in that area."
After the test, Ye Jingmo learned about Pudding's ability to find vanilla flowers.
With Pudding around, there's no need to wander around aimlessly like before.
Ye Jingmo's words made everyone realize something instantly. That's right, why didn't they think of asking Pudding to choose a direction for them? They didn't have Pudding's sensitive nose.
All eyes turned to Pudding. Pudding, unaware of what was happening, was startled, and a rare look of panic appeared in its eyes. Its tail tentatively wagged twice.
Woo~
Why are these people looking at me with those eyes that seem to want to devour me? Waaah, I'm scared.
Jiang Li took out a vanilla flower from her backpack and pointed it out to Pudding, indicating that it should lead them to a place with a vanilla scent.
Pudding understood what his family meant. He wagged his tail and waded across the stream. Once on the other side, he shook off the water and turned to look at the motionless crowd, waiting for them to follow.
Once everyone realized what was happening, they quickly followed Pudding, crossed the stream, and walked for about a kilometer before they saw a bamboo forest.
Pudding stopped in front of the bamboo grove.
The bamboo forest was vast; Jiang Li couldn't see the end of it.
The eight people then dispersed and began to explore the bamboo forest.
The bamboo in the bamboo forest is very tall, reaching seven or eight meters in height, and there are bamboo shoots that have just broken through the soil, making the already narrow path even more difficult to walk on.
They need to watch their step carefully, lest they trip over a sprouting bamboo shoot and fall flat on their face.
Pudding sniffed the ground from time to time, leading the two deeper into the bamboo forest.
Jiang Li and Ye Jingmo used sickles to cut down the bamboo that was blocking their way.
The bamboo nodes are hard, and it took two people several cuts to cut down the bamboo in the same spot.
Jiang Li suddenly had a brilliant idea, "Brother Mo, do you think we could collect some bamboo and build a temporary shelter in the mountains?"
After all, we're looking for herbs and flowers in the mountains, and it would be inconvenient to get back to the car by tomorrow night.
"We don't know enough about the mountain forest, and we didn't bring much with us today. We'll definitely have to go back to the car tonight."
A shelter is indeed necessary to facilitate our future travel. We can search for suitable places to stay temporarily.
But building a shelter with bamboo would be too time-consuming and unnecessary.
Ye Jingmo rejected Jiang Li's idea. After all, building a shelter in the mountains would take a long time, and it would be better to collect the herbs sooner rather than later.
However, if there are natural caves or similar places, then that would be a very good location.
Jiang Li wasn't angry when Ye Jingmo rejected her idea; she had only just expressed a thought.
Upon closer reflection, it's true that building a wooden house out of bamboo would be a bit too time-consuming and labor-intensive.
The bamboo stalks are very sturdy, and cutting them down and transporting them would require a lot of effort, which would be counterproductive.
Hey!
Suddenly, Jiang Li saw a plump white worm crawling out of the cut bamboo.
What a fat worm!
"A rather plump bamboo worm."
Ye Jingmo took the dagger and picked up the bamboo worm from the bamboo, revealing its dark mouthparts. The worm wriggled and crawled on the dagger.
This gave Jiang Li goosebumps all over. She felt like it was a low-budget version of a caterpillar.
Suddenly, Jiang Li felt even more disgusted.
"Bamboo worms? Worms that live inside bamboo?" Jiang Li asked curiously.
"Yes, they are edible. Fry them in oil, and they taste quite good."
Hearing my description, Jiang Li looked up at him and asked, "Brother Mo, have you ever eaten bamboo worms?"
"When I was on missions in the army, what didn't I eat? If you want to try it, you can grab some to take back for dinner."
Jiang Li quickly waved her hand in refusal, "There's no oil or seasoning on the car. It wouldn't taste good even if we took it back and cooked it, and it wouldn't be enough for more than a few bites. There's no need to waste that time."
Jiang Li immediately stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Ye Jingmo's forearm, and half-pulled, half-pushed him forward.
Ye Jingmo looked down at Jiang Li's actions, a smile flashing in his eyes. He had just said that as a joke to see her reaction.
They don't have time to catch bamboo worms now, but if they have time on the way back, they can catch some, Ye Jingmo thought to himself.
Pudding nimbly weaved through the bamboo forest, which made things difficult for Jiang Li and Ye Jingmo who were following behind.
Suddenly, Jiang Li somehow lost her footing.
Jiang Li rubbed his sore bottom and looked around blankly. The flashlight fell to the ground, illuminating the entire cave.
Hearing the noise, Ye Jingmo turned his head but didn't see Jiang Li. His heart skipped a beat.
He immediately ran to the spot where Jiang Li had just disappeared, and upon closer inspection, discovered a hole there, which was simply covered by the surrounding weeds and looked quite ordinary.
"Ah Li, how are you?"
Ye Jingmo shouted down from the cave entrance.
"I'm fine, Brother Mo, come down quickly, we've found treasure."
Jiang Li's eyes lit up as she looked at the white flowers swaying gently in the depths of the cave.
I’m rich, I’m rich!
How many herbs are there here?
Hearing Jiang Li's shout, Ye Jingmo used his hands to support himself on the ground and jumped down, subconsciously lowering his center of gravity and landing steadily on the ground.
By the light, Ye Jingmo could see the scene inside the cave. The cave must have been formed a long time ago, with stone walls on all sides, so it must be part of the mountain.
The cave is only ten meters deep, and in the innermost part of the cave, there are more than a dozen herbs growing on the ground.
Pudding saw that the two of them had disappeared into the cave, poked its head in, and barked anxiously twice.
"Pudding, we're fine. Wait for us up here. We'll come up as soon as we finish picking the vanilla flowers, don't worry."
Jiang Li comforted Pudding, and Pudding stopped barking when it saw that its owner was alright.
Jiang Li and Ye Jingmo got busy, carefully picking the fragrant flowers.
Jiang Li happily put the picked herbs into her backpack. With this patch of herbs, they had finally completed the task of picking them all by themselves.
In the end, Jiang Li and Ye Jingmo picked a total of eleven herbs.
Jiang Li packed her things and prepared to climb up to the cave entrance, but when she turned around, she saw that Ye Jingmo was not making any move.
"Brother Mo, aren't we going up?"
Ye Jingmo stared thoughtfully at the cave, then looked up at Jiang Li. "A Li, what do you think about us resting here?"
Jiang Li didn't react at first, and after a few seconds of hesitation, she asked, "Brother Mo, you mean we should use this place as our temporary shelter?"
“I think this cave is quite suitable. It is in a secluded location, and the entrance is relatively small, so large wild animals cannot get in, making it very safe.”
"And you remember when you came over, Pudding actually skipped this place, which means it didn't smell the vanilla flowers in the cave."
It must be covered by something, or perhaps the smell inside the cave doesn't easily escape. This is all very advantageous for us.
Jiang Li snapped her fingers. "This is practically a natural sanctuary. We're extremely safe living here."