Next, Jiang Xi devoted herself wholeheartedly to the production and construction of food. She dug up and down the mountain countless times, and the potatoes in the cave gradually piled up into a small mountain. Fearing that the deer would steal the potatoes and overeat, she specially surrounded the cave with stone slabs.

Jiang Xi didn't let the traps in the back mountain go to waste either. She could basically catch a two-legged rabbit every day. One day, a rabbit the size of a palm fell in. Jiang Xi saw that it was too small, so she released it. After all, the ecosystem needs to be sustainable.

After two full days of work, Jiang Xi finally felt a sense of security as she gathered enough wild vegetables and root potatoes from the cave to last them ten days.

Counting the days, they had been in this world for more than twenty days, and they still didn't even have a decent bowl or chopsticks. So today, she decided to do nothing but focus on making pottery.

After several days of nourishing food and rest, Yan Zheng's injuries have greatly improved. Jiang Xi finally understood what the "wooden work" he had been busy with these past few days was. He was making bows and arrows. It seems that every boy in the world has had a toy water gun, but Yan Zheng is different. His favorite hobby is archery.

He didn't have many toys when he was young. His strict father was very strict with his education. The few toys he had were Rubik's Cubes and puzzles. Yo-yos and water guns were things that only Jiang Xi had.

Later, Yan Zheng went to learn fencing, and the gymnasium also had an archery class, which was a rare extracurricular activity for him.

If Jiang Xi hadn't seen it, she would have almost forgotten that he could shoot arrows.

The pottery needs to be fired at around 1,000 degrees Celsius, and it usually takes twelve hours. Fortunately, enough firewood has been prepared, so today Jiang Xi only needs to keep an eye on the fire and make sure the firewood doesn't run out.

Yan Zheng felt that his wounds had almost healed, so he gave the pottery and firewood to Jiang Xi to take into the cave, leaving her in the cave to fire the pottery, while he went out to test his arrows.

Jiang Xi arranged the pottery pieces one by one according to size and placed them into the kiln. She added a lot of firewood, making the kiln burn like a firebox.

While they were burning firewood, they led the fawn out of its den and tied it to the wooden door so it could bask in the sun.

Taking advantage of the good weather, she sat on the steps at the entrance of the cave, took out the remaining fibers, and used a crochet hook made of fish bones to crochet a few small clothes for herself to change into. However, she did not know how to crochet, so she could only try to crochet little by little based on her memory of how her roommate crocheted a scarf.

Combining the method of braiding colorful bracelets, she actually managed to crochet a palm-sized piece of 'fabric'. The fiber thread she used was too thick, so the crocheted fabric felt very heavy.

So she split the yarn again, twisted it into even finer strands, and the resulting fabric was even softer, feeling somewhat like a thick washcloth. This was already quite good; any thinner would not only increase the crocheting speed but also strain her eyes considerably.

By afternoon, as the sun was setting, Jiang Xi had already crocheted five pieces of cloth, but Yan Zheng still hadn't returned. She was getting a little worried and sat at the cave entrance, glancing around every now and then. It wasn't until the sun began to sink further down that his figure finally appeared at the foot of the mountain.

Jiang Xi put down the fabric in her hand and went to greet him. Yan Zheng had a very fruitful haul this time. He had a log on his shoulder and two cleaned wild ducks hanging in front of and behind him.

She saw his face full of heartache: "So many, they won't keep in this heat."

Yan Zheng chuckled, unloaded the duck, and said, "I was just trying my hand at it, but I ended up hitting too many."

Jiang Xi thought and thought but didn't know what to do. They didn't have any salt, so pickling food wasn't practical. In the end, Yan Zheng suggested that they just roast everything and let it sit for another day.

The wild duck meat has a texture somewhere between chicken and duck, firm and juicy with a layer of fat under the skin, creating a harmonious blend with the golden-brown, crispy skin. Jiang Xi also specially cooked clam and yam porridge to cut through the richness.

After firing the pottery for twelve hours, it needs to cool naturally for three or four days to prevent cracks from forming, so there's no need to keep an eye on it in the cave. So, after dinner, the two discussed going to the back mountain the next day. Yan Zheng's injuries had largely healed, so they could pick some fruit and look for other resources.

When Jiang Xi woke up the next day, the air was cool and the temperature beside her had dropped. She got up, put on a cardigan, and walked towards the cave entrance. Yan Zheng was cooking breakfast by the river, and a deer was lying on the grass eating a sweet potato. When it saw Jiang Xi come out, it rushed over and licked her fingertips.

Jiang Xi felt ticklish from the licking and quickly stroked its head and gently caressed its antlers: "The little deer is so well-behaved and cute."

Yan Zheng casually asked, "Are you up?"

Jiang Xi hummed in agreement and walked towards the pot. She asked, a little puzzled, "Why is it so cold this morning?"

It didn't rain yesterday, but upon reflection, she realized that the mornings had been quite cool the past few days. A bad feeling crept into her heart, and she glanced at Yan Zheng: "Really?"

Yan Zheng said, "That's exactly what you think. I guess autumn is coming."

For a moment, they both fell silent. She had been living too comfortably lately and had completely forgotten about the changing seasons.

According to their original plan, if the temperature here suddenly rose, it would mean that the snow disaster outside might be over. But now the temperature has suddenly dropped, catching them off guard.

It seems they need to start stockpiling food as soon as possible. They are not familiar with the situation here and do not know how hot it can get in winter.

The vegetation here is different from their world. Even Yan Zheng, who has been dealing with forests for many years, cannot determine that this place is located in the equatorial latitude zone. They can only make the worst-case scenario plan.

So after breakfast, the two went to the back mountain area. This time, however, Jiang Xi brought a basket she had woven herself from vines and several handbags.

This technique was something Yan Zheng had learned from an old craftsman in a Miao village. Jiang Xi thought that since they were on a journey, they should bring some wild mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and wild fruits to collect so they could dry and store them when they got back.

This time, instead of taking the same route, they bypassed the mountain with oranges and continued downstream along the river, gathering wild fruits on their way back.

As they ventured deeper into the jungle, it felt like stepping into a different world. The trees grew taller and taller, blocking out the sun, with only scattered dappled sunlight filtering through the trees. They dared not wander off and instead stayed close to the river.

Disappointingly, even after venturing so deep, they found nothing but a hawthorn tree. Although they encountered some different plants, these plants bore no fruit and were of no value. After traveling for half a day, they had to pack some hawthorns and return to Orange Mountain.

Having learned from their previous experience, this time they didn't take a detour and went straight to the orange trees on the mountain.

Most of the fruit on the tree was ripe, hanging on the tree in a bright yellow color, while the ground below was covered with fallen fruit. Jiang Xi remembered that the riper the oranges were, the more sour they became. After they had filled their stomachs, they only picked the green ones.

After walking a few hundred meters, they found the wild fruit tree from last time. The fruit was fully ripe, the size of a honeydew melon, with a milky yellow sheen. Some of them even felt soft to the touch. Fearing they wouldn't keep, Jiang Xi specially picked some of the harder ones.

Jiang Xi could vaguely see squirrels leaping among the branches, occasionally letting out their distinctive calls. Jiang Xi guessed that these little creatures were probably complaining that they had picked too many.

After storing all the picked fruit together, tying the bag tightly, and covering it with branches, the two continued uphill to pick Sichuan peppercorns. Most of the fruit on these trees was already ripe, and they would probably all fall in a few days. They might not come here again, so this time they wanted to collect enough Sichuan peppercorns for future consumption.

As the sun began to set, Jiang Xi pressed hard, and with a whoosh, the zipper of the hiking backpack closed perfectly. They had collected a whole backpack full of Sichuan peppercorns.

It was a sunny day. After eating so much fruit, everyone was parched and their water was dry. Jiang Xi's cheeks were burning from the sun, and she couldn't wait to go down the mountain to boil a pot of water.

This is a habit that Yan Zheng taught her; the most important thing to protect yourself in the wild is not to drink untreated water.

They only have two mineral water bottles, and they usually carry a pot with them when they go out so that they can boil water to replenish the bottles when they run out.

Fortunately, after walking down the mountain for about one or two kilometers, Jiang Xi discovered a crevice in the rocks where water was flowing gently. The water flowed down from the top of the crevice and gathered into a pool of fresh water about the width of a person. The water was clear and cool.

Yan Zheng gathered some firewood to boil water, while Jiang Xi took out wild duck meat wrapped in banana leaves from her side bag and ate it with wild fruit as a substitute for lunch.

After the meal, Jiang Xi took a sip of boiled spring water, but she spat it out immediately. It was salty, bitter, and tasted like rusty water.

Yan Zheng frowned: "Is it unclean?"

“No,” Jiang Xi spat out several times but still couldn’t get rid of the salty and bitter taste in her mouth: “It’s both salty and bitter.”

Yan Zheng's expression changed when he heard her say this, and he laughed. He picked up the pot on the ground and took a sip.

Seeing his smile, Jiang Xi guessed what was going on and blurted out, "It's salt water."

It seems this is a natural salt spring. Jiang Xi had the opportunity to see a salt spring once during her internship in Northwest China. It was in a very remote village where the women carried two buckets every day, shuttling between the salt spring and the salt fields.

Salt fields are usually located under the sun. After the salt spring water evaporates, it settles into white crystals. The women, with their thin shoulders, carry buckets of water to the salt fields in exchange for meager wages.

It was getting late, so the two discussed it and decided to go back first to take the fruit and peppercorns they had collected that day, and come back tomorrow specifically to boil water and fetch salt.

It gradually got dark.

Back in the cave, the fawn heard their voices and kept calling out "yoyo" inside. Jiang Xi quickly went over to pet it and fed it some food.

Dinner was much simpler. Jiang Xi used wild mushrooms and leftover roasted duck meat to cook a simple outdoor version of "duck and vermicelli soup". Just before it was done, she added a fresh wild peppercorn. The numbing and spicy flavor and the aroma of meat instantly filled the cave. Paired with the fruit they brought back, the two of them ate until they were sweating profusely.

Since they got the sweet potato and the rabbit traps on the back mountain, they haven't lacked meat and carbohydrates. Jiang Xi could clearly feel that Yan Zheng's physical strength was much better than before.

He could even climb the mountain in one go without any problem.

Exhausted from a day's journey, she had no time to sew more fabric. She spread wild mushrooms and wood ear fungus on the stone slab, took a bath early, and went to bed.