"You have practiced the archery that our ancestors taught you for two or three days. Today's lunch is now up to you. Let's see who can shoot the most water birds. We will have roasted bird meat for lunch." The old prince was in high spirits.

There were birds of different sizes flying across the sky, the largest of which was almost as big as a duck.

"Okay. Watch my grandson shoot some of the biggest birds for you." Shangguan Changyu immediately became interested.

But they had no arrows.

But the soldiers who followed did bring it.

The two brothers each asked for a quiver and arrow from a soldier.

He disappeared in a flash.

Yu Zheng asked Zhuiyun and Zhuyue to follow and keep an eye on things.

It’s definitely not enough for two children alone.

The soldiers and guards who followed also sent out a few troops.

"Your Majesty, there is a stream ahead. We can take a rest there." Grandma Ye suggested.

The two grandmothers led them for another mile or so.

There is a clear stream in Guobo.

After running around for the whole morning, everyone was thirsty.

Those who didn't bring water bottles just squatted by the stream and scooped some water with their hands to drink.

There was no pollution here. Yu Zheng was in a good mood and squatted by the stream to scoop up some clean water to drink.

As soon as the water entered her mouth, Yu Zheng felt that it tasted a bit strange.

She took two more sips and felt that the taste was a little different from the water they brought with them.

When they came to the island, they drank water made from tea they brought with them and never drank the raw water on the island directly.

"Granny Ye, do you feel anything unusual when you drink this water?" Yu Yuzheng stood up and asked.

"This place is a bit far from where we live, so we don't come here to get water to drink. We dug a well and we drink the water from the well."

Yu Zheng squatted down again and scooped up two more handfuls of water to drink.

That strange feeling is still there.

"Husband, you should also drink some water from the stream and see if there is any difference between this and the water we usually drink in Wei." Yu Yuzheng asked Shangguan Ziqi to try it as well.

If he feels the same as she does, then he should just say that this water is really different from ordinary water.

Shangguan Ziqi also took a few sips like Yu Yuzheng.

"It's definitely different. I always feel like there's something pungent in the water, but it's very mild. If you're used to it, you generally won't notice it. We've never drunk this kind of water before, so we can taste it right away."

Yu Zheng got confirmation that she was not the only one who felt this way.

She asked the other people who drank the water again, and they all came to the same conclusion.

The water has a really pungent taste.

But no one can tell what is inside.

"Grandma Ye, after we have lunch, take us to a few more streams. I want to try whether all the water on the island tastes the same."

"Okay. There are many streams like this on the island."

Not long after, the bird hunters returned.

"Mother, I shot three big birds." Shangguan Changrui ran first and brought the birds he hunted to Yu Yuzheng to ask for praise like presenting a treasure.

Then Shangguan Changyu also brought four over.

"Mother, I have one more than my brother. This one has beautiful feathers. I can make two shuttlecocks for my sister to kick."

"It's really beautiful." Shangguan Yajing took the bird from him and looked at it over and over again.

Yu Zheng didn’t recognize any of these birds.

But they all have one thing in common: a long mouth, which is very suitable for catching fish from the water.

"Okay, leave it to your father, and let him take care of it. Then apply the seasoning we brought and marinate it for a while, then you can grill it." Yu Yu Zheng touched the two children on the head to show her praise.

Everyone worked together, and each soldier who was collecting firewood in the woods brought back a large armful of firewood.

When the smoke rises, the fragrance wafts with it.

Grandma Ye and Grandma Cui were so greedy that they were drooling.

They had never smelled such a sweet fragrance in their lives.

They lived on this island and hunted some birds to eat, but like boiled chicken, they only had salt flavor.

Once cooked, one to two servings of bird meat per person is enough to fill you up.

After a short rest, he continued.

The two grandmothers led them to find five streams.

Each one flows down from a different mountain.

Yu Zheng drank a few sips of water from each stream herself, and asked everyone else to drink, and then told her how it tasted.

As a result, the water from each stream had a faint pungent smell. Some soldiers with a more sensitive sense of taste could even tell that the taste of each stream was slightly different, with some having a strong and some a weak smell.

Yu Yuzheng couldn't taste the difference, she felt they all tasted the same.

Seeing that it was getting late, they had to turn back.

Return to where the villagers live.

Yu Zheng scooped some water from the well that the villagers had drawn from the jar and drank it.

This time she tasted it.

It still has that pungent smell, but it is much lighter than that in the creek.

This shows that well water is much better than stream water.

What on earth is in the water?

Yu Zheng thought about it all the way but couldn't come up with an answer.

She wondered if it was because the villagers on the island drank this kind of water for a long time that their girls had difficulty giving birth to boys.

If this is true, there is only one possibility: there is acid in the water.

There is a medical saying that if you eat acidic food, you are more likely to have a girl, while if you eat alkaline food, you are more likely to have a boy.

However, there is no specific data on how big the effect is. It is just said that the probability is higher, but not 100%.

But if it accumulates generation after generation, then it is possible.

What exactly is acid?

It would be better if you can find it.

In the evening, she told Shangguan Ziqi her guess.

But Shangguan Ziqi had never studied chemistry, so he listened but didn't understand.

"Madam, we have only explored less than half of the island today. Let's try another direction tomorrow. Maybe we can find some clues."

"Hmm. I don't know what the emperor's attitude is. In principle, these islanders are also the people of Wei. If we don't help them, there may be no one left here in a few dozen days."

“We’ll look again tomorrow. If we can find the problem, we can help solve it and this problem will be easy to solve.

If the problem cannot be solved, the only option is to relocate the entire island. But this island is so big, it would be a pity if there were no people.

The emperor meant to include this place into the territory of Wei.

If the people of Wei were not here, it might be occupied by some other country in the future."

"That's true."

The next day, everyone had dinner.

Start exploring again.

This time, a different method was used.

When climbing over a mountain, Yu Zheng saw a relatively high mountain in the distance.

Looking from afar, the top of the mountain is bare, and green plants only appear from halfway up the mountain.

"Granny Ye, what's wrong with that mountain? Why are there no trees on the top of the mountain?" Yu Yuzheng asked curiously.

"I have never seen anything growing on that mountain since I was born. I heard from my ancestors that there is a big lake on the mountain. The water in the lake is also very clear, but strangely, there are no fish.

Even birds don't drink the water in it. After a long time, our ancestors said that it was a dead lake and warned us that no one was allowed to go up that mountain.

Later, the villagers remembered the words of their ancestors and never climbed that mountain again. "

When Grandma Ye talked about this mountain, there was a hint of fear on her face, as if there was a devil on the mountain.